Solid Organizations in a Liquid World (original) (raw)
Related papers
The uniqueness of human rights activism
Human rights activism stems from a reaction to a situation or state of existence that ‘ought not to happen’, the response being the activist’s attempt to effect change. ‘What ought not to happen’ is the abuse of human rights, that is, where people are subjected to the deliberate shattering of their dignity, such that for all intents and purposes they have become de-humanised, their sense of their own humanity snuffed out, extinguished. It is in this context that the human rights activist reacts, then is compelled to act. This paper makes the contention that human rights activism is unique, distinguished from other forms of activism not only by the enormity of ‘what ought not to happen’, but by several additional, interlinked dimensions. I will discuss three of these, which I describe as follows: enabling the recovery of voice and agency for sufferers of abuse; encountering the human capacity for evil; and – somehow – retaining hope in the face of a seemingly never-ending parade of human rights abuses, the continuance of which challenges the legitimacy of law itself. Each dimension has its own set of ethical and practical dilemmas, which we will explore in this paper. Together, these dimensions make human rights activism nothing less – nor more profound – than an expression of the value of life itself, not perhaps as it is lived, but as it could be lived. NOTE: This is an unpublished paper. Please do not quote or cite it without my prior permission.
Millennium, 2019
How can we study the politics of human rights activism in violent social conflicts? International Relations scholarship has long neglected the ambiguous political relationships between human rights activism and violent social conflicts. Addressing this gap requires new research methodologies that place the focus not on the normative or legal dimensions of human rights, but in how their usage constitutes the political. In this article I argue that using post-foundational discourse theory makes visible ‘politics-as-ruptures’ that locate the political function of human rights activism precisely in the resistance to representations of violence in conflict discourses. I analyse this political function by asking how activists translate human rights norms, transform conflict discourses, and thereby contest power relations. As examples, the article presents three types of discursive politics that I studied in Colombia. These examples point out further pathways to pose empirical questions about the roles of human rights activism in transforming social conflicts. ¿Cómo podemos estudiar la política del activismo en favor de los derechos humanos en los conflictos sociales de carácter violento? Los estudios académicos sobre relaciones internacionales han desatendido, desde hace mucho tiempo, las ambiguas relaciones políticas existentes entre el activismo en favor de los derechos humanos y los conflictos sociales de carácter violento. Para solucionar este problema, se haría necesario implementar nuevas metodologías de investigación que se centren, no tanto en las dimensiones normativas o jurídicas de los derechos humanos, sino en la manera en que su uso adquiere un carácter político. En este artículo se argumenta, por tanto, que el uso de la teoría posfundacional del discurso visibiliza las "políticas como forma de ruptura" que ubican la función política del activismo en favor de los derechos humanos dentro del ámbito de la resistencia respecto a las representaciones de violencia en los discursos referentes al conflicto. De esta manera se hace un análisis a fondo de esta función de la política planteando la cuestión de cómo los activistas interpretan las normas sobre derechos humanos, transforman los discursos del conflicto y, en consecuencia, refutan las relaciones de poder. El artículo presenta, a modo de ejemplos, tres tipos de políticas discursivas que he tenido la ocasión de investigar en Colombia; ejemplos que muestran otros caminos posibles para el examen empírico de los diferentes papeles del activismo en favor de los derechos humanos, visto como agente importante en la transformación de los conflictos.
Globalizations, 2004
A new cartography of geopolitical and corporate interests is reshaping the international order after September 11, calling into question the state's ability to secure fundamental rights for its citizens and to preserve participatory democracy. If civil society tends, among human rights activists, to be the preferred venue to articulate human rights concerns against the state and other powerful entities, one
Human Rights Activism and the (De-)securitization of the ‘Other’
Politikon: IAPSS Journal of Political Science, 2016
The article contributes to the scholarly debate through casting light on the (de-)securitizing character of human rights invocations by civil society organizations (CSOs) in ethno-political conflicts. The securitization concept is an innovative tool for understanding the effects of human rights activism on inter-group relationships: A securitizing move asserts an existential threat to a reference object and demands all necessary means to prevent it. Securitization reinforces the hostile 'self'-'other' conflict divide and, thus, contributes to violent escalation. Reversing securitization necessitates de-securitizing communication challenging the portrayal of the 'other' as a threat. Asking under which conditions human rights CSOs issue a securitizing or desecuritizing move, puts the interface between contextual factors, organizational behavior, and political opportunity structure at the center of interest. The empirical part examines two human rights organizations in the Zapatista conflict, highlighting the influence of the social capital from which the CSOs emerge and the applied discursive strategies.
