Although child soldiers have received considerable media and policy attention, they remain poorly understood and inadequately protected. This Research Handbook addresses this troubling gap by offering a reflective and nuanced review of the complex issue of child soldiering. Containing original contributions from leading experts in many disciplines working across six continents, this comprehensive Handbook showcases diverse experiences and unique perspectives. The Handbook unpacks the life-cycle of youth and militarization: from recruitment, to demobilization, and return to civilian life. Challenging prevailing assumptions and conceptions, this uplifting Handbook focuses on the child soldier's capacity to cope with adversity. In so doing, it emphasizes the resilience, humanity and potential of children affected - rather than 'afflicted' - by armed conflict. The Research Handbook on Child Soldiers will be of interest to academics, practitioners and activists alike, with its extensive incorporation of cutting-edge fieldwork and the voices of the children themselves. Promoting equity between generations, this Handbook will also appeal to individuals from many walks of life who are concerned with the rights of the child in times of conflict, peace, and the in-between.

This unique book analyses the impact of international human rights on the concept of gender, demonstrating that gender emerged in the medical study of sexuality and has a complex and broad meaning beyond the sex and gender binaries often assumed by human rights law. Ekaterina Yahyaoui Krivenko skilfully illustrates the dynamics within the field of human rights which hinder the expansion of the concept of gender and which strategies and mechanisms allow and facilitate such an expansion. Gender and Human Rights surveys the development of human rights from the creation of the United Nations up to the present day and discusses key examples of the prohibition of violence and the regulation of culture and family in the context of human rights. This multidisciplinary study also incorporates additional perspectives from medical science, feminism and queer theory. This concise yet engaging book will be a valuable resource for scholars, students and activists working at the intersection of gender law and human rights law, providing a critical overview of the topic alongside strategies for future growth.

This collection addresses human rights and development for researchers, policymakers and activists at a time of major challenges. 'Critical issues' in the title signifies both the urgency of the issues and the need for critical rethinking. After exploring the overarching issues of development and economic theory, gender, climate change and disability, the book focuses on issues of technology and trade, education and information, water and sanitation, and work, health, housing and food. The chapters then examine how to operationalize human rights in development through accountability, the right to development, indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals. The conclusion proposes international standards and social mobilization for human rights and sustainable development as normative and policy-oriented tools for addressing the climate emergency, the coronavirus pandemic, social inequality, racial injustice, and the rise of populist authoritarianism and for advancing social justice and the equal value of all human beings. This book is of interest to students of development and human rights studies, international relations, international law and contemporary social issues, as well as professionals working at government, intergovernmental and civil society organizations dealing with these issues.

Adopted in the aftermath of the Second World War and implemented as a 'living instrument', the European Convention on Human Rights has, over the past 70 years, shown remarkable adaptability to changing circumstances through the evolutive jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. While the Court has already demonstrated its willingness to address new challenges to human rights arising from environmental damage and climate change, growing scientific evidence and mounting public demand for action have accelerated the need for more fundamental engagement. This timely book - also a Special Issue of the Journal of Human Rights and the Environment - brings into sharp relief the specific challenges faced by the Court in addressing the human rights impacts of the interlocking environmental and climate crises. Leading scholars and practitioners, including the President of the European Court of Human Rights, provide important insights into current thinking about environmental human rights in different jurisdictions and ways in which the European Court could adapt its principles and practice in light of the evolving international environmental human rights corpus iuris. Drawing together theoretical insights and practice-led commentary, the contributions to this important book will be of interest to human rights and environmental law scholars, practitioners, students and policy makers.

This casebook provides an overview of the main international and regional legal standards related to the human rights of women and explores their development and practical application in light of contemporary times, challenges, and advances. It navigates the nuances of the ongoing problems of discrimination and gender-based violence, and analyzes them in the context of modern challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the MeToo movement and its aftermath, the growth of non-state actors, environment and climate change, sexual orientation and gender identity, and the digital world, among others. Incorporating lessons learned from her experiences as a practitioner and a law professor, the author navigates and provides snapshots of priority issues and themes in the field of the human rights of women. In each chapter, students are encouraged to reflect and answer questions alluding to the intricacies, challenges, and advances in the protection and exercise of women's rights in modern times. The chapters also include many case judgments, decisions, views, and general recommendations adopted by universal and regional bodies and courts advancing the development of women human rights issues. This analysis is complemented by key scholarship, reports, and statements produced in the area of the human rights of women and its different features. Students of issues concerning human rights, women, gender equality, and international law will attain a thorough understanding of the field through this contemporary casebook.

