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<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Human
Rights Reader 80</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o
ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><STRONG><FONT size=5><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText2 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><STRONG><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=5>ASSERTING AND AFFIRMING HUMAN RIGHTS IS AS
CONFLICT-PRONE AS IT IS INDISPENSABLE. </FONT></STRONG></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">1. Given unequal relations of power, ‘legality’ and
‘legitimacy’ are mere window-dressing. The claims of the more powerful are
simply enforced by overt or covert coercion and repression. People’s tolerance
of social, economic and political inequalities and inequities (and human rights
violations) never cease to startle me. (As much as our own
‘conformity-and-good-behavior’ --that by now has become an essential feature of
our-belonging-to-and-being-integrated-in the reigning development
paradigm).<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">2. Some kind of “wake-up-call” seems to be needed. And
that is why social mobilization is needed. Without it, the marginalized somehow
go on living with a chronic sense of insecurity caused by a) the exploitative
processes eroding away their surplus, b) the essential resources they need to
fulfill their rights not being made available to them, and c) the failure of
governments to play a minimal human rights-protective role --all of this in turn
caused by the exclusionary nature of the global political economy.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That is why, through mobilizing the
marginalized, we seek ways to eliminate all the exploitative and exclusionary
mechanisms of the neo-liberal global political economy in the way that these
mechanisms violate the rights of those being mobilized wherever they may be. It
is in that way that human rights (HR) work ‘reintegrates’ the marginalized whose
rights are being violated. And I am not saying this is
easy…<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt 18pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<H1 style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=5><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">2. Our peers have to progressively be
pulled-up to work on the issues that, unless resolved, will leave those whose
rights are being violated with their rights still violated, say, by 2015.
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">It is high
time for us to discriminate between what has been and what ought to be, i.e.,
converting rhetoric into concrete work projects. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'">We are not trying to find a sort of ‘a
middle way’, but a full taking-in-charge of the HR problematique. For that to
happen, as said before, our work ethics must be politicized.</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">3. To be on the cutting edge, involves leaving comfort
zones and moving along un-treaded paths. Only choosing ‘winnable’, short-term
campaigns simply makes us ‘look’ to be successful. Longer term, HR struggles
have to be undertaken, because they are important in-and-by-themselves; they may
not be immediately winnable; they are often long and arduous --and there may be
no one easily identifiable opponent. Our success will ultimately come from the
sum of small steps making incremental inroads that, in time, will have a
cumulative impact; many of our successes in the past have been so achieved. (S.
Rachagan) <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">4. That is why a growing number of HR workers think that,
in many instances, HUMAN RIGHTS SHOULD BE TERMED “PEOPLE’S RIGHTS”!! Such a
terminology politicizes the concept in a way that “people’s rights” become a
rallying point for social mobilization; it becomes a process that emancipates
the voiceless directly involving them in the HR struggle, and gives them
legitimacy in the sense of a truly popular
democracy.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">In short, people’s rights bring the concepts of voice,
capacity and accountability to the fore, highlighting claim-holders’ and
particularly duty-bearers’ roles and
responsibilities.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">5. In preparing for this challenge, we should not
underestimate the transformative impact of the use of the Internet. Why? Because
the real challenge we face is that too many of us have not yet given our full
attention and sufficient time and effort to HR work; …and the electronic
super-highway can help us to network and to rally growing numbers of us towards
action. A global organization must have in place consultation processes that
enable broad participation from all corners of the world. BUT global
consultation --if done in-only-one-language and
merely-through-electronic-communication (which for many groups in LDCs is still
a luxury)-- can legitimately be questioned. And I do not (yet) have an answer
for this legitimate caveat. I only know that this new medium must be used
together with the traditional ones (newsletters, radio, newspapers, TV,
face-to-face interactions).<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">6. Acting as a coordinated network is a formidable
challenge by itself, one we cannot pretend does not exist: But rise above it we
must! Participatory and democratic processes at the center of networking do not
guarantee consensus; in fact, they often reveal dissent; a common position can
only be arrived-at with compromise. [Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble
without one, Confucius would have said].<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">7. In HR work, campaigning and capacity building are,
therefore, mutually supportive strategies. We need to renew and reinvent the HR
movement in a way that our efforts are always on behalf of those who need our
solidarity most; failing to do so will mean that we risk becoming irrelevant.
>From now on, we need to move beyond lip service (and beyond these HR Readers…)
and ensure that HR priorities are always reflected in the manner we allocate our
time and the very limited resources we individually or collectively
control.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">8. Things are happening slowly in this domain though.
This Reader, I hope, is part of it. The challenge now is that the current
flicker of hope bursts into a flame. (*)<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">9. I am a firm believer that wo/man is so made that
whenever something fires her/his soul, impossibilities vanish. (J. de La
Fontaine)<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<DIV
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<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh
City<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal
style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-RIGHT: 0cm; BORDER-TOP: medium none; PADDING-LEFT: 0cm; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0cm; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 0cm; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><A
href="mailto:claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn"><FONT
face="Times New Roman">claudio@hcmc.netnam.vn</FONT></A><FONT
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3>Mostly taken from F+D, the IMF magazine, 40:4, Dec. 2003; D+C, the German
development magazine 31:3, March 2004; the South Letter, the South Centre’s
magazine, issue 39, 2003, and the Asia Pacific Consumer magazine, Vol. 34, April
2004..</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>_________________________</FONT> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">(*): </SPAN><FONT size=3>I
often fear that these Readers may be coming through as lecturing rather than
informing and providing action-oriented food for thought; I fear that the
content may sometimes suffer when the rhetoric is hot. But one thing is clear: I
do not shy away from polemics when discussing the major issues related to the
politics of HR. I am undeniably controversial, but, then, trying to break down
common beliefs, especially if inaccurate or blinding, is always fraught with
controversy. As much as I can, I try to look beyond one-sided and narrow
explanations so as to gain a stronger understanding. The Readers present ‘the
other side of the debate to technological and sectoral approaches to development
--always striving to expand the awareness on the depth, complexity and
resilience of combating HR violations.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In a neo-liberal sense, I guess, I could perhaps simply be accused of
taking-controversial-ideas-to-market.</FONT></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>