Book Applied human rights: ‘A Fontys realization’

According to Wernaart, when human rights are used primarily as a legal concept, they do not do them justice. He should know, because he has already obtained his doctorate with a thesis on the applicability of human rights. “Over the years, I thought: it’s good that we have less discussion about how human rights work in a courtroom and that we mainly focus on the fact that a human right man belongs to all of us and guides us in our daily actions.

Human rights make the difference. Not necessarily in the courtroom, but mostly in everyday practice, for example, of managers, engineers, social workers, musicians, designers and local governments. However, the impact and implications of human rights are different in each sector. The new manual should contribute to this. “It explains human rights as a concept for action from various disciplines and gives you a better idea of ​​how to implement it in your work or in science, for example.”

The human side
Applied human rights deals with topics such as the nature of law, technology, social design, organizational science, law enforcement methodology and implementation. “All from a human rights perspective.” For example, there are practical chapters describing how film can be used to give indigenous peoples in India a voice in their search for “forest rights”, there is a chapter on the responsible use of drones, there is a chapter on sexual rights in organizations, and a chapter on the privacy rights of deceased persons. There are also more fundamental chapters on the philosophical nature of human rights, or how design thinking can be used to improve human rights.

The book is written for scientists, students, and professionals interested in the human aspect of their profession or discipline. “With this book, we want to motivate everyone to look beyond legal discussion. For example, we also present a lot of research that we have carried out in the different areas of Fontys, giving the reader new perspectives on how human rights issues can be tackled in order to move forward. .

“Truly a Fontys achievement”
No less than 27 authors, including Wernaart, have contributed to Applied Human Rights. Although the lecturer has the final (scientific) responsibility, he could not have made this book without his co-authors. “We achieved this together and I am very proud of it. This book was formed through a mixed field of authors of scientists, researchers and students in the Netherlands and abroad. In this respect, this book can, to some extent, be called Fontys’ achievement in which research and practice come together. Now follows the broad and meaningful application of human rights in everyday life. [Noëlle van den Berg]