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Articles by Ignacio Saiz
Between despair and defensiveness: human rights progress in disorienting times
Justin Dream / Unsplash This is a profoundly disheartening time for human rights work. Democratic backsliding, widening inequality, accelerating ecological crises, and intensifying conflict have reshaped the context for advancing human rights. Civic space has shrunk, and human rights defenders are increasingly stigmatized, criminalized, and attacked. Funding for rights-based work is under strain just as authoritarian and exclusionary forces appear increasingly emboldened.
Año 2030. Una España sin corrupción
Es el año 2030 y han pasado ya tres años desde las últimas elecciones generales. El nuevo gobierno conservador formado por la derecha tradicional y la extrema derecha tardó apenas unas semanas en alcanzar un acuerdo de gobierno. El programa parecía bastante claro.
Los buenos no existen
Los buenos no existen. Los hemos deportado. Les hemos reprochado sus buenas intenciones, hemos ridiculizado las causas justas que defendían y hemos vestido de debilidad el humanismo que Occidente había construido a lo largo del siglo XX basado en el derecho internacional y el respeto a los derechos humanos. Hoy nuestros gobiernos debaten sobre los perímetros geográficos de la empatía como si fuera un recurso escaso.
El Estado son los padres (y debería dejar ed serlo)
Lo reconozco. El título del artículo cumple un único objetivo: provocar. Y sí, ya sé que está feo pero, también te digo, las redes sociales están llenas de provocaciones que no se quedan simplemente en el titular, sino que desarrollan la provocación a base de mentiras, exageraciones y propaganda anti-política distribuida en reels e impactos capaces de viralizarse con una rapidez que, a veces, asusta.
Tengo un amigo que vota a Vox
Tengo un amigo que vota a VOX e incluso debo reconocer que alguno más. Puede ser que incluso también tenga familia y algún ser querido que lo hiciera en las últimas elecciones, y ya me preocuparía que no fuera así. En el año 2023 17.700 personas en la provincia de cuenca decidieron optar por este partido en las elecciones generales (en 2019 ya lo habían hecho 20.000 votantes).
Enfrentar la desigualdad como injusticia: cuatro desafíos para la agenda de derechos humanos
Los derechos humanos pueden ayudar a enfrentar la desigualdad económica, pero es necesario superar cuatro desafíos conceptuales, normativos, estratégicos y metodológicos. Durante los últimos tres meses, openGlobalRights ha reunido a destacados profesionales de diversos campos para debatir sobre la desigualdad económica desde una perspectiva de derechos humanos.
We Must Fight for Economic and Social Rights and Against the Shackles of Debt
Over-indebtedness, and the policy trends fueling it, have devastating impacts on people’s lives. This essay argues that there is a mutual reinforcing relationship between booming levels of household and sovereign debt and the systematic deprivation of human rights around the world — which is why protecting these rights must be a core principle of debt justice.
Time for a rights-based global economic stimulus to tackle COVID-19
During this pandemic, economic rescue packages—nationally and globally—must protect the socioeconomic rights of those most at risk. Nathalia Aguilar/EFE This article is a part of OGR's Imagining our Post-Pandemic Futures series on the human rights practice needed for creating a better world during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments around the world are scrambling to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis—with glaring differences in their responses.
Fighting for rights in the streets-not just the courts-of Hong Kong
The Hong Kong protest movement has long given up hope that Hong Kong’s rule of law can be protected with judicial means only. Roman Pilipey/EFE Hong Kong is in a deep political crisis, and at the heart of this crisis is a battle about human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.
Human rights are also about social justice
Drawing on the central practices and aims of a traditional human rights organization as described by Aryeh Neier in his account of Human Rights Watch, let me respond, the author says, by imagining its suitability and relevance to a social justice agenda.
Human rights and social justice: the in(di)visible link
Aryeh Neier affirms that the pursuit of social justice is not an appropriate goal of a human rights organization, arguing that human rights is concerned with restraints on the exercise of power whereas social justice is concerned with the redistribution of wealth and resources. Human rights and social justice are not synonymous.
Rising household debt: curse or blessing for human rights?
