Emerging Human Rights

Book excerpt: This book, a collaborative effort by Port-Harcourt University, Nigeria, and the University of Denver, deals with important theoretical considerations about human rights in Africa. The African contribution to the political economic approach to human rights has been especially significant and will continue to grow. This edited collection addressses both theoretical issues and actual case studies of human rights violations in the African context. Shepherd, a pioneer in African studies, provides a pathbreaking overview of the political economy of African human rights. The volume itself is divided into two sections: theory and issues and violations. In the first section, the contributors consider such theoretical questions as the problems and prospects of creating an equitable world order based on the global right to distributive justice; three generations of African people's rights; the relationship between underdevelopment and human rights violations in Africa; theological perspectives on human rights; and the African experience in human rights issues and violations. The second section addresses specific human rights issues and violations of those rights. Among the situations explored are the impact of revolutionary violence on development, equality, and justice in South Africa, and the effects of militarization, migrants, and refugees on African human rights. Also examined are the African context of human rights development and the impact of Ghanaian black feminism. A comprehensive bibliography completes the volume. The unique perspective provided by African scholars, along with European and American scholars of black Africa, makes this book an important addition to the literature of human rights and African studies.