In a world that is increasingly disillusioned with formal politics, this book identifies activism as a key means of realising human rights and as a new form of politics. People are no longer prepared to wait for governments and international institutions for act on human rights concerns.

Fighting for Human Rights documents and compares successful high profile campaigns to cancel debt, ban landmines, and set up the International Criminal Court as well as emerging campaigns that focus on HIV/Aids, genetic engineering, environmental justice, democratization, and blood diamonds. Motivated diverse international movements, these campaigns aim to establish international agreements that will become the basis for processes of monitoring and enforcement.