Human Rights Paper Series I

– Essays on Local Governance, Sustainable Development and Human Rights from the 10th WHRCF 

We are pleased to present the Human Rights Paper Series I (Click) – a collection of nine essays on the topic of local governance and human rights. The essays were originally presented at the 10th World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF) in October 2020.

In the spirit of the many calls for broad-based citizen participation in local governance, the editorial effort for this volume has emphasized inclusion. The collection is divided into three sections: “Localizing Human Rights and Sustainable Development”, “Diversity of Human Rights Challenges at the Local Level,”, and “Keeping Community Spirit in the Time of COVID-19″, all containing three papers each.

The essays vary in length, and features authors of different experiences. Some of the contributors are researchers and human rights activists with long experience; others are at the beginnings of hopefully long and productive careers.  Each of the essays provides ground on which to build further consideration and we thank the contributors for offering an abundant variety of approaches to the issues facing human rights cities.

The collection is edited by Professor Robert Grotjohn, in collaboration with Dr. Gyonggu Shin, Director of the Gwangju International Center and English Professor Emeritus of Chonnam National University, Alejandro Fuentes, Senior Researcher at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Yeonmin Kim, Professor of English at Chonnam National University, Seonghoon Kim, Professor of English at Chonnam National University, and Younglee Han, Coordinator at the Gwangju International Center.

The collection and the paper presentations from which they have been developed are supported by The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, The Education and Research Program for Fostering Cultural Memory Curators of Chonnam National University and Gwangju International Center.