Description
This panel considers the evolution of British foreign policy and human rights since the 1970s. It considers the extent to which human rights have been prioritised in foreign policy decision making and considers the tools used by policy-makers to promote human rights. It also explores the domestic and international obstacles faced by human rights promoters. The panel regards the 1970s as a pivotal decade for the incorporation of human rights into government policy but argues that the changes were not institutionalized. The policies were ad hoc and though they prefigured what came later, clear processes and structures on policy making were not put in place. The panel therefore considers the lessons of the 1970s experience and their implications for the contemporary practice of human rights promotion. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the panel assesses the practical and theoretical implications for future human rights policy.
