Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1989
Publication Information
2 Harv. Hum. Rts. J. 217 (1989)
Abstract
Upon reflection, I gained a new realization of the role of human rights activism in Haiti, a more complete understanding of what needs to be done. I came to Haiti thinking that human rights work meant counting violations and reporting them internationally. Monitoring human rights abuses does serve a purpose; it helps bring attention and support to the work of indigenous activists and can help expose the illegitimacy of an abusive regime. But as I realized in the weeks following the rally at St. Jean Bosco, these activities are only instrumental to a larger end, that of remaking political life. I understood that the broader goal of human rights work is to help the growth of new, just and democratic organizations for tomorrow's society-something more than simply fomenting today's revolution. Human rights work must not only denounce and decry the abuses of power, but also nurture an alternative to them.
Recommended Citation
Paolo G. Carozza,
Cultivating Democracy: Community Organizing in Haiti,
2 Harv. Hum. Rts. J. 217 (1989).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/665
