Do Human Rights Have a Future? December 5, 2011

During the last half of the 20th century, human rights became the plumb line against which the international community measured a country's respectability. Great advances in human rights, such as the fall of the Iron Curtain, were followed by great catastrophes, including the genocide in Rwanda. Today human rights are nominally accepted as the lingua franca of international relations, invoked by politicians, jurists and young people leading revolutions in the Middle East. But such universal rhetorical acclaim does not necessarily translate into a world with fewer human rights violations.

Dr. William Schulz, President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, will outline the major human rights challenges around the globe today and reflect on how our understanding of human rights may change in the future.

Location: Commonwealth Club; 595 Market St. (2nd floor) at Second St. (Montgomery St. BART stop); San Francisco
Time: 5:30 p.m. Networking Reception; 6 p.m. program
Cost: $20 standard, Free for Club members, $7 for students (with valid ID)

Registration: http://pyr.commonwealthclub.org/events/2011-12-5/do-human-rights-have-a-future or call 415-597-6700.