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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Human Rights Reader 290</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt">THERE IS A WRONG USE OF VERBS WHEN REFERRING TO THE HUMAN
RIGHTS FRAMEWORK. WE DO NOT SAY ‘ENCOURAGE’, ‘LOBBY’, ‘DISCUSS’ OR ‘UNDERTAKE
EFFORTS TO’; WE SAY ‘DEMAND’ --AND FOR THAT WE EMPOWER.</span></b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> </span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">To start with, let us recap: The value of human
rights (HR) lies in their ability to provide us:<span>  </span></span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">      </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">with a conceptual armature that connects health,
nutrition and other social conditions with broad governance principles; </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">      </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">with an instrument for turning diffuse social demands
into focused legal and political claims; and </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">      </span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">with a set of criteria by which to evaluate the
performance of political authorities in promoting people’s wellbeing and
creating conditions for the equitable enjoyment of the fruits of development. 
</span>(WHO <u>Commission on the Social Determinants of Health Report</u>)<span style="font-size:14.0pt"></span></p><span style="font-size:14.0pt"> </span>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Further recapitulating, HR
give us a clear mandate on how to influence change to achieve equity and
sustainability. This, by telling us:</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">to redouble our
work on grassroots participation;</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">to engage more
with activism, especially working with new emerging forces </span>(think Arab Spring
Revolution, Occupy Movement, Via Campesina, for example)<span style="font-size:14.0pt">;</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">to look at the
world more holistically;</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">to partner-with
and empower our local partners;</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">to get actively
involved in improving governance and accountability; </span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Symbol"><span>·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span><span style="font-size:14.0pt">to increase the
accountability of donors, of international NGOs and of local civil society
organizations; as well as</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman""> to develop our own HR and development talents <u>and</u>
to use more of these talents in the countries/localities we work-in.</span><br></p><br>To read the full Reader go to <br> <br><a href="http://wp.me/plAxa-1Ap" target="_blank">http://wp.me/plAxa-1Ap</a> <br><br>Claudio<br>