Citizenship and Social Justice
The focus for the Social Justice and Citizenship Working Group can be broadly framed as an examination of the human rights aspects of citizenship claims in relation to social justice systems and practices. It has been argued that an effective system of rights refers to the norms that define the political and the legal status of “the citizen”. Fundamental rights include political rights (the right to participate in the political process) and social rights (including economic rights and the right to a minimum standard of living and to social welfare). Relative to the rights debate, there is a particular interest for the group in definitional and transformational justice issues; that is, how certain groups in society become excluded from the category of “citizen” in certain periods of time but become included in others. The scope can thus also include how the rights of excluded citizens have been/are impacted through traditional justice processes and how social justice alternatives might more effectively protect those rights.
