From Civil to Human Rights - But What Kind of Human Rights?

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Abstract

This essay provides an overview of the current legal human rights discourse and locates the civil rights discourse in the development of rights thinking. Starting from the insight of Martin Luther King, Jr., into the interconnectedness of racial injustice, poverty, and war, on which he focused in his Nobel Prize lecture in 1964, the text delineates how the question of international civil and political as well as social and economic rights address especially the problems of racism and economic injustice. Up to now, the United States has failed to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. As this paper argues, this is paradigmatic for the American avoidance of addressing class issues. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the role of the U.S. Supreme Court and the lasting impact of its decisions on what constituted freedom for American citizens.
Translated title of the contributionFra civile rettigheder til menneskerettigheder - men hvilken form for menneskerettigheder?
Original languageEnglish
Article number2
JournalAmerikastudien/American Studies
Volume69
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)233-243
Number of pages11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities

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