The renewal of human rights must be about the extent to which these rights can address the most serious global challenges. This is a lot to ask, but there are reasons for optimism.
The current context has given rise to a sense that the challenges humanity faces are almost beyond our capability to control or resolve. Among others, the entwined challenges of economic inequality, climate and biodiversity crises, and rapid technological advancement in the hands of a few powerful companies pose real and interrelated risks to our human future. Certainly, the task of securing a sustainable and equitable future is daunting. But it is not necessary to submit to the inevitability of failure. Rather, the crises and challenges of today call for bold and creative responses based on interdisciplinary thinking. It is becoming increasingly implausible to consider issues that have traditionally belonged to different frameworks in isolation from one another.
The human rights framework and system have much to offer in terms of moral, legal, intellectual, historical and institutional resources, provided that they can pivot effectively to this agenda. In the words of human rights scholar and practitioner Philip Alston: ‘[A]s major countries begin to move beyond neo-liberal economic policies in response to Covid-19, global warming and a new awareness of the ills that flow from extreme inequality, so will the human rights movement, broadly defined, start to reflect that very different agenda.’
Placing the issues of inequality, climate change and technology at the heart of the global human rights agenda does not imply turning away from other human rights priorities. In particular, many civil and political rights continue to be under serious threat, especially in the context of rising authoritarian behaviour from governments – whether elected or not. The importance of civil and political rights will remain very clear, including in protecting the conditions for protest and participation, and in efforts to hold governments and corporations accountable. The full breadth of human rights should be considered as a great asset in addressing challenges of great complexity. It is both in contributing normatively to progress on the grand global challenges and holding open space for civic participation that human rights may prove their indispensable worth.
There is no sense in which human rights are a universal remedy, but they can play a role in shaping a world in which humans are able to flourish and the values of dignity and equality are upheld. This is a moment to commit to the renewal of human rights and to look ahead to the next 25 years with confidence and ambition. This should involve embracing shifts in methodology and agenda, in response to the changing nature of threats to human dignity and flourishing, and a renewed concern for the rights of future generations. It should include a fresh commitment to interdisciplinary approaches between human rights and other frameworks, recognizing the place of both laws and moral narratives, and following the leadership of those who experience harms. In doing these things, there is reason for confidence that human rights can play a constructive role in tackling the grand challenges facing the world today and in the future.
