217 VALUES, POLITICS, DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS.
1. In this day and age, if one looks at the political spectrum in rich countries, value politics overshadow and outdo class politics. As a consequence, in most of these…
216 SICK, UNDERFED, UNDERPAID, DISCRIMINATED AND OVERLOOKED, THE EXCLUDED ARE AT THE CENTER OF HUMAN RIGHTS WORK.
Human rights work is about first greatly reducing –and then putting an end –to the dynamics of exclusion. 1. In human rights work, we see exclusion as no longer being…
215 SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER
The struggle of man against power is the struggle between memory and forgetfulness. (Milan Kundera). 1. We do not live in a just world. Delivering justice to those who are…
214 ACTIVISTS’ ACTIONS ARE NORMALLY MORE ENDURING WHEN DRIVEN NOT ONLY BY SELFLESS INTEREST, BUT ALSO BY A CERTAIN SENSE OF SELF-INTEREST. (A.R. Ghatak)
-Most of us are passionate about what we do. But the truth is that a good part of what we do does not matter to what we are passionate about…and…
26. Philanthrocapitalism
Conflicts of interest within philanthrocapitalism? * The term philanthrocapitalism is used to describe a growing movement which aims to harness the power of the market in order to achieve social…
213 BRING HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES OUT OF THE CLOSET. #
Implementing the human rights framework in a participatory way is equivalent to exercising direct democracy (as opposed to representative democracy which has basically left rights holders in the cold). 1.…
212 DEAR MR(S) PRESIDENT/PRIME MINISTER: ELEMENTS OF AN OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNMENT
As human rights workers, our loyalty is recognized when we can feel ashamed about the behavior of our own government. (F. Stern) We need to tell our leaders the truth,…
211 HUMAN RIGHTS ARE PART OF A NEVER-ENDING HUMAN STRUGGLE TO IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES AND TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCES OF PAST ABUSE. (part 2 of 2)
4. Human Rights Iron Laws on Advocacy: -The public advocacy we promote in HR work draws on five major sources: The power of people, direct grassroots experiences, popular information and…
210 HUMAN RIGHTS ARE PART OF A NEVER-ENDING HUMAN STRUGGLE TO IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES AND TO PREVENT REOCCURRENCES OF PAST ABUSE. (part 1 of 2)
-“Where there is a need, a human right is born”. (graffiti in a wall in Barriloche, Argentina). -Human rights apply to all people in all places at all times, a…
209 HEALTH CARE AS A RIGHT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW. (Part 3 of 3)
16. As rights activists, we are no longer going to go to beg for changes to be implemented; we are now going to demand them based on existing international law…