The European Digital Identity Wallet: A New Human Right Unlocked?

Research Handbook on Labour, Business and Human Rights Law, edited by Janice R.Bellace and Beryl terHaar. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK, 2019, 528 pp., ISBN: 978‐1‐78642‐310‐7, £195.00 (US$290.00)

This article aims to bring a human rights perspective to corruption monitoring. While research has been done to explore the link between human rights and corruption, whether and how a human rights perspective could help to improve corruption monitoring has not been examined yet. The article is divided into four parts. The second part examines the rationale of both human rights monitoring and corruption monitoring, and how the former can help to improve the latter. The third part discusses the development and characteristics of both human rights indicators and corruption indicators. It also discusses the creation of indicators for monitoring corruption from a human rights perspective. The fourth part examines how a framework for monitoring corruption from a human rights perspective could be developed. It maps the different possibilities in the light of three existing frameworks of related fields. The fifth part discusses monitoring corruption from a human rights perspective in operation. It studies the kinds of data that could help to improve corruption monitoring and deals with the actors who should be involved in the monitoring.

The safeguarding of fundamental rights for undocumented migrant workers represents a critical challenge that necessitates immediate attention. This article addresses the oversight within the human rights discourse regarding the fundamental rights of undocumented migrant workers. Through empirical normative research, incorporating a comprehensive review of normative literature, this study critically examines the regulations affecting migrant workers through the lens of human rights. It identifies a significant correlation between the lack of protective guarantees for undocumented migrant workers and the various cases and consequences that ensue. From a human rights perspective, regulations prioritize equality before the law, protection, and anti-discrimination. This stance contrasts with existing laws that govern Indonesian migrant workers, wherein protection is exclusively extended to those legally recognized. Such exclusivity denies undocumented migrant workers the assurance of their fundamental rights. Arguably, the provision of basic rights and protections should be indiscriminately extended to all migrant workers, irrespective of their legal status. While the specifics of migrant worker placement can still be regulated concerning requirements, processes, involved parties, and responsibilities, these regulations must not infringe upon the fundamental human rights of individuals. Consequently, this paper advocates for a thorough evaluation of current legislation with respect to its content, the comprehension of involved stakeholders, and the practical implementation of regulations concerning the management of migrant workers.

Background: Food is an important part of nursing care and recognized as a basic need and a human right. Nutritional care for older adults in institutions represents a particularly important area to address in nursing education and practice, as the right to food can be at risk and health personnel experience ethical challenges related to food and nutrition. Objective: The present study investigates the development of coursework on nutritional care with a human rights perspective in a nursing programme for first-year nursing students and draws upon reflections and lessons learned. Research design: The study utilized educational design research. The coursework, developed through two rounds, combined on-campus learning and clinical placement in nursing homes. Nursing studentsʼ perspectives and experiences gathered through focus groups and a written assignment informed the development and evaluation of the coursework. Participants and research context: In the first round, multistage focus group interviews were conducted with 18 nursing students before, during and after placement. In the second round, four focus group interviews with 26 nursing students were conducted shortly after placement. Ethical consideration: The study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data. Findings: Three main ʽlessons learnedʼ emerged regarding introducing a human rights perspective in nursing education: 1) the contribution of the human rights perspective in changing the narrative of ʽvulnerable and malnourished patientsʼ, 2) the importance of relationships and experiences for learning about human rights and 3) the benefit of combining development of ethical competence with a human rights perspective. Conclusion: A human rights perspective enabled the students to give meaning to nutritional care beyond understanding of food as a basic physical need. Incorporating human rights in nursing education can support nursing students and nurses in recognizing and addressing ethical and structural challenges and being able to fulfil the right to food for patients.

The purpose of this article is to assess the impact of the UK government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak from a human rights perspective, particularly its apparent tension with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to non-Covid-19 patients whose lives were put at risk by not being able to attend appointments and treatments for pre-existing conditions and illnesses. The UK has also rejected the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union with the European Union Withdrawal Act 2018, which will leave the population even more exposed to potential human rights violations. This seems to be a direct consequence of the narrative and slogan employed by the government: “Stay Home; Protect the NHS; Save Lives”. Other potentially threatened categories, the NHS staff and prisoners are also mentioned in the same context. The latter have already launched a judicial review application along the same lines: Article 2 of the ECHR and the due regard duty stemming from the Equality Act 2010. The NHS staff were directly at risk, and evidence was emerging almost on a daily basis that implied authorities’ responsibility for the shortage of personal protective equipment and testing kits. While there have been a number of discussions on other issues in relation to the lockdown and the strategy directly or indirectly impacting human rights, it appears that no discussion on the impact of the strategy for non-Covid-19 patients and other categories from a human rights perspective has taken place. This gap in analyses and literature merits the present analysis.

Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights guaranteed in various international legal instruments. The development of information and communication technology, especially social media, has opened up new spaces for people to express their opinions. This research aims to analyze the protection of the right to freedom of opinion through social media from a human rights perspective. This research uses normative legal research methods with a qualitative approach. Research data was obtained through literature studies of various statutory regulations, books, scientific journals and other legal sources. The data that has been collected is then analyzed in three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. The research results show that the protection of freedom of expression on social media is regulated in various policies including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). Meanwhile, in Indonesia it is regulated in the 1945 Law, the Human Rights Law, and Law Number 19 of 2016. The right to freedom of opinion through social media is a fundamental human right that needs to be protected. This right is considered a fundamental right that cannot be reduced or limited by anyone or the state, this emphasizes the need for strong fulfillment and protection of this right. However, this right also needs to be balanced with the responsibility to use it wisely and responsibly.

This article explores the strategic and human rights perspectives on gender mainstreaming in preventing/countering violent extremist efforts (P/CVE) in the Western Balkans (WB). It begins with elaborating the strategic relevance of gender mainstreaming in the contested and fast-changing security environment where the threat from modern-day extremists that practice terrorism is a reality. Although NATO has already acknowledged the importance of gender mainstreaming the human rights perspectives of gender mainstreaming in general and in the P/CVE context have largely been neglected. The article analyzes human rights perspectives to gender mainstreaming in P/CVE from three aspects and provides a rationale for its relevance. First, the general human rights perspective to gender mainstreaming in P/CVE. Second, from a perspective of protecting human rights and providing fair treatment to those who commit violent extremist activities. Finally, from the perspective of human rights violation by committing or supporting violent extremist activities/agenda.

Human Rights and Healthcare looks at medical law from a human rights perspective. Almost all issues traditionally taught under a “medical law” label have significant human rights issues inherent within them. This book is unique in bringing those human rights implications to the fore. The rights at issue include established fundamental rights such as the right to life; the right to respect for a private life; and the right to physical integrity, as well as more controversial “rights” such as a “right to reproduce” and a “right to die”. The human rights perspective of this book enables new light to be cast upon familiar medico-legal cases and issues. As such the book provides a genuine merging of human rights law and medical law and will be of value to all students and academics studying medical law, as well as to those interested in the broader issues raised by the growing human rights culture within the UK and worldwide.

Radicalism and its association with Islam have become a global concern due to the threats it poses to international peace and security. To understand this association and its dynamics, it is important to examine both the factors leading to the rise of radicalism and how it is related to Islam. To counter the radicalism associated with Islam, a comprehensive approach is needed that addresses both the underlying causes of radicalization and distorted interpretations of the religion. Examining the association between radicalism and Islam from a human rights perspective is essential to ensure that our responses to this problem are fair, effective and respect fundamental human rights principles. Government approaches to countering radicalism can often violate human rights. To protect and promote the fundamental rights of all individuals, it is essential to approach this issue with sensitivity, balance and respect for human rights.

