.:Resource Guides:Human Rights-Approaches to Human Rights Work.
Human Rights
Approaches to Human Rights Work
The early human rights movement consisted primarily of lawyers, often at international forums, proposing language for treaties. Today, the field is diverse; recent graduates can look to organizations addressing abuses using a variety of approaches. More strategies to
fight for human rights emerge as abuses are uncovered and publicized --- and more people, outraged by this inhumanity, respond.
How human rights abuses are addressed varies from organization to organization. Some examples of organizations and the methods they use to direct their efforts include:
Advocacy - Advocacy work seeks to plead the case for or intervene on behalf of individuals, communities or causes. This work can be performed in a multitude of forums from the legal system to the media to international agencies to local
communities. Amnesty International, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights.
Policy Development - Through the development of policy, human rights organizations work with institutions that shape the policy, laws and treaties that govern how we respond to a situation or population in crisis. Policy development can overlap
with advocacy work. Human Rights Watch
Scholarship- An expanding area of human rights work is appearing at universities across the globe. Often housed in centers promoting research, education and training, this human rights scholarship provides an arena for reflection and
collaboration between scholars, activists, policy makers and other practitioners. Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute, University of Minnesota's Human Rights
Resources Center.
