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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political control & freedoms > Human rights
The issue of human rights and its contemporary theory has drawn the
attention of the author for a long period of time. Specifically,
the rights of two groups of citizens of our planet that have
existed next to one another for as long as the world has been
turning a " the perpetrators of crimes and their victims. And,
unfortunately, this will never change. To learn more about the
author please visit his website at www.stanik.name and
www.kosmas.cz. Also published by Zsolt StanA k (in English) are in
printed form and available on www.amazon.co.uk: An Angel in Hell,
Humour at its Best, Joy Till Death and I Forgive You One Sin on
www.fast-print.net/bookshop: Farewell to Bad Times and I Forgive
You One Sin on www.kosmas.cz: Ita s enough to drive you crazy (as
an E-book)
Providing a range of different perspectives on some of the peoples
who have inhabited various parts of Britain, this book combats the
popular myth and media image that migrants and minorities are new
to the British Isles. Included is Shivdeep Grewal's article on
Southall, which is derived from his documentary film, "Remembering
Southall. Keith Copley and Cronain O'Kelly offer comparable
perspectives on the attitudes of British labor to Ireland, and an
essay by Stephen Hipkin looks at property relations and rural
conflict in early modern England, taking as his reference point the
work of Robert Brenner.
Virtually everyone supports religious liberty, and virtually
everyone opposes discrimination. But how do we handle the hard
questions that arise when exercises of religious liberty seem to
discriminate unjustly? How do we promote the common good while
respecting conscience in a diverse society? This point-counterpoint
book brings together leading voices in the culture wars to debate
such questions: John Corvino, a longtime LGBT-rights advocate,
opposite Ryan T. Anderson and Sherif Girgis, prominent young social
conservatives. Many such questions have arisen in response to
same-sex marriage: How should we treat county clerks who do not
wish to authorize such marriages, for example; or bakers, florists,
and photographers who do not wish to provide same-sex wedding
services? But the conflicts extend well beyond the LGBT rights
arena. How should we treat hospitals, schools, and adoption
agencies that can't in conscience follow antidiscrimination laws,
healthcare mandates, and other regulations? Should corporations
ever get exemptions? Should public officials? Should we keep
controversial laws like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, or
pass new ones like the First Amendment Defense Act? Should the law
give religion and conscience special protection at all, and if so,
why? What counts as discrimination, and when is it unjust? What
kinds of material and dignitary harms should the law try to
fight-and what is dignitary harm, anyway? Beyond the law, how
should we treat religious beliefs and practices we find mistaken or
even oppressive? Should we tolerate them or actively discourage
them? In point-counterpoint format, Corvino, Anderson and Girgis
explore these questions and more. Although their differences run
deep, they tackle them with civility, clarity, and flair. Their
debate is an essential contribution to contemporary discussions
about why religious liberty matters and what respecting it
requires.
When a country experiences a civil war, media reports are mainly
brought to the attention of the outside world by those who can only
report on the surface impressions obtained during a short visit or
from the comfort of a studio thousands of miles away. My
experiences, living and working at the grass roots level, during
and after the crisis in Nigeria in the 1960s has a different
perspective. As a young Scotswoman married to a Nigerian from the
breakaway republic of Biafra we lived as refugees with our young
family, forced to leave our home seven times in the 30 months of
the civil war as the war raged around us. Cut off from the outside
world, in a situation the British High Commissioner in Nigeria had
predicted at the onset, would be over in two weeks, we lived a life
full of experiences which gave me a `qualification in survival' no
university could have imparted. Without electricity, gas, petrol or
phones, and often without money, medicine or safe drinking water we
learned to appreciate the basic necessities of life. I was 18 years
old, living in Dunfermline, Scotland when the man I was to marry
asked me for a dance at the Kinema Ballroom. Two years later my
career plan to qualify as a nurse was over and I was married to Len
Ofoegbu, with a baby daughter and we were on our way to a new and
very different life. Our first home was in the capital, Lagos, and
was a big culture shock to Len and I. The newly independent West
African country was already experiencing political and civil
unrest, leading to violence, massacres, coups, and the inability of
the central government to control the situation. Hundreds of
thousands of Easterners who had settled throughout the whole of the
country now `went home' as they had become the targets of
slaughtering mobs. The secession of the Eastern Region, calling
itself Biafra, followed and a David and Goliath bitter conflict
ensued. The word `kwashiorkor' and pictures of starving children
and adults appeared in the Western press for the first time. I was
one of around a dozen, mainly British, foreign wives of Biafrans
who remained with their husband throughout the civil war. I worked
voluntarily with relief agencies in feeding centres, clinics, an
orphanage and, after Biafra surrendered in January 1970, in a
children's hospital in return for food for my growing family. In
May 1970 we moved back to live in Lagos where we went through more
crises as a family. I became an early member of Nigerwives, an
organisation for foreign wives and partners of Nigerians which
became like an extended family as we gave mutual support and strove
to resolve anomalies in Nigerian laws which put unnecessary
restrictions affecting our particular circumstances. By the 1980s I
accepted that my husband and I had grown so far apart that I could
no longer remain with him. My legal reason to remain in Nigeria was
`to accompany him' and he could withdraw his immigration
responsibility for me at any time. I needed a security which he
could not give me and I left him and Nigeria to begin a new life
and career in Britain in 1985. I was advised when I completed the
original manuscript in the 1970s not have it published as Nigeria
was extremely sensitive about any account which was sympathetic to
the Biafran side of the civil war. In 1986 a much shorter version
of Together in Biafra, titled Blow The Fire, telling the story up
to 1970 was printed by Tana Press in Nigeria. I retain the
copyright. It was published under my married name Leslie Jean
Ofoegbu. It has been cited in academic papers. An example is A
Lingering Nightmare: Achebe, Ofoegbu and Adichie on Biafra,
Francoise Ugochukwu 2011.
