Dr Carla Winston1
1University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Biography:
Dr. Carla Winston is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at The University of Melbourne. She is interested in International Relations theory, norms and norm diffusion, complexity theory, the politics of international law, human rights and transitional justice, peace and conflict, and the uses of popular culture in politics and international affairs.
Abstract:
At its Annual General Meeting in Dakar in 2003, Amnesty International voted to dramatically expand its mandate beyond political and civil rights. This was transformative for the organization's conceptual approach and practical engagement on human rights and was highly contentious within the volunteer structures which guide AI's work. Among those volunteer leaders pushing for the change was Morton Winston, who had been Chair of the US section and was, at the time, Chair of the international Standing Committee on Organization and Development. A longtime activist and member of AI since the 1970s, Winston had a very specific approach to his human rights work (in contrast to the large number of lawyers): he was a philosophy professor.
What is the specific contribution of the philosophy of human rights to the practice of human rights? How does one's understanding of the concepts and theories of human rights impact how one engages in human rights activism, particularly within large international NGOs? This paper examines the effect of expertise in philosophy on Amnesty International's decision to change its mandate. It does so through interviews and critical analysis of both scholarly and organizational documents, notes, papers, and other materials, including the contemporaneous white paper circulated for Dakar, "Amnesty Unbound."