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The Promises of Standing Rock: Three Approaches to Human Rights
- Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- Volume 12, Number 2, Summer 2021
- pp. 205-225
- 10.1353/hum.2021.0013
- Article
- Additional Information
Abstract:
Any appeal to a right raises the question of a corresponding duty. If one bears a right, then who bears the duty to respect, protect, and enforce that right? In this essay, I contend that human rights claims need not be oriented to or reliant on the state. I start from and conclude with lessons from the 2016 protests at Standing Rock. Standing Rock, I argue, exemplifies critical theory that organizes communities through the language of human rights.