Human rights ideals are at the pinnacle of contemporary social work practice and international political discourse. Yet in recent years, with the heightened threat of terrorism, we have begun to witness an erosion of many traditional civil liberties. Set against this backdrop, the revised edition of Human Rights and Social Work moves beyond the limitations of conventional legal frameworks. With customary clarity and ease of style, Jim Ife challenges the notion of the 'three generations of human rights', teasing out the conceptual problems of this approach and demonstrating how the three generations actually overlap at an intrinsic level. Essential reading for scholars, students and practitioners alike, this book shows how an implicit understanding of human rights principles can provide a foundation for practice that is central to social work, community development and the broader human services.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Human rights in a globalised world; 2. Human rights: beyond traditional formulations; 3. Public and private human rights; 4. Culture and human rights; 5. Human rights and human needs; 6. Human rights and obligations; 7. Ethics and human rights; 8. Participation in the human rights discourse; 9. Constructing human rights for social work practice; 10. Achieving human rights through social work practice; 11. Respecting human rights in social work practice; 12. Conclusion: prospects for human rights practice; Appendix I. The universal declaration of human rights; Appendix II. Other human rights declarations, treaties and conventions; References; Index.

About the Author

Jim Ife is Emeritus Professor at the Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia.