Fighting for Human Rights

In a world that is increasingly disillusioned with formal politics, people are no longer prepared to wait for governments and international institutions for act on human rights concerns. This book identifies activism as a key means of realising human rights and as a new form of politics. Fighting for Human Rights documents and compares successful high profile campaigns to cancel debt in the developing world, ban landmines and set up the International Criminal Court as well as emerging...
More Description

In a world that is increasingly disillusioned with formal politics, people are no longer prepared to wait for governments and international institutions for act on human rights concerns. This book identifies activism as a key means of realising human rights and as a new form of politics. Fighting for Human Rights documents and compares successful high profile campaigns to cancel debt in the developing world, ban landmines and set up the International Criminal Court as well as emerging campaigns that focus on HIV/AIDS, environmental justice, democratisation and blood diamonds. Motivated by diverse international movements, these campaigns aim to establish international agreements that will become the basis for processes of monitoring and enforcement. This book asks how has this has and can be done. It examines the strategies used and discusses the crucial issue of how formalisation of agreements can be made a stepping-stone to implementation rather than an end in itself, sapping campaigns of their dynamism. This important work is an essential read for everyone interested in the pressing issue of upholding human rights and the assistance that civil society can provide.