Poverty and the violation of human rights: a proposed conceptual framework

The paper proposes a conceptual framework linking the causes of poverty with the causes of human rights violations. Both are presented as outcomes of a cascading chain of determinants grouped as immediate, underlying, and basic causes. The framework will make situation analyses focused on poverty and human rights better adjusted to the reality on the ground. It is also the first step in using the human rights-based approach, now an established methodology being used by a growing number of health and development practitioners and seen by the United Nations system as the way forward. The framework also provides guidance to communities in identifying, in a participatory way, causes of the problems that affect them. The framework is presented in a diagram format followed by a list of the major determinants in each causal level.