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The vindication of human rights is a critical challenge of a new century. Yet, there is much contestation over rights in a globalizing, post 9/11 world, as human rights ideas come into contact with different cultures and with societies in varying stages of development. Leaders of government and civil society, and the academic world, are in need of policy and normative frameworks for treading the way forward in responding to these global challenges. Written by a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2003-2004), this book is a much needed, short and accessible introduction to the key human rights concepts, the current debates, strategies and institutions for taking forward the global implementation of human rights.
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Contemporary Human Rights Ideas
The vindication of human rights is a critical challenge of a new century. Yet, there is much contestation over rights in a globalizing, post-9/11 world, as human rights ideas come into contact with different cultures and with societies in varying stages of development. Leaders of government and civil society, and the academic world, are in need of policy and normative frameworks for treading the way forward in responding to these global challenges. Written by a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (2003–4), this book is a much needed, short and accessible introduction to the foundational human rights ideas of our times and shows that every government is under international obligation to respect and uphold universal human rights. In developing this argument, Bertrand G. Ramcharan answers the following questions: Where have rights come from? Have different societies contributed to the development of ideas of law, justice, and rights? Who determines what a right is? What does it mean that all are entitled to enjoy rights equally under international law? What does the concept of international protection of human rights mean and who can implement it? How can we advance the quest for justice for the victims of gross violations of human rights? Bertrand G. Ramcharan is Professor at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva.
Routledge Global Institutions Edited by Thomas G. Weiss The CUNY Graduate Center, New York, USA and Rorden Wilkinson University of Manchester, UK
About the Series The Global Institutions Series is designed to provide readers with comprehensive, accessible, and informative guides to the history, structure, and activities of key international organizations. Every volume stands on its own as a thorough and insightful treatment of a particular topic, but the series as a whole contributes to a coherent and complementary portrait of the phenomenon of global institutions at the dawn of the millennium. Books are written by recognized experts, conform to a similar structure, and cover a range of themes and debates common to the series. These areas of shared concern include the general purpose and rationale for organizations, developments over time, membership, structure, decision-making procedures, and key functions. Moreover, current debates are placed in historical perspective alongside informed analysis and critique. Each book also contains an annotated bibliography and guide to electronic information as well as any annexes appropriate to the subject matter at hand. The volumes currently published or under contract include:
The United Nations and Human Rights (2005) A guide for a new era by Julie Mertus (American University)
The UN General Assembly (2005) by M.J. Peterson (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
The UN Secretary General and Secretariat (2005) by Leon Gordenker (Princeton University)
Internal Displacement (2006) Conceptualization and its consequences by Thomas G. Weiss (The CUNY Graduate Center) and David A. Korn
United Nations