The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy serves as the hub of the Harvard Kennedy School’s research, teaching, and training in the human rights domain. The center embraces a dual mission: to educate students and the next generation of leaders from around the world in human rights policy and practice; and to convene and provide policy-relevant knowledge to international organizations, governments, policymakers, and businesses.
News and Announcements
Latest Publications
Examining the Coronavirus from the Lens of Human Rights
Citation:
3/26/2020. “Examining the Coronavirus from the Lens of Human Rights.” Carr Center Covid-19 Discussion Paper Series, 01. See full text.
Abstract:
Three Carr Center faculty share their take on the global pandemic with an eye towards human rights.
The Carr Center will begin a regular discussion series outlining how the pandemic intersects with specific human rights domains. In our introductory paper, Mathias Risse, Kathryn Sikkink, and Timothy Patrick McCarthy discuss the importance of human rights in a pandemic situation. In addition to describing how we can balance individual rights with those of the larger community, they also situate the current pandemic within historical contexts, and within a larger backdrop of our current digital age.
: Carr Center | Mar 26 2020
: Three Carr Center faculty share their take on the global pandemic with an eye towards human rights.
Experiences of Trafficked and Sexually Exploited Boys Transitioning From Shelter Programmes Into the Community: Findings From a Longitudinal Study
Citation:
Laura Cordisco-Tsai, Vanntheary Lim, and Channtha Nhanh. 3/30/2020. “Experiences of Trafficked and Sexually Exploited Boys Transitioning From Shelter Programmes Into the Community: Findings From a Longitudinal Study.” National Children's Bureau, Pp. 1-16. See full text.
Abstract:
Laura Cordisco Tsai examines the experience of transitioning back to life in the community for boy survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation.
This article explores the perspectives of Cambodian boys who have experienced human trafficking and sexual exploitation on their experiences transitioning out of shelters and re‐entering the community. We used an interpretive phenomenological approach to analyse 81 interviews and narrative summaries of interviews drawn from Chab Dai's 10‐year longitudinal study with survivors in Cambodia (n = 22). Themes included: minimal involvement in planning for re/integration; conflicted feelings about life in the community; challenges completing school and securing employment; importance of community‐based services; unfulfilled expectations; violence in the community; and a desire to return to the shelter.
: Laura Cordisco-Tsai et al. | Mar 30 2020
: Laura Cordisco Tsai examines the experience of transitioning back to life in the community for boy survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Remarks Before the Commission on Unalienable Rights
Citation:
Martha Minow. 3/17/2020. “Remarks Before the Commission on Unalienable Rights.” Carr Center Discussion Paper Series, 2020-003. See full text.
Abstract:
In her address to the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights, Martha Minow discusses the meaning and implications of human rights.
"Please accept my thanks for the invitation to speak with you and for your service on this important effort. Grappling with the meaning and implications of human rights is a task that no one generation can complete; comprehension, validation, and commitment require investment of renewing thought and action even though human rights are described as self-evident and eternal. In fact, the reasons why individual nations and even individual people subscribe to notions of human rights vary enormously—and range from idealism to realpolitik—as do their justifications and rationales, which sound in such competing registers as religion, social contract, nature, utility, and game theory. As I will explain, respect for the dignity of each person offers a core basis for human rights in both substance and in attitudes of respect and civility even when we disagree. Your admirable effort to trace ideas about human rights to deep histories and understandings of eternal truths should underscore the importance of engagement with other nations and multinational convenings as we all face unprecedented challenges to human dignity."
: Martha Minow | Mar 17 2020
: Martha Minow discusses the meaning and implications of human rights.
“The Carr Center is building a bridge between ideas on human rights and the practice on the ground. Right now we are at a critical juncture. The pace of technological change and the rise of authoritarian governments are both examples of serious challenges to the flourishing of individual rights. It’s crucial that Harvard and the Kennedy School continue to be a major influence in keeping human rights ideals alive. The Carr Center is a focal point for this important task.”
- Mathias Risse