Human rights: Early days or coming to an end?

Abstract

The speech addresses how human rights are being challenged and to what extent we are witnessing the end times of human rights. Neo-liberalism and populism coming from different corners converge and contribute to the erosion of human rights as well as rule of law institutions. Attempts to link human rights to one or the other economic theory contribute to lifting human rights away from their status of being universal. Human rights are not there to substitute ideological systems, instead it is a far more limited project. In the latter part of the speech new bottom-up trends pulling in the opposite direction are highlighted. As an outcome of the financial crisis and the growing inequality, a stronger awareness has emerged globally about the negative consequences of corruption and tax evasion on human rights and democratic institutions. Human rights are regaining a momentum and credibility in that space. This is closely linked to the new human rights city movement, where local communities take greater responsibility in realizing human rights for their citizens. Finally, in this part the mainstreaming of human rights in laws and political strategies is addressed together with the concept human rights by design. The speech ends on a forward-looking note recognizing the immense challenges that confronts the liberal democracy and human rights currently, however, also recognizing the depth of human rights in most communities.