NGOs and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Subtitle: a curious grapevine
By: William Korey.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 638
Subjects: United Nations. General Assembly; Human rights; Non-governmental organizations
Description: NGOs and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a study of the historic and unique role played by NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in helping to bring about compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted fifty years ago, Eleanor Roosevelt, its principal architect, predicted that "a curious grapevine" would carry its message behind barbed wire and stone walls.

This volume tells the extraordinary story of how NGOs became that "grapevine" - sensitizing mankind's conscience about violations of human rights, "shaming" the most notorious abusers, creating the international machinery and mechanisms to bring about implementation of the Declaration, laying the groundwork for the destruction of the Soviet empire and South Africa's apartheid system, and establishing the principle of accountability for crimes against humanity.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [597]-626) and index.