176 THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IS ALSO MDGs-SKEPTIC.
-Real life is more complex than MDG slogans; even if we get there by 2015, we will have achieved nothing more than isolated islands of progress in a sea of…
175 THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE IS GLOBALIZATION-SKEPTIC AND IFIs*-SKEPTIC. (*: International Financial Institutions)
1. In and through the process of Globalization, ‘what-people-allegedly-want’ is being manipulated by using the lure of consumerism –and that ends-up playing against human rights principles. Period. 2. In the…
174 GENDER EQUALITY IS NOT JUST A WOMEN’S ISSUE, BUT A DEVELOPMENT AND A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE.
In many poor countries, gender equality and women’s rights are considered a mere whim of rich countries or, worse, an expression of Western decadence. (H. Dembowski) A quick introductory glimpse…
173 HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ARE NO LONGER A PRIVATE AFFAIR, BECAUSE THEY NOW HAVE A POLITICAL DIMENSION.
Human rights violations are a long running saga and a straightjacket for sustainable development. (CETIM) 1. To understand them comprehensively, human rights violations have to be put in the context…
172 PHYSICAL CAPITAL WEARS OUT; SOCIAL CAPITAL DOES NOT. THE MORE IT IS USED IN EXERCISING DIRECT DEMOCRACY THE STRONGER IT GETS (e.g., to combat human rights violations).
-Democracy is a means, not an end. -Democracy is not a spectator sport. -The world is run by people that show up. Let us start this Reader debunking a couple…
171 MORE IRON LAWS THAT AFFECT HUMAN RIGHTS: USE THEM!
. General 1. Half truths are like half bricks: you
170 THE RESPECT OF THE RIGHT TO HEALTH IS A REFLECTION OF A SOCIETY’S COMMITMENT TO EQUITY AND JUSTICE.
1. The Human Rights Framework does not demand a ‘right to be healthy’; it does not ask governments to commit resources they do not have to the provision of health…
169 THE LACK OF FUNDING TO CARRY OUT NATIONAL OR LOCAL HUMAN RIGHTS ASSESSMENTS SHOULD NOT DELAY US IN LAUNCHING THEM!
1. Human Rights assessments are government- or civil society-led participatory processes that aim at diagnosing the human rights (HR) situation in any given country. 2. Human Rights assessments enable the…
168 DO STATISTICS SERVE THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAUSE WELL?
When the same data are pored over many times, there is a danger we will find patterns that are there by accident. (R. Rajan) 1. Statistics today essentially serve lead…
167 THE RECOGNITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS SUCH AS THEY ARE EXPRESSED IN INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR THEIR REALIZATION
-Human rights are timeless and are the expressions of fundamental entitlements of human beings. -Unless poor people are accorded their rights, their lives will inevitably be short, desperate and unfree.…