The Human Rights Reader

Human rights. Philosophers have tried to define them. Men and women have sacrificed their lives for them. Wars have been fought over them. Leaders and constitutions have promised them to people. Today they have emerged as an issue that can serve to bring the world together--or tear it apart.

This completely revised and updated anthology includes recent events, commentaries, and opinions of world thinkers, as well as documents that extend from the Magna Carta to the Vienna Accords, to cover over eight centuries of political and philosophical discussion and dissent. Through examining the works of John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrei Sakharov; documents such as the US Constitution, the UN Charter, and the Helsinki Agreement; activist leaders like Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Mikhail Gorbachev; and such influential human rights organizations as Amnesty International, we get a picture of how much we have achieved and how far we have yet to go. Also, included is the most extensive bibliography on human rights yet compiled--updated and expanded for this edition--an invaluable source for further study.

Featuring works by:
John Locke
Andrei Sakharov
Woodrow Wilson
Bishop Desmond Tutu
John Stuart Mill
Mikhail Gorbachev
The Convention on the Political Rights of Women
Jimmy Carter
Nelson Mandela