Preface

1. Background and History

What Are Human Rights?
-Social Norms and Natural Law
-Types of Human Rights
-Three Generations of Rights Frameworks
Historical Contributions
-Ancient World
-Europe
-United States
-International War
Development of International Treaties
-UN Charter
-Universal Declaration of Human Rights
-International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions of 1949
-The Refugee Convention
-International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
-International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
-Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
-Convention on the Rights of the Child
-Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
-International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
-Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
-International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance
Modern Threats to Human Rights
-Authoritarianism
-Disinformation
-Discrimination
-Health Crises
Snapshot of Human Rights around the World
-Africa
-North America
-South America
-Asia
-Australia and Oceania
-Europe
Further Reading

2: Problems, Controversies, and Solutions

Quality of Life Rights Issues
-Education
-Food
-Health
-Housing
-Work
Safety from the State Rights Issues
-Arbitrary Arrest
-Forced Disappearance
-Capital Punishment
-Corporal Punishment
-Life in Prison without Parole
-Terrorism
-Guns and Mass Shootings
-War
Empowerment Rights Issues
-Assembly and Association
-Opinion and Expression
-Religious Freedom
-Participation in Government
-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
-Gender and Sexual Orientation
-Race
-Age
-Ability
-Population Growth and Migration
-Climate Change and the Environment
-Autocracy and Authoritarianism
-Disinformation
Conclusion
Further Reading

3: Perspectives

Everyone Has the Right to Work . . . Except Many Older Adults, Jan Marie Fritz
Championing Children's Rights: A Moral Imperative, Laura Guercio
How to Survive a Pandemic: The Right to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and Its Applications, Theresa Harris
Explaining the Origins of Democratic Backsliding, Steven Livingston
A Thousand Words on Children's Rights, Jane Williams

4: Profiles

Individuals
-Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)
-Muhammad Ali (1942–2016)
-Kofi Annan (1938–2018)
-Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
-Michelle Bachelet (1951– )
-Raif (Raef) bin Muhammed Badawi (1948– )
-Ralph Bunche (1904–1971)
-Helen Caldicott (1938– )
-Jimmy Carter (1924–2024)
-Cesar Chavez (1927–1993)
-Cyrus the Great (600 BCE–500 BCE)
-14th Dali Lama (1935– )
-F. W. de Klerk (1936–2021)
-Patrick Dodson (1948– )
-W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963)
-Abdul Sattar Edhi (1928–2016)
-Nancy Flowers
-Marielle Franco (1979–2018)
-Betty Friedan (1921–2006)
-Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948)
-Hugo Grotius (1583–1645)
-Deb Haaland (1960– )
-Befaqadu (Befekadu) Hailu (1980– )
-Michael Harrington (1928–1989)
-Nancy Herz (1996– )
-Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (Chief Joseph) (1840–1904)
-Jose Ramos Horta (1949– )
-Hilaria Supa Huamán (1957– )
-Eglantyne Jebb (1876–1928)
-Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968)
-Maggie Kuhn (1905–1995)
-John Lewis (1940–2020)
-Laura Lundy (1955– )
-Nelson Mandela (1918–2013)
-Thurgood Marshall (1908–1993)
-Rigoberta Menchú (1959– )
-Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny (1976–2024)
-Tran Minh Nhat (1988– )
-Audrey Osler (1950– )
-Rosa Parks (1913–2005)
-Alice Paul (1887–1997)
-Ed Roberts (1939–1995)
-Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
-Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)
-Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)
-Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989)
-Alexya Salvador (1980– )
-Óscar Arias Sánchez (1940– )
-Oskar Schindler (1908–1974)
-Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965)
-Hugh Starkey (1954– )
-Greta Thunberg (2003– )
-Arnold Toynbee (1852–1883)
-Sojourner Truth (1797–1883)
-Desmond Tutu (1931–2021)
-Lech Walesa (1943– )
-Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862–1931)
-Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel (1928–2016)
-Roy Wilkins (1901–1981)
-Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017)
-Malala Yousafzai (1997– )
-Muhammad Yunus (1940– )
-Ofelia Zepeda (1952– )
Organizations
-American Association for the Advancement of Science Human Rights Council
-American Civil Liberties Union
-Amnesty International
-Anti-Slavery International
-The Board on Children, Youth, and Families
-Center for Excellence in Child and Adolescent Health Research
-Centre for Sport and Human Rights
-Civil Rights Defenders
-Cultural Survival
-Doctors Without Borders
-Equitas
-Every Human Has Rights
-European Centre for Minority Issues
-Everytown USA
-The Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment
-Global Rights
-Habitat for Humanity
-Hope for Children CRC Policy Center
-Human Rights Educators USA
-Human Rights Measurement Initiative
-Human Rights Without Frontiers
-Human Rights Watch
-International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent
-International Criminal Court
-KidsRights
-Leading for Kids
-Musicians for Human Rights
-Norwegian Refugee Council
-Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
-Oxfam
-Physicians for Human Rights
-Protection International
-Refugees International
-Save the Children
-Southern Poverty Law Center
-UNICEF
-Universities Network for Children in Armed Conflict
-University of Minnesota Human Rights Library
Further Reading

5: Primary Documents

US Bill of Rights (1791)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations (1948)
Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations (1989)
Testimony of Leopoldo Lopez to US Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2023)
Testimony of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to US Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2023)
Testimony of Amy Spitalnick to US House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and the Law (2023)

6: Resources

Books
Journals
Articles
Treaties, Acts, and Declarations
Online Resources
Videos

7. Chronology

Glossary

Index