Read complete books and articles on: Human Rights and Latin America

Human Rights - universal rights held to belong to individuals by virtue of their being human, encompassing civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights and freedoms, and based on the notion of personal human dignity and worth. Conceptually derived from the theory of natural law and originating in Greco-Roman doctrines, the idea of human rights appears in some early Christian writers' works and is reflected in the Magna Carta (1215). The concept winds as a philosophical thread through 17th- and 18th-century European and American thought, including the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789). The United Nation's Commission on Human Rights, with Eleanor Roosevelt as chair, created the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), which reasserted the concept of human rights after the horrors of World War II. Human rights have since become a universally espoused yet widely disregarded concept.

Organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch promote human rights and denounce human-rights abuses. In addition, such abuses around the world are monitored and documented by independent investigators ("special rapporteurs") appointed by the UN Human Rights Commission, which, in turn, rebukes cited nations for their human-rights failures. The charging in 1998 by a Spanish court of former Chilean president Augusto Pinochet with human-rights violations and the 1999 British ruling that he could be extradited to Spain, as well as the indictment and arrest (2000) in Senegal of former Chadian president Hissène Habré for human-rights violations during his presidency (although charges were later dropped), were regarded as steps forward in the international protection of human rights.

See M. A. Glendon, A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2001).

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9 of the Best Books and Articles on: Human Rights and Latin America

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Struggle for Human Rights in Latin America » Read Now
by Edward L. Cleary. 184 pgs.

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Cleary examines the origins, spread, and results of human rights movements in Latin America, and he analyzes the mark such movements have made in world politics. He shows the enormous difficulties encountered by fledgling grassroots groups which first challenged military dictatorships over "the...
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Cleary examines the origins, spread, and results of human rights movements in Latin America, and he analyzes the mark such movements have made in world politics. He shows the enormous difficulties encountered by fledgling grassroots groups which first challenged military dictatorships over "the disappeared," detention, torture, and pervasive repression. He chronicles the amazingly dynamic growth of human rights organizations, affecting democratic processes in Latin America and foreign policy in the United States.
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2.

Constructing Democracy: Human Rights, Citizenship, and Society in Latin America » Read Now
by Elizabeth Jelin, Eric Hershberg. 238 pgs.

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...0-8133-2439-4 pbk. 1. Human rights -- Latin America. 2. Civil rights -- Latin...and Effectiveness of the Latin American Human Rights Network, Kathryn Sikkink...reform...
3.

The Inter-American System of Human Rights » Read Now
by David J. Harris, Stephen J. Livingstone. 590 pgs.

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This book, which can be used as a text for teaching purposes, gives a fascinating, and authoritative treatment both the rights protected by the Inter-American system and of the way in which its institutions work. An important part of the book is a thorough, article by article account of the...
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This book, which can be used as a text for teaching purposes, gives a fascinating, and authoritative treatment both the rights protected by the Inter-American system and of the way in which its institutions work. An important part of the book is a thorough, article by article account of the guarantee in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and in the American Convention on Human Rights of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in the light of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and of the Commission's many country reports on the human rights situation in particular states. There are also chapters on the rights of indigenous peoples, amnesty laws and states of emergencies. The evolution and current methods of work of the Commission and the Court are set out at length and their achievements are critically assessed. The role of non-governmental organisations is also examined in this context. The book will be invaluable to all those interested in the protection of human rights in the Americas and international human rights law generally.
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4.

The Gendering of Human Rights: Women and the Latin American Terrorist State, in Feminist Studies » Read Now
by Nancy Caro Hollander. 40 pgs.

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...GENDERING OF HUMAN RIGHTS: WOMEN AND THE LATIN AMERICAN TERRORIST...violation of their human rights. This violent...states in Latin America have waged...violation of human...
5.

The Legacy of Human-Rights Violations in the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay » Read Now
by Luis Roniger, Mario Sznajder. 370 pgs.

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The new democracies of the Southern Cone have publicly professed to reject and condemn the uses of the state power in various forms against citizens under military rule, thus dissociating themselves from their predecessors. And yet the experiences of military rule have become a grim legacy, raising...
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The new democracies of the Southern Cone have publicly professed to reject and condemn the uses of the state power in various forms against citizens under military rule, thus dissociating themselves from their predecessors. And yet the experiences of military rule have become a grim legacy, raising major issues and dilemmas to the forefront of the public agenda. The Legacy of Human Rights Violations in the Southern Cone: Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay analyses in a systematic and comparative way the struggles and debates, the institutional paths and crises that took place in these societies following redemocratization in the 1980s and 1990s, as they confronted the legacy of violations committed under previous authoritarian governments and as the democratic administrations tried to balance normative principles and political contingency. The book also traces how these trends affected the development of politics of oblivion and memory and the restructuring of collective identity and solidarity following redemocratization. Oxford Studies in Democratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. The series will concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization process that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical focus of the series will primarily be Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and relevant experiences in Africa and Asia.
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6.

Refreshing Pauses: Coca-Cola and Human Rights in Guatemala » Read Now
by Henry J. Frundt. 272 pgs.

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Introduction The Lockout/Strike Subdivision The Church Takes Stock First Settlement Repression The Corporate Forum An International Front Boycott! The Spring Offensive Negotiations Begin Abduction A Contract ! An Oasis Runs Dry Occupation The Third Campaign Echoes of Victory Concluding Reflections Notes Bibliography Index About the Author
7.

Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus (Chap. 10 "Political Culture and Gross Human Rights Violations in Latin America") » Read Now
by Abdullahi An-Na'Im Ahmed. 480 pgs.

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...Culture and Gross Human Rights Violations in Latin America Hugo Fruhling...relationship between Latin American culture, and...violence and human rights in general...network...
8.

Human Rights and Democratization in Latin America: Uruguay and Chile » Read Now
by Alexandra Barahona De Brito. 333 pgs.

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9.

The Globalization of U.S.-Latin American Relations: Democracy, Intervention, and Human Rights » Read Now
by Virginia M. Bouvier. 286 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Through the shifting prisms of democracy, intervention, and human rights, Bouvier and her contributors analyze the impact of globalization on U.S.-Latin American relations. They address the changing nature of and responses to U.S. interventions, the links between democracy at home and abroad, and...
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Through the shifting prisms of democracy, intervention, and human rights, Bouvier and her contributors analyze the impact of globalization on U.S.-Latin American relations. They address the changing nature of and responses to U.S. interventions, the links between democracy at home and abroad, and the growing consensus around human rights issues and norms.
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