What does it take to build a truly rights-based movement for racial justice? 

Seven months into our Racial Justice through Human Rights (RJtHR) programme, one thing is clear: change doesn’t happen without trust – and trust takes time, collaboration, and listening. 

RJtHR is a partnership between Just Fair and Black South West Network (BSWN) to support Black and Minoritised communities across South West England to use the rights of everyday life to tackle discrimination and disadvantage.  

We know that when community groups are supported to use international and domestic human rights law, they can contribute to long-term social change.  

At Just Fair, we’ve spent the past few months working closely with BSWN to co-develop the foundations of RJtHR – a programme designed not just to run events or produce outputs, but to shift how power and policy work, and to do it together. 

Laying the groundwork: partnership as practice 

From data-sharing systems to messaging plans, we’ve prioritised co-creation and accountability at every stage. Our partnership with BSWN is the engine of the programme. Through integration meetings, shared frameworks, and aligned methodologies, we’ve worked to make the infrastructure of the RJtHR programme as collaborative and rights-respecting as the change it aims to create. 

This groundwork has already enabled us to deliver training and engage communities in ways that feel meaningful and rooted in lived experience. 

Listening first: workshops that centre community voices 

Over the past seven months, we’ve delivered four bespoke workshops.  We explored topics such as economic, social and cultural rights, rights-based approaches, and the right to health with both BSWN staff and local community activists. 

The feedback was clear: participants left more confident, more informed, and better equipped to use rights in their campaigning.  89% of participants attending all of our workshops said that it had increased their understanding of economic, social and cultural rights, and 100% reported feeling more confident about using these rights in their campaigning. 

We heard directly from communities about the systemic barriers they face – and what they need from a human rights programme that truly stands with them. 

Showing up: building trust in community spaces 

Beyond structured workshops, we’ve also been present in community spaces – from housing drop-ins to local networking events.  

This presence has helped build trust with groups across South West England. It has also given us opportunities to share our aims for the RJtHR programme and lay the groundwork for supporting communities to address systemic rights-based issues. 

With these foundations in place, the RJtHR programme is well positioned to move into its next phase. 

What’s next? 

We’re proud of the progress so far, but we’re just getting started. The next phase of the RJtHR programme will deepen our work with BSWN and support for communities using human rights in their advocacy and organising. This will include: 

• Deepening engagement with community stakeholders across the region, including in Cornwall and coastal areas 

• Piloting a “train-the-trainer” model 

• Developing rights-based tools and campaign resources 

• Supporting advocacy on specific rights-based issues, including relating to housing, health, and education 

We remain committed to growing this work from the ground up – and to continuing to ask the hard (and hopeful) questions about what it really means to deliver racial justice through human rights.