Human Rights Mainstreaming Guideline
NZAID and Mainstreaming
Mainstreaming means that a policy is considered in all projects and programmes, and that implementation is the responsibility of all staff within the organisation rather than just a specialised unit. AID MGT has directed that NZAID will mainstream human rights. In practice, this means that all activities should be screened for their human rights impacts, with steps taken to minimise any negative impacts. Steps to strengthen participants’ ability to exercise their rights should also be included where doing so will lead to improved outcomes or reduced risk. Staff need to record their efforts to do this in order to facilitate monitoring of the mainstreaming policy.
NZAID has developed this tool and provides training to staff in its use in order to achieve its objective of screening all activities for human rights impact. NZAID has also incorporated prompts in other tools to assist staff to pursue human rights in policy, strategy and programming. There is a Governance Adviser who covers human rights, and a Human Rights Community of Practice available to provide expert advice and support to staff.