{"id":730,"date":"2012-09-28T13:05:08","date_gmt":"2012-09-28T09:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebulletin.aua.am\/?p=730"},"modified":"2012-10-01T12:45:29","modified_gmt":"2012-10-01T08:45:29","slug":"human-rights-expert-sarah-leah-whitson-speaks-about-the-arab-spring-at-aua","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebulletin.aua.am\/human-rights-expert-sarah-leah-whitson-speaks-about-the-arab-spring-at-aua\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Expert Sarah Leah Whitson Speaks about the Arab Spring at AUA"},"content":{"rendered":"
On August 23, 2012, Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa Director of Human Rights Watch, gave a presentation at the American University of Armenia about the sources and lessons of the Arab Spring.\u00a0\u00a0She pointed out that the Arab Spring was remarkable in a number of ways. \u00a0 It was long expected, but unpredictable. \u00a0 It was brought about by a unique confluence of factors, a \u201cblack swan\u201d in Taleb\u2019s parlance,\u00a0set off in each country by seemingly small incidents of human rights violations.\u00a0 These were the proverbial straws that broke the camel\u2019s back and turned passive victims into dignity-seeking protesters.<\/p>\n
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In tune with the dispersed, social network structure of the internet age, it was not the large organized political opposition parties, but the disorganized crowd or spontaneous groups that were catalyzed by these incidents, causing the movement to gel.\u00a0 Coming to her work at HRW, she emphasized HRW\u2019s credibility as source of objective, non-partisan fact-finding and documentation.\u00a0\u00a0 She underscored that facts are hard to find, but that facts are power, enabling people to transform high ideals into a force for policy making.<\/p>\n
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She concluded her talk by stating that the rule of law and ordinary people\u2019s belief that they have a right to human dignity played a central role in the dramatic developments in the Mideast.\u00a0\u00a0The ability to articulate concerns and document facts in legal frameworks that compel action is the core of advocacy.\u00a0 She advised students to develop excellent writing skills if they wish to pursue careers in human rights.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Ms. Whitson is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UC Berkeley.<\/p>\n
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