Human rights based approaches are widely used to address various social and political problems in the field of education, child care, health and social protection. By stipulating an internationally agreed set of norms, human-rights based approaches provide a stronger basis for citizens to make claims on their states and for holding states to account for their duties to enhance the access of their citizens to the realisation of their social, economic and political rights. This presentation is based on ethnographic studies conducted in India, Nepal and Sierra Leone. It shows the role of human rights in re-shaping of education and social policy and makes a particular focus on the impact of these approaches on empowerment of marginalized groups such as ethnic minorities and indigenous women.

Publications

Samonova, Elena. (2022). Human Rights Through the Eyes of Bonded Labourers in India. Journal of Modern Slavery: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Human Trafficking Solutions, 7(2): 82-96.

Samonova, Elena et al. (2021). “An Empty Bag Cannot Stay Upright: The costs of “free” primary education in Sierra Leone”. International Journal of Educational Development 87: 102500.

Samonova, Elena et al. (2022). Picturing Dangers: Children’s Concepts of Safety and Risks in Rural Sierra Leone. Children and Society 37: 906–924.