Straddling Constructivism between UN Women and Cultural Relativism of the Taliban Government on Gender Discrimination in Afghanistan

Economic Sanctions Against Human Rights Violations

South Sudan faces a dire human rights situation, characterised by recurrent violations committed by government forces, armed opposition groups, militias and community-based armed cattle raiders. This study applies the ‘universality of human rights’ approach to the country to ask the following questions: How can we explain the appalling human rights situation in South Sudan? How can we move towards the assertion of full human rights on the basis of a more universalist approach to human rights in accordance with international law? To answer these questions, the study considers that South Sudan is not a ‘lawless’ country, but rather that the legacy of colonialism and the militarisation of the region during the years of civil war created a culture of violence and human rights violations that persists to this day. The study is structured in three parts: The first presents the situation of human rights violations in the socio-cultural and political context of South Sudan. The second part looks at the challenge of defining human rights in the context of competing standards for authority. The third part examines how the country can move towards asserting full human rights in accordance with international law.

The article is sanctified to theoretical research of the concept of the universality of human rights as a process of establishment of corresponding norms and mechanisms of universal character with the aim of defence and providing of human rights, and also concept of universality - as an achievement of certain perfection in the protection of human rights. This universality shows up as a transcendent aspect. Universal rights are rights everybody has that as personality, regardless of legal space or historical time. Consideration of this aspect is very important for the ground of absoluteness of human rights. The idea of universality of human rights is based on position that human rights have exterritorial character and that their realization and defence are not business only of the separate states, but is the article of general interest. Universality of human rights arises out of universality of human nature. Quality of practical changes in development of the modern states largely depends on ideas about universality of human rights and reasons of optimization of human rights. Problem of the general understanding of concept of universality of human rights, causes much violation of human rights and freedoms, and her it costs to decide through the search of ways of understanding of universality of rights and freedoms, through description of basic elements that determine maintenance of the modes of human rights, by finding out of all totality of descriptions each of elements - right and moral, social and other terms that can come forward as a stimulant or vice versa, their realization prevent. The most frequent misunderstanding in relation to understanding of universality of human rights arises up when speech йдеться about countries that develop, that not only feel different difficulties of economic, social and cultural character in realization of that or other convention on human rights but also in relation to different reasons does not welcome omnifying of human rights or, at least up to a point, behave to her with a carefulness. It is in-process carried out research of theoretical analysis of different conceptions of understanding of universality of human rights, discussion and discussion of opinions of supporters of cultural relativism and universalism. Today by a reference-point in the difficult and contradictory situations of the modern world, there must be universal human rights, that would express the clear limits of his freedom, place in society, to intercommunication with the state or with other individuals. Must yield to no doubt in the modern world, judgement, that human rights are an inalienable, inalienable achievement of all humanity.

The article examines the general theoretical characteristics of universal human rights. It is noted that human rights are an integral part of human dignity, they define the essence of humanity, and represent the limits of state power in relation to the individual. It is emphasised that today there is no single approach to substantiating the theory of human rights. The article emphasises that every person is endowed with universal, inalienable and inalienable rights, which are called human rights. It is established that the universality of human rights is clearly enshrined and recognised in numerous international legislative acts. The author emphasises that the universal nature of human rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is beyond doubt. A number of approaches to the understanding of human rights are investigated. It is determined that the universality and full observance of human rights is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and global cooperation. It is noted that human rights are an integral part of human dignity; they are the fundamental principles which define the essence of humanity and apply to every individual. These rights are conditioned by the universal principles of justice and dignity, which must be protected and guaranteed by the State. The author establishes that universal rights are inalienable, since a person cannot be deprived of them without violating the basic principles of justice. These rights create the limits of state power, emphasising that the state must protect and respect the rights of every individual. In essence, human rights cover a wide range of aspects, such as the right to life, liberty and security of the person, freedom of thought and expression, the right to education, work and an adequate standard of living. These rights are the basis for the development of a just and humane society. It is noted that human rights are universal and inalienable in any cultural or geographical context. Ensuring their respect and observance is the responsibility of both the individual state and the international community. Violations of human rights not only violate the basic principles of justice, but can also lead to serious social and political consequences.

