Which novel about human rights would you recommend? It could be on women’s rights, children’s rights, decolonisation, freedom of expression, dystopia, reconciliation after conflict… As long as the theme is human rights.
The answer might come right away, or perhaps you have to think about it. Your mind might go blank for a moment, or maybe you already have not one but two, three or even ten books. Either way, all you need to do is respond to the survey launched by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The UN Human Rights Chief will then compile a list of the ten most frequently cited books, those that are essential reading. It will be published and widely distributed on 10 December, Human Rights Day.
We asked staff at the United Nations Regional Information Centre the very same question, and here is their selection:
‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck
‘The Grapes of Wrath’ is a novel about the exploitation of seasonal workers in California during the Great Depression in the 1940s. When I read this book, I was harvesting grapes in Burgundy and witnessed seasonal workers being immediately dismissed for drinking or arriving late, only to be replaced by new recruits ready to take their places. This novel highlights the exploitation of workers in precarious situations, at the mercy of their employers. Today, we need to reread ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. The working conditions of migrants and seasonal workers often remain abusive.
Selected by Caroline Petit, Deputy Director and Head of the UK and Ireland Desk
‘Of Pure Men’, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr
Based on a true story, this short novel by Mbougar Sarr tells the story of a desecrated grave in the Dakar cemetery. The scene was filmed and went viral on social media. The narrator investigates and discovers that the young man was homosexual. But his investigation also reveals the ambiguities of Senegalese society towards “Goor-Jigeen” (“man-woman”) and leads him to question his own identity.
Selected by Fabienne Pompey, Head of the France and Monaco Desk
‘Americanah’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Through the story of Ifemelu and Obinze, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie explores the themes of immigration, identity and belonging. Adichie describes the challenges and resilience of immigrants in the face of discrimination, highlighting issues at the heart of human rights: equality, dignity and the fight against racism.
Selected by Marian Blondeel, Head of the Benelux Desk
George Orwell’s ‘1984’
A stark warning against totalitarianism, surveillance, and the suppression of free thought. Its themes of censorship and state control are more relevant than ever.
Selected by Gregory Cornwell, Social Media Coordinator
‘Noughts & Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman
‘Noughts & Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman is set in an alternative reality in Britain where white-skinned people, the Noughts, and dark-skinned people, the Crosses, are segregated, with the Crosses having more power in society. In this fictional world, the Europeans were enslaved by the Africans and years later, although slavery has ended, there is still a firm divide. Aimed in particular at young adults, but a compelling read for all, the novel portrays the destructive and devastating consequences of racism and prejudice. I read the text as a teenager and it has had a profound and lasting impact on me ever since.
Selected by Miranda, assistant on the UK and Ireland Desk
‘The Dream of the Celt’ by Mario Vargas Llosa
‘The Dream of the Celt’ is a fictionalised biography of Roger Casement, who denounced the exploitation of indigenous peoples in the Congo and the Amazon by rubber barons. Considered a pioneer of what we now call human rights advocacy, even though the term was not yet in common use during his lifetime, Casement was an Irish diplomat in the British consular service. His investigations into the atrocities committed under colonial regimes in the Congo Free State and the Putumayo region of Peru sparked a wave of global outrage. Later in life, Casement became a prominent Irish nationalist. He was executed by the British in 1916.
Selected by Antonio Ferrari, Portugal Desk Officer
‘Between the World and Me’ by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Entitled ‘Une colère noire, lettre à mon fils’ (Black Anger, Letter to My Son) in France, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ essay, published in 2015 in the United States under the less fierce title ‘Between the World and Me’, earned its author phenomenal success. More than 50 years after James Baldwin’s ‘The Fire Next Time’, another major American author, the African-American journalist forcefully deciphers the world of violence and systemic racism in which the black community still lives.
Selected by Sabine Cessou, assistant on the Benelux Desk
‘Indian Horse’ by Richard Wagamese
Saul Indian Horse, a young Ojibwe boy, is taken from his family and sent to a boarding school in Canada. However, he finds refuge in hockey. The book paints a portrait of the cultural history of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, highlighting experiences of cultural erasure, systemic racism, resilience and reconciliation. It addresses the issue of human rights by denouncing violations of human dignity, cultural identity and freedom.
Selected by Elisabeth Caron, web intern
‘Babel’ by R.F. Kuang
In 19th-century England, Robin Swift, a Chinese orphan, becomes a student at the Royal Institute of Translation in Oxford. The book candidly exposes the mechanisms of colonialism, racism and capitalism that underpin British supremacy, and features characters confronted with the complexity of resistance and the need to question their own complicity. Reading it invites us to reflect on the collective mechanisms of human rights violations and questions the role and responsibility of nations in maintaining systems of oppression and institutionalised violence.
Selected by Jade Piasecki, intern, France and Monaco Desk