444. HUMAN RIGHTS: COMPLIANCE OR DEFIANCE?
-Just as even the most determined athlete cannot overcome the limits of the human body, we cannot escape the limits of our moral responsibilities. (Adam Waytz) -One humanity? Yes, but…
443. APPLYING THE HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK IS NOT ‘A’ DEVELOPMENT ALTERNATIVE; IT IS ‘THE’ ROAD TO AN ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. (PHM Latin America)
A bit of history: Human rights from then to now 1. Powerful barons in the year 1215 (the Year of the Magna Carta), the advancing bourgeoisie of the eighteenth century,…
442. THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRATIC CONTROL AND THE PROTECTION OF COLLECTIVE HUMAN RIGHTS INTERESTS CALLS FOR FAIRER HISTORICAL TOOLS OF ANALYSIS, TOOLS THAT RESPECT, PROTECT AND FULFIL THESE INTERESTS.
-The world we know today is merely a story someone has told us, but it is not the true story we need to make sense of millennia-long oppressions. (Paulo Coelho,…
441. GLOBAL HEALTH, HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE CHALLENGES OF NEOLIBERAL POLICIES.
Mea culpa on behalf of me and my colleagues? 1. In all truth, the human rights (HR) community has not yet developed a truly effective strategy to dealing with globalization.…
440. HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM IS A WAY OF BEING, NOT A DISCIPLINE.
-The struggle against inequality, against human rights violations and against poverty calls for activists willing to struggle for life. -Without conflict there is no progress. (William Blake) -The challenge activists…
439. THE UNITED NATIONS APPROACH TO HUMAN RIGHTS IS IN NEED OF A PARADIGM SHIFT.
1. Specialized UN agencies are supposed to take international action for the achievement of the human rights (HR) recognized in UN covenants. With a few exceptions, most notably ILO, specialized…
438. THERE ARE INDEED WAYS IN WHICH THE RIGHT TO HEALTH CAN AID PRIORITY SETTING. (Benedict Rumbold)
Fair priority setting is essential to the realization of the right to health. 1. Achieving justice in health-care priority setting involves applying a range of substantive ethical and ideological principles…
437. THE STORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS IS FOREMOST A HISTORY OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THEIR STRUGGLES. (ESCR-net)
Where we came from Having concentrated too long on the basic human needs approach was a time consuming diversion from any serious attempt to change the prevailing unjust order. 1.…
436. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS ARE NOT A MYTH! …BUT MYTHS KEEP US FROM ENDING THEM. (Food First)
-To better learn from purported development miracles, it is necessary to demystify them. (Jomo Sundaram) -Myths about human rights are like zombies that never seem to die. It is only…
435. TWO EVILS HAUNT US: THE ABUSE BY THE POWERFUL AND THE IGNORANCE OF THE MASSES OF THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS.
-As relates to the abuse of power, take the issue of transnational corporations (e.g., ‘Big Food’): As evident from their trade associations and non-governmental front organizations, they work as a…