In our age near the end of the 20th century, recently described as an age of a clash of civilizations,' there is a tremendous need for morality based on a common set of norms and values shared by the entire international community. If the underpinning of this needed international morality is not basically human rights, what else could unite humanity? During the United Nations Human Rights Conference in Vienna, June 1993, those participants-including this author-who are committed to the idea of universal human rights as a basis of international morality, felt disturbed by some presentations by non-Western politicians who contested the universality of this morality. In particular, delegations from Muslim countries were among the leading contesters of the universality of human rights. In Vienna, while human rights activists from Muslim countries-like Iran and the Sudan-were drawing attention to the severe violations of human rights in their own countries (acting in the basement of the Vienna Center, where the NGOs met during the June 1993 UN Conference),

The Nuremberg tribunal was the expression and the beginning of states' recognition of their duty to prosecute genocide and other gross human rights violations. It was a first step towards fulfillin...

The law on human rights court has brought the new hopes for certain people have suffered because of the human rights violation happened in the past government (before the law enacted in the years of 2000). The demand of justice has been made by victims, the families of victims and other sympathetic parties by bringing those who have violated human rights in the past. The demand for justice does not only focus on human rights violations, which occurred in the past but also similar human rights violations that will occur in the future. The existence of a permanent Human Rights Court seems to imply that human rights will be upheld and protected. The resolution of past human rights violations via a conflict approach is preferable for the national reconciliation. The resolution of past human rights violations through extra-judicial organizations is an advanced step towards resolving the case, whereas a conflict approach can be used to settle the case. The existence of the Human Rights Law provides a new frontier in implementing the principle of restorative justice in the approach of case settlement. It is hoped that such restorative justice can create a political balance between the past and the future.

Armed Conflict and Human Rights in Colombia

Human rights issues have become an interesting debate in the dynamics of the current world political arena. Western countries use human rights issues as a political instrument against other countries, especially Muslim countries. The reality of the concept of universal human rights comes from natural law. Long before the declaration of universal human rights, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had issued the charter of Medina, which was full of human rights values. The formulation of universal human rights and Islamic human rights is hardly different. In fact, it can be said to be complementary. This paper uses a descriptive-analytical method, namely, by explaining the description of the data found and analyzing it so that the results and findings of this paper can be holistic, concise, and philosophical, and can be scientifically proven based on existing reality. This paper finds that in the Islamic world, the concept of human rights aims at the benefit (maqāṣid al-sharī'ah). However, there are differences between Universal and Islamic human rights, such as the concept of women's freedom and heritage. This difference has an impact on the concept of specific human rights or relative human rights, which are limited by the culture and sociology of certain societies, especially religions that cannot be equated. The Islamic world's response to universal human rights conceptually considers that universal human rights are different from Islamic human rights principles, universal human rights are not based on religious (secular) values. Some Muslim countries are against directly rejecting and using Islamic human rights completely, such as in Iran and Saudi Arabia; and some of them accommodate universal human rights. In the Islamic world, the implementation of human rights is influenced by global political factors with the imposition of Western double standards on Muslim countries, accompanied by economic, military and media forces to pressure Muslim countries. This causes the human rights problem in Muslim countries to be not completely resolved and gives rise to a strong resistance movement to Western human rights (Islamic fundamentalism).

Israel is a democratic state that champions the aspiration for equality, justice, and acceptance of multiculturalism. We critically examine the officially declared policy vis-a-vis the actual fulfillment of minorities’ equal rights. In keeping with the rights-based approach to social work, minority groups are entitled to any rights granted to the dominant group in their countries, as they have equal rights to realize their humanity. The present research project showcases a severe violation of human rights in a hitherto unstudied minority sector in Israel, namely Bedouin Israeli Defense Forces war widows. These widows are positioned in an extremely paradoxical intersection as their fallen husband died during service in the Israeli Defense Forces, an army which is perceived by most Bedouins as the force which conquered and expropriated their land. Analysis of in-depth interviews with seven Bedouin war widows has led us to expose an abuse of their human rights, due to a failure to take into consideration their unique religious and cultural imperatives and restrictions. We explore their paradoxical lived experience of being formally entitled to equal human rights while reporting suffering discrimination, exclusion, and marginalization. In the name of these silenced Israeli citizens, we call for public awareness of this severe violation of human rights and propose some practical suggestions as to how to adapt the provision of social work support to the cultural features of these recipients, in order to truly adhere to the democratic vision.

