Carnegie Council

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Articles

Introduction: Silence Breaking: The Women's Dimension of the Human Rights Box 08/06/00
Lack of resources, lack of political will, and entrenched systems of patriarchy challenge the human rights movement’s ability to protect the rights of women.

Basic Christian Communities: Reaching Women in Brazil's Popular Sectors 08/06/00
The Basic Christian Communities (CEBs) provide a space for discussion of patriarchy and other social justice concerns. They have helped women to reflect upon their own understandings of themselves and to bond in common cause, inspiring them to make human rights ideals a reality.
Author(s): Lúcia Ribeiro

Women's Rights in the Context of Insurgency: A Report from Northeast India 08/06/00
India’s Northeast is under a near-constant state of emergency, with tensions frequently erupting between locals and the Indian security forces. L. Anna Pinto examines role and contribution women's rights can have in this hostile region.
Author(s): L. Anna Pinto

The Hope of Human Rights in Combating Welfare "Reform" 08/06/00
Because the majority of Americans have not accepted the international human rights framework, the most effective course of action is to work with low-income families and seize opportunities for media exposure and public forums to counter harmful and discriminatory misperceptions.
Author(s): Sandra Chapin

Fifteen Years after the World Charter for Prostitutes' Rights 08/06/00
The fight for sex workers’ rights is a difficult one because few NGOs and human rights organizations understand the nature of sex work or are prepared to support the participation of sex workers in arenas where their rights are decided.
Author(s): Penelope Saunders

Ending Female Genital Mutilation without Human Rights: Two Approaches-Sierra Leone 08/06/00
It is more effective to avoid the cultural and religious rationales of FGM and instead concentrate on the associated health risks, thus creating a more comfortable atmosphere in which to discuss this highly charged issue.
Author(s): Melron Nicol-Wilson

Ending Female Genital Mutilation without Human Rights: Two Approaches-Egypt 08/06/00
FGM can be dismantled by persistent questioning. An appeal informed by an understanding of human rights, but which draws upon local cultural and religious notions of common sense, justice, and dignity is often the best way to change the cultural norms that violate them.
Author(s): Nadia Wassef

The "Capabilities" Advantage to Promoting Women's Human Rights 08/06/00
Nussbaum's "capabilities approach" clearly articulates the motivating concerns and ultimate goals of social justice, and provides a benchmark with which to measure what it means to secure certain rights.
Author(s): Martha Nussbaum

Reflections of a Global Women's Activist 08/06/00
The focus of criminal justice systems on “finding the bad guy,” without a comprehensive analysis of what perpetuates abuses, often renders women as “victims.” Creating the economic, social, and political conditions that lead to the securing of rights is as important as finding the violators and seeking redress.
Author(s): Susan Bazilli

About Human Rights Dialogue

Human Rights Dialogue promotes a global discussion of human rights ideas and practices by presenting firsthand accounts of human rights issues as they arise within specific real-life contexts. In so doing, it helps to clarify the significant and ongoing evolution that is taking place within the human rights movement to make the human rights framework more relevant and effective in addressing the social, economic, and political challenges of the twenty-first century.

The entire publication is online, or you may purchase individual print copies.

Series One (1993–1998)examines all sides of the Asian values debate—the argument that Asian cultural values imply different human rights standards and priorities from those in the West.

Series Two(2000–2005)addresses the problem of the “human rights box”—the constraints that have enabled the human rights framework to gain currency among elites while limiting its advance among the most vulnerable. Specifically, the essays aim to locate the barriers to greater public legitimacy of human rights and to demonstrate how those barriers can be overcome.