Decolonising development with a human rights-centred Global South focus. Empowering communities through policy and practice

Abstract

The global south is still confronted with the aftermath of colonialism and uneven development, resulting in persistent marginalisation. One proposed solution involves integrating human rights principles into development strategies to promote equity, social justice, individual empowerment and communityoriented approaches. However, some argue that this approach may inadvertently reinforce neocolonial structures leading to a critical perspective on its efficacy. The prevailing development policies and practices tend to uphold these neocolonial systems through conditionality imposed by international organisations and development aid donors and hinder real progress in empowering the global south. Accordingly, a proposal is presented that advocates for utilising decolonisation alongside human rights as an alternative framework. This approach aims to challenge conventional development paradigms by reassessing current policies, implementing projects differently and engaging with communities, all with the central goal of promoting empowerment among marginalised societies residing in the global south, especially in Rwanda. The objective of this research is to investigate the prospects and obstacles linked with questioning human rights within a community-based development structure. Through an analytical evaluation of human rights principles, accompanied by advocating for local empowerment, this study intends on critically engaging the domain of development studies and making an original empirical contribution through fieldwork. The means employed are desk investigations along with interviews from various professionals in the global south, four development experts from Rwanda including professionals who work in field context, combined with comprehensive insights gathered through participation from communities situated in Rwanda. This approach will provide a holistic comprehension regarding how policies influence practical circumstances at ground zero level by using mostly authors, studies and ideas from the global south.