‘Rights are everything we don't have’: clashing conceptions of vulnerability and agency in the daily lives of Rwandan children and youth

Abstract

Rights-based approaches have been presented as the panacea to working with children deemed to be ‘at risk’, by shifting the emphasis from children as vulnerable beneficiaries to children as active participants. While rights-based programming has facilitated a conceptual shift, it is less clear what has been achieved in practice. Based upon research conducted in Rwanda, this article explores the influence of rights-based discourses on interventions with children and youth, arguing there are clashing conceptions of vulnerability and agency. Instead of a predetermined package, rights need to be embedded within everyday life, drawing on the experiences of children.