This comprehensive Research Handbook offers an in-depth examination of the most significant factors affecting compliance with international human rights law, which has emerged as one of the key problems in the efforts to promote effective protection of human rights. In particular, it examines the relationships between regional human rights courts and domestic actors and judiciaries. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the Research Handbook explores the legal and political considerations that shape compliance, using a combination of both international and comparative law analysis in the assessment of regional human rights regimes. Chapters written by leading scholars and practitioners from around the globe cover a wide range of jurisdictions from Europe, Latin America and Africa and their interactions with regional human rights courts. The Research Handbook also discusses the limits of, and possible alternatives to, compliance as a framework for analysis, offering a fuller understanding of the effectiveness of international human rights law. Scholars, students and practitioners of public international law, international human rights law and comparative law will find this Research Handbook an invaluable resource. It will also benefit officials and lawyers working with international organisations who deal with human rights issues on a regular basis.

Contrary to how it is often portrayed, the concept of human rights is not homogeneous. Instead it appears fragmented, differing in scope, focus, legal force and level of governance. Using the lens of key case studies, this insightful book contemplates human rights integration and fragmentation from the perspective of its users. The fragmentation of human rights law has resulted in an uncoordinated legal architecture that can create obstacles for effective human rights protection. Against this background, expert contributors examine how to make sense - in both theoretical and practical terms - of these multiple layers of human rights law through which human rights users have to navigate. They consider whether there is a need for more integration and the potential ways in which this might be achieved. The research presented illustrates the pivotal role that users play in shaping, implementing, interpreting and further developing human rights law. Offering an innovative perspective to the debate, this book will appeal to both students and academics interested in human rights and the methodological approaches that can be used in furthering its research. Practitioners and policy makers will also benefit from the forward thinking insights into how an integrated approach to human rights could look. Contributors include: E. Brems, E. Bribosia, P. De Hert, E. Desmet, E.K. Dorneles de Andrade, M. Holvoet, D. Inman, B. Oomen, S. Ouald-Chaib, I. Rorive, S. Smis, O. Van der Noot, S. Van Drooghenbroeck

Since its establishment the work of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has been subject to many interpretations, with differing theories proffered and conclusions drawn. This comprehensive guide, from an author with an intimate knowledge of the organisation, dissects every aspect of the UNHRCs work examines the efficiency of, and interactions between, its mechanisms. The book also offers a meticulous overview of the structure and functions of the Council and its processes, providing readers not only with a clear and practical guide, but a platform from which to formulate their own opinions and conclusions. Key Features: Authored by the first Secretary of the UNHRC Unique practical insights from a UN insider Explanation of the complex decision-making processes of the Council UNHRC procedures described within the overall context in which they operate Highlights vital, but hard to access, UN and UNHRC documents and references Clear and accessible, this informative book will be a key resource for NGO's, diplomats, UN officials and other participants in UNHRC proceedings, whilst also being valuable to human rights students and academics seeking to broaden their understanding of UNHRC operations.

This insightful book analyses the process of the first adoption of guiding human rights principles for education, the Abidjan Principles. It explains the development of the Abidjan Principles, including their articulation of the right to education, the state obligation to provide quality public education, and the role of private actors in education. Multidisciplinary in approach, both legal and education scholars address key issues on the right to education, including parental rights in education, the impact of school choice, and evidence about inequities arising from private involvement in education at the global level. Focusing on East African and francophone countries, as well as the global level, chapters explore the role and impact of private actors and privatization in education. The book concludes by calling for the rights outlined in the Abidjan Principles not to remain locked in text, but for states to take responsibility and be held to account for delivering them, as promised in international human rights treaties. Interpreting human rights law as requiring that states provide a quality public education, this book will be a valuable resource for academics and students of education policy, human rights, and education law. It will also be beneficial for policy makers, practitioners, and advocacy groups working on the right to education.