This presentation analyzes specialised mental health courts (MHCs), as one solution to the long-standing, growing challenge of dealing fairly and justly with persons with mental illness (PMIs) coming before the criminal justice system, from a human rights (HR) perspective. MHCs have garnered professional and political support in North America. Redefining their primary purpose from the determination of fault and the imposition of punishment to the provision of treatment and the enhancement of well-being, to date little consideration has been given to whether the costs of MHCs in terms of de-individualised justice are worth their benefits. As Harris points out, 'sometimes wise policies and practices can have unintended side effects'. And as Thomas Jefferson reminds us, 'the price of liberty is eternal vigilance'. Thus, addressing the HR implications of MHCs should rank highly on its advocates' agendas. Potential HR concerns, arising from MHCs and relating to PMIs essential dignity rights as well as their rights to non-degrading treatment, autonomy, privacy, due process and non-discrimination, will be assessed. Like other writers, the presenter urges that only through respecting PMIs' rights to services and fulfilling society's duty to provide same, and not through MHCs, will PMIs be afforded the full rights that democratic states ought to provide their citizens. The manner in which MDOs are managed (or not) by the multiple services and systems they typically encounter creates a broad measure of dissatisfaction that goes beyond any single jurisdiction or country. Moreover, the sufficient issue overlaps and fundamental commonalities in approaches to the problems faced by MDOs provide a general societal and judicial context for an analysis of MHCs and a related HR discussion, notwithstanding the presenter references the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) (1950) for her HR analysis.

BackgroundA human rights approach to maternal health is considered as a useful framework in international efforts to reduce maternal mortality. Although fundamental human rights principles are incorporated into legal and medical frameworks, human rights have to be translated into measurable actions and outcomes. So far, their substantive applications remain unclear. The aim of this study is to explore women’s perspectives and experiences of maternal health services through a human rights perspective in Magu District, Tanzania.MethodsThis study is a qualitative exploration of perspectives and experiences of women regarding maternity services in government health facilities. The point of departure is a Human Rights perspective. A total of 36 semi-structured interviews were held with 17 women, between the age of 31 and 63, supplemented with one focus group discussion of a selection of the interviewed women, in three rural villages and the town centre in Magu District. Data analysis was performed using a coding scheme based on four human rights principles: dignity, autonomy, equality and safety.ResultsWomen’s experiences of maternal health services reflect several sub-standard care factors relating to violations of multiple human rights principles. Women were aware that substandard care was present and described a range of ways how the services could be delivered that would venerate human rights principles. Prominent themes included: ‘being treated well and equal’, ‘being respected’ and ‘being given the appropriate information and medical treatment’.ConclusionWomen in this rural Tanzanian setting are aware that their experiences of maternity care reflect violations of their basic rights and are able to voice what basic human rights principles mean to them as well as their desired applications in maternal health service provision.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12914-016-0091-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Beyond the Governance Gap in International Domain Name Law: Bringing the UDRP in Line with Internationally Recognized Human Rights

Multiple developments are taking place in the European Union (EU) as concerns climate action through fundamental rights. On the one hand, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) might afford protection from climate change via first- and second-generation human rights; on the other, the EU is progressively recognizing the human right to a sustainable environment, and possibly to a sustainable climate, via Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. These developments are nonetheless restrained by the limited possibility for individual natural and legal persons to act in the Court. On the other hand, EU Member States are parties to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), to which the EU will also foreseeably accede in the future and through which a string of claims has been brought to the attention of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Also in this context, protection from climate change might be afforded via first- and second-generation fundamental rights, and possibly via the third-generation right to a sustainable environment and climate. Contrary to the CJEU system, however, there are no procedural limits to action by individual natural and legal persons in the ECtHR. The article argues that an extensive interpretation of first- and second-generation human rights, particularly the rights to life and to private and family life under ECHR articles 2 and 8, collectively interpreted as the rights to live in a sustainable environment and climate in line with the jurisprudence of the ECtHR, reverses the burden of proof and is essentially tantamount to acknowledging an independent fundamental right to a sustainable environment and climate, thus ensuring adequate climate protection in the EU from a human rights perspective.

