2048: Humanity's Agreement to Live Together

by John Kirk Boyd

Overview

Creating an enforceable international guarantee of basic human rights Outlines the basics of a universally acceptable agreement Shows what everyone can do to make this agreement a reality In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a deeply inspiring document that has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects. But because its provisions are not enforceable, its promise has not been fulfilled. Human rights violations continue in every corner of the globe, the cause of countless individual tragedies as well as large-scale disasters like war, poverty and environmental ruin. It’s time to take the next step. 2048 sets out a visionary, audacious, but, Kirk Boyd insists, achievable goal: drafting an enforceable international agreement that will allow the people of the world to create a social order based upon human rights and the rule of law. Boyd and the 2048 Project aim to have this agreement, the International Convention on Human Rights, in place by the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration. Written documents have always played a key role in advancing human rights: the Code of Hammurabi, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence. The express purpose of the International Convention is to safeguard what Boyd calls the Five Freedoms, adding freedom for the environment to Franklin Roosevelt’s famous Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Boyd skillfully anticipates objections to the notion of a universal and enforceable written agreement—that it would be culturally insensitive, too expensive, unacceptably limit national sovereignty—and convincingly answers them. In fact some promising first steps have already been taken. He describes existing transnational agreements with effective compliance mechanisms that can serve as models. But Boyd wants to inspire more than argue. In 2048 he urges everyone to participate in the drafting of the agreement via the 2048 website and describes specific actions people can take to help make it a reality. “What you do with what you read” Boyd writes, “is as important as what this book says.” Little by little, working together creatively with the tools now available, we can take the next step forward in the evolution of human rights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781605098036
Publisher:	Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Publication date:	04/12/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	222
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

J. Kirk Boyd is a lawyer, a professor, and the executive dDirector of the 2048 Project. He teaches international human rights, civil rights, free speech, and constitutional law at the University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Timeline for the achievement of the 2048 project ix

Introduction: Breaking Our Chains 1

Part 1 How the 2048 Movement Began

Chapter 1 Turning Point for Humanity 10

Chapter 2 Challenges and Opportunities 28

Part 2 What the 2048 Movement Is

Chapter 3 Five Freedoms for All 46

Chapter 4 Freedom of Speech 56

Chapter 5 Freedom of Religion 64

Chapter 6 Freedom from Want 70

Chapter 7 Freedom for the Environment 84

Chapter 8 Freedom from Fear 92

Part 3 Where the 2048 Movement Is Headed

Chapter 9 Regional Agreements to Live Together 102

Chapter 10 Humanity's Agreement to Live Together 108

Chapter 11 The Path Together 118

Chapter 12 Focus Together 124

Chapter 13 Think Together 138

Chapter 14 Write Together 148

Chapter 15 Decide Together 162

Conclusion: Forward Together 168

Resources

A Universal Declaration of Human Rights 171

B Draft International Convention on Human Rights, January 1, 2010 178

Notes 191

Photo Credits 201

Acknowledgments 203

Index 207

2048 Follow-up 220

About the Author 222

Editorial Reviews

Boyd (executive director, 2048 Project, Univ. of California-Berkeley Law Sch.) invites the people of the world to participate in the creation of a new international human rights declaration by using wiki technology. According to its web site, the 2048 Project aspires to draft an international framework for enforceable human rights that can be in place by the year 2048, the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this eponymous book on behalf of the project, Boyd argues for the necessity of such a document and defends his efforts from critics who might argue that the goals of the project are too lofty and idealistic. However, far more space is devoted to the 2048's potential to expand the current definition of human rights than to laying out a detailed plan for its global adoption or enforcement. VERDICT Scholars and supporters of human-rights movements will be interested in this movement and its book.—April Younglove, Rochester Regional Lib. Council, NY

Library Journal