Annotated Bibliography: Human Rights Alone Cannot Achieve Justice

Clement, D. (2017). Human rights or social justice? The problem of rights inflation. The International Journal of Human Rights, 22(2), pp.155-169.

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This article dwells on the paradox involved in promoting human rights and achieving justice to the people. While many people may think that social justice would be automatically achieved when human rights are observed, the author indicates that it is not the case in most of the instances. The article explains that other issues such as poverty and access to basic needs are more crucial in promoting justice than just observing human rights. In addition, "framing a grievance as a human right shapes the way people understand both the problem and the solution, and the limits to framing social problems as rights violations." The writer has used previous scholarly work on the issue as well as a deep analysis of these issues to present facts. The article will, therefore, help in addressing other factors that promote justice among the people in addition to the human rights.

Francioni, F. (2010). International Human Rights in an Environmental Horizon. European Journal of International Law, 21(1), pp.41-55.

This article describes the issue of international human rights in the perspective of the environmental conditions. Given that social justice can only be achieved in the set-up of the appropriate surrounding, the writer describes the judicial practices that have attempted to integrate environmental considerations in promoting human rights. According to the article, the courts are not keen on the environmental dimensions in pursuit of human rights. In some instances, the human rights of an individual are not indispensable to the welfare of the society. The writer has backed his assertions with studies and other scholarly works. The arguments provided by this author will help in proving that human rights alone cannot achieve since other factors are also involved. For instance, the welfare of other people is a crucial element in promoting social justice.

Fraser, N. (1990). Rethinking the Public Sphere: A Contribution to the Critique of Actually Existing Democracy. Social Text, (25/

This article is offering a critique of the existing democracy by addressing the limits in the capitalist societies, particularly the US. The key argument by this writer revolves around the concept of the public sphere and how it is related to liberal democracy and political participation in the modern societies. According to the article, the idea of public sphere refers to a set of private people assembling to discuss a matter that is of public interest. Therefore, while the concept is supposed to rationalize politics by making the authorities accountable to the subject, the full utopian potential was never realized fully due to the infiltration by private interests. The author has discussed the topic by drawing different arguments from various scholars such as Karl Max and Jurgen Habermas and comparing their views. This article will help in writing the essay since it discusses the right to a public opinion and how it can be used to promote justice. Therefore, some of the arguments can be used to discuss the statement provided.

Hibbert, N. (2017). Human Rights and Social Justice. Laws, 6(2), p.7.

This article describes the relationship between social justice and human rights. According to the author, the dominant view in the political perspective is that a reflection on human rights and discourse reveals the importance in promoting social justice. Some of the people are facing historical injustices as a result of failures by previous regimes to uphold some basic needs. The comparison of different philosophical views regarding the topic has helped in the articulation of the ideas on which the article is based on. In this regard, the only way they can achieve social justice is by advocating for the rights to access basic services. However, there are limitations to this relationship, which will help me in arguing out my stand.

Isakhan, B. and Stockwell, S. (2011). The secret history of democracy. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.1-18.

This research material describes some untold events that led to the democracy enjoyed presently. In the introduction chapter, the key argument of the authors is that in addition to the foreshortened description of how democracy was established, there is a complex and huge history that is characteristically Western. According to the book, the standard history of democracy traces its roots to ancient Greece, which was the only place where the will of the people was connected to the government by a bridge at the time. The secrecy of this history is based on the common notion that democracy emanated from the Western countries. The authors have described the topic by using different resources and statistics from other people's work, which is well cited. This resource will help in the essay by providing a connection between the democratic right of the people and how it promotes justice to the people.

Lettinga, D. and Troost, L. (2015). Can human rights bring social justice?. Journal of International Amnesty, 5(1), pp.11-34.

This article is a contribution by different authors on the relationship between human rights and social justice. The author used the method of collecting different views from twelve professionals of social justice and international human rights. As a result, these authors agree that human rights have a potential of promoting social justice but is dependent on a host of other factors. According to the article, advocating for human rights such as access to basic need helps in improving the fate of the poor and marginalized people. The resource will be helpful in showing how far the advocacy for human rights can help in promoting justice and the limitations.

Lewis, B. (2012). Human Rights and Environmental Wrongs: Achieving Environmental Justice through Human Rights Law. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 1(1).

This article reveals the numerous interconnections between promoting international human rights and the environment. For instance, environmental conditions such as misuse of natural resources, pollution, and deforestation may hinder the people from enjoying fundamental rights such as health and life. These are rights that are guaranteed in the international sphere yet what is affecting them is beyond human beings. Therefore, environmental justice is one of the factors that affect the dispensation of human rights. In relation to the topic, the author argues that similarly, social justice cannot be achieved by only focusing on human rights given that the environment in which they are exercised is the most important. The arguments brought forth in the article will help in articulating the topic and the point that justice is based on several other factors besides human rights.

Vawda, Y. and Baker, B. (2006). Achieving social justice in the human rights/intellectual property debate: Realising the goal of access to medicines. African Human Rights Law Journal, [online] 13(1), pp.121-164. Available at: http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1996-20962013000100004.

This article describes the achievement of social justice in the perspective of intellectual property debate and the human rights. The key argument of the authors is that if owners of intellectual property start basing their services on the human rights, justice is not achieved on their side. Particularly, in the healthcare sector, there has been a debate as to whether the right to access care and products such as medicine should override the need for financial gain. While the proponents argue that access to such services is a tenant of human rights and ethical framework within which they are administered, the opponents also argue that the intellectual property ownership is also their right. In this regard, the article draws its arguments from various scholars to justify that promoting human rights only would not be an absolute need for achieving justice. Consequently, the paper will help in writing the essay since it is based on the view that other factors are required to promote social justice.

Young, I. (2000). Inclusion and democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

This book describes democracy as multicultural engagement and recommends several strategies for enhancing inclusion in democratic politics. In chapter 4, the writer explains representation and social perspective as a way of improving the participation of the common people in the democratic processes. According to the author, a strong democratic process entails several forums in which the citizens meet with the government officials for deliberations. The author has discussed the topic by drawing from different resources and scholars. Given that the topic of the essay is about enhancing justice by promoting human rights, the resource will be very helpful in writing the essay. Therefore, the arguments in this book will be crucial in describing the importance of human rights such as democracy in promoting justice.