When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted 50 years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt, its principal architect, predicted that a 'curious grapevine' would carry its message behind barbed wire and stone walls. This book tells the extraordinary story of how NGOs became the 'grapevine' she anticipated - sharpening our awareness about the violations of human rights, 'shaming' its most notorious abusers and creating the international mechanisms to bring about implementation of the Declaration. Korey traces how NGO's laid the groundwork for the destruction of the Soviet empire, as well as of the apartheid system in South Africa, and established the principle of accountability for crimes against humanity. The notion of human rights has progressed from being a marginal part of international relations a half century ago to stand today as a critical element in diplomatic discourse and this book shows that it is the NGOs that have placed human rights at the centre of humankind's present and future agenda.

Autorentext

WILLIAM KOREY is a prolific writer of articles for popular and scholarly journals, and for newspapers such as The Washington Post. He is the author of several books, including The Promises We Keep: Human Rights, the Helsinki Process and American Foreign Policy (SMP 1993).

Inhalt

Introduction Genesis: NGOs and the UN Charter The 'Curious Grapevine': NGO Rights and Limitations Silencing the NGOs at the UN 'Honored Guests': NGOs in the Struggle Against Apartheid The NGO Prototype: The Anti-Slavery Society An NGO Shifts Its Focus: The Pioneer International League for Human Rights To Light a Candle: Amnesty International and the Prisoners of Conscience A Call for US Leadership: Congress, the Struggle for Human Rights, and the NGO Factor Overcoming 'Lingering Brickeritis': The Struggle for Genocide Treaty Ratification Heroic Reformers: NGOs and the Helsinki Process The Fuel and the Lubricant: NGOs and the Revolution in UN Human Rights Implementation Machinery A Rare, Defining Moment: Vienna, 1993 Genocide and Accountability: The Role of Human Rights Watch Overcoming the Crisis of Growth: Human Rights Watch Spans the Globe The 'Diplomatic' Approach vs. the 'Human Rights' Approach: The High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Blaustein Institute Uncharted Terrain: Minority Rights, Ethnic Tension, and Conflict Prevention Ethnicity and Public Consciousness: Can Ethnic Violence Be Controlled or Prevented? The 'Unexplored Continent' of Physician Involvement in Human Rights Mrs. Roosevelt's NGO Takes on New Dimensions: Freedom House's Changing Priorities 'Asian Values': The Challenge to the Universal Declaration The Rule of Law and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights Accountability Revisited