This timely and insightful book brings together scholars from a range of disciplines to evaluate the role of human rights in tackling the global challenges of poverty and economic inequality. Reflecting on the concrete experiences of particular countries in tackling poverty, it appraises the international success of human rights-based approaches. Drawing on insights from philosophy, history, economics and politics, contributors consider a range of questions concerning the nature of human rights and their possible relationship to poverty, inequality and development. Chapters interrogate human rights-based approaches and question whether the normative human rights framework provides a sound foundation for addressing global poverty and equitable distribution of resources. Probing practical questions concerning the extent to which international human rights institutions have been effective in combating poverty, this thought-provoking book considers possible strategies in response to the challenges that lie ahead. Offering robust and provocative guidelines for the future of human rights and development, this unique book will be indispensable for academics and researchers investigating the intersection of human rights and poverty, particularly those interested in human rights-based approaches to tackling inequality. Its practical insights will also benefit policy makers in need of novel methodologies for promoting equality.

This collection discusses the challenges of reforming EU democracy through increased citizen participation beyond elections. It asks fundamental questions such as whether the institutionalisation of citizens in EU public law is a prerequisite for addressing these challenges and the extent to which such institutionalisation is taking place in the EU. To these ends, the contributors analyse the latest institutional initiatives, proposals and practices such as: *citizen assemblies; *citizen consultations and dialogues on European integration and draft legislation; *the Conference on the Future of Europe; *the reform of the European Citizens' Initiative; *the evolving role of the European Ombudsman; *citizen petitions to the European Parliament; *the roles of the civil society and the European Economic and Social Committee. Offering reflections on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, this book is a much needed reminder of the importance of the role of citizens in EU governance.

This important Research Handbook explores the nexus between human rights, poverty and inequality as a critical lens for understanding and addressing key challenges of the coming decades, including the objectives set out in the Sustainable Development Goals. The Research Handbook starts from the premise that poverty is not solely an issue of minimum income and explores the profound ways that deprivation and distributive inequality of power and capability relate to economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. Leading experts in the human rights field representing a range of disciplines outline a future research agenda to address poverty and inequality head on. Beginning with an interrogation of the definition of poverty, subsequent chapters analyse the dynamics of poverty and inequality in relation to matters such as race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, geography and migration status. The rights to housing, land, health, work, education, protest and access to justice are also explored, with a recognition of the challenges posed by corruption, climate change and new technologies. The Research Handbook on Human Rights and Poverty is an essential reference guide for those who teach in these areas and for scholars and students developing future research agendas of their own. This will also be a much-needed resource for people working practically to address poverty in both the Global North and Global South.

Based on the author's first-hand experience as a UN Special Rapporteur, this thought-provoking and original book examines the values of Eastern civilisations and their contribution to the development of the UN Human Rights agenda. Offering an authoritative analysis of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, Surya P. Subedi, KC, focuses on the norms underpinning these two seminal Eastern philosophies to assess the extent to which the ancient civilisations already have human rights values embedded in them. Chapters explore the expression of values in the scriptures and practices of these philosophies, assessing their influence on the contemporary understanding of human rights. Rejecting the argument based on ''Asian Values'' that is often used to undermine the universality of human rights, the book argues that secularism, personal liberty and universalism are at the heart of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. The unique perspective offered by Human Rights in Eastern Civilisations will appeal to students, academics and researchers in a wide range of disciplines, including human rights, international law and relations, and religious studies.

Utilizing the ethos of human rights, this insightful book captures the development of the moral imagination of these rights through history, culture, politics, and society. Moving beyond the focus on legal protections, it draws attention to the foundation and understanding of rights from theoretical, philosophical, political, psychological, and spiritual perspectives. The book surveys the changing ethos of human rights in the modern world and traces its recent histories and process of change, delineating the ethical, moral, and intellectual shifts in the field. Chapters incorporate and contribute to the debates around the ethics of care, considering some of the more challenging philosophical and practical questions. It highlights how human rights thinkers have sought to translate the ideals that are embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights into action and practice. Interdisciplinary in nature, this book will be critical reading for scholars and students of human rights, international relations, and philosophy. Its focus on potential answers, approaches, and practices to further the cause of human rights will also be useful for activists, NGOs, and policy makers in these fields.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This thought-provoking introduction provides an incisive overview of dignity law, a field of law emerging in every region of the globe that touches all significant aspects of the human experience. Through an examination of the burgeoning case law in this area, James R. May and Erin Daly reveal a strong overlapping consensus surrounding the meaning of human dignity as a legal right and a fundamental value of nations large and small, and how this global jurisprudence is redefining the relationship between individuals and the state. Key features include: Analyses of cases from a range of jurisdictions all over the world A history of the shift of the concept of dignity from a philosophical idea to a legally enforceable right Discussion of dignity as a value and a right in different major legal contexts, and its roots in African, Asian, European and Islamic traditions. This Advanced Introduction will be invaluable to scholars and students of law, particularly those interested in human rights, looking to understand this emerging area of law. It will inform lawyers, judges, policymakers and other advocates interested in how dignity and the law can be used to protect everyone, including the most vulnerable among us.

