Globalization is in some ways proving a force for compassionate cosmopolitanism, and in others a driver of economic stratification and cultural division.

 

Developments in media and communications technology have expanded exponentially the possibilities for mobilizing global solidarity. More than ever before in history, we are all witnesses to human rights violations both in our immediate environment and elsewhere in the global village.  And the possibilities for active participation and globally coordinated preventive action on human rights are manifold.

 

The multidimensional nature of the problems and solutions needed call for a renewed and serious commitment to interdisciplinary approaches, working across different layers of influence, from local to global, to revitalize the language of human rights and fulfill its still unrealised potential.