New Articles by Legal Scholar and Practitioner Todd Howland Highlight a "Human Rights Economy"
Todd Howland, JD, MA, recently published two short commentaries exploring the application of a concept he helped develop during his time at the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): the Human Rights Economy.
The OHCHR in 2023 stated “A human rights economy centres people and the planet in economic, social, and environmental policies, plans and programmes and aims at ensuring that all economic, industrial and trade policies, investment decisions, consumer protections and choices, as well as business models, are firmly guided by human rights norms and standards.”
Howland’s recent commentaries highlight that human rights were designed to apply to all facets of society, but over time the economy has become a human rights freezone. The Human Rights Economy is conceptualized to overcome this exceptionalism, and stresses that individuals and investors can earn as much as they can only after the human rights of others have been respected.
The first commentary, “Human Rights Economy: A Solution to Economic Cruelty and Everyday Atrocities”, published by the Oxford Human Rights Hub with co-author Jason Liang, argues for the recognition of widespread economic and environmental harms—such as hunger, homelessness, pollution-related illness, and climate devastation—as “everyday atrocities” deserving equal moral and legal weight as war crimes. Current legal frameworks, particularly international criminal law, reserve the term “atrocity” for armed conflict, ignoring the slow, structural violence perpetrated by governments and corporations through profit-driven policies that violate human rights. Drawing on Rousseau’s concept of the social contract, the piece calls for a Human Rights Economy in which economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights are treated as indivisible, and fiduciary duty includes respect for human rights. It critiques the prevailing economic model that externalizes harm onto the public for private gain and demands a redefinition of legitimacy in business and governance: profit must follow the protection of human dignity, not precede it. The article urges legal, political, and economic systems to adopt human rights guardrails and reject profit derived from avoidable human suffering.
His second piece, “When a Dead President Speaks, We Should Listen”, published by Open Global Rights, explores President Jimmy Carter’s enduring legacy of advocating for a human rights-based approach to economic policy. It emphasizes the urgent need to address income inequality and the unchecked consolidation of economic and political power. The article calls for the development of a Human Rights Economy that prioritizes the well-being of people and the environment over profit. It critiques the American reliance on market-based solutions and narrow interpretations of discrimination, instead urging systemic change grounded in international human rights standards. Highlighting stark racial wealth disparities and environmental injustices, it underscores the pressing need for this shift. To support these goals, Howland’s article proposes the creation of Carter Human Rights Economy Fellowships within U.S. state and local human rights commissions, aimed at renewing the social contract and upholding all human rights—civil, political, economic, social, and cultural—as essential to building a just, inclusive, and sustainable society.
Todd Howland has over 25 years of professional experience in the field of human rights. He currently serves as the Interim Director of the Environmental Justice Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and as a Senior Fellow at the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at The New School.
Most recently, he was Chief of the Development and Economic and Social Rights Branch at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva. In this role, he oversaw a broad range of thematic areas, including sustainable development; the right to development; economic, social, and cultural rights; business and human rights; the environment and climate change; the human rights economy; migration; the rights of children and youth; the rights of older persons; the rights of persons with disabilities; civic space; and the protection of human rights defenders.
Previously, he also served as the OHCHR Representative in Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Angola, among other UN assignments.
Howland holds a JD and an MA in political economy from the University of Denver and serves on the Advisory Board of the Nanda Center.
Read the Oxford Human Rights Hub article