A partir de la instauración del sistema garantista en México, proclamado por la reforma constitucional en materia penal acaecida en 2008, se reafirmaron los derechos de la víctima como sujeto de protección del Estado. Para esto, se emitió en 2013 la Ley General de Víctimas, un ordenamiento que en su diseño normativo adolece de precisión sobre los sujetos obligados a vigilar que se garantice el otorgamiento de la reparación integral como prerrogativa inherente al sujeto pasivo u ofendido del delito.Asimismo, se aprecia que en la reforma al referido ordenamiento legal, acaecida en 2017, se presentan dos graves problemáticas: la tutela simbólica de la participación de la sociedad civil en las acciones tendientes a cumplimentar la reparación integral; y la difuminación la idoneidad del perfil del Comisionado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Atención a Víctimas. Esto último legitima la presencia de personas que no posean las bases académicas y/o profesionales para garantizar la reparación integral a quienes resintieron los efectos de las conductas punibles, circunstancia que no concuerda con las directrices de un Estado Democrático de Derecho.En esta tesitura, se analizan los elementos esenciales de las políticas públicas tradicionales frente a las políticas públicas con enfoque de derechos humanos. Se busca determinar si, en efecto, el actual diseño normativo de la obligación estatal de garantizar la reparación integral a las víctimas del delito se ajusta al paradigma proteccionista impulsado a través de la positivización de los derechos humanos en la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos.Introducción: El presente documento contempla la revisión dogmática del derecho victimal y su devenir histórico en México, a través de las reformas constitucionales generadas a partir de 1993. Contempla también el estudio de los elementos esenciales de la reparación integral y su vinculación con el derecho fundamental de dignidad humana, consagrado a nivel federal e internacional. El fin es sentar la base analítica sobre la institucionalización de la revictimización en México, con motivo de la ambigüedad en el diseño de la Ley General de Víctimas relativa al establecimiento puntual de la autoridad legitimada para velar que se garantice la reparación integral, circunstancia que distorsiona la obligación manifiesta del Estado mexicano de generar políticas públicas que protejan la dignidad humana.Método: A partir de la perspectiva de los métodos sistemático jurídico y comparativo, se reflexiona sobre las particularidades del derecho victimal como punto vinculante con los elementos esenciales de una reparación integral, y el concepto de revictimización impulsado por el Modelo Integral de Atención a Víctimas. Esto con el fin de generar un hilo conductor con la explicación sobre la revictimización institucionalizada, producto de la ambigüedad normativa en el señalamiento de los sujetos obligados para vigilar por el cumplimiento de la reparación integral por ministerio de la Ley General de Víctimas en su última reforma de 2017. La circunstancia antes descrita no se ajusta a los postulados de una política pública con perspectiva de derechos humanos, inherente al espíritu proteccionista enaltecido a través de las reformas constitucionales en materia penal y de derechos humanos.Resultados: El diseño normativo de la Ley General de Víctimas impulsada por el Estado mexicano, consagra una revictimización institucional provocada por la ambigüedad en el señalamiento preciso de las autoridades encargadas de vigilar el cumplimiento de la reparación integral. Esta situación trastoca el derecho fundamental de dignidad humana establecido en el artículo 1 de la Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos; el artículo 11.1 de la Convención Americana de Derechos Humanos; el artículo 1 de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos; y el artículo 10.1 del Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos, elementos sustanciales del Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos.Discusión o Conclusión: En aras de garantizar la tutela efectiva del derecho fundamental de dignidad humana, el Estado mexicano debe precisar, en el numeral 1° de la Ley General de Víctimas, las autoridades legitimadas para verificar el cumplimiento del derecho de reparación integral; es decir, la puntualización de los sujetos obligados que deben responder por el incumplimiento del deber legal que les imponen el ordenamiento en comento. La Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos y los tratados internacionales como estándar irreductible de las políticas públicas con enfoque de derechos humanos.

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the Chilean housing policy from a human rights perspective. The work is based on the framework to study socio, economic and social rights as human rights developed by the current special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights to describe the steps undertaken by the Chilean State in terms of recognition, institutionalisation and accountability of the right to adequate housing.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the authors describe the different levels of legal recognition of the right and the lack of constitutional and legislative recognition in the different levels of the Chilean Legal System. Second, they analyse the Chilean Housing Policy and the institutionalisation of the different elements that compose the right to adequate housing, describing and critically reviewing the Chilean housing policy in the past 30 years. The final section analyses the accountability of such policy, taking into consideration the developments of international and regional mechanisms and the processes of accountability lead by civil society and tribunals.FindingsThe paper concludes that a human rights perspective of the right to adequate housing with legal recognition could improve the accountability, the results and development of the Chilean housing policy.Originality/valueThe importance of this paper is both empirical and theoretical. Empirically, this paper adds to the current understanding of housing policies in Chile, aiming to complete the narrative of housing laws at the national level. Theoretically, this paper uses for the first time a recognition, institutionalisation and accountability human rights approach to analyse the Chilean housing policies and its loopholes at the national level.