Human rights queryfalse are typically presented in terms of entitlements, correlative duties, claims, “trumps,” and remedies. 1 These framings, which draw principally on law and philosophy, emphasi...

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations is neither a human rights court nor a criminal court. Because the jurisdiction ratione materiae of the ICJ is de facto unlimited and because violations of international human rights are considered to be violations of international obligations, the ICJ can deal also with international human rights law. Since only states which have locus standi before the Court, can claim a violation of human rights of either their own nationals occurring in a foreign state or of foreign nationals of a violating state. State complaints for the protection of own nationals in a foreign state are based on diplomatic protection, whereas such complaints for the protection of foreign nationals in a foreign state are based upon international human rights treaties or customary international law, especially obligations erga omnes. This article focuses on the contribution of judicial decisions of the ICJ as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law in the field of international human rights law within the meaning of Art. 38 para. 1 lit. d) ICJ-Statute. It does so by analyzing relevant cases before the ICJ in recent years from various fields of human rights, especially relating to the right of peoples to self-determination, prohibition of genocide, prohibition of torture, and to human rights in conjunction with diplomatic protection, state immunity, and armed conflicts. Given that the ICJ is a universal court established for the peaceful settlement of disputes between states, and not a body specialized in human rights, the article also addresses the question of the interrelationship between the Court and specialized universal human rights control organs.

The collapse of the Western empires and the rise of human rights constitute two of the most transformative developments of the twentieth century. Their courses ran across each other, the trajectory of empire’s decline and the arc of human rights’ ascent were coincident, both catalysed by the political shifts of the immediate post-war period. Sheer temporal proximity and context ensured that these two epochal transitions intersected, often explosively. The dissolution of empire was, at least in part, animated by the language and ideas of human rights-principles ardently proclaimed by many anti-colonial nationalists. Equally, the terminal era of imperial governance had begun to engage with human rights, attempting to accommodate the new lexicon into various reformist programmes to secure colonial rule on more defensible foundations. No meaningful accommodation eventuated-there was no empire of human rights, and a plausible means for one was never articulated. Nevertheless, the relationship between empire and human rights is more complex than the collapse of the former and the resultant triumph of the latter. Human rights were deeply interlaced with decolonisation, but decolonisation was not a simple human rights struggle. Empire was built on systematic human rights violations, but its disintegration did not ensure the rights of the individual. This chapter charts the relationship between empire, decolonisation and human rights.It will first assess the extent to which empire itself engaged with human rights ideas, and the precarious place of rights in imperial discourses. There were voices within imperialism that were critical of the treatment of indigenous peoples, and sought to extend their rights in meaningful, if still limited ways. These groups were typically welfarist or humanitarian in orientation-they bore similarities to human rights activists, and on occasion, even invoked the term ‘human rights’, but in ways that were aligned with imperialism, rather than arrayed against it. The concept of human rights has been fiercely contested, and to some degree remains so. Nevertheless, the cardinal features of human rights under international law, and as a post-war political creed, are readily apparent. Foremost, human rights presuppose equal rights for all without distinction. Second, rights properly inhere in all individuals, and are neither given nor removed by the state. Third, they entail a broad and interlocking range of freedoms, both civil and political, such as the right to assembly, and economic and social, for instance, the right to health. All of these freedoms are indivisible and organic; the corpus of rights is unified, or its vision unravels. Various reformist strands of ‘enlightened’ imperialism would persist all the way into the decolonisation era, usually in the guise of development, progress and tutelage towards ‘civilisation’. The notion of imperial duties to subject populations would become a major plank of international organisation, in the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission, established in1919, and in the later United Nations Trusteeship Council, established in 1945. In the very latest phase, in the 1940s and 1950s, British and French imperialism sought to marry the revivified post-Second World War concept of universal human rights with the frankly discriminatory premises of empire. The chapter then examines the nexus between human rights and anti-colonialism in thepeak era of decolonisation, between 1948 and 1966. This was the period when human rights were most closely and visibly aligned with anti-imperialism, and when empire was formally denounced as a human rights violation. Internationally, newly independent states were among the strongest proponents of universal human rights. Domestically, there were credible initiatives to build democratic, rights-respecting regimes, so that the new national freedom would become the freedom of each citizen. Across the 1950s in particular, in soaring and universalist terms nationalists linked the rights of the individual to the independence of the nation. For a brief time, some of these aspirations appeared to be realised, and the nationalists of Asia and Africa stood as the last, worldwide extension of a grand tradition that extended back to the Atlantic Revolutions. Such optimism was depressingly short-lived, and this survey concludes with a reflection on the failures of decolonisation as a human rights movement, and the legacies of empire for human rights. Empire failed the citizens of Asia, Africa and the Arab world, but so too, in many cases, did the nation-state. Achieving sovereignty appeared the essential means for securing human rights, yet it almost always proved insufficient. Ultimately, neither imperialism nor the conventional post-colonial state was especially amenable to human rights. It would take another wave of revolution to even partially advance the transition from imperial subject, to national citizen, to universal rights-bearing individual.

