The Human Rights Workshop is a place for scholars to share research in progress as well as invite practitioners to share a particular challenge or reflect on lessons learned. Workshops will take place monthly starting in the Spring 2022 semester.
The first year’s theme will focus on the dramatic pushback of the against the post-World War II consensus on human rights.
The post-WWII consensus on human rights led to the creation of a field of international rights covenants, institutions and agreements, as well as generations of activists and practitioners who advocated for and upheld these principles. Human rights defenders on the ground could call upon international standards to bring condemnation of their national governments and support from Western governments. Does this model still work? Western political leaders are preoccupied with human rights issues at home or openly embrace human rights abusers abroad. Meanwhile, states around the world are turning against past covenants (such as the Rome Statute creating the International Criminal Court) or refusing to sign new ones (such as the Istanbul Convention against Domestic Violence.) Where does this consensus stand, and does it need to adapt to new political realities? Where does it leave human rights defenders on the ground, who are under extreme duress in many parts of the world. Do they continue to rely on this model or are they developing new innovative practices?
Once we examine the past and the current state of the field, future annual themes will focus on new boundaries of human rights, such as public health (for example, vaccine equity), the environment/climate change, and new technologies/AI.
Please stay tuned for our next year’s agenda.
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