At a time when states are increasingly hostile to the international rights regime, human rights activists have turned to non-state and sub-state actors to begin the implementation of human rights law. This complicates the conventional analysis of relationships between local actors, global norms, and cosmopolitanism. The contributions in this open access collection examine the "lived realities of human rights" and critically engage with debates on gender, sexuality, localism and cosmopolitanism, weaving insights from multiple disciplines into a broader call for interdisciplinary scholarship informed by practice. Overall, the contributors argue that the power of human rights depends on their ability to be continuously broadened and re-imagined in locales around the world. It is only on this basis that human rights can remain relevant and be effectively used to push local, national and international institutions to put in place structural reforms that advance equity and pluralism in these perilous times. The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.

Human rights are at a crossroads. This book considers how these rights can be reconstructed in challenging times, with changes in the pathways to the realization of human rights and new developments in human rights law and policy, illustrated with case studies from Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Contesting Human Rights traces the balance between the dynamics of diffusion, resistance and innovation in the field. The book examines a range of issues from the effectiveness of norm-promotion by advocacy campaigns to the backlash facing human rights advocates. The expert contributors suggest that new opportunities at and below the state level, and creative contests of global governance, can help reconstruct human rights in the face of modern challenges. Critical case studies trace new pathways emerging in the United Nations' Universal Periodic Review, regional human rights courts, constitutional incorporation of international norms, and human rights cities. With its innovative approach to human rights and comprehensive coverage of global, national and regional trends, Contesting Human Rights will be an invaluable tool for scholars and students of human rights, global governance, law and politics. It will also be useful for human rights advocates with a keen interest in the evolution of the human rights landscape. Contributors include: G. Andreopoulos, C. Apodaca, P.M. Ayoub, A. Brysk, P. Elizalde, A. Feldman, M. Goodhart, C. Hillebrecht, P.C. McMahon, S. Meili, M. Mullinax, A. Murdie, B. Park, W. Sandholtz, M. Stohl

In a digitally connected world, the question of how to respect, protect and fulfil human rights has become unavoidable. Uniting research from scholars and practitioners, this contemporary Handbook offers new insights into well-established debates surrounding digital technologies by framing them in terms of human rights. An international group of expert contributors explore the issues posed by the management of key Internet resources, the governance of its architecture, the role of different stakeholders, the legitimacy of rule-making and rule-enforcement, and the exercise of international public authority over users. Highly interdisciplinary, the Handbook draws on law, political science, and international relations, as well as computer science and science and technology studies in order to engage with human rights aspects of the digitally connected world. The chapters examine in depth current topics relating to human rights and security, internet access, surveillance, automation, trade, and freedom of expression. This comprehensive and engaging Handbook will be vital reading for both researchers and students in law, human rights, international politics, international relations and technology studies. Policy-makers seeking an understanding of the state of human rights in technology will also find this book a highly useful resource. Contributors include: W. Benedek, D. Bigo, D. Brodowski, G. Contissa, P. de Hert, M. Dunn Cavelty, T. Engelhardt, B. Farrand, M I. Franklin, M.I. Ganesh, M. Graham, S. Horth, L. Jasmontaite, R.F. Jorgensen, C. Kavanagh, M.C. Kettemann, D. Korff, G. Lansdown, E. Light, S. Livingstone, A. Millikan, J.A. Obar, G. Sartor, G. Sobliye, A. Third, M. Tuszynski, K. Vieth, B. Wagner, T. Wetzling, M. Zalnieriute