This incisive book provides an unparalleled insight into the ways in which international human rights law functions in a real world context across cultural, religious and geopolitical divides. Written by a professor, former ambassador and international judge, the book demonstrates how power, diplomacy, tactics and processes operate within the human rights system from the perspective of a non-Western insider with more than three decades' experience in the field. Taking a comprehensive approach, chapters cover the treatment of human rights in all major cultures, religions, ideologies and global regions and assess the competence of all relevant international institutions. The book investigates the idea of human rights relativism and allegations of hypocrisy and double standards, as well as illuminating the diplomatic methods employed by nations wishing to evade human rights obligations. It also analyses the place of the law within the United Nations and regional human rights systems, along with compliance and enforcement mechanisms, and examines two emerging dimensions of human rights: in cyberspace and at sea. Students and scholars of human rights across the fields of law, politics and international relations will find this unique book invaluable. Its concise, accessible style will also make it useful reading for government officials, those working for NGOs and members of the public with an interest in human rights.

This timely book offers a fresh perspective on how to effectively address the issue of unequal access to healthcare. It analyses the human right to health from the underexplored legal principle of solidarity, proposing a new understanding of the positive obligations inherent in the right to health. Combining human rights law, public health and social theory, Eduardo Arenas Catalan demonstrates that when interpreted in line with the principle of solidarity, the right to health should be viewed as a non-commercial right. Arenas Catalan argues that the right to health's functions are to challenge the commodification of healthcare and to advance free-of-charge public healthcare services. Moreover, through a critical analysis of classical jurisprudence concerning the right to health, the book delivers a searing indictment of the effects of neoliberal capitalism and commercialization on human rights. This thought-provoking book will be of interest to scholars and students of law, in particular international human rights law, public international law and legal theory, as well as social and public health researchers and students. Policy makers and legal practitioners will also find its original analysis of solidarity in the context of human rights and the law useful.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This Research Agenda maps thought-provoking research trends for the next generation of interdisciplinary human rights scholars in this particularly troubled time. It charts the historic trajectory of scholarship on the international rights regime, looking ahead to emerging areas of inquiry and suggesting alternative methods and perspectives for studying the pursuit of human dignity. Chapters written by international experts cover a broad range of topics including humanitarianism, transitional justice, economic rights, academic freedom, women's rights, environmental justice, and business responsibility for human rights. The book highlights the importance of contemporary research agendas for human rights being centred on questions of governance and fulfilment, shifting responsibilities, rights interdependence and global inequality. This is a critical read for students and scholars of human rights law, politics and international relations. The strong forward-looking agenda and coverage of a large number of fields within human rights studies will be helpful for advanced students looking for new areas of study for research projects.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 insightful book considers how the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is faced with numerous challenges which emanate from authoritarian and populist tendencies arising across its member states. It argues that it is now time to reassess how the ECHR responds to such challenges to the protection of human rights in the light of its historical origins. Written by a group of established and emerging experts from diverse backgrounds, this book offers a fresh perspective on the questions and challenges facing the ECHR, bringing together different, and thus far isolated, strands of academic and political debate. Contributions combine historiographical insights with explorations of the current and pressing need for the ECHR to find a role for itself, especially in an environment where there is increased scepticism towards the idea of human rights protection. In particular, the critical conception of the Convention as an 'alarm bell mechanism' is examined and assessed in relation to its original goal to prevent authoritarian backsliding. The European Court of Human Rights: Current Challenges in Historical Perspective will be an important source of reference to academic researchers and students with an interest in human rights, international law and the law and politics of international organisations. It will also appeal to policymakers and legal practitioners due to its examination of pertinent legal and political issues that challenge international organisations.

This original book presents a critical analysis of the interface between international intellectual property law and international investment law through the lens of intertextuality. It argues that a structuralist approach to intertextuality can be useful in the context of legal interpretation, especially in relation to the interpretation of treaties. Emmanuel Kolawole Oke critically evaluates the assumption that investment tribunals cannot take the rules of international intellectual property law into account when resolving investment disputes concerning intellectual property rights. He demonstrates instead the ways in which investment tribunals can and should adopt an intertextual approach when resolving such disputes, which, in turn, will help to preserve the intellectual property policy space of host states. Providing useful and thought-provoking insights, this book will be beneficial for legal scholars and students in the fields of intellectual property law, international investment law, and human rights. It will also be of great assistance to arbitrators faced with investment disputes involving intellectual property rights, as well as policy makers engaged in the negotiation of trade and investment agreements.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business 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. Focusing on the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011, this timely book charts the field of business and human rights, finding that corporate responsibility to respect human rights is gradually evolving into a binding legal duty in both national and international law. Following the structure of the UNGPs, Peter T. Muchlinski also covers the state duty to protect against business violations of human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and access to remedies for corporate violations of human rights. Key Features: A detailed, critical, appraisal of the UNGPs in their historical, legal and political contexts Coverage of developments in national law and policy to further the state's duty to protect against business violations of human rights An interdisciplinary perspective drawing on history, law, business ethics, politics, and ideas of corporate governance with a view to introducing the field to readers with diverse specialist backgrounds Coverage of new directions for business and human rights including calls for new mandatory corporate liability laws, a legally binding international treaty and new multi stakeholder initiatives for developing business and human rights standards This Advanced Introduction will be a key guide for students and researchers in the fields of business and human rights, international law and business ethics, as well as lawyers and business managers who need an accessible primer to business and human rights.

