Human Rights and Trade Partnership Project
At the Intersection
The Project     The Issue     The Resource Center     The Book     About Us     Program Outreach      

 

- Human Rights and Trade -

 

THE PROJECT


 

The Human Rights and Trade Partnership Project aims to develop greater understanding of the relationship between trade policies and agreements and human rights.

 

 

- Message from Righting Trade Authors and Project Director:
 Susan Ariel Aaronson, PhD and Jamie M. Zimmerman -

 

 

 

"In this digital age, people are the principal wealth of nations. There is a growing consensus that those countries that protect and promote human rights are those countries that will achieve sustainable economic development. By investing in their people, countries will be better positioned to achieve growth and benefit from trade.  Trade policies and agreements can help policymakers achieve a broad range of human development objectives, such as increasing access to education, opportunities, and credit.   For these reasons, policymakers that weigh human rights considerations as they develop trade policy are likely to ensure that their constituents prosper at the intersection of trade and human rights.

 

We are heartened that some policymakers are beginning to think along these lines. In a public letter to the WTO’s trade ministers, published on July 26, 2006, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy noted, “I ask you to look at the big picture… and consider those living in poverty who saw in these negotiations a hope for a better life...The WTO has the possibility to contribute to making this world fairer and more stable. Please think about that.”"

 

 

 

[Also an excerpt from the Conluding Chapter of Righting Trade: Public Policies at the Intersection of Human Rights and Trade]

 

 

 

THE RESOURCE CENTER 

 

Project Staff is in the first stages of providing a resource center for information and on human rights and trade.  We hope that our library and other resource offerings help to build a greater understanding of:

 

● The relationship between trade liberalization and human rights protection

 

● The Conflicts between trade objectives and human rights objectives

 

● What governments are doing to promote trade and human rights   

 

● If and how they assess the human rights impact of trade liberalization

 

● How confusing signals between trade liberalization and market forces affect market actors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BOOK 

 

Righting Trade: Public Policies at the Intersection of Trade and Human Rights 

 

Dr. Susan Aaronson and Jamie Zimmerman are in the process of writing their book, titled above.  This book is the first study of what governments do to promote human rights at home and abroad as they seek to expand trade. It will be published in 2007 by Cambridge University Press.

 

 

 

 

OUTREACH

 

We are dedicated to educating policymakers, practitioners, students and the general public about the relationship between trade and human rights. See our Program Outreach page for more details.

 

 

 

 

 

Updated July 07, 2006 11:00 AM