As an ever more powerful political force, humanitarianism has evolved from its once apolitical stances and found a place on nearly every public policy agenda among developed nations. Since the 1970s, large international groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have dominated the Human Rights Movement, which has grown so much so in complexity and in professionalism that local groups—which arguably have more contextualized knowledge than multinational humanitarian organizations—have found it hard to enter the dense network of humanitarianism. In extension, regional projects are frequently left unaddressed and local groups are underfunded, while Western NGOs use their influence and resources to promote Westernized ideals. This
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Crucial to the success of the Human Rights Movement is its implementation of a system of tools used to punish those who violate these rights. This system of humanitarian intervention has become a veritable battlefield, protested mainly by supporters of state sovereignty over all. Originally celebrated for its “impartial, neutral, and independent provision of relief to victims of conflict and natural disasters,” …show more content…
The influence of evangelizing Christian missionaries on African culture extends from its pre-colonial days, which were immortalized in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Achebe’s work describes an Africa in which Christian missionaries come with preconceptions of savage Africans and the intent to convert as many as possible, leading to the ultimate disintegration of the culture as a whole. Beyond religious conversion, a main theme of the book was Western contempt for and refusal to recognize the African culture of the time. While fictional, Achebe’s commentary on the actions and large presences of missionaries in Africa is far from inaccurate. Despite the assertions that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” and that “No one may be compelled to belong to an association,” religious mission groups have somehow managed to fly under the radar in this sense. Whether overtly or not, mission groups are attaching strings to humanitarian aid and convincing the impoverished to negate their culture in return for clean water or education. What are described as universal and immutable human rights are thus held hostage by groups trying to forward their own religious
Crucial to the success of the Human Rights Movement is its implementation of a system of tools used to punish those who violate these rights. This system of humanitarian intervention has become a veritable battlefield, protested mainly by supporters of state sovereignty over all. Originally celebrated for its “impartial, neutral, and independent provision of relief to victims of conflict and natural disasters,” …show more content…
The influence of evangelizing Christian missionaries on African culture extends from its pre-colonial days, which were immortalized in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Achebe’s work describes an Africa in which Christian missionaries come with preconceptions of savage Africans and the intent to convert as many as possible, leading to the ultimate disintegration of the culture as a whole. Beyond religious conversion, a main theme of the book was Western contempt for and refusal to recognize the African culture of the time. While fictional, Achebe’s commentary on the actions and large presences of missionaries in Africa is far from inaccurate. Despite the assertions that “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,” and that “No one may be compelled to belong to an association,” religious mission groups have somehow managed to fly under the radar in this sense. Whether overtly or not, mission groups are attaching strings to humanitarian aid and convincing the impoverished to negate their culture in return for clean water or education. What are described as universal and immutable human rights are thus held hostage by groups trying to forward their own religious