- Given unequal relations of power, ‘legality’ and ‘legitimacy’ are mere window-dressing. The claims of the more powerful are simply enforced by overt or covert coercion and repression. People’s tolerance of social, economic and political inequalities and inequities (and human rights violations) never cease to startle me. (As much as our own ‘conformity-and-good-behavior’ –that by now has become an essential feature of our-belonging-to-and-being-integrated-in the reigning development paradigm).
- Some kind of “wake-up-call” seems to be needed. And that is why social mobilization is needed. Without it, the marginalized somehow go on living with a chronic sense of insecurity caused by a) the exploitative processes eroding away their surplus, b) the essential resources they need to fulfill their rights not being made available to them, and c) the failure of governments to play a minimal human rights-protective role –all of this in turn caused by the exclusionary nature of the global political economy. That is why, through mobilizing the marginalized, we seek ways to eliminate all the exploitative and exclusionary mechanisms of the neo-liberal global political economy in the way that these mechanisms violate the rights of those being mobilized wherever they may be. It is in that way that human rights (HR) work ‘reintegrates’ the marginalized whose rights are being violated. And I am not saying this is easy…
- Our peers have to progressively be pulled-up to work on the issues that, unless resolved, will leave those whose rights are being violated with their rights still violated, say, by 2015. It is high time for us to discriminate between what has been and what ought to be, i.e., converting rhetoric into concrete work projects. We are not trying to find a sort of ‘a middle way’, but a full taking-in-charge of the HR problematique. For that to happen, as said before, our work ethics must be politicized.
To be on the cutting edge, involves leaving comfort zones and moving along un-treaded paths. Only choosing ‘winnable’, short-term campaigns simply makes us ‘look’ to be successful. Longer term, HR struggles have to be undertaken, because they are important in-and-by-themselves; they may not be immediately winnable; they are often long and arduous –and there may be no one easily identifiable opponent. Our success will ultimately come from the sum of small steps making incremental inroads that, in time, will have a cumulative impact; many of our successes in the past have been so achieved. (S. Rachagan)
- That is why a growing number of HR workers think that, in many instances, HUMAN RIGHTS SHOULD BE TERMED “PEOPLE’S RIGHTS”!! Such a terminology politicizes the concept in a way that “people’s rights” become a rallying point for social mobilization; it becomes a process that emancipates the voiceless directly involving them in the HR struggle, and gives them legitimacy in the sense of a truly popular democracy.
In short, people’s rights bring the concepts of voice, capacity and accountability to the fore, highlighting claim-holders’ and particularly duty-bearers’ roles and responsibilities.
- In preparing for this challenge, we should not underestimate the transformative impact of the use of the Internet. Why? Because the real challenge we face is that too many of us have not yet given our full attention and sufficient time and effort to HR work; …and the electronic super-highway can help us to network and to rally growing numbers of us towards action. A global organization must have in place consultation processes that enable broad participation from all corners of the world. BUT global consultation –if done in-only-one-language and merely-through-electronic-communication (which for many groups in LDCs is still a luxury)– can legitimately be questioned. And I do not (yet) have an answer for this legitimate caveat. I only know that this new medium must be used together with the traditional ones (newsletters, radio, newspapers, TV, face-to-face interactions).
- Acting as a coordinated network is a formidable challenge by itself, one we cannot pretend does not exist: But rise above it we must! Participatory and democratic processes at the center of networking do not guarantee consensus; in fact, they often reveal dissent; a common position can only be arrived-at with compromise. [Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one, Confucius would have said].
- In HR work, campaigning and capacity building are, therefore, mutually supportive strategies. We need to renew and reinvent the HR movement in a way that our efforts are always on behalf of those who need our solidarity most; failing to do so will mean that we risk becoming irrelevant. From now on, we need to move beyond lip service (and beyond these HR Readers…) and ensure that HR priorities are always reflected in the manner we allocate our time and the very limited resources we individually or collectively control.
- Things are happening slowly in this domain though. This Reader, I hope, is part of it. The challenge now is that the current flicker of hope bursts into a flame. *
- I am a firm believer that wo/man is so made that whenever something fires her/his soul, impossibilities vanish. (J. de La Fontaine)
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City