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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > Human rights > General
Social exclusion of minority groups is an intractable problem in many diverse nations. For some minority groups this means going to segregated schools, for others not having access to gainful employment or quality healthcare. But why does social exclusion persist, and what can one do to stop it? This book proposes a theory of how individual behavior contributes to social exclusion, a novel method for measuring that behavior, and solutions to ending it. Based on original fieldwork among Central and Eastern European Roma, the largest ethnic minority in Europe (yet still very understudied), and non-Roma, Ana Bracic develops a theory she calls the exclusion cycle, through which anti-minority culture gives rise to discrimination by members of the majority, and minority members develop survival strategies. Members of the majority resent these strategies, assuming that they are endemic to the minority group rather than an outcome of their own discriminatory behavior. To illustrate her theory, Bracic includes an analysis of a video game she created that simulates interactions between Roma and non-Roma participants, which members of these groups played through avatars (thereby avoiding contentious face-to-face interactions). The results demonstrate that majority members discriminate against minority members even when minority group members behave in ways identical to the majority. It also shows the way in which minority members develop survival mechanisms. Bracic draws on the results of the simulation to offer evidence that this cycle can be broken through NGO-promoted discussion and interaction between groups. She also draws on extant scholarship on interactions between Muslim women in France, African Americans, the Batwa in Uganda, and their respective majority communities.
Examines Eritrea's deprivation of human rights since independence and its transformation into a militarised "garrison state". When Eritrea gained independence in 1991, hopes were high for its transformation. In two decades, however, it became one of the most repressive in the world, effectively a militarised "garrison state". This comprehensive and detailed analysis examines how the prospects for democracy in the new state turned to ashes, reviewing its development, and in particular the loss of human rights and the state's political organisation. Beginning with judicial development in independent Eritrea, subsequent chapters scrutinise the rule of law and the court system; the hobbled process of democratisation, and the curtailment of civil society; the Eritrean prison system and everyday life of detention and disappearances; and the situation of minorities in the country, first in general terms and then through exploration of a case study of the Kunama ethnic group. While the situation is bleak, it is not without hope, however:the conclusion focuses on opposition to the current regime, and offers scenarios of regime change and how the coming of a second republic may yet reconfigure Eritrea politically. Kjetil Tronvoll is Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at Bjoerknes College, founding and senior partner of the International Law and Policy Institute, Oslo, and a former Professor of Human Rights at the University of Oslo; Daniel R. Mekonnen is Senior Legal Advisor, International Law and Policy Institute, Oslo, and former Judge of the Zoba Maekel Provincial Court in Eritrea.
This timely book comprehensively examines whether the worst human rights violations directed specifically at sexual and gender minorities are punishable under international criminal law, as codified in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Drawing on general rules of interpretation, the development of human rights for sexual and gender minorities, and the social construction of gender, this monograph reveals that the worst crimes committed against persons because of their sexual orientation or gender identity can amount to crimes against humanity, particularly the crime of persecution under Article 7(1)(h). It also shows how legislators can be held individually criminally responsible for passing laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexuality. The book not only makes a significant and original contribution to the literature but is also highly relevant for international criminal law practitioners, since, so far, no cases regarding this topic exist. Dr. Valerie V. Suhr is currently a trainee lawyer in the district of the Koblenz Court of Appeal in Germany
Is a strong cosmopolitan stance irretrievably arrogant? Cosmopolitanism, which affirms universal moral principles and grants no fundamental moral significance to the state, has become increasingly central to normative political theory. Yet, it has faced persistent claims that it disdains local attachments and cultures, while also seeking the neo-imperialistic imposition of Western moral views on all persons. The critique is said to apply with even greater force to institutional cosmopolitan approaches, which seek the development of global political institutions capable of promoting global aims for human rights, democracy, etc. This book works to address such objections through developing a novel theory of cosmopolitan political humility. It draws on the work of Indian constitutional architect and social activist B.R. Ambedkar, who cited universal principles of equality and rights in confronting domestic exclusions and the "arrogance" of caste. He sought to advance forms of political humility, or the recognition of equal standing, and openness to input and challenge within political institutions. This book explores how an "institutional global citizenship" approach to cosmopolitanism could similarly promote political humility globally, by supporting the development of democratic input and challenge mechanisms beyond the state. Such developments would challenge an essential political arrogance identified in the current system, where sovereign states are empowered to simply dismiss rights-based challenges from outsiders or their own populations-even as they serve as the designated guarantors of human rights. The book employs an innovative grounded normative theory method, where extensive original field research informs the development of moral claims. Insights are taken from Dalit activists reaching out to United Nations human rights bodies for support in challenging caste discrimination, and from their critics in the governing Bharatiya Janata Party. Further insights are drawn from Turkish protestors confronting a rising domestic authoritarianism, and from UK Independence Party members demanding "Brexit" from the European Union-in part because predominantly Muslim Turkey could eventually join. Overall, it is shown, an institutional global citizenship approach can inform the development of a global framework which would orient fundamentally to political humility rather than arrogance, and which could significantly advance global rights protections.
Rights have become,in recent years, a significant concern of legal theorists, as well as of those involved in moral and political philosophy. This new book seeks to move a number of debates forward by developing the analysis of rights and focusing upon more general theoretical considerations relating to rights. The book is divided into five parts. The first includes an explanation of the part played by conceptual analysis within jurisprudence, while the second conducts a re-examination of Hohfeld's analysis of rights. This part deals with the arguments advanced by a number of modern theorists including Hart, White and MacCormick. The third part contains the author's own framework for discussing rights, including examples drawn from tort, constitutional law and international law, together with an analysis of Unger's theory of rights. Part four centres on the perceived conflict between Dworkin, Rawls and Nozick as the defenders of a rights approach, and Bentham as the champion of utilitarianism and concludes that neither deals with the fundamental concerns of morality on which their theories are based. The fifth part consists of a conclusion which reflects on the key themes and considers the role of rights within general theory. For students, particularly helpful features of the book are the overt consideration of jurisprudential methodology and the opportunity to examine a number of key theorists linked by their divergent views on the subject of rights.
The aim of the book is to resolve the question of whether multiple sanctioning systems are contrary to the ne bis in idem under the regulation provided by Protocol 7 to the ECHR and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The first part is a comparative study regarding the lawfulness of multiple sanctioning systems under the ne bis in idem, studying the evolution and the current state of the case law of the United States Supreme Court, the Canadian Supreme Court, the Spanish Constitutional Court, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The second part of the book critically analyses three problems with the case law of the ECtHR and the CJEU. Part three deals with reconceptualizing the prohibition of multiple punishment and the prohibition of multiple prosecutions. Finally, the fourth part addresses other possible protections against multiple sanctioning systems. Two other safeguards that limit multiple sanctioning systems are the prohibition of disproportionate sanctions and the right to be tried within a reasonable time.
This book offers perspectives from the ground on human rights and peace in Timor-Leste. By highlighting the local voices, this book draws on their experience and expertise in engaging with questions concerning the nexus between human rights, peace and development. It posits that these concepts no longer mean absence of conflict, and argues that sustainable peace must be built from rights frameworks to protect the locals' interests in the processes. Acknowledging the lack of autonomy on local actors in peace-making contexts, the book emphasizes the urgent need to facilitate the creation of political and social structures that can support and offer contextual rights and dignity for the Timorese community.
This volume examines the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) through an interdisciplinary lens, with a focus on IDPs in Africa. The novelty of this book resonates from the fact that it explores national perspectives on internal displacement, with the aim of providing a well-grounded engagement on the subject of internal displacement, for which very little exists. The chapter authors are drawn from various disciplines and institutional backgrounds, and provide context-based analysis and examine the situation in countries with significant population displacement. The work is a timely engagement, as the issue of internal displacement has emerged as a pertinent concern in Africa. Each of the chapters in this book draw on significant context-based knowledge and on issues for which there is a need for pertinent attention across the African countries. This book will be a significant reference point for researchers, professors, practitioners, judges, policy makers, international organizations, regional bodies, lawyers and scholars in the field of migration, forced migration, and regional institutions.
This book addresses emerging questions concerning who should bear responsibility for shouldering risk, as well as the viability of existing and experimental governance mechanisms in connection with new technologies. Scholars from 14 jurisdictions unite their efforts in this edited collection to provide a comparative analysis of how various legal systems are tackling the challenges produced by the legal aspects of genetic testing in insurance and employment. They cover the diverse set of norms that surround this issue, and share insights into relevant international, regional and national incursions into the field. By doing so, the authors offer a basis for comparative reflection, including on whether transnational standard setting might be useful or necessary for the legal aspects of genetic testing as they relate to the insurance and employment contexts. The respective texts cover a broad range of topics, including the prevalence of genetic testing in the contexts of insurance and employment, and policy factors that might affect this prevalence, such as the design of national health or social insurance systems, of private insurance schemes or the availability of low-cost direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Further, the field of genetics is gaining in importance at the international and regional levels. Relevant concepts - mainly genetic tests and genetic data/information - have been internationally defined, and these definitions have influenced definitions adopted nationally. International law also recognizes a "special status" for human genetic data. The authors therefore also consider these definitions and the recognition of the special status of human genetic data within regional and national legal orders. They investigate the range of norms that specifically address the use of genetic testing in employment and insurance, encompassing international sources - including human rights norms - that may be binding or non-binding, as well national statutory, regulatory and soft-law mechanisms. Accordingly, some of the texts examine general frameworks relevant to genetic testing in each country, including those that stem from general anti-discrimination rules and norms protecting rights to autonomy, self-determination, confidentiality and privacy. In closing, the authors provide an overview of the efficiency of their respective legal regimes' approaches - specific and generalist - to genetic testing or disclosure of genetic information in the employment or insurance contexts, including the effect of lack of legal guidance. In this regard, some of the authors highlight the need for transnational action in the field and make recommendation for future legal developments.
This book offers a synthesis of the main achievements and pending challenges during the thirty years of transitional justice in Chile after Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship. The Chilean experience provides useful comparative perspectives for researchers, students and human rights activists engaged in transitional justice processes around the world. The first chapter explains the theoretical foundations of human rights and transitional justice. The second chapter discusses the main historical milestones in Chile's recent history which have defined the course of the process of transitional justice. The following chapters provide an overview of the key elements of transitional justice in Chile: truth, reparations, memory, justice, and guarantees of non-repetition.
The question of minority rights is one of the great dilemmas of
contemporary politics. Increases in the flow of immigrants,
migrants and refugees have raised public concerns that greater
cultural and ethnic diversity creates instability within
nation-states. But does stability really require homogeneity? Or
can it be maintained in the presence of different minority groups?
In this path-breaking book, Jackson Preece analyses whether
traditional minority rights theory is sufficiently dynamic to
inform effective responses to modern challenges. The central
premise behind minority rights is that groups recognized and
supported by the political community are far less likely to
challenge its authority or threaten its territorial integrity.
However, as Jackson Preece shows, the potential for collisions of
values and interests still exists, and the possibility of a
permanent solution to the problem of diversity remains
illusive. "Minority Rights" will be an indispensable resource for students and scholars of political science, international relations, law, and sociology.
The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has instructed all UN specialized agencies and other affiliated organizations to consider how their work might advance the cause of human rights around the world. Many of these bodies have taken this call to heart, with a wide range of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) trying to play a more active role in promoting human welfare. "Power and Principle" is a comparative study of how and why IGOs integrate human rights standards into their development operations. It focuses on the process of policy innovation in three UN-related IGOs: the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF,) the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO). In his comprehensive analysis, Joel E. Oestreich uses case studies to demonstrate how their policies have evolved during the past two decades to reflect important human rights considerations. Drawing on interviews with dozens of staffers from IGOs, Oestreich creates a gripping narrative of the inner workings of these large bureaucracies. In each study he describes how the organization first became interested in human rights standards, how these standards were adopted as a priority, how the organization defined rights in the context of their work, and what a rights-based approach has meant in practice. The book argues that IGOs ought to be seen as capable of meaningful agency in international politics, and describes the nature of that agency. It concludes with an examination of these organizations and their ethical responsibilities as actors on the world stage.
The book provides an in-depth discussion of democratic theory questions in relation to refugee law. The work introduces readers to the evolution of refugee law and its core issues today, as well as central lines in the debate about democracy and migration. Bringing together these fields, the book links theoretical considerations and legal analysis. Based on its specific understanding of the refugee concept, it offers a reconstruction of refugee law as constantly confronted with the question of how to secure rights to those who have no voice in the democratic process. In this reconstruction, the book highlights, on the one hand, the need to look beyond the legal regulations for understanding the challenges and gaps in refugee protection. It is also the structural lack of political voice, the book argues, which shapes the refugee's situation. On the other hand, the book opposes a view of law as mere expression of power and points out the dynamics within the law which reflect endeavors towards mitigating exclusion. The book will be essential reading for academics and researchers working in the areas of migration and refugee law, legal theory and political theory.
This book explores and addresses body search practices in prison environments from different angles (criminology, sociology, human rights and law) and discusses such practices in different national contexts within Europe. Body searches are widely used in prison systems across the globe: they are perceived as indispensable to prevent forbidden substances, weapons or communication devices from entering the prison. However, these are also invasive and potentially degrading control techniques. It should not come as a surprise, then, that body searches are deeply contested security measures and that they have been widely debated and regulated. What makes theses control measures problematic in a prison context? How do these practices come to be regulated in an international and European context? How are rules translated into national law? To what extent are laws and rules respected, bent, circumvented and denied? And what does the future hold for body searches?
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle is the international community's major response to the problem of genocide and mass atrocities - a problem seen in Bosnia, Rwanda and more recently in Syria. This book argues that although it is far from perfect R2P offers the best chance we have of building an international community that works to prevent these crimes and protect vulnerable populations. To make this argument, the book sets out the logic of R2P and its key ambitions, examines some of the critiques of the principle and its implementation in situations such as Libya, and sets out ways of overcoming some of the practical problems associated with moving this principle from words into deeds.
This third edition of Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism presents human rights in action, focusing on their effectiveness as legal tools designed to benefit human beings. By combining conceptual analysis with an emphasis on procedures and mechanisms of implementation, this volume provides a multidimensional overview of human rights. After examining briefly the history of human rights, the author analyses the intellectual framework that forms the basis of their legitimacy. In particular, he covers the concept of universality and the widely used model that classifies human rights into clusters of different 'generations'. In this edition, the author brings together the fundamental aspects of human rights law, addressing human dignity as the ethical foundation of human rights, the principle of equality and non-discrimination as the essence of any culture of human rights, the protections against racial discrimination and discrimination against women, and assesses the individual as a subject of international law. The volume then moves on to assess the activities of the political institutions of the United Nations, the expert bodies established by the relevant treaties, and the international tribunals specifically entrusted at the regional level with protecting human rights. This edition also includes specific analysis of the actions mandated by the UN Security Council against Libya in 2011. It also includes greater coverage of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The author explains how and why the classical array of politically inspired informal devices has been enriched by the addition of international criminal procedures and by endeavours to introduce civil suits against alleged individual violators of human rights. Finally, the volume is rounded off by a consideration of the importance of humanitarian law as an instrument for the protection of human life and dignity and an exploration of the future of human rights.
This book, which updates and expands the third edition published by Springer in 2015, explains, compares and evaluates the social and legal functions of adoption within a range of selected jurisdictions and on an international basis. From the standpoint of the development of adoption in England & Wales, and the changes currently taking place there, it considers the process as it has evolved in other countries. It also identifies themes of commonality and difference in the experience of adoption in a common law context, comparing and contrasting this with the experience under civil law and in Islamic countries and with that of indigenous people. This book includes new chapters examining adoption in Russia, Korea and Romania. Further, it uses the international conventions and the associated ECtHR case law to benchmark developments in national law, policy and practice and to facilitate a cross-cultural comparative analysis.
This book explores the norms, practices, and main actors in the EU Migration System of Governance (EUMSG). Bringing a fresh perspective to the analysis of asylum and migration in Europe, the volume unpacks the European Union's approach to migration and points to the principles and actions of EU member states. Moreover, it explores the EUMSG's performance through the lenses of three alternative yet coexistent understandings of justice (non-domination, impartiality, and mutual recognition), thereby overcoming a unilateral ethical viewpoint and moving away from the 'open-closed borders' debate.
Volume 24 of the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is dedicated to investigating IHL's universalist claims from different perspectives and regarding different areas of IHL. While academic debates about "universalism versus particularism" have dominated much of the critical scholarship in international law over the past two decades, they remain relatively underexplored in the field of IHL. The current volume fills this gap in IHL literature by focusing on the ways in which different interpretive communities approach questions of IHL from differing perspectives. Authors were invited to use the concept of culture to deconstruct and take critical distance from the production, interpretation, and application of IHL, and those keen on challenging the idea that IHL needs critical deconstruction were also invited to argue their case. The Volume contains four articles dedicated to the subject of cultures of IHL. It also features a book symposium on Samuel Moyn's Humane: How The United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War (2021) and ends, as usual, with a Year in Review section. The Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law is a leading annual publication devoted to the study of international humanitarian law. The Yearbook has always strived to be at the forefront of the debate of pressing doctrinal questions of IHL and will continue to do so in the future. As this volume shows, it is also a forum for taking a step back and reflecting on the broader, theoretical issues that inform the practice and thinking about the field. The Yearbook provides an international forum for high-quality, peer-reviewed academic articles focusing on this crucial branch of international law. Distinguished by contemporary relevance, it bridges the gap between theory and practice and serves as a useful reference tool for scholars, practitioners, military personnel, civil servants, diplomats, human rights workers and students.
The impact of St. Mark's Community Center and United Methodist
Church on the city of New Orleans is immense. Their stories are
dramatic reflections of the times. But these stories are more than
mere reflections because St. Mark's changed the picture, leading
the way into different understandings of what urban diversity could
and should mean. This book looks at the contributions of St.
Mark's, in particular the important role played by women
(especially deaconesses) as the church confronted social issues
through the rise of the social gospel movement and into the modern
civil rights era.
Politicians and diplomats have for many years proclaimed a human right to water as a solution to the global water crisis, most recently in the 2010 UN General Assembly Resolution "The human right to water and sanitation". To what extent, however, can a right to water legally and philosophically exist and what difference to international law and politics can it make? This question lies at the heart of this book. The book's answer is to argue that a right to water exists under international law but in a more differentiated and multi-level manner than previously recognised. Rather than existing as a singular and comprehensive right, the right to water should be understood as a composite right of different layers, both deriving from separate rights to health, life and an adequate standard of living, and supported by an array of regional and national rights. The author also examines the right at a conceptual level. After disproving some of the theoretical objections to the category of socio-economic rights generally and the concept of a right to water more specifically, the manuscript develops an innovative approach towards the interplay of different rights to water among different legal orders. The book argues for an approach to human rights - including the right to water - as international minimum standards, using the right to water as a model case to demonstrate how multilevel human rights protection can function effectively. The book also addresses a crucial last question: how does one make an international right to water meaningful in practice? The manuscript identifies three crucial criteria in order to strengthen such a composite derived right in practice: independent monitoring; enforcement towards the private sector; and international realization. The author examines to what extent these criteria are currently adhered to, and suggests practical ways of how they could be better met in the future.
"Hegel's Philosophy of Right" is a classic text in the history of Western political thought and one with which all serious students of political philosophy must engage. While it is a hugely important and exciting piece of philosophical writing, Hegel's ideas and style are notoriously difficult to understand and the content is particularly challenging. In "Hegel's Philosophy of Right: A Reader's Guide", David Rose explains the philosophical and political background against which the book was written and, taking each part of the book in turn, guides the reader to a clear understanding of the text as a whole. This is the ideal companion to study of this most influential and challenging of texts, offering guidance on philosophical and historical context; key themes; reading the text; reception and influence; and, further reading.
This book critically analyses diverse international criminal law (ICL) issues in light of recent developments in the international criminal justice system following the pursuit of accountability in Africa and around the world. It gives a scholarly analysis of issues pertaining to ICL and the pursuit of accountability in Africa by way of several topics including universal jurisdiction in Africa, Boko Haram in Nigeria, the legitimacy of the ICTR, the law of genocide committed against the Herero and Nama peoples, the African perspective on international co-operation in criminal matters, the Malabo Protocol, and whether an African Regional Court is a viable alternative to the ICC. Further discussed are other aspects of ICL, such as prosecuting sexual and gender-based crimes at the ICC, sexual and gender-based crimes perpetrated against men, guilty pleas within ICL and slavery within international criminal justice. With this, the book also refers to the jurisprudence of several international courts and tribunals including the ICTR, the ICTY, the SCSL, the ICC, the ECCC, the KSC, and the STL. This timely contributed volume updates international criminal law experts, practitioners, academics, human rights activists and other stakeholders on contemporary developments in ICL and provides recommendations that address accountability for mass atrocity crimes and ideas for strategic ICL litigation at the national, international, regional and sub-regional levels. It will prompt constructive exchanges on what can be improved in prosecuting mass atrocity crimes around the world. Takeh B.K. Sendze is an Advocate and Legal Officer with the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in Arusha, Tanzania. Adesola Adeboyejo is a Trial Lawyer at the International Criminal Court. Sir Howard Morrison QC is a former International Judge and an Associate Tenant at Doughty Street Chambers in London, United Kingdom. Sophia Ugwu is a Solicitor and Advocate who founded the Centre for African Justice, Peace and Human Rights in The Hague, The Netherlands.
The book identifies the main international concepts and rules that are of special relevance in disaster settings and critically analyses how they are implemented in such contexts. It shows that, although the crucial and growing importance of disaster response has resulted in a complex framework of international obligations, it is nonetheless guided by certain general principles/values. In particular, through an in-depth analysis of sovereignty, international cooperation and solidarity, and their manifestations in disaster contexts, the book assesses the concrete scope and nature of the obligations of the state affected by the disaster, and those of the international community, respectively. Considerable attention is devoted to the applicable legal framework governing disaster response in mixed situations of disaster and armed conflict, and to the main problems and operational challenges entailed by the involvement of foreign military personnel and assets in disaster response. The book's overall objective is to provide an authoritative overview of the development, core issues and challenges in international law with regard to disaster scenarios, and to serve as a valuable and comprehensive reference guide. |
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