Seminar 6: What is the "human" in human rights?

‘On being human’ is a series of six thought-provoking seminars that provide an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a human being in the 21st Century.

Part of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland’s Church in the Public Square series [http://www.presbyterianireland.org/Utility/About-Us/Councils/General-Council/Church-in-the-Public-Square.aspx], ‘On being human’ draws on the expertise of academics and professionals working in a variety of disciplines in Ireland and the UK to explore the essence and uniqueness of human life.

Christopher McCrudden is Professor of Human Rights and Equality Law at Queen’s University Belfast and William W Cook Global Law Professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Until 2011, he was Professor of Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford. His research deals with the foundational principles that underpin human rights practice.

A practicing Barrister at Blackstone Chambers in London, in this final seminar in our On being human series, Professor McCrudden considered whether we need an understanding of what it means to be 'human' in order to construct a coherent normative theory of human rights.

You can read Professor McCrudden’s blog here. [http://www.presbyterianireland.org/Blog/November-2016-(1)/On-being-Human%E2%80%A6-What-is-the-human-in-human-right.aspx] and the original ‘On being human’ news story here. [http://www.presbyterianireland.org/News/September-2016/Essence-of-humanity-at-heart-of-forthcoming-semina.aspx.]