Riz Khan

Making human rights universal

Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s new secretary-general, tells us how he is moving the organisation forward.

To what degree are human rights universal? Sceptics of rights organisations say they are simply another vehicle for spreading a Western agenda in developing nations.

Western-based rights groups have campaigned tirelessly to pressure governments and political entities for an end to human rights abuses that range from discrimination to the death penalty.

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At the same time, they have been accused of disproportionately imposing foreign policy agendas on non-Western governments.

On Tuesday’s Riz Khan show we ask: How can international rights groups move the case for human rights forward?

Riz speaks to Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s new secretary-general. Shetty is the first person of Indian origin to lead Amnesty International, which is the world’s largest human rights organisation.

This episode of Riz Khan aired from Tuesday, September 14, 2010.