Will Our Rights Survive Populism?

This is the first of a series of five podcasts on the future of Human Rights. 

On The Great Unravelling, journalist and former barrister Afua Hirsch discusses the world order forged after World War II with international lawyers, historians, and thinkers, and asks if the rise of populists all over the world is a serious threat to Human Rights. 

In many parts of the world, 'rights talk' is part of everyday language, but Hirsch notices that Trump – and other populist leaders – are not afraid of deviating from the language of rights. It's happening in Hungary, for example. The country has gone a path that will make human rights values irretrievable. 

A provocative theory says that the rise of populism is in part fault of the human rights movement itself because it lost sight of the importance of social and economic rights like access to housing, education, and healthcare. 

Experts believe that although it seems sudden, the crisis has, in fact, deep roots. The 90s were an important decade for human rights, but during that time the priority was always to embed political and civil rights in constitutions, without thinking about economic fairness. This lack of connection between development and human rights could turn out to be a death sentence.

Human rights are like oxygen, Hirsch recalls, you only notice them when they are gone. Will our rights survive? A very interesting and necessary discussion in today's world. Can't wait for the next episodes.