Policy brief: Examine the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Order Description

Instructions: Imagine that you are advising a US policymaker engaged in international affairs. In the following topic write a 1000–1250 word policy brief advising the policymaker of the situation, and your policy recommendations. You are strongly encouraged to review the feedback from your first policy brief assignment before starting this second one. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Topics
Examine the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/). The articles in the declaration outline fundamental human rights, such as right to life, liberty, security and person, right to migration, right to freedom of opinion and expression, right to medical care, etc. Choose one of the rights outlined, and explore how that right is not fully achieved in a country of your choice. Then formulate a realistic set of policy suggestions that could help that universal right be more fully realized in that country.

Regardless of the topic that you choose, your policy brief should accomplish the following:
1. State the issue or problem.
2. Provide contextual background for the issue or problem, including (if appropriate) a profile of the country or region you are examining and the history relevant to the issue or problem about which you are making a recommendation.
3. Discuss preexisting policies pursued by interested parties.
4. State the possible courses of action (policy options) that the US policymaker could pursue, and the advantages and disadvantages of each course of action. You should offer at least three potential courses of action.
5. Make your policy recommendation from the possible courses of action outlined earlier.
6. Provide a list of sources consulted (a works cited page).

The policy brief should make use of at least five reputable sources, of which at least three must be non-encyclopedic sources not specifically included in the course materials.

Formatting Guidelines: Your policy brief should be between 1000 and 1250 words (no exceptions). Font should be 12 point Times New Roman, Arial, or similar, text should be double-spaced. Margins should be set to 1-inch on all sides. You should be sure to appropriately cite all sources used (whether quoting directly or paraphrasing), and there should be a works cited page included. You may use any citation format you wish, as long as it is consistent, thorough, and accurate. If you do not have a preferred citation format, I recommend using APA or APSA style.

Potential Sources
Some formatting and source selection resources:
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations publishes a Food Security Communications Toolkit. This document, available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2195e/i2195e00.htm has links to example policy briefs and offers guidelines for writing effectively. Chapter 4 is particularly useful: http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2195e/i2195e03.pdf. Note that there is no expectation of an executive summary for this assignment.
The Online Writing Laboratory at Purdue University provides helpful resources for ensuring appropriate citations. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Western University created a useful video for evaluating sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyMT08mD7Ds

Some thematic resources:
The World Bank Research & Outlook page has links to the 2015 World Development Report, the Policy Research Report 2014, and other topical information: http://www.worldbank.org/en/research
The UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) website maintains links to annual Human Development Reports, narrative reports on Millennium Development Goal progress, and reports on other development-related topics: http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage.html
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) has topical resources (global analyses and working papers): http://www.imf.org/external/research/index.aspx
The Asian Development Bank actively promotes the development of civil society organizations in developing countries around the world: http://www.adb.org/site/ngos/main
UNESCO actively engages in civil society development and promotion through establishing associations and clubs in developing countries around the world: http://en.unesco.org/countries/associations-centres-and-clubs-unesco

Some country-specific resources:
The World Bank country pages offer country profiles, and links to country-specific project plans and reports: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country
The UNDP main website links to country-specific projects and data: http://www.undp.org/
The IMF has country level reporting, including press releases and economic growth outlooks: http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm
International Crisis Group produces briefings and analyses on country-level and regional-level issues related to conflict (including ethnic conflict, economic inequality, elections, etc.): http://www.crisisgroup.org/
Amnesty International publishes reports on the state of human rights in various countries around the world: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries
Human Rights Watch publishes world reports and country-level reports on human rights violations around the world: http://www.hrw.org/publications

Journals and other Resources:
Reliable news sources such as The New York Times (www.nytimes.com), the BBC (www.bbc.com/news), and other sources can provide essential background for your chosen country and/or issue.
The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/) and The Atlantic (www.theatlantic.com) often have feature articles addressing issues of development.
Foreign Policy is a great resource for examining US policies towards other countries, including issues affecting developing countries. (foreignpolicy.com)