E-campaigning for human rights

While Amnesty International is still the international flagship campaigner for human rights, the internet has given rise to "more nimble" organisations that are having considerable success on smaller stages, according to Masters of Arts in Humanities and Social Sciences (Research) graduate, Damien Spry.

Damien looks at the way modern communications have changed strategies in the fight for human rights in a new book, Doing the Rights Thing: Approaches to Human Rights and Campaigning.

The UTS researcher examines recent human rights and advocacy campaigning in Australia in a book that fittingly is being distributed electronically by free download from UTS ePress. The book considers Amnesty International's long-term, universalising approach - based on international human rights principles - alongside smaller, local campaigns focused on concrete political outcomes.

"Amnesty remains the model for international action on human rights issues, but the success of a group like Chilout - formed for the specific purpose of releasing children from mandatory detention in Australia - shows there are other ways to generate localised public support and action," Damien said.

The launch of Doing the Rights Thing was supported by Amnesty International Australia, GetUp, Chilout and A Just Australia and is published part of the UTS Shopfront Monograph Series.