Bad social policies and predatory bank practices are forcing larger numbers of people into personal debt, with serious consequences for key human rights and overall inequality. Tierra Mallorca/Unsplash Household debt is not a problem per se. The ability to borrow within the limits of one’s own financial capacity may improve people’s living standards, allowing access to services that would otherwise be out of reach; and it may play a role in activating and supporting the economy.
Transforming the development agenda requires more, not less, attention to human rights
The UN General Assembly later this month will begin negotiations over the content of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015. EFE Human rights have thus become a lightning rod in the geo-political wrangling around the next global development goals. The UN General Assembly later this month will begin negotiations over the content of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015.
Time for a Human Rights Injection Against Vaccine Nationalism
By Ignacio Saiz, CESR's Executive Director This week, I joined the one third of the US population to have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Though I feel very fortunate to have received this first essential protection against the virus, I won’t be posting the compulsory selfie about it on social media, as it’s more a marker of privilege than a motive of pride.
Ebola, human rights, and poverty - making the links
The Ebola crisis shows the necessity of a human rights approach to public health that focuses on discrimination and accountability, and the crisis itself has been driven by deep inequities in access to basic rights and a legacy of conflict and mass human rights abuse. Tommy Trenchard/Demotix (All rights reserved) Health workers in an Ebola screening unit in Kenema government hospital, Sierra Leone.
Es momento de tener un estímulo económico global basado en derechos para enfrentar la covid-19
Durante esta pandemia, los paquetes de rescate económico nacionales y globales deben proteger los derechos socioeconómicos de los más vulnerables. Nathalia Aguilar/EFE Los gobiernos alrededor del mundo están luchando por enfrentar los efectos económicos de la crisis de la covid-19, cuyas respuestas han sido muy diferentes. Primero, hay un gran contraste entre las distintas intervenciones de rescate financiadas por el gobierno y sus impactos en los derechos humanos.
Lutte contre le Covid-19 : le temps d’une relance économique mondiale basée sur les droits est venu
Pendant cette pandémie, les plans de relance économique, nationaux et mondiaux, doivent protéger les droits socioéconomiques de ceux qui sont le plus à risque. Nathalia Aguilar/EFE Les gouvernements du monde entier s’efforcent de gérer les effets économiques de la crise du Covid-19, avec des différences flagrantes dans la réponse qu’ils apportent. Premièrement, le contraste est saisissant entre les diverses interventions financées par les gouvernements et leurs conséquences sur les droits humains.
استخدام سياسة التضامن في مواجهة صعود الشعبوية
مع مواجهة العالم لتزايد الانقسام والكراهية، على مجتمع حقوق الإنسان مواجهة هذا التراجع في التعاطف بالاستعانة بالتضامن. Photo: Ryan Franco/Unsplash إننا نعيش في زمن مضطرب للغاية، في خضم تصاعد الظلام في بلدي الهند وفي شتى أنحاء العالم. إننا نشهد عالم تتصاعد فيه الكراهية، واللامساواة، ونوع جديد من القيادة في شتى أنحاء العالم.
Returning to “normal” is impossible for India’s tea plantation workers
Workers in India’s tea plantations have pre-existing health and environmental conditions that make them highly vulnerable to COVID-19, making a return to “normal” impossible. Farooq Khan/EFE/EPA The spread of COVID-19 has put India in the midst of an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Not only are we battling a threatening pandemic with a neglected healthcare system, we also have to prevent its escalation in a country of 1.3 billion people.
Sortir les droits humains de l’impasse en adoptant les objectifs de développement durable
Le danger d’une discorde de plus en plus importante sur les droits humains, sur fond de montée des pouvoirs autoritaires, pourrait être évité en adoptant le consensus international sur le développement fondé sur les droits qui figure dans les ODD.
Luchar por los derechos en las calles -y no solo en los tribunales- de Hong Kong
Hace tiempo que el movimiento de protesta de Hong Kong perdió la esperanza de que el estado de derecho en Hong Kong pueda protegerse solo con medios judiciales. Roman Pilipey/EFE Hong Kong atraviesa una crisis política profunda, y en el núcleo de esta crisis hay una batalla por los derechos humanos, la democracia y el estado de derecho.
Desbloquear el avance de los derechos humanos mediante la adopción de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
Adoptar el consenso mundial del desarrollo basado en los derechos incorporado en los ODS podría ayudar a evitar los peligros de una divergencia mundial en aumento, dado el auge de las potencias autoritarias. Paolo Aguilar -EFE Si bien los ODS brindan un punto de partida saludable para la integración de las misiones de desarrollo y de derechos humanos de las Naciones Unidas, siguen siendo algo a lo que se aspira, sin recursos suficientes para implementarlos.
La desigualdad es una preocupación fundamental de los observadores de derechos humanos de la ONU
Los órganos de derechos humanos de la ONU enfatizan la desigualdad en sus recomendaciones a los Estados, lo que muestra que esta cuestión debe ser considerada y atendida como una preocupación central en materia de derechos humanos. Foto: Zoriah/Flickr, edited (CC BY-NC 2.0) ¿Los derechos humanos tienen algo que decir sobre la desigualdad material? Vale la pena hacer esta pregunta, sobre todo en vista de las críticas recientes.
Inequality a prominent concern for UN human rights monitors
UN human rights bodies are highlighting inequality when making recommendations to states – showing that this issue should be seen and acted on as a central human rights concern. Photo: Zoriah/Flickr, edited (CC BY-NC 2.0) Do human rights have anything to say about material inequality? The question is worth asking, especially in light of recent critiques.
الاحتجاجات التي تعم أنحاء العالم تطالب الحقوقيين بالتصدي للظلم الاقتصادي
هناك رسالة واضحة تخرج من الشوارع وعلى الفاعلين بالمجال الحقوقي أن يصطفوا خلفها: لا يمكن أن تتواجد الديمقراطية في غياب العدالة الاقتصادية والاجتماعية. Photo: EFE/Alberto Valdes (All rights reserved) شهد العالم خلال الأسابيع الأخيرة موجة عاتية من الاحتجاجات الجماعية والمظاهرات. ورغم تباين أسباب وسياقات الاحتجاجات المختلفة، فربما يمكن النظر إليها بصفتها جزء من ثورة عالمية ضد اللامساواة المتطرفة والظلم الاقتصادي والنظم السياسية التي تحركه وتؤدي إليه.
Las protestas a nivel mundial exigen que los actores de derechos humanos afronten la injusticia económica
A los defensores de los derechos humanos les deben preocupar las injusticias económicas que han provocado las recientes manifestaciones mundiales tanto como las respuestas represivas que se les han dado. Photo: EFE/Alberto Valdes (All rights reserved) En las últimas semanas, una impresionante oleada de protestas multitudinarias se ha propagado por todo el mundo.
Time for a rights-based global economic stimulus to tackle COVID-19
During this pandemic, economic rescue packages—nationally and globally—must protect the socioeconomic rights of those most at risk. Nathalia Aguilar/EFE This article is a part of OGR's Imagining our Post-Pandemic Futures series on the human rights practice needed for creating a better world during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Governments around the world are scrambling to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis—with glaring differences in their responses.
It’s time for human rights NGOs to challenge systems, not symptoms
To win support, human rights NGOs must challenge systems, not symptoms, step up their work on ESR, and provide practical solutions to the problems they expose. The human rights framework has had many successes in the 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, but is it still relevant to today’s challenges? To be so, it must continue to evolve and address the issues of most concern to most people.
Time for a Rights-Based Global Economic Stimulus to Tackle COVID-19
Safeguarding human rights in economic responses to the crisis demands governments finally lay to rest the prevailing dogma of austerity. Economic rescue packages—nationally and globally—must protect the socioeconomic rights of those most at risk. Governments around the world are scrambling to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 crisis—with glaring differences in their responses.
Spain: From Laggard to Leader on Social Rights?
Language English The devastating findings of the UN poverty expert’s recent visit will put the new government’s laudable commitments on social rights to the test. By Ignacio Saiz February 25, 2020 At a time when political leaders across the globe are outdoing themselves to attack pillars of human rights – eroding asylum and justifying extrajudicial killings, for example – it may seem utopian to expect governments to place human rights at the foundation of their socioeconomic policies.
The era of state mobilization is over: Welcome to the streets
As civilian protesters take to the streets to demand their rights, human rights leaders consider a future of citizen-led activism. Protestors in Hong Kong gather against emergency anti-mask legislation, passed in response to months of demonstrations. Photo: Etan Liam/Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0). States are no longer trusted as representatives of popular interests or reliable guarantors of human rights, even in democracies.
Human Rights and the Global Protests: Addressing Systems as Well as Symptoms
Civil Society, Global, Headlines, Human Rights Opinion By Ignacio Saiz Reprint | | Print | Ignacio Saiz is Executive Director, The Center for Economic and Social Rights In Ecuador, indigenous-led protests compelled the government to reconsider an austerity package agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that included public sector wage cuts and fuel price hikes. Credit: Conaie.
Global protests demand human rights actors tackle economic injustice
Human rights advocates should be as concerned with the economic injustices giving rise to recent worldwide demonstrations as with the repressive responses to them. Photo: EFE/Alberto Valdes (All rights reserved) In recent weeks, an extraordinary wave of mass protests has swept the globe. While their specific causes and contexts vary, many can be seen as part of a worldwide revolt against extreme inequality and the unjust economic and political systems driving it.
Global protests demand human rights actors tackle economic injustice
Human rights advocates should be as concerned with the economic injustices giving rise to recent worldwide demonstrations as with the repressive responses to them. Photo: EFE/Alberto Valdes (All rights reserved) In recent weeks, an extraordinary wave of mass protests has swept the globe. While their specific causes and contexts vary, many can be seen as part of a worldwide revolt against extreme inequality and the unjust economic and political systems driving it.
An Invitation to Help Shape CESR's New Strategy
Language English By Ignacio Saiz CESR has embarked on a process to develop a new organizational strategy for 2020 - 2022. Listening and learning is a key pillar of our planning process. So we’re eager to invite feedback as we go along. We end our current strategy cycle with achievements to celebrate. We’ve challenged austerity measures in different countries and promoted fiscal and development policies aimed at disrupting rampant inequality.
Human rights and the age of inequality
The value of distributive equality—any ceiling on the wealth gap between rich and poor—is as absent from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as it is from the legal regimes and social movements that take it as their polestar.
Rising inequality is a wake-up call for human rights
EFE/Paolo Aguilar Participants in a demonstration against hunger and poverty seen today, Saturday September 18, 2010, in the Parque de la Muralla in the center of Lima (Peru). In a recent opinion piece in the New York Times, provocatively titled “How the Human Rights Movement Failed”, Yale professor Samuel Moyn slams the human rights movement for failing to address rising economic inequality and other socioeconomic grievances, which have contributed to the rise of populist authoritarianism.
Economic inequality and human rights: towards a more nuanced assessment
Samuel Moyn’s provocative piece in the New York Times faults the human rights movement for failing to address rising economic inequality and other socioeconomic grievances which have contributed to the rise of populist authoritarianism. This criticism is not without merit, as much of the human rights movement has indeed been late to the game on these issues. As with other recent laments about the “end of human rights,” Moyn’s article has generated a lot of attention and knowing nods.
Tackling inequality: the potential of the Sustainable Development Goals
Growing economic inequality is a crucial factor in the rise of nationalist and populist politics in the US and elsewhere—with alarming implications for inclusive democracy and the broader human rights project. However, despite growing concern, expressed even by governments and elites, wealth inequality continued to rise in 2016, with the world’s top 1% now owning half of all global assets.
Two forums, two approaches to advancing the SDGs and human rights
In the last few weeks, two major global forums took place. Both were trying to address relatively similar challenges, and a common thread—the urgent need to change—ran through both. The first was the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). The HLPF brings UN Member States together to oversee the implementation of the 2030 agenda, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs provide a plan of action to address many of the challenges faced by our generation.
It’s time for development banks to start listening
The aid community often ignores the wishes of the very people it’s supposed to be helping. The world needs a more bottom-up approach to development. A contribution to openGlobalRights’ closing space for civil society debate. Español Almost a year ago, the United Nations set the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious blueprint for governments and financiers to use their political power and resources to end poverty, hunger, and disease.
Tackling inequality as injustice: four challenges for the human rights agenda
Human rights can help confront economic inequality, but four conceptual, normative, strategic and methodological challenges must be overcome. Over the last three months, openGlobalRights has brought together leading practitioners from various fields to debate economic inequality from a human rights perspective.
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