Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations

By (author) Thomas E. Doyle, II, Robert F. Gorman, Edward S. Mihalkanin

Hardback - £109.00

Publication date:

19 December 2016

Length of book:

446 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442276178

The Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations, Third Edition defines the core concepts of human rights and humanitarian law. It relates the major international legal agreements related to human rights and names the diverse intergovernmental organizations which are responsible for implementing and maintaining these legal declarations, charters, conventions, or treaties. It also names and describes the several international non-governmental organizations which lobby states and international organizations with respect to human rights, which carry out programs of humanitarian assistance or relief, and which have played such a significant role in the evolution of human rights and humanitarianism in the modern era. Finally, it features the names and biographical accounts of major figures in the history of human rights and humanitarianism, along with figures that are active today on these issues.

This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on human rights concepts, major pieces of international law on human rights and humanitarian issues, major intergovernmental bodies responsible for implementing international laws on human rights and humanitarian issues, major international non-governmental organizations whose work focuses on human rights and humanitarian issues, and the names of important historical and contemporary figures who have contributed to the establishment and progress of human rights and humanitarianism.. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Human Rights.
Nothing so concise yet encompassing as this updated historical dictionary has appeared recently to itemize and define the significant concerns of human rights worldwide and the humanitarian responses to transgressions. Political science professors Gorman and Mihalkanin, now joined for this third edition by Doyle have revised the second edition and the first with new and current material laid out in a clear, accessible style. One finds, for example, biographies of Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange, or Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Hundreds of entries appear—many of which have been revised—to detail human rights NGOs and international conflict-resolution organizations. However, no single-volume work can be exhaustive (no information can be found on the American Friends Service Committee, or Sojourner Truth, for instance), so users must supplement their reading with additional sources. The volume offers a broad bibliography, a chronology covering 19th-century events up to the Syrian refugee crisis of 2016, and appendixes with the texts of international covenants, including the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights.’ Libraries holding previous editions may discard them in favor of the current one, as nothing has been omitted and the newer information will serve students in history, political science, and interdisciplinary programs of study addressing human rights.

Summing Up: Recommended. All libraries. All levels.