More about our meeting with the fabulous Shula Koenig!

If you have seen the short video clip, then you will definitely understand that we had a fabulous meeting with Shula Koenig this past Monday. As we all found out, she is an amazing woman! She is the founding president of the People's Movement for Human Rights Learning. In addition, Koenig has worked to have the UN declare this decade a "Decade for Human Rights Learning" as well as has developed an international public policy that is being put into place to encourage this learning throughout the world's people. Also, as we already know, Koenig is demonstrating this vision of worldwide human rights by helping to initiate and facilitate the UN "Human Rights Cities" program with which we are involved! Through this program, she is trying to provoke human rights learning at the local level. In 2003, Koenig was a recipient of the United Nations' "Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Human Rights."

At our meeting, she had so many important points to make to us--we just sat there in awe soaking it up! One of the most poignant points that she made to me, however, was this idea of spreading human rights WITHOUT the use of imperialism. I mean, many of us do not think about imperialism when we are trying to spread human rights and teach others about them. Yet, Shula pointed out that this is a very tricky situation--one in which that we can become easily trapped. Indeed, Shula stated that she does not go to the different countries herself. Rather, she has people from that country come to her so that she can teach them about human rights. It is then up to these country delegates to go back to their country to teach their fellow citizens about human rights. By approaching human rights this way, fellow citizens are helping each other rather than having a human rights expert swoop in to teach and dictate the idea of human rights. This way, human rights come from within!

If you want to learn more about this amazing and powerful woman, you can check out the People's Movement for Human Rights Learning website: http://www.pdhre.org/index.html.

Koenig regularly writes articles as the group's president. Also, the website offers some great information and tools--from learning about human rights methodology and materials, to browsing summaries of Human Rights conventions, information about Human Rights Cities (!!!), to reading some great articles (in both English and Spanish!) about human rights in the Dialogue and Discourse section of the website and more! There is even a Get Involved! link on the website if you would like to join our fight for worldwide human rights! Without a doubt, our talk on Monday only helped to better inform us as well as to motivate us. As Shula Koenig so often pointed out, WE CAN DO THIS!!!!

Shula Koenig

Our class had the distinct honor to hear Shula Koenig speak on her work creating human rights cities and how we can continue our effort in making Chapel Hill and Carborro such cities. Click here to hear an excerpt from her talk!

Water and our Environment

Sean R. Anderson

Are they Human Rights or privileges? Why is it so important to distinguish the difference? This answer is clear through a historical perspective. All levels of government in our country have historically and even today maintain a deplorable record of taking privileges, on either an individual basis or specifically targeted groups, both home and abroad. Are these undisputable infringements coming from the land of the free? The answers to all of these questions are entirely too vivid in two very different interpretations of only two words in our country’s Declaration of Independence as, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The first interpretation of Jefferson and our forefathers was that to be qualified for the category of “all men” the three prerequisites of being male, rich and white had to be fulfilled. This discrepancy is not anti-American, but hyper-American and the key to universal human rights. The literal sense of this beautiful work is our first Declaration of Human Rights with the accurate definition of “all men” as we know it to be ALL HUMANS!!!

The multiple crises surrounding our precious natural resource of water is nothing new from a global perspective. We have all read about the horrible pollution stemming from China’s over utilization of fertilizer falling in line with the green revolution, transnational corporations poisoning water while raping and pillaging the land while simultaneously exploiting the impoverished on a global scale. The horrors transpiring have exceeded human rights violations have now also qualified as crimes against humanity.

These facts of the United Nation’s Food and Organization (FAO) show several multiple levels of importance of unpolluted fisheries to the world.

1. 17% of the Worlds protein consumption is from fish.
2. 39 out of the top 40 countries that have fish as the principle protein in their diet are in the developing world.
3. fishing sector is an important source of employment and income for over 120 million people
4. net exports of fish and fishery products by the developing world are generating more than $36 billion annually.
5. fishing produces $420 billion annually to the worlds economy.

