Global Human Rights Direct: Connecting Human Rights Voices from around the Globe (abstract)

Scholars and activists (e.g., Simmons 2011, Baxi 2007, Ife 2009) have increasingly argued for a larger role for on-the-ground stakeholders, especially marginalized populations, in defining and implementing human rights around the globe. This paper describes the Global Human Rights Direct (GHRD) initiative at the University of Arizona that seeks to connect and empower human rights stakeholders from across the globe through videoconferencing. GHRD is a searchable database of human rights stakeholders willing to participate in videoconferences with interested individuals and groups from around the globe. It will be used by university instructors, high school teachers, community groups, and government officials to tap into on-the-ground experience and expertise for their classrooms and meetings and learn about human rights firsthand from those who know best. GHRD will revolutionize how human rights is taught, how it is conceived, and what counts as expert knowledge in rights discourses. It will empower local activists and survivors as they engage in meaningful dialogue with students, instructors, community groups, and like-minded individuals worldwide. GHRD believes that enhancing human rights discourses can lead to mobilizing larger and more effective coalitions who will pressure governments and corporations to better protect the rights of the world’s most vulnerable populations. This paper will discuss the genesis and implementation of the project, as well a number of ethical, political, and cultural issues that we have had to address. The project has embraced a critical post-colonial lens in both the website design and in our processes. Therefore, special mention will be made of the involvement of community activists in all phases of the project’s development