On the first day of February 2021, Myanmar's military grabbed power in a coup d'etat, ending a decade of reforms that were supposed to break the shackles of military rule in Myanmar. Protests across the country were met with a brutal crackdown that shocked the world but were a familiar response from an institution that has ruled the country with violence and terror for decades. Return of the Junta is a detailed account of the ways that Myanmar's military - the Tamatdaw - has maintained control over its people despite a decade of supposed reform. In this detailed account, drawing on first-hand accounts from activists, jouralists and politicians, Oliver Slow explores the measures the military has used to keep hold of power and the motivations of those now rising up against its rule. The book asks the question: what needs to be done to remove the military from power in Myanmar once and for all?

This book examines the tangled responsibilities of states, companies, and individuals surrounding human rights in the digital age. Digital technologies have a huge impact – for better and worse – on human lives; while they can clearly enhance some human rights, they also facilitate a wide range of violations. States are expected to implement efficient measures against powerful private companies, but, at the same time, they are drawn to technologies that extend their own control over citizens. Tech companies are increasingly asked to prevent violations committed online by their users, yet many of their business models depend on the accumulation and exploitation of users’ personal data. While civil society has a crucial part to play in upholding human rights, it is also the case that individuals harm other individuals online. All three stakeholders need to ensure that technology does not provoke the disintegration of human rights. Bringing together experts from a range of disciplines, including law, international relations, and journalism, this book provides a detailed analysis of the impact of digital technologies on human rights, which will be of interest to academics, research students and professionals concerned by this issue.

Human trafficking is currently regarded as a contemporary form of slavery. However, despite many initiatives undertaken over the last two decades to tackle the problem, there seems to be a disproportionate emphasis on the social phenomenon. Trafficking in persons remains a little-explored area in scholarship with many inconsistencies and ambiguities yet to be attended to. Human trafficking is a multifaceted issue that requires a multidisciplinary approach that must be studied and considered thoroughly and with heavy regard to the many layers of the issue. The Handbook of Research on Present and Future Paradigms in Human Trafficking presents a comprehensible view of what constitutes the underpinning of human trafficking, the means of combating it, its moral implications, and offers possible solutions toward curbing its excesses, inconsistencies, and ambiguities. Covering a range of topics such as social change, human rights, and ethics, this major reference work is ideal for researchers, scholars, practitioners, government officials, policymakers, instructors, academicians, and students.

This book examines the possibility of creating new ways of existing beyond human rights. Multiple socio-political crises and the dominance of neoliberal and capitalist policies have led legal and political theorists to question the emancipatory promise of human rights and to reconceptualise human rights in theory and practice. The possibility of creating new ways of existing beyond human rights has been left significantly under examined, until now. Having as its starting point the ferocious, yet brief, critique on human rights of one of the most prominent French philosophers of the 20th century, Gilles Deleuze, the book argues that Deleuze's critique is not only compatible with his broader thought but that it has the potential to give a new impetus to the current critiques of human rights, within the 'disciplinary borders' of legal and political theory. The book draws upon Deleuze's broader thought, but also radical legal and political theory and continental philosophy. In particular, it investigates and expands on two of Deleuze's most important notions, namely those of 'immanence' and 'becoming' and their relation to the philosopher's critique of human rights. In doing so, it argues that these two notions are capable of questioning the dominant and dogmatic position that human rights enjoy.

This is a concise and accessible introduction to fundamental rights in Europe from the perspectives of history, theory and an analysis of European jurisprudence. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the book equips readers with the tools to understand the foundations and the functioning of this complex and multi-layered topic. Key Features: A combination of historical and philosophical approaches with analysis of significant legal cases A multidisciplinary outlook, in contrast to the strict legal approach of most textbooks on the subject A European perspective which refers throughout to central European values such as freedom, equality, solidarity and dignity A specific focus on fundamental rights, which have received less attention in the fields of legal history and theory in comparison to human rights This textbook will be an important resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in law, philosophy and political science. It will be particularly useful to those studying the law of fundamental rights or human rights as a complement to more traditional legal approaches.