The Quest for Status: Brazil’s Activism in the UN Human Rights Council 2006–2020
Anuario Latinoamericano – Ciencias Políticas y Relaciones Internacionales, 2021
The paper seeks to investigate changes in Brazil's activism within the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) between 2006 and 2020 and addresses the modifications of status-seeking strategies (of social mobility, creativity, and competition) applied by the state within this international body. My claim is that Brazil under the Bolsonaro administration chose the role of the defender of the faith advocating for a recreation of the global human rights protection system over being a good international citizen committed to the maintenance and development of this system. This role was selected in conformity with a populist political agenda based on a conservative set of values that the state's diplomacy had to promote. The changes, exemplified by Brazil's conduct within the HRC since 2019, undermined the state's prestige and moral authority that led to status losses.
Brazilian Political Science Review , 2023
This article looks into Amnesty International's most controversial issue expansion, the incorporation of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCR) in its mission statement. It starts with a discussion on global frames drawing from the sociology of transnational movements to reflect on the weight of the North-South dichotomy in AI’s understanding of human rights as expressed in its most relevant documents. To this end, we reviewed the annual reports published by the organization from 2001 to 2018 using issue-oriented category-based content analysis, focusing on the parts of the reports dedicated to Brazil every year. We observed that, while national contexts and local sections do matter, the issues AI’s traditional northern sections identify as top priorities remain a structuring aspect in how Amnesty International frames human rights. We therefore observe how relevant international dichotomies are in international non-governmental organizations.
From the rights-based perspective - Claiming a grassroots voice in UN human rights treaty bodies
Indiana International Human Rights Law Bulletin, 2009
This paper discusses the role and challenges confronting non-governmental organizations in monitoring and enforcing human rights treaties from a rights-based perspective. It aims to thresh out and further strengthen the existing initiatives on the part of NGOs to confront state actors on the crucial issue of their human rights accountability before the international community as represented by the various human rights treaty bodies or committees.
Global Studies Quarterly, 2022
How do human rights activists imagine transitional justice amid sociopolitical conflicts that surface after peace agreements? Since its inception in the 2016 peace accords, Colombia’s renewed endeavor to come to terms with its violent past has been overshadowed by massive protests and political polarization. In this article, I argue that populism, defined as a grid of intelligibility to make sense of frustrated demands and engage in politics, can help us understand the protest discourses of human rights defenders on transitional justice as they emerge from experiences with political marginalization and broken state promises. Based on interviews during six months of fieldwork in different conflict-affected regions, I contend that human rights defenders imagine transitional justice in terms of a larger political struggle that exceeds justice for past atrocities and can be described through three tropes that both resound with and challenge populism debates: truth as the frontier of political confrontation with right-wing elites, the “rights-defending victim”as a form of popular subjectivity and political underdog, and liberal overhaul of corrupted democratic institutions. Conceptually, my reconstruction of activist discourses serves a two-fold purpose: it bridges debates on transitional justice and contentious politics, and constructively challenges the ostensible incompatibility of human rights and populism. Comment les militants des droits de l’homme imaginent-ils la justice transitionnelle au coeur des conflits socio-politiques qui émergent après des accords de paix? Depuis son apparition dans les accords de paix de 2016, l’effort renouveléde la Colombie àfaire face àson passéviolent a étéassombri par des manifestations massives et une polarisation politique. Dans cet article, je soutiens que le populisme, défini comme une grille d’intelligibilitépermettant de donner un sens aux demandes frustrées et de s’engager en politique, peut nous aider àcomprendre les discours de protestation des défenseurs des droits de l’homme sur la justice transitionnelle, car ils émergent d’expériences de marginalisation politique et de promesses d’État non tenues. Je me base sur des entretiens menés pendant six mois de travail de terrain dans différentes régions affectées par des conflits et je soutiens que les défenseurs des droits de l’homme imaginent la justice transitionnelle en termes de lutte politique plus large qui dépasse la justice pour les atrocités passées et peut être décrite par trois tropes qui résonnent avec les débats sur le populisme