The Global Citizenship Commission was convened, under the leadership of former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the auspices of NYU's Global Institute for Advanced Study, to re-examine the spirit and stirring words of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The result - this volume - offers a 21st-century commentary on the original document, furthering the work of human rights and illuminating the ideal of global citizenship. What does it mean for each of us to be members of a global community? Since 1948, the Declaration has stood as a beacon and a standard for a better world. Yet the work of making its ideals real is far from over. Hideous and systemic human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated at an alarming rate around the world. Too many people, particularly those in power, are hostile to human rights or indifferent to their claims. Meanwhile, our global interdependence deepens. Bringing together world leaders and thinkers in the fields of politics, ethics, and philosophy, the Commission set out to develop a common understanding of the meaning of global citizenship - one that arises from basic human rights and empowers every individual in the world. This landmark report affirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and seeks to renew the 1948 enterprise, and the very ideal of the human family, for our day and generation.
Author(s): Paul Boghossian, Gordon Brown, Diane C. Yu
Edition: 1st Edition
Publisher: Open Book Publishers
Year: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 146
Tags: United Nations: General Assembly, Human Rights, History
Contents......Page 6
Glossary......Page 10
Acknowledgments......Page 20
The Long and Influential Life of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights......Page 24
The Evolving Understanding of Rights......Page 25
Limitations and Derogations......Page 27
Social and Economic Rights......Page 28
Responsibility for Human Rights......Page 29
State of play on representative rights......Page 30
UN system of human rights implementation......Page 31
National and regional legal systems......Page 32
Sovereignty......Page 33
Human Rights and a Global Ethic......Page 34
Preamble......Page 36
1.1 History of the UDHR......Page 40
1.2 Affirming and protecting the UDHR......Page 42
1.4 The enduring relevance of the UDHR......Page 43
1.5 Legal status......Page 45
1.6 Foundational principles......Page 46
1.7 Universality......Page 47
1.8 Interconnectivity of rights......Page 49
2. The Evolving Understanding of Rights......Page 50
a. The rights of women......Page 51
b. The rights of children......Page 52
c. The rights of the disabled, including the profoundly disabled......Page 54
d. Rights related to sexual orientation......Page 55
e. The rights of prisoners......Page 56
a. The right to national self-determination, including regional autonomy and subsidiarity......Page 57
d. The rights of peoples prejudiced at the national or communal level by climate change......Page 58
a. Migration......Page 59
b. Statelessness......Page 61
d. Corruption......Page 62
e. Privacy from state or corporate electronic surveillance......Page 63
g. Extreme poverty and deep economic inequality......Page 64
h. Healthcare......Page 65
i. A safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment......Page 66
2.4 An open task......Page 67
3.1 Adequacy of Article 29 account of limitations......Page 68
3.2 Derogation of rights in national or international emergencies......Page 70
3.3 Regulation of the use of force......Page 71
4.1 The importance of social and economic rights......Page 74
4.2 Relation to availability of resources......Page 76
4.3 Responsibilities for social and economic rights......Page 77
4.4 Poverty reduction and other human rights......Page 80
5. Responsibility for Human Rights......Page 82
5.1 The special role of states......Page 83
5.2 Other entities......Page 84
c. Corporations......Page 85
d. Private persons......Page 87
5.3 Responsibilities of rights-bearers......Page 88
5.4 No closed model of responsibility......Page 90
6.1 Introduction......Page 92
6.2 State of play on representative rights......Page 93
a. Anti-slavery (Article 4)......Page 94
b. Anti-torture (Article 5)......Page 95
c. Free expression (Article 19) and free association (Article 20)......Page 97
d. Education (Article 26)......Page 99
e. Summary......Page 101
i. Implement the recommendations of UN human rights mechanisms......Page 102
ii. Enhance the OHCHR’s field presence......Page 103
iii. Raise human rights concerns for consideration by the UN Security Council......Page 104
v. Harness technology to enhance human rights accountability......Page 105
b. National and regional legal systems......Page 106
i. The UDHR and human rights education for all......Page 108
ii. The UDHR and human rights education since 1948......Page 109
iv. Advancing transformative human rights education......Page 110
a. General (human rights as limits on sovereignty)......Page 111
b. Sanctions, denunciations, and other measures......Page 112
c. Responsibility to Protect......Page 113
7. Human Rights and a Global Ethic......Page 116
Appendix A:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights......Page 120
Appendix B:
Members of the Commission......Page 128
Appendix C:
Members of the Philosophers’ Committee......Page 142
