The idea of human rights is one of the most powerful in contemporary social and political discourse. It is readily endorsed by people from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds and it is used rhetorically in support of a large number of different and sometimes conflicting causes. Because of its strong appeal and its rhetorical power, it is often used loosely and can have different meanings in different contexts, although those who use the idea so readily seldom stop to ponder its various meanings and its contradictions. This combination of its strong appeal and its contradictions makes the idea of human rights worth closer consideration, especially for social workers and those in other human service professions.

This book is concerned with what a human rights perspective means for social workers (Centre for Human Rights 1994). Framing social work as a human rights profession has certain consequences for the way in which social work is conceptualised and practised. In many instances such a perspective reinforces and validates the traditional understandings and practices of social work, while in other cases it challenges some of the assumptions of the social work profession. The position of this book is that a human rights perspective can strengthen social work and that it provides a strong basis for an assertive practice that seeks to realise the social justice goals of social workers, in whatever setting. Human rights, however, are also contested and problematic.