Human Rights: Towards a Global Values System

Human rights may seem like a simple concept—we all share basic rights, regardless of who we are, where we come from, and what we believe—yet within that concept are deep complexities. Human Rights: Towards a Global Values System gives careful consideration to human rights debates and issues around the world. We hope that understanding the past and present of human rights will help move us toward a future in which human rights are the universal values system truly shared by all people.

Written by Dr. Denise Ames, educator and president of the nonprofit Center for Global Awareness, Human Rights begins with an overview of the concept of human rights, including definitions, characteristics, and categories. It then looks at pivotal social movements in the history of human rights, among them the civil rights movement, women’s and LGBT rights, and indigenous rights. Violations of human rights are explored in the third and fourth chapters, with case studies on specific human rights violations including the Armenian Genocide and the Crisis in Darfur. Chapter five honors six activists who have taken immeasurable risks in their fight for human rights, among them Shirin Ebadi of Iran, Rigoberta Menchu of Guatemala, and Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh. Finally, Dr. Ames considers human rights today: how human rights campaigns are being carried out, what the roles of various organizations are, and what we can expect as we look ahead.

As human rights attitudes and values become more deeply embedded within our global citizenry, they become harder to abuse and thus become the global values system that we hope to achieve. This book is dedicated to that goal.

This book is intended for adult learners, educators, and students from grade nine through university. Each chapter includes "Questions to Consider," spurring critical thinking and encouraging readers to "see" the information from perspectives beyond their own. Pictures, activities, images, diagrams, graphs, and free on-line resources all heighten understanding.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Human Rights: An Introduction
Chapter 2. Social Movements and Human Rights
Chapter 3. Human Rights Violations
Chapter 4. Case Studies of Human Rights Abuses
Chapter 5. Human Rights Activists
Chapter 6. Human Rights Today