As part of our London Human Rights Communities Programme (LHRCP), we have been busy over the last year providing targeted support to civil society organisations in London seeking to better understand and use everyday rights to create social change. 

Here we dive into the change we want to support, who we’re working with, our approach, and where we go next.

The change we want to support

We are working to create a fairer and more just society for all, and believe human rights are key to getting us there. But for rights to be upheld anywhere, we need action everywhere: organisations, activists, and communities all need to know their rights and assert their power to hold decision-makers to account.

Human rights can be intimidating to engage with if you’re not already in the legal sphere, but when community-led organisations do take up the law and human rights, we see incredible change. It is our job as human rights organisations to make this process easier and make the law more accessible to all.

Civil society organisations as human rights defenders

Whether they see themselves as human rights defenders or not, the civil society organisations we work with are often already working on issues of law and human rights and are the first port of call for those facing rights violations.

Acting as champions of social justice, they work on a range of issues, inviting people in, responding to them as a person, and calling on decision-makers to treat people with fairness, respect, equality, and dignity.

Those that make up London’s civil society have found new ways to respond to old problems, to bring communities together, and build a fairer future.

We know that human rights have something to add to their work – we can use them to reframe how we talk about issues like poor quality housing, low paying jobs, and insufficient social security, help us untangle complex injustices, provide us a vision for the future, and can spark real-world change.

Our LHRCP project, delivered in partnership with the British Institute for Human Rights, is designed to help Londoners name and claim their rights, by supporting local organisations to use rights language and framing in their everyday work.

Our approach

We began our work on this programme with a series of Open Days – spaces where London’s civil society could meet us, make connections and learn about human rights.

We were there to support organisations to bring together the strands of human rights and social justice, uncovering why rights matter and how we can use them as a tool for change.

But we were also there to learn and reflect. Listening to what people wanted, we developed a series of resources designed to address the specific needs of organisations seeking to name and claim rights:

• A simple guide to rights: one-minute videos on our economic, social and cultural rights and the importance of their incorporation.
• Why rights matter: an introduction to human rights and what they mean to us – what are human rights.
• How to talk about rights: a practical guide to harnessing the power of rights framing – the value of using human rights.
• Embedding rights in practice: a guide to implementing a rights-based approach, why choose to develop a rights-based way of working, and what others have achieved by doing so – stories of a human rights-based approach.
• Human rights realities in London: a review of how community organisations respond to social justice issues, and practical approaches to building rights responses – London voices.

Next steps

We are deeply grateful to everyone who has been on this journey with us so far – including all who applied for the programme and attended our open days.

Next steps include:

• Working in partnership with four organisations in a funded ‘Intensive Programme’. The selected organisations are Community Plan for Holloway, Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation, Southall Community Alliance, and Unfold.
• Continuing to support London’s civil society through sharing targeted and open resources.
• Training and dedicated support for groups and individuals wishing to know more about everyday rights and how to use them.
• Advocating for our rights to be respected, protected and fulfilled.

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Background image: Blooming Community (Flower) by Hannah Moren