The role of institutional factors on the implementation of the rights-based approach in the resettlement projects

The rapid augment of population and the increasing level of urbanization have caused an important challenge on the public infrastructure. In this context, governments around the world have implemented different development projects in order to cope with the necessities of the population on the cities. Colombia has not been the exception. One of the services that have been affected by this situation is the transportation system in the different cities. In this sense, due to the necessity to improve the urban transportation in different municipalities of the country, the National Government started the implementation of the National Project on Urban Mobility. In order to prepare the cities for the new transportation systems, the construction of different roads, central stations for the new buses, and other different infrastructure projects took place. Although these processes were performed by a public interest purpose, they generated involuntary displacement processes. This situation pointed out the necessity to start resettlement processes for compensating the affected people for their socio-economic losses. Different approaches have been used for the analysis of resettlement processes around the world; one of them is the rights-based approach. Most of the time this approach as Filmer-Wilson (2005:224) argued “goes no further than rhetoric”. However, and due to the importance of this approach, this study is focused on investigate how this approach can be applied in real situations, through institutional factors. In this sense, this research aims to analyze how the institutional factors can facilitate or constrain the application of the rights-based approach in resettlement projects. In order to achieve this main objective, this research has structured its findings in three different questions: i) how the rights-based approach has been included in norms and policies related with resettlement processes caused by development projects?, ii) what is the role that national and local organizations play in the application of the rights-based approach in resettlement processes caused by development projects?, and iii) in what extend the processes applied by local governments in resettlement processes follow the rights-based approach?. In order to answer the questions of how the norms, the institutional arrangement and the processes facilitate or constrain the application of the rights based approach, this research used an explanatory case study, specifically a holistic single case. The case study chosen was the resettlement process done by Megabus in El Plumon, a neighborhood in Pereira, Colombia. In this case, this research had into account the national and the local perspective through semi-structured interviews to national officials and experts, local officials and experts and community. Moreover, this study included a policy analysis to complement the findings. The principal findings were structured in terms of norm, the institutional arrangement and the processes and the relation of those factors with the five variables (universalism and inalienability, equality and non-discrimination, indivisibility and interdependence, participation and accountability) included such as part of the rights-based approach. In terms of the norms, there is clear that although there were enough general norms, those were scattered which pose a risk on the protection of affected people rights. In addition, the fact that the general laws did not include specific procedures, also constrain the application of the rights-based approach.