When a country experiences a civil war, media reports are mainly
brought to the attention of the outside world by those who can only
report on the surface impressions obtained during a short visit or
from the comfort of a studio thousands of miles away. My
experiences, living and working at the grass roots level, during
and after the crisis in Nigeria in the 1960s has a different
perspective. As a young Scotswoman married to a Nigerian from the
breakaway republic of Biafra we lived as refugees with our young
family, forced to leave our home seven times in the 30 months of
the civil war as the war raged around us. Cut off from the outside
world, in a situation the British High Commissioner in Nigeria had
predicted at the onset, would be over in two weeks, we lived a life
full of experiences which gave me a `qualification in survival' no
university could have imparted. Without electricity, gas, petrol or
phones, and often without money, medicine or safe drinking water we
learned to appreciate the basic necessities of life. I was 18 years
old, living in Dunfermline, Scotland when the man I was to marry
asked me for a dance at the Kinema Ballroom. Two years later my
career plan to qualify as a nurse was over and I was married to Len
Ofoegbu, with a baby daughter and we were on our way to a new and
very different life. Our first home was in the capital, Lagos, and
was a big culture shock to Len and I. The newly independent West
African country was already experiencing political and civil
unrest, leading to violence, massacres, coups, and the inability of
the central government to control the situation. Hundreds of
thousands of Easterners who had settled throughout the whole of the
country now `went home' as they had become the targets of
slaughtering mobs. The secession of the Eastern Region, calling
itself Biafra, followed and a David and Goliath bitter conflict
ensued. The word `kwashiorkor' and pictures of starving children
and adults appeared in the Western press for the first time. I was
one of around a dozen, mainly British, foreign wives of Biafrans
who remained with their husband throughout the civil war. I worked
voluntarily with relief agencies in feeding centres, clinics, an
orphanage and, after Biafra surrendered in January 1970, in a
children's hospital in return for food for my growing family. In
May 1970 we moved back to live in Lagos where we went through more
crises as a family. I became an early member of Nigerwives, an
organisation for foreign wives and partners of Nigerians which
became like an extended family as we gave mutual support and strove
to resolve anomalies in Nigerian laws which put unnecessary
restrictions affecting our particular circumstances. By the 1980s I
accepted that my husband and I had grown so far apart that I could
no longer remain with him. My legal reason to remain in Nigeria was
`to accompany him' and he could withdraw his immigration
responsibility for me at any time. I needed a security which he
could not give me and I left him and Nigeria to begin a new life
and career in Britain in 1985. I was advised when I completed the
original manuscript in the 1970s not have it published as Nigeria
was extremely sensitive about any account which was sympathetic to
the Biafran side of the civil war. In 1986 a much shorter version
of Together in Biafra, titled Blow The Fire, telling the story up
to 1970 was printed by Tana Press in Nigeria. I retain the
copyright. It was published under my married name Leslie Jean
Ofoegbu. It has been cited in academic papers. An example is A
Lingering Nightmare: Achebe, Ofoegbu and Adichie on Biafra,
Francoise Ugochukwu 2011.
This innovative book provides an overview and critical assessment
of the current avenues and remedies available to victims seeking
recourse from private military and security companies (PMSCs) for
human rights violations. Kuzi Charamba explores the challenges of
regulating PMSCs and the significant jurisprudential and practical
difficulties that victims face in attaining recourse from PMSCs,
whether through state or non-state, judicial or non-judicial
mechanisms. In response to these problems, Charamba proposes the
introduction of a new victim-focused grievance structure, based on
international arbitration. He argues that this will provide for a
more robust, inclusive, and participatory governance system to
support the effective operation of a globally administered and
locally accessible remedial mechanism. Taking a forward-thinking
approach, the book also analyses law making and regulation by
non-state actors in a globalized world and offers policy and
legislative proposals for the reform of the national security
sector. Hired Guns and Human Rights will be a valuable resource for
students, scholars, and practitioners of international legal
theory, international human rights law, global governance, business
and human rights, and international dispute resolution. Its focus
on both state and non-state responses to human rights grievances
against corporations around the world will also benefit
policy-makers and international NGOs.
The Beauty Trade takes seriously the frequently maligned and
trivialized beauty economy, just as it has become one of the most
important worldwide industries. Through the lens of beauty
products, practices, and ideas of youth in Guadalajara, Mexico, the
book analyzes whether and how beauty norms are changing in relation
to the globalizing beauty economy. It looks at who benefits and who
loses from beauty globalization and what this means for gender
norms among youth. Weaving together fascinating ethnographic
research on beauty practices, global political economy, and
feminist analysis, the book presents a feminist analysis of the
global economy of beauty. Rather than a sign of frivolity, the
beauty economy is intimately connected to youth's social and
economic development. Cosmetic makeovers have become a modern rite
of passage for girls, enabling social connections and
differentiations, as well as entrepreneurial activities. The global
beauty economy is a phenomenon generated by young people, mostly
women, laboring in, teaching, and consuming beauty. Globalization
in the beauty economy is a phenomenon propelled by youth, eager for
belonging and originality, using every mechanism at their disposal
to look good. Contrary to popular wisdom, globalization in the
beauty economy is not homogenizing beauty standards to a Western
ideal; it is diversifying beauty standards. The Beauty Trade
explains how globalization, combined with youth's desires for
uniqueness, is enabling the spread of a diversity of beauty
cultures, including alternative visions of gender appropriate looks
and behavior.
The Justitia Omnibus is the journal of the the Amnesty
International society at the London School of Economics and
Political Science. Written, designed and edited by students, the
journal has become an annual endeavour for the society. The journal
aims to provide a platform for students to express their views on
human rights issues all over the world as well as to highlight the
work our society undertakes to support Amnesty International on
campus, such as campaigning and fundraising events.
The LSESU Amnesty International Society aims to further the work of
Amnesty International UK on a campus level. We run campaigns to
raise awareness of key human rights issues and host events to raise
money which goes towards helping AIUK further its vital work.
Highlights of this year include a panel discussion on the human
rights concerns evident in the Syrian conflict and our campaign
week to highlight the need for an International Arms Trade Treaty.
This insightful book offers a critical reflection on the
sustainability and effectiveness of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) and its legacy over the last 70 years.
Exploring the problems surrounding universality, proliferation and
costs, it asks the provocative question, can we still afford human
rights? Expert contributors illustrate the interdependence between
these three key issues in an unprecedented way, addressing many of
the contemporary criticisms voiced against the human rights system
and the reasons for popular skepticism about human rights. In order
to interrogate the deficiencies of the UDHR, chapters analyse the
following questions: Can and should we keep claiming that human
rights are universal? Is their proliferation rendering human rights
meaningless? And have human rights become too costly? The book
concludes that there is a pressing need for a renewed and lasting
commitment to human rights. We cannot afford not to afford human
rights. This book will be a valuable resource for academics and
students of international relations, the political sciences and
comparative legal studies. Covering policy and advocacy issues as
well as the evolution of case law regarding particular human
rights, it will also be beneficial for policy-makers and human
rights practitioners.
Exploring the notion that norms are often seen as static structures
governing society, politics and legislation, this thought-provoking
book offers insights into Robert Alexy's theory of constitutional
rights and the range in rigidity of two norm categories: rules and
principles. Arguing that constitutional pluralism and the
differentiation between norms is also present in EU law, Anne
Wesemann asserts that EU Citizenship is a principle and thus a
constitutional rights norm. Providing new perspectives on
constitutionalism in the EU, this book considers the way the Court
of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) discusses and applies the
EU citizenship Treaty norms by analysing the court's approach to
decision making, which mirrors the balancing and weighing of
conflicting principles. Wesemann proposes a new approach to
constitutional analysis of the EU and its legal framework, arguing
that the existence of constitutional rights norms in EU law enables
this particular legal order to respond effectively to societal and
political challenges within the rigidity of constitutionalism.
Citizenship in the European Union will be a key resource for
scholars and students of constitutional law and politics. Its
contribution to the discourse around judicial activism and
politicisation will also be essential reading for those studying
the workings of the CJEU.
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