Assessing International Funding Allocation for Child-Rights Based Projects: the case of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is one of the most ratified international law instruments of the history. It prescribes the allocation of resources to support the realization of the rights in the Convention. Yet, there is limited evidence on the incorporation of a rights-perspective in the development field. This research is divided in two parts, the first puts forward a theoretical discussion of the implementation of a human rights-based approach (HRBA) in the development practice, while in the second part, a qualitative interpretative analysis of governmental briefs, reports and policy documents is conducted to identify motivations, priorities and the decision-making process behind funding child rights-related projects by the Swedish international development cooperation agency (Sida). The research reflects upon the rationing of the children as right-holders and discusses Sida’s main partner, justification for support and implementation of a HRBA. This research findings provide a glance over a rights approach to development and contributes on aid transparency by tracing donor motivations and flows of resources, which can be especially useful to institutions in the development field aiming to explore potential partnership with Sida.