296 EVERY SOCIETY UNEDUCATED IN HUMAN RIGHTS IS EASILY TRICKED BY CHARLATANS. (adapted from Condorcet)
When asked “What should we do about human rights?” Voltaire answered, “Let the people know them”. 1. I am convinced…
295 PEOPLE HAVE RIGHTS, BUT THAT IMPLIES LITTLE IF THEY LACK A SPECIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT MEANS IN PRACTICAL TERMS. (part 2 of 2)
It is better to light a light than to complain about darkness. (Confucius) Capacity building for action 16. For capacity…
294 PEOPLE HAVE RIGHTS, BUT THAT IMPLIES LITTLE IF THEY LACK A SPECIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT MEANS IN PRACTICAL TERMS. (part 1 of 2)
It is better to light a light than to complain about darkness. (Confucius) [I will illustrate the implications of this…
293 MANY PEOPLE IN DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES STILL DO NOT REALLY CARE ABOUT ADOPTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK. THEY ‘FEAR’ IT WILL LEAD TO A POLITIZATION OF THE HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE…
It is easy to be a revolutionary at 20, but difficult to be one for 20 years. 1. The word…
292 WHAT CAN WE DO TO INTENTIONALLY SHAPE OUR COLLECTIVE DESTINY? (part 2 of 2)
The future is now 22. Scenario One: Doctors love high tech gadgets and treatments; nothing wrong about this love affair.…
291 WHAT CAN WE DO TO INTENTIONALLY SHAPE OUR COLLECTIVE DESTINY? (part 1 of 2)
1. Our collective destiny is not in our hands. It is in the hands of a handful of powerful agencies…
290 THERE IS A WRONG USE OF VERBS WHEN REFERRING TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK. WE DO NOT SAY ‘ENCOURAGE’, ‘LOBBY’, ‘DISCUSS’ OR ‘UNDERTAKE EFFORTS TO’; WE SAY ‘DEMAND’ –AND FOR THAT WE EMPOWER
-As the French would say: Human rights are “difficilement opposables”, but are also “difficilement imposables”. -People have the right to…
289 THE CORNERSTONE OF EQUALITY AND OF HUMAN RIGHTS IS TO VALUE ALL PERSONS EQUALLY.
-Inequalities are staring us in the face now, but will be shouting at us after MDGs-year 2015. (C. Gore) -Once…
288 HUMAN RIGHTS ARE COMPELLING IN THE ABSTRACT, BUT IMPOSSIBLE IN PRACTICE AS LONG AS THERE IS NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
1. Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) both serve accountability purposes, but must be directed towards human rights standards and principles if…
287 IN HUMAN RIGHTS WORK, IT IS THE HIGHLY UNEQUAL RELATIONS OF POWER THAT SEVERELY LIMIT THE TERMS OF CITIZENS’ ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND REPRESENTATION.
1. Oppressed people that lack the capacity for collective action are historically doomed. That is where empowerment comes-in in human…