Today ‘human rights’ is much in fashion, which makes it the subject of a certain amount of humbug. In a world where virtue is no longer its own reward, there are plenty of human rights prizes, many funded by corporations exposed for exploiting the poor, awarded to well-paid lawyers, well-meaning journalists, well-photographed actresses and politicians who have never had to risk their careers in a cause perceived by national authorities as subversive. Ironies abound: the Simon Wiesenthal Center, celebrated for tracking down Nazi war criminals, today gives its peace prizes to supporters of the government of Israel. Self-promoting pop stars are prepared to promote politicians if they support the right to debt relief, but not the anti-war and anti-corruption measures without which there can be no relief for the poor in countries bankrupted by armed conflicts and the extravagance of their rulers. In 2005, the ‘Live 8’ campaign to ‘make poverty history’ made no mention of ending the impunity which in Africa makes poverty inevitable. It would be churlish to decry the fashionability of human rights, but premature to think that this means the struggle to have them enforced - the crucial ‘third phase’ of the human rights revolution - has yet been won.
Geoffrey Robertson QC, in Crimes Against Humanity: The struggle for Global Justice (via lametisse)(via minkarlektilldig)
Yachounomori Garden, Tatebayashi City, Japan. Photograph by Juuyoh Tanaka.
(Source: magicalnaturetour, via gingerfish666)
