Social Movements and Human Rights
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
“First they ignore you
Then they laugh at you
Then they fight you
Then you WIN"”
- Ghandi
INTRODUCTION
In the past few months we have been witness to the successful referendum in Sudan where people decided the fate of their country and exercised their right to Self Determination. While in Egypt we watched the unprecedented scale of a peoples revolution not only demand the resignation of a seating President but demand access to their Civil and Political Rights as well as Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Hence it is the purpose of this paper to: • Analyse the role social movements played in each State; • The methods used; • Their impact on the final outcome; • The future of social movements in the promotion of Human Rights.
WHAT ARE SOCIAL MOVEMENTS?
In the past social movements have been studied under the field of ‘collective behaviour’ in sociology, where the attention focused on ‘negatively valued groups’[1] such as mobs and riots.
However today social movements are distinguished from other forms of collective behaviour as ‘groups which are long-lasting and which have a clear program or purpose’[2].
Therefore a social movement is defined as ‘a large-scale, in formal effort designed to correct, supplement, overthrow, or in some fashion influence the social order’[3].
Hence, social movements draw their members from the ranks of persons who have encountered a common problem and feel that something can be done about it and want to do something about it.
WHY STUDY SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF HUMAN RIGHTS?
Many contemporary analysts have recognised the growing importance of non-state actors such as Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the promotion and protection of human rights principles. However there is a considerable lack of literature that deals with the role social movements’ play.
Additionally, human rights as a discourse of international law are seldom discussed
“First they ignore you
Then they laugh at you
Then they fight you
Then you WIN"”
- Ghandi
INTRODUCTION
In the past few months we have been witness to the successful referendum in Sudan where people decided the fate of their country and exercised their right to Self Determination. While in Egypt we watched the unprecedented scale of a peoples revolution not only demand the resignation of a seating President but demand access to their Civil and Political Rights as well as Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Hence it is the purpose of this paper to: • Analyse the role social movements played in each State; • The methods used; • Their impact on the final outcome; • The future of social movements in the promotion of Human Rights.
WHAT ARE SOCIAL MOVEMENTS?
In the past social movements have been studied under the field of ‘collective behaviour’ in sociology, where the attention focused on ‘negatively valued groups’[1] such as mobs and riots.
However today social movements are distinguished from other forms of collective behaviour as ‘groups which are long-lasting and which have a clear program or purpose’[2].
Therefore a social movement is defined as ‘a large-scale, in formal effort designed to correct, supplement, overthrow, or in some fashion influence the social order’[3].
Hence, social movements draw their members from the ranks of persons who have encountered a common problem and feel that something can be done about it and want to do something about it.
WHY STUDY SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF HUMAN RIGHTS?
Many contemporary analysts have recognised the growing importance of non-state actors such as Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the promotion and protection of human rights principles. However there is a considerable lack of literature that deals with the role social movements’ play.
Additionally, human rights as a discourse of international law are seldom discussed
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