Why The Human Rights Movement Needs To Be Reinvented | Gerald Knaus | TEDxGraz

Today the human rights movement and its supporters are on the defensive across Europe and the US. Illiberal and autocratic leaders appear full of confidence, boasting of a popular mandate to rewrite the rules for the future of European politics, and to redefine what is shameful and what is honourable. Looking at three fundamental human rights issues - refugee rights, torture and political prisoners - and at developments in Europe in recent years Gerald will examine dramatic setbacks, the failure of many current strategies to protect rights and policy options for activists to mobilise democratic majorities in their defense ... and make an impact.
Gerald Knaus is ESI's founding chairman and a Mercator senior fellow in Istanbul. He studied in Oxford, Brussels, and Bologna, taught economics at university in Ukraine in 1993/94 and spent five years working for international organizations in Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 2001 to 2004 he was director of the Lessons Learned Unit of the EU Pillar of the UN Mission in Kosovo. In 2011, he co-authored the book "Can Intervention Work?" He is a founding member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and was for five years an Associate Fellow at the Carr Center at Harvard University's Kennedy School. He writes his blog on www.rumeliobserver.eu.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@yulanyi]

Thanks for shedding light on the hidden and incoherent practices that undermines institutions are meant to protect human rights. Like you said, we must pay attention

[@andik70]

I believe the problem is news coverage. I dont know of any newspaper which has a focus on European developments, and what happens in the European institutions. To show how bad this information transfer is here is a little test for you (not the speaker) and your friends: Since you are probably participating in the vote for the European parliament, then tell me: which party won? Well, since no party ever got a majority, there is a coalition of course, but do you know what coalition? Here is a hint: it has alway been the same coalition.

[@jehrahme7223]

how human rights die and what do do now ? I laughed a little.

[@robertostman2075]

probable solution... each country would need to have a well funded institution dedicated to protect human rights... because as it stands, this problem is way bigger that anyone can imagine... note that I am aware that it's been said that there are already such solutions in existence... but let's be clear... these measures have failed.... its a world wide failure...

[@deejannemeiurffnicht1791]

yEH, BUT WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS... THE SAME BASTARDS END UP RUNNING IT OR HOODWINKING OR SUBVERTING IT.

[@ZackTuNan]

Well Britain already left and NL is taking border control deal with Tunisia.

[@geevio9763]

This is amazing

[@desk2dumbbell]

Country like india.... Which claimed to have a large democracy.... You will not find any human rights activists apart from capital delhi.