Human rights and democratisation are live, active discourses that engage highly passionate responses. By challenging ourselves and others to critique and re-imagine the promotion and protection of human rights and democratisation, our conversations are made all the more interesting and the shared learning enriched.

Talk Rights aims to be an independent, accessible and egalitarian platform where different views, ideas, approaches, interests and practices meet. It gathers together think pieces, comments from the field, case studies, interviews, critiques and provocations from established and emerging human rights professionals from all regions of the world. The objectives of the platform are to:

• speak on a variety of human rights and democratisation issues to a larger audience than the ‘converted’
• offer information and orientation about events, activities, publications and people
• inspire prompt reactions, debates and further cooperation

Human rights should never depend on someone’s race, gender, class, sexuality, abilities, religion, or any other part of their identity. No one “earns” human rights; they’re born with their rights intact. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.