The African Charter is Africa's most important regional human rights instrument for the promotion and protection of human rights. 30 years after the adoption of the African Charter, there are still gross and consistent violations of human rights in several African States parties to the African Charter as noted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) in its March 2011 resolutions on the 'human rights situation' in North Africa in particular in Algeria, Libyan Arab Jamahiliya and Tunisia. The central document of the African Human Rights system, was adopted by the eighteenth Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Several factors contributed to the adoption of the African Charter in June 1981 including the emphasis by the UN on the need for regional mechanisms to address regional human rights issues in Africa. Keywords:African Charter; African Commission; African Human Rights system; Libyan Arab Jamahiliya; North Africa; Organisation of African Unity (OAU)

Abstract: Introduction: Human Rights are inherent to the human condition, considering all aspects of life: the right to life, to an education, to freedom, to religion, to security and to work. Given that, it is important to nurture a Human Rights culture in educational institutions, aiming at improving inter-personal dynamics and the educational environment. The tutors’ development, in this aspect, becomes fundamental. Objective: To understand the meanings attributed by tutors to their experiences involving Human Rights situations in the academic environment as the first step to implement teacher development in this area. Methods: qualitative study involving tutors from a college located in northeastern Brazil, which employs the Problem-Based Learning methodology, between December of 2019 and September of 2020. The collection was performed through focal groups with intentional selection. The script for the discussion was based in the National Plan for Human Rights Education, The Human Rights Education Manual, The Universal Human Rights Declaration and articles related to the discussion topic. Bardin content analysis was used. The project was approved by the Ethics Committee under CAAE number 22696919.3.0000.5569. Results: The studied analytic categories were: gender and sexuality, communication and freedom of speech, social minorities and student self-esteem and stigmatization. During the process of reinterpreting the collected content, the following empirical subcategories were identified: ableism, fatphobia, psychophobia and interpersonal conflicts. The tutors revealed having experienced conflicts involving Human Rights, as follows: gender oppression; homophobia by students and teachers; lack of racial representativeness among the college student population; fatphobia in the academic environment; decrease in student’s performance due to mental health issues. The participant tutors also expressed insecurity when it came to intervening and giving feedback in such situations, as well as some lack of knowledge about Human Rights. Conclusion: The tutors reported episodes that demonstrated Human Rights violation practices in the academic environment and showed to be insecure about intervening in such situations, especially when these situations led to conflict between the students.