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

Yanilda Maria Gonzalez Making a Movement

Making a Movement: Yanilda María González on Police Violence Against Racialized Communities

March 18, 2024

In her essay for the Carr Center's latest publication, Making a Movement: The History and Future of Human Rights, Yanilda María González discusses one of the most pervasive racial justice challenges: continued police violence against racialized and impoverished communities. 

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Latest Publications

On the Role of Solar Geoengineering in Combatting Climate Change: Harvard University vs. Indigenous Voices

On the Role of Solar Geoengineering in Combatting Climate Change: Harvard University vs. Indigenous Voices

Abstract:

In 2021 the Saami Council asked Harvard to suspend research related to stratospheric aerosol injections, a form of geoengineering. Their intervention raises far-reaching questions regarding the appropriateness of geoengineering as a response to climate change, but also regarding the status of indigenous voices in this debate. I make two main points. Firstly, it behooves us to engage indigenous voices as a way of addressing one type of moral corruption in climate change, namely that only voices from the present can engage on what to do about it. Absent actual representation of future generations, engaging with the ecological stance typically associated with indigenous groups (who display remarkable commonality in this regard) is the best we can do. Secondly, while critics rightly associate geoengineering with the mindset that caused climate change, it still seems wise to continue research into stratospheric aerosol injections. But advocacy in this domain has performative dimensions and itself might trigger reactions and counter-reactions. So, taking this stance entails follow-up obligations to ensure geoengineering is not used to defeat efforts at emission reductions.

Read the paper.

author/date: Mathias Risse | Oct 9, 2023
teaser text: In 2021 the Saami Council asked Harvard to suspend research related to stratospheric aerosol injections, a form of geoengineering; it behooves us to engage indigenous voices as part of the response to climate change.
Last updated on 10/06/2023

Automation Anxiety and a Right to Freedom from Automated Systems and AI

Automation Anxiety and a Right to Freedom from Automated Systems and AI

Abstract:

Rapid advances in AI have created a global sense of urgency around the ways that automated systems are changing human lives. Not all of these changes are necessarily for the better. On what basis, therefore, might we be able to assert a right to be free from automated systems and AI? The idea seems absurd, given how embedded these technologies already are and the improvements they have generated in contemporary life when we compare with prior periods in human history. And yet, there are good grounds for recognizing a general entitlement to protect at least three important human abilities: i) to work; ii) to know and understand the source of the content we consume; and iii) to make our own decisions. Understood comprehensively, a right to freedom from automated systems and AI could mean that individuals and communities are presented with alternative options and/or leverage to keep them from losing these abilities long cherished in the history of human development. Such a right does not call for dismantling the technological age, but rather designates what we ought to contest and protect in a world with a precarious dependence on technology.

Read the paper.

author/date: Ziyaad Bhorat | Oct 2, 2023
teaser text: On what basis can we assert a right to be free from automated systems and AI, given how embedded these technologies are in contemporary life?
Last updated on 10/03/2023

Carr Center 2022-23 Annual Report

Carr Center 2022-23 Annual Report

Full Text

The past year has brought to light many of the challenges we still face in advancing and evolving the human rights landscape. The continued conflict between Russia and Ukraine; closing civic space and attacks against media freedom throughout the African continent; the dire situation for women’s rights in Afghanistan and Iran; racial injustices across the United States; and the birth of ChatGPT and the subsequent re-envisioning of how AI will forever alter our lives—these events are only a small subset of radical recent changes that have made worldwide human rights advocacy and research more important than ever.

Our 2022-2023 annual report highlights the Carr Center’s growing research and programming efforts over the past year to encourage and ensure a future of more robust worldwide human rights policies. Our latest research, publications, books, podcast episodes, and webinars over the course of the year—created in tandem with our faculty, fellows, and Harvard Kennedy School students—have reached hundreds of thousands of people in over 160 countries, widening the Carr Center’s positive impact in the global human rights policy sphere. To learn more about what the Carr Center accomplished during the 2022-2023 academic year, click the link below.

Read the report.

author/date: Carr Center for Human Rights Policy | Sept 18, 2023
teaser text: Our 2022-2023 annual report highlights the Carr Center’s growing research and programming efforts over the past year to encourage and ensure a future of more robust worldwide human rights policies.
Last updated on 10/03/2023
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Upcoming Events

2024 Mar 28

Between Law, Politics and Policy: Examining the Judiciary's Delicate Balance in Democratic Policy-Making

5:00pm to 6:00pm

Location: 

Bell Hall

Event Description: Join us for a conversation with Justice B.R. Gavai in which Justice Gavai will explore the role the judiciary should play when creating laws and policy within democratic systems of governance.

Speaker
Justice B. R. Gavai currently serves as a judge on the Supreme Court of India. Previously, he held the position of judge at the Bombay High Court. Additionally, he serves as the chancellor of Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur. He is...

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2024 Apr 01

Engaging with the Conflict in Israel and Palestine: A Conversation with Tarek Masoud and Derek Penslar

4:00pm to 5:00pm

Location: 

Allison Dining Room

Event DescriptionDuring this conversation, Derek Penslar and Tarek Masoud will discuss their experiences as commentators on the violence in Gaza. As both members and critics of their respective communities, both speakers will examine how their unique positions have affected them during the current moment.

Speakers

Derek Penslar is the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History. He is the director of undergraduate studies within the department and...

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“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