Synopses & Reviews
2048 tells the story of the most important social movement in the 21st century: humanity's agreement, in writing, to create a social order that will allow people to live together in peace and prosperity based upon human rights and the rule of law. Many of the problems the world faces, such as war, poverty, and environmental ruin are the by-product of a flawed international social order. Fortunately, there is an international agreement, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which all countries signed in 1948, that promises a social order of justice, equality, and freedom. But although the UDHR was agreed to by all countries it is only a declaration and is unenforceable in courts of law. The 2048 Project, launched by the author and his colleagues at the University of California School of Law and from which the book gets it's name, is a movement to make the fundamental rights in the Declaration enforceable in the courts of all countries by 2048, the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration. Through its programs and Web site, the 2048 Project provides education, research materials, and a place for drafters to post documents, as well as hosts international conferences on human rights. 2048 tells how the UDHR came to be written and the origins of the movement to make it enforceable; lays out the five basic freedoms the UDHR is meant to protect; and gives detailed advice on what everyone can do to make international human rights a reality.
Review
“2048 raises an important question: can humanity reach a written agreement to live together? This is a question worth asking and discussing—2048 is a book worth reading.”
—Bertrand Ramcharan, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Synopsis
In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a deeply inspiring document that has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects. But because its provisions are not enforceable, its promise has not been fulfilled. Human rights violations continue in every corner of the globe, the cause of countless individual tragedies as well as large-scale disasters like war, poverty and environmental ruin.
It's time to take the next step. 2048 sets out a visionary, audacious, but, Kirk Boyd insists, achievable goal: drafting an enforceable international agreement that will allow the people of the world to create a social order based upon human rights and the rule of law. Boyd and the 2048 Project aim to have this agreement, the International Convention on Human Rights, in place by the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration.
Written documents have always played a key role in advancing human rights: the Code of Hammurabi, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence. The express purpose of the International Convention is to safeguard what Boyd calls the Five Freedoms, adding freedom for the environment to Franklin Roosevelt's famous Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
Boyd skillfully anticipates objections to the notion of a universal and enforceable written agreement--that it would be culturally insensitive, too expensive, unacceptably limit national sovereignty--and convincingly answers them. In fact some promising first steps have already been taken. He describes existing transnational agreements with effective compliance mechanisms that can serve as models.
But Boyd wants to inspire more than argue. In 2048 he urges everyone to participate in the drafting of the agreement via the 2048 website and describes specific actions people can take to help make it a reality. "What you do with what you read" Boyd writes, "is as important as what this book says." Little by little, working together creatively with the tools now available, we can take the next step forward in the evolution of human rights.
Synopsis
You Can Make Global Human Rights a Reality
2048 is the story of the most important international social movement in the 21st century: the drafting and implementation of an International Bill of Rights that will be enforceable in the courts of every country on Earth.
Written documents have always played a key part in the evolution of human rights—the Code of Hammurabi, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence. In 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but its provisions are not enforceable so its promise remains unfulfilled. It’s time to take the next step. 2048 shows how we can create an agreement that will truly guarantee global human rights and the rule of law and have it in place by the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration—a visionary, audacious, but eminently achievable goal. J. Kirk Boyd outlines the freedoms this new document would protect and describes successful international agreements already in place that can serve as models.
But the 2048 Project needs you. “What you do with what you read,” Boyd writes, “is as important as what this book says.” He explains how people in all countries can help shape the document through the 2048 Project website (www.2048.berkeley.edu)—hosted by the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law—and offers practical advice for reaching out and building support step by step so that the International Bill of Rights will become the foundation of an irresistible grassroots movement.
About the Author
J. Kirk Boyd is a lawyer, a professor, and the executive Director of the 2048 Project. He teaches international human rights, civil rights, free speech, and constitutional law at the University of California, Berkeley.