Using human rights discourse for political and social change

What is it about?

The article examines the use of human rights discourse in Myanmar during the period 1988-2011, when this discourse acquired a dominant global status and Myanmar became a global human rights issue. The discourse of human rights is associated with norms and practices from an international human rights regime consisting of conventions and institutions. This international regime evolved during the period under study, thereby offering different opportunities and constraints for action that affected how it would be used by Myanmar activists. Studying the use of human rights language enables us to follow developments in political events in Myanmar but more importantly, we can assess the evolution in the use of this language in the context of the adoption of new tactics of struggle, new forms of organizing resistance and an evolving international context after 1988.

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Why is it important?

The discourse of human rights operates at multiple levels. It is a language of resistance within states, setting standards for the relationship between a people and its government, and an international discourse between states, setting a standard for how states acquire international legitimacy. Hence, what actions to take in the face of violations, and more importantly, who is to decide what actions to take, when and how, is the result of how the discourse functions at multiple levels. The case of Myanmar speaks to the challenge of activists of navigating between these levels.

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