A/HRC/17/25 positive women; establishment of partnerships to support research, advocacy and lobbying; documentation of the experiences of HIV-positive women; engagement with the media around gender-sensitive reporting concerning HIV; creation of mechanisms of accountability through public hearings; and formulation of targeted strategies to address the vulnerability of women to HIV/AIDS at national and international levels. 48. The major improvements in the outcomes of the project attributable to the adoption of a human rights-based approach were largely due to the efforts around facilitating and securing the agency of women living with HIV/AIDS, which led to significant improvements in monitoring and accountability, a core element of the right to health framework. This is particularly evident in the continuing high-level participation of positive women in national and international initiatives relating to HIV, and the strong networks formed within India to allow for provision of technical assistance to these women. Ultimately, the advantage of this programmatic design is not only evident in terms of improved development outcomes; the changes in process demonstrate the inherent benefits in recognizing the dignity and equality of these women in the context of pursuing a broader development aim. Nevertheless, in not only ensuring their empowerment through participation, but in further utilizing it to achieve meaningful policy change, the practical benefits of adoption of various elements of a right to health framework in the development context are also seen. The approach taken also facilitated the identification of relevant national human rights laws, norms and standards that should be utilized in order for the State to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health of women living with HIV/AIDS, and the role of those women in holding the State accountable in this regard. This example demonstrates that United Nations agencies are in a unique position to facilitate capacitybuilding and education around human rights in pursuance of particular development aims. D. Benefits of human rights-based approaches to development 49. One key benefit of integrating human rights into development is the way it re-frames development, presenting its constituent components as entitlements and embracing the indivisibility and equal importance of all human rights.58 This has also been described as a creation of “claims and not charity”.59 In redefining the nature of the problem through incorporation of human rights, and the right to health framework in particular, a shift occurs to a more self-sustaining approach that imbues the former targets of development with genuine agency, and allows for realization of rights previously considered secondary, or less realizable. Member States of the United Nations have directly observed the value added by human rights in respect of development, noting, for instance, that development efforts “had become more systematic and meaningful, contributing to the enhancement of human dignity by encouraging people to become active participants in the development process”.60 50. Another benefit which human rights bring to development is guidance concerning the design and practical implementation of development programmes. For instance, one of the core requirements of a human rights-based approach is the requirement that processes are guided by human rights principles, as stated in the Common Understanding. For 58 59 60 Network, India and the Centre for Advocacy and Research in India” in UNDP & OHCHR, Lessons Learned From Rights-Based Approaches in the Asia-Pacific Region, Upala Devi Banerjee ed. (Bangkok, OHCHR, 2005), p. 176. Paul Gready, “Rights-based approaches to development: what is the value-added?” Development in Practice, vol. 18, No. 6 (November 2008), p. 737. Peter Uvin, Human Rights and Development (2004), p 129. E/CN.4/2005/WG.18/2, para. 18. 15