149 MORAL PROGRESS DOES NOT EXIST; WE ARE NOT MORE MORAL TODAY THAN WHAT WE WERE A HUNDRED OR A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. (Primo Levi)
[When reading Levi, the Italian 20th century writer, I found a series of aphorisms, i.e., maxims that apply to the…
148 FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE, POWER IMBALANCES UNDERLIE HEALTH INEQUALITIES
If you recognize and agree with a) the indivisibility of rights, b) the equal importance of people’s socio-economic entitlements, and…
147 BECAUSE OF THEIR UNIVERSALITY, SOVEREIGNTY MUST SOMETIMES COME SECOND TO HUMAN RIGHTS.
Are we here to make a point or are we here to make a difference? (Kul Gautam) NGOs purporting…
146 GROUP RIGHTS AND COLLECTIVE RIGHTS ARE NOT THE SUM OF INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS.
We do not need to define ‘group rights’ and ‘collective rights’. They are already well defined. The Right-to-Development is the…
145 WORKING WITH THE MARGINALIZED AND THE EXCLUDED, AND ATTENDING TO THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS NEEDS, REQUIRES TIME AND PASSION.
We all know that it is easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them. Human rights…
144 PROGRAMS FOR THE POOR MOST OFTEN ARE POOR PROGRAMS: REDUCING THE INCOME GAP BETWEEN THE POOR AND THE NON-POOR IS THE REAL CHALLENGE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS.
1. Long centuries of poverty and injustice have accumulated too many insatisfactions, too much misery and too much indignity, as…
143 POWER MAKES EVEN THE UGLIEST LOOK HANDSOME.
It is necessary from the very nature of things that power should be a check to power. (Montesquieu) Let’s face…
142 HUMAN RIGHTS ARE NO LONGER A-PREOCCUPATION-THAT-IS-BEST-LEFT-ASIDE FOR ‘OTHERS’ TO WORRY ABOUT
Human rights (HR) are based on the assumption that there are things that ought not to be done to any…
141 IT IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION TO SAY THAT THE HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH IS IN A DIFFERENT LEAGUE THAN OTHER APPROACHES TO DEVELOPMENT: IT IS THE ‘MAKE OR BREAK’ ISSUE OF OUR TIME.
The human rights-based approach (HRBA) signals a ‘new deal’ in the annals of development work. It shifts the focus from…
140 MANY STILL THINK HUMAN RIGHTS ARE ABOUT POLITICAL PRISONERS AND STREET DEMONSTRATIONS.
Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. This notion ignores the all important economic, social and cultural rights.…