Description: This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of international human rights issues, offering truly international coverage including the Global South. Considering the philosophical foundations of human rights, Chen and Renteln explore the interpretive difficulties associated with identifying what constitute human rights abuses, and evaluate various perspectives on human rights. This book goes on to analyze institutions that strive to promote and enforce human rights standards, including the United Nations system, regional human rights bodies, and domestic courts. It also discusses a wide variety of substantive human rights including genocide, torture, capital punishment, and other cruel and unusual punishments. In particular, the book offers an accessible introduction to key understudied topics within human rights, such as socioeconomic rights, cultural rights, and environmental rights. It also focuses on the rights of marginalized groups, including children's rights, rights of persons with disabilities, women's rights, labor rights, indigenous rights, and LGBTQ+ rights, making this an engaging and invaluable resource for the contemporary student.
Brief description: Cher Weixia Chen is Associate Professor in the School of Integrative Studies and founder of the Human Rights and Global Justice Initiative, George Mason University.
Review Quotes: 'What a tour de force ... readable, accessible, and analytically rigorous ... As the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this timely book provides a teachable review of some of the most pressing human rights topics from interdisciplinary perspectives. It is strategically designed to enable readers to act on their sense of justice to move toward fairer horizons.' Rebecca J. Cook, Professor of Law Emerita, University of Toronto, Canada