(image source: Bloomsbury)
Book abstract:
As human rights discourse increasingly focuses on analysing states and the institutions that promote and support the human rights machinery that states have created, this volume serves to recall that despite the growing size of the machinery and unwieldy nature of states, human rights began with real people. It samples a broad range of actors and localities where everyday people fought to ensure that the basic principles of human rights became a reality for all. This volume will give a face to the everyday people to whom credit is due for shaping human rights. It also responds to the perennial question of how to begin a career in human rights by highlighting that there is no single path into this dynamic field, a field built on the back of small initiatives by people across a broad spectrum of career paths.
Table of contents:
1. The Faces of Human Rights – An IntroductionMore information here.
Kasey McCall-Smith, Jan Wouters and Felipe Gómez Isa
PART I
LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH THE LAW OF NATURE AND THE PRISM OF EQUALITY
2. Bartolomé de las Casas (1485–1566): A Radical Humanitarian in the Age of the Great Encounter
Ignacio de la Rasilla3. John Locke (1632–1704): The Natural Law Philosopher
Cristina de la Cruz-Ayuso4. Olympe de Gouges (1748–1793): Impressively Ahead of Her Time:A Visionary, Daring Activist and Martyr
Teresa Pizarro Beleza and Helena Pereira de Melo5. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797): The Undutiful Daughter of the Enlightenment and Her Loud Demands for Justice
Dolores Morondo Taramundi6. Henry Dunant (1828–1910): Paving the Way for Contemporary International Humanitarian Law
Joana Abrisketa Uriarte7. Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948): Advocate of Duty, Pioneer of Human Rights
George Ulrich
PART II
IN THE SHADOW OF WAR: DEVELOPING UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS
8. Hersch Lauterpacht (1897–1960): The Visionary: Preparing the World for Human Rights
Eva Maria Lassen9. Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959): Father of the Genocide Convention
Adam Redzik10. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962): Driver of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Anya Luscombe and Barbara Oomen11. René Cassin (1887–1976): The Foot Soldier of Human Rights
Jan Wouters12. John Peters Humphrey (1905–1995): The Man Behind the First Draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
William Schabas
PART III
THE FIGHT AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN THE PLACES CLOSE TO HOME
13. Rosa Parks (1913–2005): Tired of Giving In
Kasey MCCall-Smith14. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr (1929–1968): A Visionary Citizen of the American South and the World
Vivek Bhatt15. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (1918–2013): Free at Last
Narnia Bohler-Muller16. Faith Bandler (1918–2015): Striving to Make Rights a Reality for All Human Beings
Michelle Burgis-Kasthala17. Angélica Mendoza Almeida de Ascarza (1929–2017): The Struggle of Mamá Angélica for the Victims of Enforced Disappearance in Peru
Elizabeth Salmón18. Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1959–): Daughter of Corn
Felipe Gómez Isa19. Victoria Lucia Tauli-Corpuz: A Life Spent Peacefully Advocating for Indigenous Peoples' Rights
Davinia Gómez-Sánchez20. Asma Jahangir (1952–2018): A Saviour of Democracy and Human Rights
Mikel Mancisidor
PART IV
NAVIGATING THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVISM
21. Seán MacBride (1904–1988): A Life at the Frontline
Dimitrios Kagiaros22. Peter Benenson (1921–2005): Pioneer of Contemporary Human Rights Activism
Stefaan Smis23. Max van der Stoel (1924–2011): The Indefatigable Traveller for Human Rights
Antoine Buyse24. Tadeusz Mazowiecki (1927–2013): The Human Rights Envoy of the Former Yugoslavia
Roman Wieruszewski25. James Earl 'Jimmy' Carter Jr (1924–): 'But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing': A Continuing Faith and Persistence in the Cause of Human Rights
Michael Stohl26. Peter Leuprecht (1937–): Human Dignity as a Lifetime Compass
Wolfgang Benedek27. Juan E Méndez (1944–): A Figurehead of the Fight Against Impunity for Grave Rights Violations
Elaine Webster28. Mary Robinson (1944–): A Woman of Meitheal
Rebecca Smyth
PART V
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THEIR DEFENDERS: MOVING FORWARD
29. Radhika Coomaraswamy (1953–): Standing Up for the Oppressed and Neglected
Ingrid Westendorp30. Gerard Quinn (1958–): A Powerhouse for Disability Human Rights
Anna Bruce and Anna Lawson31. David Kato (1964–2011): A Life Spent Defending the Human Rights of LGBTI People in Uganda
Aimar Rubio Llona32. Malala Yousafzai (1997–): A Portrait in Courage and Conviction
Gamze Erdem Türkelli33. Theo van Boven (1934–): Passing the Torch because People Matter
Manfred Nowak
