Human Rights Leaders in Conflict Situations: A Case Study of the Politics of `Moral Entrepreneurs'

ISSN： 1757-9619

Source： Journal of Human Rights Practice, Vol.4, Iss.1, 2012-03, pp. : 57-81

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Abstract

This article examines the challenges that human rights leaders face as they attempt to navigate the complex relationship between human rights and politics, especially during protracted conflicts and resultant peace processes.The appeal of human rights is in its commitment to the idea of universalism. But in entrenched conflicts where national or ethnic loyalties are extremely pervasive, human rights NGOs are pressured by all sides to highlight the violations committed against their own members and criticized when addressing violations against the other national or ethnic groups. Amongst the most difficult decisions for human rights leaders in such contexts are judgements about whether and how to engage with armed groups, or whether and how to address issues that are perceived to be at the heart of those conflicts but that also have human rights dimensions.The article focuses on the political dilemmas faced by human rights leaders in two different national conflicts: Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine. It is drawn from an analysis of NGO reports and fieldwork based on rare `on the record' interviews with human rights activists about some of the hard choices faced by those organizations in the most difficult of times.As shown in the article, human rights groups exercise finely balanced decisions in such difficult contexts. They do so taking into account a whole set of factors, such as their own conceptions of rights, their views on the applicable human rights or humanitarian standards, their organization's internal political divisions, and the need for public credibility.