Human Rights and Social Work: Making the Case for Human Rights Plus (hr+)

Abstract

Human rights are declared to be ‘fundamental’ and ‘foundational’ to social work. Such rights are part of the ‘DNA’ of the profession. This understanding is central to the profession’s self-image, and it reflects how social work portrays its ethical base to the general public and the wider world. However, uncritical uses of ‘human rights’ by its promulgators and (re)producers occlude a range of important questions; for example, around the failure to historise the political reanimation of the phrase and concept, especially in the 1970s. Drawing on an expansive literature, the article aspires to deepen and trouble social work engagement. It is also proposed that the notion of ‘human rights plus’ (hr+) might potentially expand the political reach of the usage of the term within social work.