UNC Human Rights Convention

About Us

Students will propose Articles that they have written based on their analysis of other countries’ constitutions and close study of international human rights law and doctrine. Their motivation is to clarify that now it is time to open America’s doors to human rights. There was an opportunity opened by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944 in his State of the Union Speech and then shut when he died, and again by Martin Luther King when he contended that economic rights must be advanced along with civil rights, and again shut when he was killed. For the most part, the international community moved on without us.

Another purpose – a very practical purpose – served by this Constitutional Constitution – is to begin a discussion about the possibility of Chapel Hill and Carrboro becoming “Human Rights Cities.” Already Eugene Oregeon has adopted this as a goal and cities in Europe, Latin America, and Africa are well into this process.

http://www.pdhre.org/achievements-HR-cities-mar-07.pdf

Students in Soci 113 and Soci 273 invite staff from Service-Learning Agencies, Local Labor Unions, Campus Workers, and Local Government Agencies to join them for the day. There will be discussions throughout the day, and two hours set aside at the end for “Process” and Discussions, What’s Next? Mayor Kevin Foy will give the Keynote Address and has agreed to take questions.

Co-Directors Emerson Evans, Stacey Garner, Bria Marcelo, Adeline Rogers will assist facilitating Process Sessions between 3-5. Adeline Rogers will be the time keeper from 9-3.

Key Note Speakers included: Mayor Kevin Foy & Mayor Mark Chilton

Course Blogs:

The US Constitution (1787) is the oldest in the world, and there have been no significant changes in the Constitution since women were given the right to vote in 1920 (Amendment XIX). Most countries have revised their constitutions during the last 15 years or so in response to the insecurities that face their populations. Students in Sociology 131, Sociology 273, and the Social and Economic Justice Minor will hold a mock Constitutional Convention on December 1, 2007. This is a process that will start in September, with UNC students posting proposals and comments on threaded discussions. Later, others will join in. There will be three blogs – Economic Rights, Social Rights, and Collective Rights. If you wish to look for examples, you may consult the UN human rights laws and other countries’ constitutions. If you wish to expand on Civil Rights (beyond the ones in the US Constitution) put your proposals and discussion in one of the three blogs. (The US Constitution has comprehensive Civil and Political rights, but there are new Civil and Political rights that it does not cover.) There is overlap among the blogs but that is perfectly OK. All Soci 131 and Soci 273 students may post more than once a week, but all are expected to post on Monday of each week.