Human rights and social justice

Convened by: Andrew Jakubowicz

Individuals and groups in most modern, cosmopolitan civil societies enjoy a range of rights, such as civil, political, social, economic, cultural, and human rights. The legal foundations for the recognition of these rights only emerged in the past sixty years, and are gradually becoming directly applicable. Combined with the two 1966 human rights covenants, which entered into force in 1976, and with subsequent norms and mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court, we can now describe a global bill of rights.

With the rapid development of a global consciousness of human rights, have come new forms of governance, both internationally and amongst networks of International NGOs and movement organisations. In the field of resource management, for instance, affected communities have become networked with NGOs, significantly enhancing their capacity to claim human rights. At the same time, transnational corporate players have gained a new capacity to establish their own rules of the game, as key players in the emergent regimes of global governance.

Such developments pose important and pressing questions of organization and leadership. As institutional players take on new roles, they gain new powers, and discard old roles and responsibilities. Of particular significance for questions of human rights and social justice is the question of the changing role of the state, especially in terms of the fate of the traditional state-based institutions of democratic accountability. The impact this may have upon the perceptions of fairness, impartiality and access to justice for the individual, as either consumer or citizen, is a central concern of this research program.

CCS-initiated projects in this program: 'Women & Human Rights - Building a Community of Practice', a one-day forum of CCS & the UTS Equity & Diversity Unit, to explore current local, national and international issues at the convergence of women's rights and human rights.