The Global Revolution in Human Rights
NC State Encore Program
January 24-February 28, 2011
Mondays, 9:00-10:30
Instructor: Marvin S. Soroos
Professor Emeritus, School of Public and International Affairs
North Carolina State University
soroos@ncsu.edu
Dr. Soroos retired in 2008 after teaching for 38 years at NC State University, twelve of which he served as department head. This Encore course draws upon a graduate course on International Human Rights Law he taught for the university's Master of International Studies Program, and a similar course he offered at the American University of Bulgaria in 2006.
Course Overview:
Remarkable progress has been made globally in defining and promoting human rights since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. While the lives of much of the world’s population have been enhanced by these international efforts, serious and widespread abuses of human rights continue in many countries. This course will survey the wide range of internationally recognized political/civil and economic/social/cultural rights, with democracy being examined as one of the basic political rights. The course will also explore the international legal processes through which human rights are defined, promoted, and enforced in the United Nations and regional international institutions, and how violations of human rights are monitored by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other nongovernmental organizations. The role of the United States in promoting human rights will also be critiqued.
Suggested Readings:
No general textbook is recommended, but articles and websites are suggested for those who would like to do additional reading on the week's topic. Most of the readings are available on-line and links are provided in the syllabus.
January 24, 2011 - Overview and Historical Perspectives (Outline) (Articles)
Suggested readings:
Selected quotations from Paul Lauren, The Evolution of International Human Rights: Visions Seen. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Human Rights" (Section 1)
Moira Rayner, "History of Universal Human Rights --Up to World War II"
Peter Bailey, "The Creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
Additional websites:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia, "Human Rights"
January 31, 2011 - International Law and Human Rights (Outline) (Articles)
Suggested readings:
United Nations, Treaty Reference Guide
Status of Major Human Rights Treaties
Lawrence C. Moss, Renewing America's Commitment to International Law, UNA-USA Occasional Paper, March 2010.
Additional websites:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, International Law
Amnesty International Chart of Ratification of Major Human Rights Treaties
Human Rights Watch, Status of United States Ratification of Human Rights Treaties
Summaries of 25 key human rights treaties (Millennium Report)
Summary of UN Agreements on Human Rights
February 7, 2011 - Civil and Political Rights (Outline) (Articles)
Suggested readings:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2010
Click on "Press Release," "Tables and Graphs," and "Map of Freedom"
Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 76, No. 6, Nov/Dec 1997, pp. 22-43
Additional websites:
Wikipedia Encyclopedia, "Freedom House"
Wikipedia Encyclopedia, "Democracy"
ACE Project of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems
February 14, 2011 - Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (Outline) (Articles)
Suggested readings:
Wikipedia, Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Social Rights" (section 3.4)
Wikipedia, Millennium Development Goals
George Perkovich, "Giving Justice Its Due," Foreign Affairs, Vol. 83, No. 3 (July/August 2005), pp. 79-93
Thomas Pogge, "World Poverty and Human Rights," Ethics & International Affairs, Vol. 19, No. 1, (2005), pp. 1-7
Additional websites:
United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2010
United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report - Map
United Nations Development Program, The Human Development Concept
United Nations, Millennium Development Goals: We Can End Poverty 2015
United Nations Development Programme, Millennium Development Goals
February 21, 2011 - The Status of Women (Outline) (Articles)
Suggested readings:
Wikipedia, Women's Rights
Wikipedia, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
Michelle Goldberg, "Hillary's Challenge: Would Putting Women First Make for Better Foreign
Policy?" American Prospect, July 16, 2009.
Michelle Goldberg, "Rights Versus Rites: When It comes to the Lives of Women around the Globe, Do local Traditions Ever Trump Human Rights," American Prospect, April 28, 2009.
Additional websites:
Wikipedia, Women's Suffrage
United Nations, The United Nations and the Status of Women
February 28, 2011 - Roles of International Institutions and Nongovernmental
Organizations (Outline) (Articles)
Suggested readings:
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "International Human Rights Law and Organizations" (Section 4)
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2011: A Facade of Action
Additional websites: