Human Rights in the 21st Century: Developing Rights in a Developing World
20th July 2018 University of Birmingham
Conference funded by the Midland3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership
Conference funded by the Midland3Cities Doctoral Training Partnership
In the middle of a heatwave, a group of University postgraduates gathered at the Edgbaston campus of the University of Birmingham to assess the current status of Human Rights in the 21st Century. Even summer showers later in the day could not stop them from reporting on the findings of their research and discussing the implications of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on their research within a developing world.
The day was split into two pathways, with two keynote speakers - Dr Illan Wall (University of Warwick) who explored the nature of human rights discourse and Prof. Zoe Trodd (University of Nottingham) who explored the work of the Rights Lab, and how research can be used to aid the agenda to end modern slavery by 2030. Finally there was a round-table session in which four doctoral candidates, including myself, presented their research before connecting this to the UN SDGs and opening up the discussion to the other delegates on how their own research can be used to support the SDGs.
Keynote Speakers
There were two keynote speakers, and both provided presentations which demonstrated the broad range of research and topics that are covered by the field of human rights.
Dr Illan Wall
For his presentation, Dr Illan Wall took a detailed look at the commitment to human rights and whether this is akin to a strategic commitment to rights. The conclusions were that these were not the same and that a wider view of rights were needed. It must be recognised that not all movements are, or should be viewed as, a human rights struggle. As a result, he explored the notion that a partial commitment to rights may be more appropriate - one where we can question the ways in which rights are being used and the methods that may be devaluing them.
Illan explained throughout his keynote how this partial commitment to rights requires a 'rights strategy'. As part of this methodology, people are required to consider and ask questions about the framework of the rights in each case in which they are needed. The application or removal of rights can be dangerous and must therefore be considered in a careful and strategic manner. This also allows us to grapple with any possibly unintended consequences of the application of rights. However, rights are not determinate, they can be altered and counteracted and this is one of the reasons which we must clearly consider our actions surrounding human rights.
The ideas expressed within Illan's work were novel to myself as I am from a geographical background, and I am unfamiliar with some of the scholarly thoughts relating to the field of human rights. Dr Wall's work was an interesting first insight into the field of human rights application and thought and one that I endeavour to explore in more detail in the future. I feel as though his argument relating to the human rights approach is one of many faces and I am keen to discover those other ideas and discover where the work presented here fits in with the wider world of human rights academia.
Prof. Zoe Trodd
As head of the Rights Lab research group, a Beacon of Excellence, at the University of Nottingham Prof. Zoe Trodd laid out the details of the programme of research that has been put in place in order to help eradicate modern slavery within the time frame noted in target 8.7 (SDG 8) of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
The Rights Lab works on a scientific formula in order to produce academic outputs which can help to support work conducted by antislavery non-governmental organisations (NGOs), partnerships and governments (Fig. 1).
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| Figure 1: A road-map for reaching a slavery-free world through scientifically rigorous research practices at the Rights Lab. |
These research themes are separated into four main areas:
- Data and Measuring
- Survivor Perspectives
- Policy and Solutions
- Business and Economies
Work being conducted by Rights Lab researchers are exploring the establishment of slavery free community partnerships, incorporating survivor narratives to ensure focus in our work, applying historical slavery knowledge to modern slavery, remote sensing, and many more. These are all being conducted with the aim of supporting the 17 SDGs and the associated 169 targets. In addition, Zoe detailed how ending slavery means a better world for everyone. This concept is known as the 'freedom dividend' which is an effective method for development policy to employ, and demonstrates the interconnected nature of the SDGs and modern slavery to the environment, people and the economies which it infiltrates.
In order to achieve this 'freedom dividend', the Rights Lab is working to deliver a new agenda to tackle slavery through rigorous research and the employment of novel methodologies within the antislavery field. This research group is drawing together research from across faculties and disciplines in order to provide social, economic, political, environmental and cultural benefits that will help to achieve the 2030 Agenda of ending modern slavery and child labour in all its forms.
SDG Roundtable
I took part in the SDG round-table discussion which focused specifically on research referencing modern slavery and associated practices such as child marriage and forced labour and their links to the SDGs that have been laid out by the United Nations.
The research which was presented was varied and demonstrated the scope of connections that can be made relating to the SDGs, and linking this to a specific target (target 8.7) of ending modern slavery and all forms of child labour by 2030 and 2025 respectively.
I presented work looking at the slavery-environment nexus (as explored at a previous conference I attended here) within the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF), Bangladesh. Drawing together the SDGs is an important process as it provides more incentive for policy change to be enacted that protects both the environment and vulnerable people from which the risk of slavery persists. The research I presented was building upon a pilot study noting the presence of fish-processing camps within the SRF that were raised by Kevin Bales in a 2016 Telegraph article (accessible here, and explored further in the book Blood and Earth) and Jensen (2013). Here I aimed to draw together information which supported a number of SDGs from those protecting mangrove environments (found in SDG 6) to the more obvious protections of the water and land (SDG 14 and 15).
The round-table discussion held after our presentations was a great opportunity to explore ideas with the wider cohort of conference attendees and have people look at the research from a fresh perspective. The discussion was very productive looking at concerns that may surround the implementation of the SDGs - one of the key discourses in the critical thinking field of academia - and how making and demonstrating practical applications of the SDGs to enable real effective change is important within all of our research. Perhaps the most interesting thing I encountered throughout the round-table discussion is how the interconnected nature of the goals is important for solving issues linked to modern slavery, by solving one target you help to solve many others; related to this, the importance of partnerships was raised. No agency is able to solve all of the problems alone. Therefore, governments, researchers and NGOs, among others, are required to support one another in the fight to end modern slavery.
References
Bales, K. (2016). Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World. Spiegel & Grau, New York.
Jensen, K.B. (2013). Child Slavery and the Fish Processing Industry in Bangladesh. Focus on Geography, 56 (2), 54-65.
The research which was presented was varied and demonstrated the scope of connections that can be made relating to the SDGs, and linking this to a specific target (target 8.7) of ending modern slavery and all forms of child labour by 2030 and 2025 respectively.
I presented work looking at the slavery-environment nexus (as explored at a previous conference I attended here) within the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF), Bangladesh. Drawing together the SDGs is an important process as it provides more incentive for policy change to be enacted that protects both the environment and vulnerable people from which the risk of slavery persists. The research I presented was building upon a pilot study noting the presence of fish-processing camps within the SRF that were raised by Kevin Bales in a 2016 Telegraph article (accessible here, and explored further in the book Blood and Earth) and Jensen (2013). Here I aimed to draw together information which supported a number of SDGs from those protecting mangrove environments (found in SDG 6) to the more obvious protections of the water and land (SDG 14 and 15).
The round-table discussion held after our presentations was a great opportunity to explore ideas with the wider cohort of conference attendees and have people look at the research from a fresh perspective. The discussion was very productive looking at concerns that may surround the implementation of the SDGs - one of the key discourses in the critical thinking field of academia - and how making and demonstrating practical applications of the SDGs to enable real effective change is important within all of our research. Perhaps the most interesting thing I encountered throughout the round-table discussion is how the interconnected nature of the goals is important for solving issues linked to modern slavery, by solving one target you help to solve many others; related to this, the importance of partnerships was raised. No agency is able to solve all of the problems alone. Therefore, governments, researchers and NGOs, among others, are required to support one another in the fight to end modern slavery.
References
Bales, K. (2016). Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World. Spiegel & Grau, New York.
Jensen, K.B. (2013). Child Slavery and the Fish Processing Industry in Bangladesh. Focus on Geography, 56 (2), 54-65.
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