Responding to the Human Rights Deficit

Despite the existence of a wide range of human rights instruments and procedures, human rights violations still abound. The authors of this book address this so-called human rights deficit, and the possible responses to it, from various disciplinary angles and mostly in the context of development. They explore the reasons for the continuation of economic, social and/or political exclusion and human rights violations at large. They also present keys for redressing the human rights deficit. The role of law, and questions of universality, inclusion and exclusion are central themes in this book. The need to take up civil and political rights and economic social and cultural rights on equal footing is recognized by several of the authors, and so is that of bridging the public-private divide. Specific contributions address among others the importance of human rights training and education, the role of NGO's in a globalizing world, minorities, gender and women's rights, accountability of multinational corporations, and the problem of human trafficking.