Sophie Heller
Final Draft Project 1
Writing in International Affairs and Human Services
Individually, international affairs and human services are both fairly broad fields.
Collectively, the fields merge together to encompass a wide variety of professions,
research, and functions of daily life. The field of international affairs is typically
associated with foreign relations, international security, international peace and conflict,
state dynamics, global markets, clashing cultures and much more. Because of expansive
topics covered by international affairs, there are numerous careers that often emerge from
the field.
With a similarly broad reach to international affairs, human services focuses on
issues related to meeting human needs (National Organization for Human Services). This
includes early childhood education, homelessness, women’s rights, addiction, mental
health and much more. Professions in this field often differ greatly from those in
international relations; however, there are several parallels that create overlap. Some of
the most common professions developed from human services are counselors, social
service workers, advocates, and positions for non-profits. One particular field with a
strong connection to both international affairs and human services is international human
rights law.
International human rights law is an extremely complex field in that it consists of
two distinctive focuses. Firstly, the idea of international law is a complex, large field of
its own (Held, 2003). Inherently, laws that rule over multiple countries contradict a core
value that our world is founded on- sovereignty (Corntassel, 1995). Sovereignty, or a
supreme authority of a territory, implies that each state rules itself and there is no
“ultimate government” (Held, 2003). International law is extremely important, especially
in regard to human rights, to ensure that each state holds itself and each other
accountable. However it’s important to remember that because of the each nation’s
sovereignty, it’s very difficult to enforce international laws and hold standards for
countries that vary so remarkably in social, cultural and economic structures (Graham,
2011).
Although multi-faceted, the human rights part of the law is often easier to relate to
and comprehend. The foundation of this law is generally agreed to be The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UN, UDHR, 2014). This document “recognizes the
inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human
family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world” (UN, UDHR, 2014).
The importance of international human rights law is obvious to most people, especially in
an educated, first world country like our own. In addition, with information and media
readily available and highly publicized, we are largely aware of international conflicts,
global crises, and human rights violations (Graham, 2011). Because of this, international
human rights law affects people universally and should concern us all.
The values that international human rights are founded on include democracy,
freedom from slavery and torture, access to information, promotion of women’s
participation in political and public life; the list goes on (UN website). It is evident that
international human rights law embodies the core values of both international affairs and
human services. This combination of values is what makes me so interested in the field.
Although I do not currently have much experience, aside from coursework, in
international human rights law, I have great interest in pursuing further exploration.
Because of my human services experience, I hope to become involved with one of the
major non-profits working in the field.
There are many actors who involved in the logistics of international human rights
law. These include the United Nations (UN), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and
a number of non-profits- bigger names include Amnesty International and Human Rights
Watch. Because human rights play such a critical role in the world, each actor must
possess the best communication skills in order to work with a wide variety of audiences
and organizations (Evans, 2005). To briefly explain each audience that the major actors
in this field work with, we begin by examining the UN and the ICC.
The UN is comprised of several bodies and treaties dedicated solely to human
rights on an international scale (UN website). The International Criminal Court is an
independent organization and the first of its kind (ICC website). The political nature of
both the UN and the ICC makes legal jargon and communication with high governmental
officials the most prominent genre of writing (Evans, 2005). First and foremost, effective
communication with each state, including states that are both providing and failing to
provide human rights for their citizens, is necessary. Obviously, a very different approach
would be needed for these different audiences. More on the ground level, each actor also
must work with the civilians of these states, including both victims and perpetrators of
human rights violations. Lastly, UN and ICC discourse is affected by the highly visible,
important nature of the organizations (Evans, 2005). I believe that because international
law is so complex, it is difficult for bodies like the UN and the ICC to cater towards
civilians. For this reason, non-profits in the international human rights field are absolutely
essential.
The important, but complex nature of international human rights law leads me to
the conclusion that watchdog organizations and non-profits are sometimes the most
effective in the field when it comes to appealing to multiple audiences (Held, 2003). For
instance, take Amnesty International (AI)- a global movement campaigning to end abuses
of human rights (AI website). It is clear that a large number of authors have worked on
this comprehensive website; the source establishes its authority through years of hard
work and reputation. Because Amnesty International is a highly respected global
organization, their work is in turn respected.
The website serves a multiplicity of purposes, including informing, instructing,
persuading, and engaging the audience (Evans, 2005). Each purpose takes on a different
genre, or form of writing. An audience member can easily navigate the website, choosing
topics from “issues” to “victories” to “get involved” (AI website). The “get involved”
text features a commanding, inspiring voice, while the “issues” text uses more of an
educational tone. Each section of the website is so clearly tailored to the specific target
audience. The audience has the ability to choose their level of engagement here. After
reading many of the “stories” published on the website, there is a brief blurb about how
to learn more or how to contact the author (AI website). Even more, there is a stationary
bar on the right column of each page displaying a place to enter your email address and
receive updates (AI website).
In addition, the source is extremely well branded, with a consistent font and the
signature yellow and black logo colors everywhere (AI website). This helps to give it a
strong, uniformed feel. Aside from this, visuals are everywhere; each page is very well
designed and most of them feature pictures or info-graphics. The pictures add a
humanized tone to the writing and also help to appeal to that larger range of audiences.
The content of the source is all very focused on international human rights and
abuses of these rights. This makes for a consistent flow and easy navigation. However
readers can choose to narrow the focus to a specific conflict or story, or learn about the
broader spectrum of human rights as a whole. Although Amnesty International is a huge
organization and has an extensive website, all of the content is consistent with the core
values of the field, which were previously discussed.
On the first page alone, I see articles relating to technology’s role in humanitarian
crises, killings in the Middle East, torture, and rape (AI website). It’s immediately
evident to the reader that the source is consistent with human rights values. Referencing
back to the UDHR, all members of the human race are entitled to equal and inalienable
rights (UN, UDHR, 2014). There are again parallels here with the source; each campaign
that the source works on aims to expose and prevent human rights abuses.
With all the similar values, it’s important to keep in mind that there are certainly
differences in the way that the sources portray these core values. Main actors like the UN
and the ICC, work to penalize and prevent these human rights violations. On the contrary,
Amnesty International aims to educate and engage, which in turn will prevent. The
source takes this intermediary step to inform and empower the average civilian with its
discourse. I would not have ordinarily associated such great marketing and branding
tactics with Amnesty International, being a liberal website dedicated to research and
advocacy, rather than sales. However, after analyzing this liberal arts type marketing I see
the true immense benefits.
Works Cited
Amnesty International Website. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/.
Corntassel, Jeff and Tomas Primeau. (1995). Indigenous “Sovereignty” and International
Law. Human Rights Quarterly, 17: 343-365.
http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.neu.edu/journals/human_rights_quarterly/v017/17.2corntasse
l.html
Evans, Tony. (2005). International Human Rights Law as Power/ Knowledge. Human
Rights Quarterly, 27: 1046-1068.
http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.neu.edu/journals/human_rights_quarterly/v027/27.3evans.ht
ml
Graham, Lorie and Siegfried Wiessner. (2011). Indigenous Sovereignty, Culture, and
International Human Rights Law. South Atlantic Quarterly, 110: 403-427.
doi: 10.1215/00382876-1162516
Held, David. (2003). The changing structure of international law: sovereignty
transformed? Polity Press, Cambridge, UK: 162-176. Retrieved from
https://www.polity.co.uk/global/pdf/GTReader2eHeld.pdf
National Organization for Human Services. What is Human Services? Retrieved from
http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services
United Nations website. Department of Political Affairs. New York: United
Nations, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/
United Nations website. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New York: United
Nations, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
**Reflective Note: I think that it could be something to fit into my professional portfolio.
I had not thought about what a huge role discourse plays in this field until extensively
analyzing this source. Depending on what type of job I was applying for, I may alter the
paper. For example, if I was applying for a position with a competitor like Human Rights
Watch, I may want to consider analyzing their audience reach instead.