Human Rights and Justice for All

Human rights is an empowering framework for understanding and addressing justice issues at local, domestic, and international levels. This book combines US-based case studies with examples from other regions of the world to explore important human rights themes – the equality, universality, and interdependence of human rights, the idea of international crimes, strategies of human rights change, and justice and reconciliation in the aftermath of human rights violations. From Flint and Minneapolis to Xinjiang and Mt. Sinjar, this book challenges a wide variety of readers – students, professors, activists, human rights professionals, and concerned citizens – to consider how human rights apply to their own lives and equip them to be changemakers in their own communities.

Praise for Human Rights and Justice for All"What does it really mean to make human rights change? Everyone demands it; so few do it well. As Carrie Walling’s unique book teaches through gripping real-life stories, the necessary skills in messaging, organization, and advocacy can be taught. Additionally, human rights work also requires insight, commitment, ingenuity, sweat, and optimistic persistence. And most importantly, the book illustrates the necessity of believing a better world, a world for which one is willing to fight and die."-- Harold Hongju Koh, former Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State"Carrie Booth Walling has written the essential text for anyone who teaches or trains about human rights in a college or a community, providing just the right mix of history and theory with stories of emblematic activists and their struggles. An amazing toolkit for advocacy at the end helps the reader put it all into action."-- Kathryn Sikkink, Harvard University"Human Rights and Justice for All takes on the complex topic of universal human rights and explains what these rights are, and how they are protected (or not) in the world today. By sharing the stories of advocates around the world, author Carrie Walling emphasizes the human part of human rights, in addition to the historical and legal aspects. This is an indispensable text for students and lifelong learners seeking to understand how to utilize the human rights framework to ensure respect for the rights and dignity of all people."-- Jill Savitt, National Center for Civil and Human Rights"Carrie Walling’s book is a must-read for anyone looking to make sense of human rights and justice on the local, national and international level. This is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to rights that concern us all and provides an unmissable resource for students, teachers and practitioners alike. The book explores a wide array of different human rights issues and highlights areas in which they have come under threat. This contested nature of human rights is brought to life through numerous case studies from across the world which provide grounds for hope and optimism that ordinary individuals can (and do) make a difference to protect and promote justice and rights. This book is also a call to action by providing a human rights advocacy toolkit that will inspire readers to become human rights defenders themselves and transform their ideas into action. Carrie Walling shows that human rights matter and that we all can make a real difference."-- Andrea Birdsall, University of Edinburgh, Praise for Human Rights and Justice for All"Carrie Booth Walling has written the essential text for anyone who teaches or trains about human rights in a college or a community, providing just the right mix of history and theory with stories of emblematic activists and their struggles. An amazing toolkit for advocacy at the end helps the reader put it all into action."Kathryn Sikkink, Harvard University"What does it really mean to make human rights change? Everyone demands it; so few do it well. As Carrie Walling’s unique book teaches through gripping real-life stories, the necessary skills in messaging, organization, and advocacy can be taught. Additionally, human rights work also requires insight, commitment, ingenuity, sweat, and optimistic persistence. And most importantly, the book illustrates the necessity of believing in a better world, a world for which one is willing to fight and die."Harold Hongju Koh, former Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, US Department of State"Human Rights and Justice for All takes on the complex topic of universal human rights and explains what these rights are, and how they are protected (or not) in the world today. By sharing the stories of advocates around the world, author Carrie Walling emphasizes the human part of human rights, in addition to the historical and legal aspects. This is an indispensable text for students and lifelong learners seeking to understand how to utilize the human rights framework to ensure respect for the rights and dignity of all people."Jill Savitt, National Center for Civil and Human Rights"Carrie Walling’s book is a must-read for anyone looking to make sense of human rights and justice on the local, national, and international level. This is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to rights that concern us all and provides an unmissable resource for students, teachers, and practitioners alike. The book explores a wide array of different human rights issues and highlights areas in which they have come under threat. This contested nature of human rights is brought to life through numerous case studies from across the world which provide grounds for hope and optimism that ordinary individuals can (and do) make a difference to protect and promote justice and rights. This book is also a call to action by providing a human rights advocacy toolkit that will inspire readers to become human rights defenders themselves and transform their ideas into action. Carrie Walling shows that human rights matter and that we all can make a real difference."Andrea Birdsall, University of Edinburgh

Carrie Booth Walling is Professor of Political Science and Faculty Director of the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service at Albion College. Her research interests are in human rights, international politics, transitional justice, and the United Nations. Walling is a Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project and teaches for the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program which brings incarcerated and non-incarcerated people together to study justice behind prison walls.