CAMPAIGNING

FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS:
Cosmopolitan principles and
international law
UNIVERSAL
HUMAN
EQUALITY &
HUMAN RIGHTS
The basic tenet of cosmopolitanism
GROUPS THAT MONITORS
HUMAN RIGHTS
WORLDWIDE:
 Human Rights Watch- USA, the most prominent one
 Laywers
 Peace Brigades International- 1980, Central and Latin
America, and in Asia. Volunteers are called ‘unarmed
bodyguards’
 Amnesty International- best-known human rights
campaigning organization, launched in appeal in 1961
and founded in 1962 by Peter Benenson
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
o It remits was to uphold the rights of all people to
enjoy freedom of belief, speech and publication and
to engage in non-violent political activity
o Widened to oppose cruel punishments for all
prisoners: launches campaigns against torture and
penalty in 1970s
o Maintains internal democracy through regular
conferences and attempts to avoid national or
western bias by holding conferences worldwide.
o Appeals to individual governments
o Main focus: mobilizing international public
opinion.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
o Played a role in strengthening global civil
society.
o Established link with International Commission
of Jurists and International Red Cross.
o Churches and professional, trade union of
student organization
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Take an interest and inform
themselves about international
human rights
Global Write letter of protest and
attend meetings and
Citizen demonstrations

Provide funds for the

Amnesty’s activities
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
o Initially could be seen as gender-biased.
o Published Women in the Front Line, Human
Rights Violations Against Women in 1991
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
AND
TRANSNATIONAL
SOLIDARITY
FEMINISTS
o Women's group that already existed before WWII saw
the importance of establishing women’s right in
international law.
o Put pressure on the League of Nations to embody in
international law women's right at work and the right
of married women to clear national status to avoid of
the danger of statelessness.
o 1945- feminists were included in the national
delegation conference to create the UN- several
clauses of UN Charter referred to ‘fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language or religion’
FEMINISTS
o Successfully established position for women in
the UN and giving prominence in particular issues
such as the problems of elderly women and
women with disabilities.