Rights based approach

 At the heart of ActionAid's work is the belief that each of us - rich or poor - is entitled to the same basic human rights.

In fact, securing rights is the missing link between the world's rich and poor. It's the key to ending poverty.

People living in poverty are often treated as less than human. Robbed of their dignity and sense of equality, they often feel they have no rights.

VIDEO: Watch an ActionAid documentary about the practice of manual scavenging in India and how ending it is a human rights issue.

We believe people who live in poverty should understand their experiences in terms of human rights abuses and violations - not as a result of their own failings.

By taking a rights based approach to development, we are better positioned to help poor people stand up and claim their rights and put an end to poverty in their own lives.

The most effective way for people living in poverty to claim, secure and enjoy their human rights is to organise and mobilise with others, have a voice and develop their power to negotiate.

ActionAid's work, therefore, centres around six priority areas:

• womens and girls' rights
• the right to education
• the right to food
• the right to just and democratic governance
• the right to human security in conflict and emergencies
• the right to life and dignity in the face of HIV and AIDS