Rights talk and rights practice: challenges for southern Africa

This report draws on research in conducted in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe between 2000 and 2003 as part of the Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa (SLSA) programme. It looks at the practice of rights claiming on the ground, in the context of 'legal pluralism' and complex, politicised institutional settings. Across the three countries a variety of rights provisions are provided legally and constitutionally. The report provides brief outlines of recent rights debates in the case study countries, highlighting similarities and differences. It examines competing discourses and framing of rights, and the 'messy' nature of property rights in many post-colonial societies. Reflections are made upon the politics of competing rights claims, and steps towards claiming and implementing rights are elaborated focussing on state perceptions; information, brokers and mediators; local power dynamics; administrative impediments to rights implementation; and resources and capacity. Several text 'boxes' provide practical examples illustrating the topics discussed. The examples included are mainly focussed around land rights in the respective countries, while one example focuses on access to free water in South Africa. Finally, a number of conclusions emerging from the work are summarised, regarding: the contribution of rights-based approaches in improving access to resources (e.g. water); problems with a western individualist approach in southern Africa; the complexity of the institutional context of rights claiming; the need for an emphasis on livelihoods survival of the poor; and reinforcement of state capacity, competence and legitimacy.