This detailed Commentary explores the boundaries of social rights at a European level through analysis of the Revised European Social Charter (RESC), the most comprehensive regional document on social rights. The Commentary considers the treaty as the counterpart of the European Convention on Human Rights, examining how it sets out fundamental rights in the social field. It focuses primarily on the rich jurisprudence developed by the Charter's monitoring body, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR). Key features include: discussion of the application of social rights in practice examination of the implementation of the RESC in national law a guide to social rights and the corresponding human rights obligations of European states that have ratified the Charter analysis of economic, social and cultural rights in Europe across a range of areas including housing, health, education, employment, legal and social protection, migration and non-discrimination. Contributing to a deeper understanding of how state authorities and other human rights actors apply social rights in Europe, this Commentary will be an essential resource for academics and students of European law and human rights. Its presentation and analysis of the case law of the ECSR will also be beneficial for practitioners, lawmakers and human rights activists.

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.

Globalisation, migration, and (de-)secularisation have fundamentally transformed the concepts of religion, state, and law during the last decades. The main goal of this interdisciplinary approach is to clarify the multifaceted theoretical and practical challenges of religious diversity and socio-political pluralism in Europe. In twenty-two chapters, the contributions to this volume revisit basic concepts, structures and institutional settings such as sovereignty; the dogma of the separation of state, church and/or religion; human and minority rights; gender and religion; varieties of fundamentalisms; interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding; and, not least, religious education.

The Open Access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. Are unilateral economic sanctions legal under public international law? How do they relate to the existing international legal principles and norms? Can unilateral economic sanctions imposed to redress grave human rights violations be subjected to the same legal contestations as other unilateral sanctions? What potential contribution can the recently formulated doctrine of Common Concern of Humankind make by introducing substantive and procedural prerequisites to legitimise unilateral human rights sanctions? Unilateral Sanctions in International Law and the Enforcement of Human Rights by Iryna Bogdanova addresses these complex questions while taking account of the burgeoning state practice of employing unilateral economic sanctions.

This volume, now in its second and revised edition, deals with the legal status of the three Baltic States - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - as a consequence of the illegality of the Soviet annexation in 1940-1991. It offers a detailed historical overview of the Soviet takeover of the Baltic States in 1939/1940 and analysis of international law as it was in force, also regionally and bilaterally, at the time. It examines the role of the continuity of the diplomatic representations of the Baltic States and other manifestations of the Western non-recognition of the Soviet annexation. Moreover, the book examines the nature of the restoration of the Baltic States in 1991 based on their State continuity claim. It also studies in detail questions such as borders, citizenship and reparation claims, and asks to what extent State continuity could or could not be restored in practice.

This collection brings together a range of international contributors to stimulate discussions on time and international human rights law, a topic that has been given little attention to date. The book explores how time and its diverse forms can be understood to operate on, and in, this area of law; how time manifests in the theory and practice of human rights law internationally; and how specific areas of human rights can be understood via temporal analyses. A range of temporal ideas and their connection to this area of law are investigated. These include collective memory, ideas of past, present and future, emergency time, the times of environmental change, linearity and non-linearity, multiplicitous time, and the connections between time and space or materiality. Rather than a purely abstract or theoretical endeavour, this dedicated attention to the times and temporalities of international human rights law will assist in better understanding this law, its development, and its operation in the present. What emerges from the collection is a future - or, more precisely, futures - for time as a vehicle of analysis for those working within human rights law internationally.

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

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business 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. Focusing on the adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in 2011, this timely book charts the field of business and human rights, finding that corporate responsibility to respect human rights is gradually evolving into a binding legal duty in both national and international law. Following the structure of the UNGPs, Peter T. Muchlinski also covers the state duty to protect against business violations of human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights and access to remedies for corporate violations of human rights. Key Features: A detailed, critical, appraisal of the UNGPs in their historical, legal and political contexts Coverage of developments in national law and policy to further the state's duty to protect against business violations of human rights An interdisciplinary perspective drawing on history, law, business ethics, politics, and ideas of corporate governance with a view to introducing the field to readers with diverse specialist backgrounds Coverage of new directions for business and human rights including calls for new mandatory corporate liability laws, a legally binding international treaty and new multi stakeholder initiatives for developing business and human rights standards This Advanced Introduction will be a key guide for students and researchers in the fields of business and human rights, international law and business ethics, as well as lawyers and business managers who need an accessible primer to business and human rights.