NGOs, rights-based approaches and the potential for progressive development in local contexts: constraints and challenges in northern Ghana

Abstract

This article examines the potential of rights-based approaches to contribute to progressive development in contexts marked by poverty, inequality and social exclusion. Using the Belim Wusa Development Agency (BEWDA), a rights-promoting NGO operating with poor communities in north-east Ghana, as a case study, the research explores how local organisations can help communities articulate claims, exercise greater agency and seek recognition of their rights. The study finds that rights-based approaches can strengthen the participation and activism of disadvantaged groups and support communities in making legitimate demands on institutions and authorities. However, these gains are often partial and constrained by existing structures of power. Particular challenges arise from the coexistence of decentralised local government and traditional authority, both of which shape access to resources and decision-making. The article concludes that although locally focused rights struggles can produce important improvements, broader structural inequalities and dominant power relations may remain largely unchanged.