Human Rights: A Very Short Introduction

Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers A highly suitable starting point for students of law, moral and ethical philosophy, history and politics. And, of course, activists in civil society movements or those who seek an accessible introduction to human rights and their relevance to current events.


Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers This short book covers one main area of current interest very well: how the human rights movement has gained increasing attention internationally... "Clapham on Human Rights" can be summed up as one of the best titles we have read yet from OUP.

Andrew Clapham is Professor of Public International Law at the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva. Before he joined the Graduate Institute of International Studies Institute in 1997, he was the Representative of Amnesty International to the United Nations in New York. He was the Director of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from 2006 until 2014. His publications include The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary, co-edited with Paola Gaeta and Marco Sassoli, (OUP 2015) and The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict, co-edited with Paola Gaeta (OUP 2014).

Preface ; 1. Looking at rights ; 2. Historical development and contemporary concerns ; 3. Human rights foreign policy and the role of the United Nations ; 4. Torture ; 5. Deprivations of life and liberty ; 6. Balancing rights - free speech and privacy ; 7. Food, education, health, housing, and work ; 8. Discrimination and equality ; 9. The death penalty ; Final remarks ; References ; Further reading ; Annex: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ; Index