Human rights and social justice

Jim Ife

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

Abstract

The idea of human rights, although often discussed as if its meaning were self-evident, is, in reality, a complex and contested field. The words ‘human’ and ‘rights’ have been the subject of significant inquiry and debate (Carroll, 2004; Herbert, 2003), so it is little wonder that when the two are brought together the produce a term that is highly problematic. Far from being self-evident, the idea of ‘human rights’ poses some very fundamental questions, about the nature of ‘humanity’, what it means to be ‘human’, about how we treat each other, and about what we can reasonably expect of our fellow humans. These are serious and profound questions, that defy simple answers, yet human rights discourse is often naively simplistic, as if there profound issues about human existence can be understood simply by referring to a human rights convention or a Bill of Rights. If only it were that simple. Readers who may have come to this chapter expecting human rights to provide a clear easy rationale to guide practice will be disappointed. A human rights approach does not provide easy answers. Instead, it asks profound questions of the practitioner.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEthics and Value Perspectives in Social Work
EditorsMel M. Gray, Stephen A. Webb
Place of PublicationU.K.
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Pages148-159
Number of pages12
ISBN (Print)9780230221451
Publication statusPublished - 2010

Keywords

  • human rights
  • social justice

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