No philosophical idea has had a more profound impact on international relations and world politics than human rights. Within half a century since World War II, human rights developed into the only universally accepted value system of our times. The Vienna Manual on Human Rights tailored to the multidisciplinary Vienna Master of Arts in Human Rights aims at providing future human rights professionals with a first insight into the fascinating and multifaceted world of human rights with its universal and regional organisations, standards and protection mechanisms. It covers the rich spectrum of civil, political, economic, social, cultural and collective rights as well as the rights of specific groups, such as children, the elderly, indigenous peoples or women. The Manual particularly focuses on contemporary issues and challenges, such as the protection of the environment and climate change, counterterrorism, democratisation and new social media, as well as practical skills including human rights education and training, litigation, lobbying, fact-finding, monitoring and capacity building.
The contributors to the Manual are scholars from different disciplines of the Universities of Vienna and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, as well as practitioners working in international and regional organisations based in Vienna, such as the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights.