Article
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, Kennedy School alumnus Greg Carr (MPP''89) has given the Belfer Center a major gift to launch a human rights initiative. Carr is chairman of the Internet company, Prodigy. Capitalizing on the strengths of the Kennedy School, the initiative will focus on policy questions related to human rights, such as: What actions are causally important in expanding human rights for individuals around the world? The project will assess the efficacy of government policies, as well
as the actions of international organizations, businesses, non governmental
organizations, and individuals.
Belfer Center Director Graham Allison said of the initiative: "It
recognizes explicitly that the Kennedy School is coming late to an arena in
which many institutions and many scholars are already hard at work and
doing a great job. We seek to complement the work of philosophers, lawyers,
and anthropologists, on the one hand, and the monitoring of human rights done by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, on the other."
The multiyear initiative will begin with an assessment of the accomplishments in the past half-century. The program will then move to a more prescriptive phase, assessing what remains to be done to expand human rights around the world.
In the coming year, the activities of the initiative will include a major
conference for scholars, activists, and government leaders to reflect on
what has been accomplished since the U.N. Declaration on Human Rights, and
what policies and actions of governments and organizations can most
effectively accomplish more in the years ahead. The project will also
publish a volume of essays written by leading scholars and practitioners.
The essays will focus on lessons to be learned from past experience and
obstacles to progress, and will identify the most effective policy
instruments for promoting human rights.
Carr, who is also publisher of the Boston Book Review, became interested in
human rights several years ago when he had the opportunity to interview Chinese dissident Harry Wu. In addition, his work has made him acutely
aware of the opportunities for business leaders to affect human rights as
companies become more global. Carr is also interested in the role the
Internet is playing in promoting human rights. He has high hopes for the
initiative. "If the Belfer Center can bring its expertise to bear on the
big questions of human rights in the same manner it has done so on issues
such as nuclear security and Russia''s development, we can expect real
progress toward greater human rights for all," said Carr in an interview.