Author
Johannes Morsink
Bio: Johannes Morsink is an academic researcher from Ohio State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Human rights & Declaration. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 9 publications receiving 3740 citations.
Papers
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TL;DR: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as mentioned in this paper is the moral backbone of more than two hundred human rights instruments that are now a part of our world and has been a source of hope and inspiration to thousands of groups and millions of oppressed individuals.
Abstract: In his 1941 State of the Union message President Franklin Roosevelt called for the protection worldwide of four essential freedoms: "the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear". Roosevelt's enunciation of these freedoms was part of a movement that gathered strength in the 1940s and strived to make the protection of human rights part of the conditions for peace at the end of World War II. In 1947 Eleanor Roosevelt was elected to be the chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights that was charged to produce a separate document for this purpose.The resulting Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, has become the moral backbone of more than two hundred human rights instruments that are now a part of our world. The document has been a source of hope and inspiration to thousands of groups and millions of oppressed individuals.Johannes Morsink offers a behind-the-scenes account of the Declaration's origins and development. He reports on the detailed discussions that took place in the United Nations, tells us which countries argued for or against each provision of the Declaration, explains why certain important amendments were rejected, and shows how common revulsion toward the Holocaust provided the consensus needed to adopt this universal code of ethics.
3,538 citations
Book•
09 Jul 2009
TL;DR: The Need to Think Beyond the Political Chapter 1. The need to think beyond the political Chapter 2. Obeying the Conscience of Humanity -Rights from the Wrongs of the Holocaust -The Doctrine of Manifest Illegality -The Framework of Moral Intuitionism Chapter 3. The Shortcomings of the Golden Rule -Micro: Alan Gewirth's Rationalization -Macro: John Rawls's Ethnocentrism.
Abstract: Introduction. The Need to Think Beyond the Political Chapter 1. The Metaphysics of Inherence -Enlightenment Precedents -From Natural to Human Rights -Duties and the Fallacy of Implementation Chapter 2. Obeying the Conscience of Humanity -Rights from the Wrongs of the Holocaust -The Doctrine of Manifest Illegality -The Framework of Moral Intuitionism Chapter 3. The Shortcomings of the Golden Rule -Micro: Alan Gewirth's Rationalization -Macro: John Rawls's Ethnocentrism Chapter 4. Human Rights Cosmopolitanism -The Moral World Picture of the Declaration -The Capabilities Approach to Human Rights -Fitting in Patriotism and Multiculturalism Chapter 5. The Charge of Unrealistic Utopianism -New Rights Call for a New World Order -The Construction of Human Rights Thresholds -Social and Economic Covenant Examples Chapter 6. Human Rights and Democratic Participation -Habermas on Popular Sovereignty and Human Rights -The Right to Participation in Substantive Democracies Notes Index Acknowledgments
73 citations
50 citations
TL;DR: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as discussed by the authors is a keystone of the Declaration and a gateway to its universality, and it was recommended by the Sub-Commissions on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities.
Abstract: The Charter of the United Nations forbids discrimination on the basis of "race sex language or religion." Some of the delegations involved in drafting the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights felt that this short list of four nondiscrimination items was enough and should be repeated in the Declaration. Others wanted to be more exhaustive. The matter was referred to the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities. This commission recommended that the article in the Declaration state that "[e]veryone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind such as race sex language religion political or other opinion property status or national or social origin." Everything after "religion" was added to the Charter list. A few objections were raised but nothing was deleted from the list. Instead the two items of "color" and "birth" were added to the Sub-Commissions recommendation. Article 2 of the Declaration is thus an expansion of the Charters mandate that the new world organization promote human rights for all without discrimination. This theme of nondiscrimination runs through all the deliberations about the Declaration and whatever disagreements there were about the various items on the list were minor. There was complete agreement that the article on nondiscrimination was a keystone of the Declaration and a gateway to its universality. If we take away someones race sex and opinions on various subjects all information about his or her background about birth and present economic status what we have left is just a human being one without frills. And the Declaration says that the human rights it proclaims belong to these kinds of stripped-down people that is to everyone without exception. As Mr. Heywood the Australian representative said "logically discrimination was prohibited by the use in each article of the phrase every person or everyone." That is why the prohibition against discrimination is not repeated- -as it well might have been--with each article but is stated at the beginning and made applicable to "all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration." Given this opening prohibition against discrimination there is strictly speaking no need for repetition. But that does not mean that the temptation was not there especially in the case of sex-based discrimination. Nor does it mean that the final product--a litany of the words "everyone" and "no one"--was arrived at without struggle. For there was a struggle especially in the case of womens rights. (excerpt)
47 citations
39 citations
Cited by
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TL;DR: The Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH) as mentioned in this paper was created to marshal the evidence on what can be done to promote health equity and to foster a global movement to achieve it.
