Human Rights in Developing Countries, Yearbook 1994

Book excerpt: Since 1985 seven Yearbooks have appeared containing articles on recent developments with regard to human rights in developing countries. Besides topical information on current issues and trends that pertain to these countries in general, the Yearbook describes the current situation in a selected group of developing countries. The Yearbook 1994 contains national reports on Angola, China, Ghana, Honduras, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The authors and editors of the Yearbook use a broad definition of human rights meaning not merely civil and political rights but economic, social and cultural rights as well. This broad and modern perspective on the issue is reflected in the contents of the national reports and in the thematic studies in the first part of the book, covering a wide range of issues relevant to human rights in the developing world. Among the topics covered by the thematic studies this year are the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the influence of recognized human rights standards in the national politics of Eastern Europe, the social cost of adjustment and human rights protection and an evaluation of recent positive measures taken in the sphere of North-South cooperation. The Yearbook is an initiative of human rights institutes in Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands with the purpose of reaching a wide audience interested in both human rights and development aid issues.