New Books From HRC

An introduction to international human rights law by David Weissbrodt and Connie de la Vega and a disability rights addition to the Human Rights Education Series strengthen the University’s Human Rights Center’s series.

 
International Human Rights Law was written by David Weissbrodt, University of Minnesota Regents Professor and Fredrikson & Byron Professor of Law and Human Rights Center Co-Director, and Connie de la Vega, University of San Francisco Professor of Law and Director of the Frank C. Newman International Human Rights Law Clinic. It was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

The book is a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of international human rights law and norms. It is divided into three sections:

  • An overview of the history of human rights, from early natural law, philosophical, and religious theories to today’s perspectives on international law
  • Summaries of the rights specified in the United Nations’ International Bill of Human Rights (e.g., self-determination, equality, privacy, housing) as well as emerging rights (e.g., right to a healthy environment, sustainable development, security from terrorism)
  • A review of commissions and councils; institutions and processes; nongovernmental organizations; and international, national, and regional procedures for implementing human rights principles

The authors provide case examples throughout International Human Rights Law and lists of resources to assist students, teachers, lawyers, and advocates.

 
Human Rights. Yes! is the sixth book in the Human Rights Education Series, published by the Human Rights Resource Center at the University of Minnesota, in partnership with Blue Law, LLP and Disabled People’s International, to provide resources for educators and activists seeking to foster human rights worldwide.

Human Rights. Yes! is based on the December 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by the United Nations. It fills an urgent need for development and dissemination of disability rights education materials.

The book offers training to promote individual empowerment and self-advocacy initiatives and also provides important information for groups, such as women’s and children’s rights organizations, that want to integrate a disability perspective into their human rights and advocacy efforts.

The authors of Human Rights. YES! are international human rights law and disability rights experts Janet E. Lord, Katherine N. Guernsey, Joelle M. Balfe, and Valerie L. Karr. Nancy Flowers, co-founder of Human Rights USA and a developer of Amnesty International USA’s education program, is editor of the entire Human Rights Education Series.

The book project was supported by the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs, a nonprofit center in Doha, Qatar, offering services to children with all forms of disability.

Human Rights. YES! is available in English in hard copy and online (www.humanrightsyes.org) and may be used without permission for educational purposes. Spanish, French, and Arabic publications will be available in 2008.

The University of Minnesota Human Rights Center was established December 1988 on the 40th anniversary of the U.N. General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its focus is on educating and training effective human rights professionals and volunteers. David S. Weissbrodt and Kristi Rudelius-Palmer are the Center’s co-directors.