The FAO shows the economic importance of fishing and the nutritional values, but reveals the crimes against humanity with this single fact:

1. Due to pollution and over harvesting of fish in the saltwater bodies worldwide have been depleted by 90%!

   1. A continuing deterioration in aquatic ecosystems and the impact of conflicting 'non-fishery' uses of shorelines and coastal areas add further pressure. About 80 per cent of marine pollution comes from the land

The United Nations highlights the problem as,

“The agriculture sector faces a complex challenge: producing more food of better quality while using less water per unit of output; providing rural people with resources and opportunities to live a healthy and productive life; applying clean technologies that ensure environmental sustainability; and contributing in a productive way to the local and national economy.”

The issue of the availability of clean water has traditionally been distant in nature or a global dilemma, but this past year has brought it to the forefront at home. Orange County Water and Sewage are currently at stage 2 and will probably move to stage 3. The economic impact is now felt locally through the restriction of water consumption to the counties businesses. Contaminated fish have been discovered from Wilmington to Charlotte, with levels of mercury at over five times of the FDA’s already feeble standards.

Economic Development Meeting

The town of Chapel Hill sought input on economic development strategies from the community this pass week. After hearing the rules of this presentation I felt more like a kindergartener being taught how to share for the first time. The meeting we attended was held in the center of an upper class, self contained community complete with schools, dinning, entertainment and recreation, medical care, and office space. The individuals at the meeting ranged from 30 something white collar workers to middle aged white collar workers. The input from the community may have been helpful in some aspects but at other points it was geared, by the mediators, toward the mere wording of the sub-goals. A draft of these goals which can be found at http://www.townofchapelhill.org/DocumentView.asp?DID=2022 didn’t follow through with the overall objectives of the development strategies. After listing several general statistics about the town (both positive and negative) which these goals were intended to address the community clearly noticed the lack of categorical statistics. The praised divers, creative, and social conscious make up of our town seemed to get lost as the presentation continued. Granted this was an Economic Development strategies meeting and not a Human Rights strategies meeting but, the main objective states:

Our goal is to build a more sustainable economy for the 21st century by creating a healthy balance among employment, housing and commercial development. In all of our development efforts, the Town of Chapel Hill places importance on the built & natural environment, community character, transit orientation, social equity and quality of life for its citizens.

New Multimedia!

There is a new link that will be dedicated totally to multimedia resources. Currently, there is a radio broadcast concerning Chapel Hill's problems updating information on their website. Check it out!

Short versions of student reports follow. Each starts with a sketch of international human rights law and then each student briefly outlines some of the challenges ahead for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. These reports will be updated at the end of the semester.

A word document of all of these reports can be found here

Rights to Development and Community Democracy

John Gray

What does international law say about economic and environmental sustainability

Principle 27 of the Rio Declaration, proclaims that

"States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfillment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development." [emphasis supplied]

Our Community and Council will work together as they stand by the international intention to sustain the quality of life for all people inside, surrounding, and beyond town limits.

The Hague Declaration of 1989 declared that environmental harm threatens "the right to live in dignity in a viable global environment.”

Ensure Responsible Development in San Leandro - City Council Meeting

1. diverse and mixed-income housing

2. good-paying, union jobs with benefits

3. safe, walkable and bikeable streets

4. access to parks, schools, transit and other important social services

5. green building and energy efficiency to reduce global warming

c. Chapter 2 of Our Common Future (the report of the Brundtland Commission) begins:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

The 1986 United Nations General Assembly "Declaration on the Right to Development."

“Recognizing that development is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process, which aims at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits arising therefrom..."

"The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized."

1994 Draft Principles on Human Rights and the Environment. It avers that

"All persons have the right to active, free and meaningful participation in planning and decision- making and processes that may have an impact on the environment and development. This includes a right to a prior assessment of the environmental, developmental and human rights consequences of proposed actions."

The 1996 Human Development Report issued by the UNDP listed what sustainable development is NOT:

Jobless and ruthless -- development where there are losers such as unemployed people (socio-economic dimension)

Voiceless -- development where the people had no say or participation (political dimension)

Rootless -- development which does violence on communities and their cultures (socio-cultural dimension)

Futureless -- development which is at the expense of future generations such as irreversible destruction of natural life support systems (ecological dimension)