Beyond norms and interests: Understanding the evolution of transnational human rights activism

International Journal of Human Rights

Volumn 14, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 442-459

  Rodio, Emily B ^a   Schmitz, Hans Peter ^a  

^a SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Amnesty international; Mandate changes; Norms; Transnational activism

Indexed keywords

EID: 79956256564     PISSN: 13642987     EISSN: 1744053X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13642980802535575     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. Richard Price, 'Transnational Civil Society and Advocacy in World Politics', World Politics 55, no. 4 (2003): 579-606.
2. Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders. Advocacy Networks in International Politics (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998).
3. David Kennedy, The Dark Sides of Virtue. Reassessing International Humanitarianism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004).
4. Clifford Bob, The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
5. James Ron, Howard Ramos, and Kathleen Rodgers, 'Transnational Information Politics. NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986-2000', International Studies Quarterly 49, no. 3 (2005): 557-87.
6. Shareen Hertel, Unexpected Power. Conflict and Change among Transnational Activists (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006).
7. Stephen Hopgood, Keepers of the Flame. Understanding Amnesty International (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006).
8. Steven C. Poe, Sabine C. Carey, and Tanya C. Vazquez, 'How Are These Pictures Different? A Quantitative Comparison of the US State Department and Amnesty International Human Rights Reports, 1976-1995', Human Rights Quarterly 23, no. 3 (2001): 650-77.
9. Thomas Risse, '"Let's Argue!": Communicative Action in World Politics', International Organisation 54, no. 1 (2001): 1-39;
10. Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink, 'International Norm Dynamics and Political Change', International Organisation 52, no. 4 (1998): 887-917.
11. Mary Ann Glendon, A World Made New. Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (New York: Random House, 2001).
12. th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, 5 August 1947.
13. Mark Mazower, 'The Strange Triumph of Human Rights, 1933-1950', The Historical Journal 47, no. 2 (2004): 379-98.
14. In 1953, the United Kingdom was the only European nation to extend the European Convention on Human Rights to most of its colonies;
15. Kirsten Sellars, The Rise and Rise of Human Rights (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2002), 87.
16. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966; entry into force: 23 March 1976 and International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966; entry into force 3 January 1976, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/index.htm#core (accessed 26 June 2009).
17. Jack Donnelly, 'International Human Rights: A Regime Analysis', International Organisation 40, no. 3 (1986): 599-642.
18. Daniel Thomas, The Helsinki Effect. International Norms, Human Rights, and the Demise of Communism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2001).
19. United Nations Charter, Article 71, adopted on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco.
20. Dianne Otto, 'Nongovernmental Organisations in the United Nations System: The Emerging Role of International Civil Society', Human Rights Quarterly 18, no. 1 (1996): 107-41.
21. Ibid., 115.
22. The number of NGOs accorded consultative status at the United Nations has increased from less than fifty in 1946 to more than 3,000 in 2008. A searchable database of those NGOs is available online: http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/. The influence of NGO is not only reflected in numbers, but also in expanded participation rights during debates in United Nations bodies; for an overview of these qualitative changes.
23. Peter Willetts, 'From "Consultative Arrangements" to "Partnerships": The Changing Role of NGOs in the Diplomacy at the UN', Global Governance 6, no. 2 (2000): 191-202.
24. William Korey, NGOs and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A Curious Grapevine (Houndmills: Macmillan, 1998), 90.
25. Sidney Liskofsky cited in: Korey, NGOs and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 139 (italics in the original).
26. Keck and Sikkink, Activists beyond Borders, 10.
27. Prominent examples of transnational groups include the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International League for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and Human Rights First (formerly: Lawyers Committee for Human Rights).
28. Sellars, The Rise and Rise of Human Rights, 97-113.
29. Tom Buchanan, 'Amnesty International in Crisis, 1966-7', Twentieth Century British History 15, no. 3 (2004): 267-89.
30. Kerstin Martens, 'Professionalized Representation of Human Rights NGOs to the United Nations', The International Journal of Human Rights 10, no. 1 (2006): 19-30.
31. David Matas, No More. The Battle Against Human Rights Violations (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1994).
32. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993 (A/CONF.157/23).
33. Jessica Budds and Gordon McGranahan, 'Are the Debates on Water Privatization Missing the Point? Experiences from Africa, Asia and Latin America', Environment and Urbanization 15, no. 2 (2003): 87-114.
34. Keith Siviter, an AI pioneer, recalled that even during the 1960s mandate expansion was highly controversial: ';When Benenson (the founder of AI, ER and HPS) proposed broadening the mandate to include torture cases, 'there was great outcry... we're dissipating our energies; we ought... only to keep to our work for prisoners of conscience. Then we moved into capital punishment. Exactly the same thing...', Linda Rabben, Fierce Legion of Friends: A History of Human Rights Campaigns and Campaigners (Hyattsville, MD: Quixote Center, 2002), 194. The International Council brings together the national sections as well as the Secretariat to decide on the general direction of the organisation. The important meetings for the mandate review were held in Dublin, Ireland (1989), Yokohama, Japan (1991), Boston, MA, USA (1993), Ljubljana, Slovenia (1995), University of Western Cape, South Africa (1997), Troia, Portugal (1999), Dakar, Senegal (2001), and Morelos City, Mexico (26th and 27th meeting, 2003 and 2005).
35. Peter Pack, 'Amnesty International: An Evolving Mandate in a Changing World', in Human Rights. An Agenda for the 21st Century, eds A. Hagerty and L. Siobhan (London: Cavendish, 1999).
36. Stephen Hart, Cultural Dilemmas of Progressive Politics. Styles of Engagement among Grassroots Activists (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001), 143.
37. A similar inconsistency existed in AI's policies regarding defending individuals detailed for their sexual orientation. While the organisation became active in this area during the late 1980s, the issue never became officially adopted in the statute. Moreover, AI drew a line between those imprisoned because they said they were of a different sexual orientation (as part of a campaign, etc.) and those that were arrested for being of a different sexual orientation.
38. The ICM was originally scheduled to take place in Morocco but was moved when the Moroccan government banned the meeting.
39. Derek Evans, Amnesty International and Socio-Economic Rights (London: Amnesty International, 1999).
40. Ron, Ramos, and Rodgers, 'Transnational Information Politics. NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986-2000'.
41. Ron, Ramos, and Rodgers, 'Transnational Information Politics. NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986-2000', 576.
42. Ron, Ramos, and Rodgers's Study combines quantitative and qualitative methods. They used interviews with Amnesty personnel to confirm the results of their large-n analysis.
43. Ron, Ramos, and Rodgers, 'Transnational Information Politics. NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986-2000', 576.
44. Amnesty International Index: EUR 46/020/2002- News Service Nr. 69, published on 19 April 2002.
45. Amnesty International Index: EUR 46/025/2003, published on 17 March 2003.
46. Ron, Ramos, and Rodgers, 'Transnational Information Politics. NGO Human Rights Reporting, 1986-2000', 568 (Table 2).
47. Amnesty International Index: EUR 46/007/2003, published on 23 January 2003.
48. Amnesty International Index: ASA 17/007/2001, published on 28 February 2001.
49. Amnesty International, 'Death Penalty: Death Sentences and Executions in 2007', http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/death-sentences-and-executions-in-2007 (accessed 12 August2008).