During the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the human rights field developed, concentrating on the global dissemination of human rights standards embodied in treaties and agreements. Now they are part of the language and common sense of global governance. Unfortunately, efforts to legitimize and enforce the standards in practice are not as rapid. Awareness raising, naming, and shaming states and private corporations that violate human rights are important strategies but not enough to make sure that states undertake their obligation to respect, protect and fulfill human rights.  

In Social Innovation Foresight #5 on Human Rights we reflect on and explore how social innovation can increase the impact of human rights work and suggest different ways forward.

What structural trends and challenges does the law and human rights field face? What old patterns do we need to change? How can we make local human rights work reach societal change? How can we prevent human rights violations and instill a pro-rights culture within society and state structure? What are the appropriate strategies and what possible futures for human rights work do we envision?  

Listen to keynote Santiago Pardo Rodríguez – Senior Law Clerk of the Colombian Constitutional Court & Head of the Design for Justice Lab at Universidad de Los Andes, Charity Ryerson – the Executive Director and Founder of Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL), an innovation hub that unleashes the creative potential of the law to protect people and the planet from corporate abuse, and Herve Morin – the UPSHIFT Global lead at UNICEF.

The talk was moderated by Hanna Gerdes, an experienced human rights lawyer who has worked with the implementation of human rights for 20 years, as an expert and an advisor for international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the Swedish government and different Swedish authorities.