et les défient: la véritéen tant que frontière de la confrontation politique avec les élites de droite, la «victime défendant ses droits »en tant que forme de subjectivitépolitique et de perdante politique, et la refonte libérale des institutions démocratiques corrompues. D’un point de vue conceptuel, ma reconstitution des discours des militants sert un objectif en deux volets: elle établit une passerelle entre les débats sur la justice transitionnelle et les politiques litigieuses, et elle remet en question de manière constructive l’incompatibilitéapparente entre les droits de l’homme et le populisme. ¿Cómo imaginan los activistas de derechos humanos la justicia transicional entre los conflictos sociopolíticos que surgen luego de los acuerdos de paz? Desde sus inicios en los acuerdos de paz en 2016, el empeño renovado de Colombia para asimilar su pasado violento ha sido opacado por las protestas masivas y la polarización política. En el presente artículo, sostengo que el populismo (definido como una red de inteligibilidad para que demandas frustradas cobren sentido y para participar en la política) puede ayudarnos a entender los discursos de protesta por parte de defensores de los derechos humanos sobre la justicia transicional, ya que surgen de experiencias con marginalización política y promesas estatales rotas. Con base en un trabajo de campo de seis meses con entrevistas en diferentes regiones afectadas por el conflicto, puedo afirmar que los defen- sores de los derechos humanos piensan en la justicia transicional en términos de una lucha política más grande que excede la justicia de atrocidades del pasado y que se puede describir mediante tres tropos que resuenan con los debates populistas al mismo tiempo que los desafían: la verdad como la frontera de la confrontación política con élites de derecha; la «víctima defensora de derechos»como una forma de subjetividad popular y desamparado político; la renovación liberal de las insti- tuciones democráticas corruptas. Teóricamente, mi reconstrucción de los discursos activistas cumple con un objetivo doble: conciliar los debates sobre justicia transicional y política contenciosa, y desafiar de forma constructiva la incompatibilidad evidente de los derechos humanos y el populismo.
2019
In December 2018, the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) across the globe pledge to bolster their support for human rights defenders amidst a growing climate of threats and reprisals. While adopting the Marrakech Declaration and reaffirming the principles of Paris Declaration, NHRIs recognized that "Human rights defenders have a positive, important and legitimate role in contributing to the realisation of all human rights, at the local, national, regional and international levels,". The National Human Rights Commission of India too, in its recent workshop organized in June 2019 observed that human rights defenders play a crucial role in a democracy and that the Commission is endeavored to create the enabling environment for the safeguard of human rights of defenders. Yet, the situation in India is that human rights defenders have been targeted, attacked, harassed, threatened and have been charged in false cases by both the state and the non-state actors including police, armed groups and private actors. The mighty bureaucratic state apparatus abuses all its power to crush any resistance. More specifically, over the recent years, the role of the state has been transforming from the `welfare’ regime to the capitalist neoliberal order, therefore a situation is created where common people are forced to resist. But those ruling elite exploit all their might and resources to make sure that it sends the loud message that the dissent will not be tolerated. The elitist, caste-based, majority-linked misogynist hegemony oiled by inequality of division of capital is destroying the idea of the diverse plural country. The scale of violation and abuse of power by the state and not state actors is increasing over the years. The situation is that those who have been advocating for the rights of the marginalized and indigenous communities are those who have been facing grave onslaught of threats. Some have been shot dead, others have been implicated in the false cases, facing censorship, physically assaulted, kidnapped, involved in the unjust prosecution, unlawful, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, unauthorized searches, financial threat of losing livelihoods or are being intimidated. Those working on the issues such as caste-based discrimination, environment, land rights, right to information, business and human rights are particularly vulnerable to undue arbitrary intimidation, arrest, threat, restriction and detention. Poets, journalists, artists, lawyers, activists, and many other such professionals are being specifically targeted because they are perceived as a threat by the ruling elite. These new forms of emerging challenges before the HRDs call for rigorous efforts to safeguard their rights. This write up looks at the emerging challenges and suggests that the institutions such as NHRC, the civil society and the international organizations should proactively act expeditiously to devise the measures to defend the HRDs.