Book review

Citation

Ryser, J. (2005), "Book review", European Business Review, Vol. 17 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ebr.2005.05417dab.005

Book review

The Face of Human Rights

Edited by Walter Kaelin, Lars Mueller and Judith Wyttenbach,Lars Mueller Publishers,pp. 720,£32.50,Review DOI 10.1108/09555340540607442

This massive tome of over 700 pages was produced to raise awareness of human rights across the world. An inspiring reference compendium, it is packed with information, facts and figures and photographic records of both the enjoyment and violation of human rights across a wide range of countries and cultures. In the footsteps of philanthropic and humanistic Swiss tradition, represented by Denis de Rougemont, Henri Dunant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau or Heinrich Pestalozzi, Lars Mueller published and edited The Face of Human Rights, together with Walter Kaelin and Judith Wyttenbach in English. Clearly, the asking price of £32.35 may barely cover the costs of printing the high quality photographs brought together in a book which deserves to be widely known, read and quoted.

The book launch took place at the Frontline Club, an appropriate venue because it is a meeting place for journalists who have worked in some of the world’s flashpoints. It was sponsored by the Swiss Embassy, the Rory Peck Trust and the Freedom Forum. The latter operates from the Frontline Club, where it staged an exhibition of selected photographs taken from the book which was also open to the patrons of the Frontline ground floor restaurant, near Paddington railway station in London.

The aim was to bring the book to the attention of the media and NGOs engaged in the field. The Swiss Ambassador Alexis P. Lautenberg stressed that The Face of Human Rights is dedicated to defenders of human rights and their organisations which work to expose and correct the violation of human rights. For that reason it deserved a lot of support, confirmed by the many granted copyrights of photographs.

The widow of Rory Peck, whose journalist husband was killed in action, had set up the Rory Peck Trust. Chaired by Bob Jobbins, it promotes the safety and security of freelance news gatherers who are an essential part of an open and free media. She introduced a short film of the Trust’s activities which focus on the importance of freedom of speech when confronted with human rights violations. For her, human rights were indivisible, holistic and universal and the violation of human rights unacceptable, whatever the circumstances. She is concerned, in particular, for journalists who are often subjected to the same violation of human rights as the victims they attempt to report on.

Keen to contribute to the growing consensus on human rights built on freedom and justice the publisher Lars Mueller secured a grant from the Volkart Foundation to fund the research and donate 1,000 copies of the book to Amnesty International for use in the field. In her acceptance speech, Ms Irene Kahn, Secretary General of Amnesty International, expressed her satisfaction at seeing an increasing number of countries subscribing to international law worldwide. For her this is the only way to guarantee human rights for all human groups in all circumstances. In her view, human rights have a broad meaning, including habeas corpus, sovereign and moral rights embedded in religion, family and cultural customs, freedom from torture and equal rights for children and women; but also economic and autonomy rights, as well as intellectual and copyrights. Her notion of human rights is based on human needs and the paramount need to respect them.

Presenting the conceptual framework and the content of the book, the lead editor Walter Kaelin, an international lawyer and adviser to the United Nations pointed out that in terms of legal norms human rights do not designate what is, but what ought to be. They provide a yardstick to measure and evaluate reality. His aim was to define the concept of human rights and follow their gradual internationalisation in legal terms. For that reason he quoted passages from relevant conventions and legislation throughout the book to illustrate how international bodies endeavour to protect and enforce human rights.

Human rights are never as important as at the time of their violation and the content of the book is deliberately showing both respect for and violation of human rights. Showing the achievements of human dignity, as well as ambiguities and injustice, the pictures of many renowned photographers evoke strong feelings. The didactic, colour-coded and open ended structure of the book with its illustrative stories enables readers to get an overview as well as direct access to specific aspects of human rights. This is facilitated by the introductions to each chapter comprising succinct but well selected statistics and maps.

The content of the book is conceived as a spiral. Its epicentre starts from the right to life. It then moves from prohibition of discrimination to basic rights to food, health and housing; the protection of private life; the freedom of thought and belief and the right to education; the right to work and the protection of property; the right to fair trial and prohibition of torture – so topical in our times. It concludes with political rights, freedom of expression, and finally deals with the rights of refugees and displaced persons, a particularly mute point with those who are less at risk of human rights violation. It asks hard questions such as “is the state entitled to kill?” or “why is half the planet hungry?”, or “is it possible to be free and equal without an education?” and is it human to live in a cardboard box? It addresses racial and gender discrimination, points out inequalities of land tenure and life expectancy. It queries the use of secrecy and condemns torture. It also debates the notion of freedom itself, and challenges the reduction of human beings to human capital.

In his introduction, Kaelin gives a historic synthesis of human rights from their origins to their expression in international treaties and international humanitarian law. He evokes civil and political rights which were embedded in declarations of human rights ensuing revolutions in America and France to protect the individual from state interference, to some detriment of national sovereignty. According to him economic, social and cultural rights were defined in response to European industrialisation and resulting class struggles. He questions whether economic, social and cultural rights are enforceable in the real world or whether they are merely programmatic. He sees the third generation as collective or solidarity rights, such as rights to development, peace and a clean and healthy environment, although they are not yet incorporated into international human rights treaties. While human rights are conceived to be binding on the state, the question is whether this applies also to individuals and private bodies. He gives examples of jurisprudence which attributes compensation for such violations of human rights. Discrimination is another violation of human rights, often applied to women, ethnic minorities and people with special needs such as children. While conventions have been adopted enforcement leaves a lot to be desired. Finally, Kaelin queries the notion of universality of human rights because it originated in Western cultures and may well cast doubts among those from other cultures.

Deceptively, like a picture book in appearance, The Face of Human Rights is full of well referenced facts, quotes, analytical writing and short essays by authors like Alexander Kluge, Magrit Sprecher, Susan Sontag Carlos Fuentes and others. The index is divided into subjects, countries, organisations and portraits of individuals. It also includes a useful list of abbreviations. The book lends itself to browsing, stopping at striking pages, looking up specific topics, but also absorbing it from cover to cover. Reading this book stimulates both the mind and emotions. It is well worth having on one’s shelves as reference and reminder of the frailty of human rights in the world out there and the duty of all of us to protect and nurture them.

The Face of Human Rights can be obtained from books@lars-muller.ch or www.lars-muller-publishers.com.

Judith RyserDirector of City Scope Europe, London, UK