Much of what is published on this site relates directly to the question of foreigness: or thinking of people as being “foreigners”. Because of its pervasiveness it is important to challenge the assumption that it is OK to treat non-citizens differently – that they are somehow less entitled to human rights. Many articles explore how we unconsciously think in this way.
Sometimes our musicians capture in few words ideas at the heart of human rights. This article is dedicated to the song “United”, which was produced by a group of musicians “Playing for Change”. They wrote the song in cooperation with 7 billion actions, bringing together musicians from around the world. Where some might see the figure...
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Everyone, without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 23(4) This idea is hard to argue with. It appeals to our sense of fairness. It appears in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other human rights treaties, as well as in international labour conventions. ...
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Sometimes, there is no need for words. This, I think, is one of those times. This video says it all.
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Today it is entirely natural to think that every person in the world is endowed with certain rights, ones that transcend foreignness and apply absolutely universally. We call these “human rights,” and we take them entirely for granted: We believe earnestly that everyone is indiscriminately entitled to them at birth, that we must safeguard...
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It is hardest to write of those things about which we feel most deeply. Today I wish to write about someone whose words and life have profoundly influenced and inspired me. That person is Abdu’l Baha: the son of the founder of the Baha’i Faith and its leader from 1892 to 1921. I wish...
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The notion of foreignness relies on a separation of ‘us’ and ‘them,’ and today’s world, it is often ethnicity and nation—two terms that are related but not necessarily coterminous—that create that us-them dichotomy. It is crucial to realize, however, that the ideas of ethnicity and nation are hardly timeless. We tend to cherish our...
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Closing borders: to refugees, to undocumented migrants, raises questions of virtue and questions of power. The public debate around borders is so fractured, so superficial, so bedevilled with assumption and ritual conflict that it conveys little new meaning. It simply reiterates the existence of a continuing contest – a contest that often is more about power than rights. In this...
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Frederick Douglass was a remarkable worker for human rights. Although he lived more than a century ago, his thoughts remain pressingly relevant. He began life as a slave, but winning his own freedom, he fought not only for abolition of slavery but also gave his support to other human rights causes, such as the emancipation...
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“It’s a free country.” In an age of anxiety you don’t hear people say it so much. And you certainly won’t hear anyone say “It’s a free planet”. For some people it’s getting less free all the time. The retreat in planetary freedom is measured in the rise of terms such as “border security” and the real...
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