Mertus, Julie

This article begins with a personal account of a group of women talking around a kitchen table in Belgrade in 1994. The article first explores the role of such local actors in the development of international norms. Second, the article examines recent developments promoted by globalization that are important in the inquiry into the mutually constitutive relationship among international norms, international structures, and local actors. Third, it looks at the theoretical tools available for furthering this analysis. [Descriptors: Applying Human Rights Law - International, International]

The authors employ an inside/outside construct in their analysis of the Vienna Declaration of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights. The authors discuss how the issue of domestic violence is addressed in the Vienna Declaration. They assert that the "outsider" view of human rights is found in mainstream theory and discussion about women and human rights by those who have not actually experienced the oppression.