152 JONSSON’S CREDO* (part 1 of 2)
Some general truisms A human right is both a right to something and a right against somebody. Human rights (HR) dignify rather than victimize or patronize people….plus they make people…
151 HUMAN RIGHTS HAVE TO BE A CORE COMPONENT OF THE PROMOTION OF DEMOCRACY
Today, too much emphasis is placed on representative rather than direct democracy. We forget that the beginnings of democratic development in Europe were not marked by elections, but by struggle…
150 FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS, MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: WORKING AT CROSS-PURPOSES?
Who will live and who will die has already been decided by the economic structures brought about by globalization (P. John) These days, bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) are totally…
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 c) the principle of equity, you must accept that this…
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 to promote the human rights-based framework (HRBF) are actually often using…
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 best known group right; it sees people-who-are-poor as a group…
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 activists are repeatedly faced with the need to figure out…
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 well as a heavy load of preventable ill-health, malnutrition and…
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 it: The majority of laws in a country are passed…