7,335 citations
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai1, Pure Earth2, World Bank3, University of Arizona4, McGill University5, Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests6, Qatar Airways7, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich8, University of Health Sciences Antigua9, Johns Hopkins University10, Boston College11, Chulabhorn Research Institute12, University of Maryland, College Park13, University of Ghana14, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares15, University of Chicago16, University of London17, University of Oxford18, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi19, Simon Fraser University20, Consortium of Universities for Global Health21, University of Ottawa22, Columbia University23, Stockholm Resilience Centre24, Massachusetts Institute of Technology25, University of Queensland26, University of California, Berkeley27, New York University28, National Institutes of Health29, Public Health Research Institute30, United Nations Industrial Development Organization31, Renmin University of China32
TL;DR: This book is dedicated to the memory of those who have served in the armed forces and their families during the conflicts of the twentieth century.
2,628 citations
Deakin University1, University of Auckland2, Virginia Tech3, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation4, Catholic University of Leuven5, Public Health Foundation of India6, Imperial College London7, Australian National University8, Washington University in St. Louis9, Brookings Institution10, University of Stirling11, University of London12, Harvard University13, University of Hertfordshire14, McGill University15, Drexel University16, Tehran University of Medical Sciences17, George Washington University18, Newcastle University19, Wellington Management Company20, Huazhong University of Science and Technology21, World Bank22, University of Cape Town23, University of Amsterdam24, University of Newcastle25
TL;DR: This work aims to demonstrate the efforts towards in-situ applicability of EMMARM, which aims to provide real-time information about concrete mechanical properties such as E-modulus and compressive strength.
1,480 citations
01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: For example, the authors notes that although the country acceded to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol in 1999, incorporation of these obligations into national legislation and normative acts has been slow and to date Kazakhstan has failed to comply with its obligation to give full effect to the Covenant in the domestic legal order.
Abstract: 4. UNHCR notes with concern that although the country acceded to the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol in 1999, incorporation of the 1951 Convention obligations into national legislation and normative acts has been slow and to date Kazakhstan has failed to comply with its obligation to give full effect to the Covenant in the domestic legal order, inter alia providing for effective judicial and other remedies for violations of these rights
1,302 citations
Book•
31 Aug 2009TL;DR: Simmons as mentioned in this paper argues that international human rights law has made a positive contribution to the realization of human rights in much of the world, focusing on rights stakeholders rather than United Nations or state pressure, and demonstrates through a combination of statistical analyses and case studies that the ratification of treaties leads to better rights practices on average.
Abstract: This volume argues that international human rights law has made a positive contribution to the realization of human rights in much of the world. Although governments sometimes ratify human rights treaties, gambling that they will experience little pressure to comply with them, this is not typically the case. Focusing on rights stakeholders rather than the United Nations or state pressure, Beth Simmons demonstrates through a combination of statistical analyses and case studies that the ratification of treaties leads to better rights practices on average. Simmons argues that international human rights law should get more practical and rhetorical support from the international community as a supplement to broader efforts to address conflict, development, and democratization.
1,136 citations