Historical Rights Research Articles

Systematic human rights violations, traumatic events, daily stressors and mental health of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

BackgroundAlmost 900,000 Rohingya refugees currently reside in refugee camps in Southeastern Bangladesh. Prior to fleeing Myanmar, Rohingya experienced years of systematic human rights violations, in addition to other historical and more recent traumatic events such as the burning of their villages and murder of family members, friends and neighbors. Currently, many Rohingya struggle to meet basic needs in refugee camps in Bangladesh and face mental health-related concerns that appear linked to such challenges. The purpose of this study is to describe systematic human rights violations, traumatic events, daily stressors, and mental health symptoms and to examine relationships between these factors.MethodsCross-sectional data was collected from a representative sample of 495 Rohingya refugee adults residing in camps in Bangladesh in July and August of 2018.ResultsRespondents reported high levels of systematic human rights violations in Myanmar, including restrictions related to expressing thoughts, meeting in groups, travel, religious practices, education, marriage, childbirth, healthcare, and more. Events experienced in Myanmar included exposure to gunfire (99%), destruction of their homes (93%), witnessing dead bodies (92%), torture (56%), forced labor (49%), sexual assault (33%), and other events. More than half (61%) of participants endorsed mental health symptom levels typically indicative of PTSD, and more than two thirds (84%) endorsed levels indicative of emotional distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression). Historic systematic human rights violations, traumatic events, and daily stressors were associated with symptoms of posttraumatic stress, as well as depression and anxiety. Respondents reported numerous stressors associated with current life in the camps in Bangladesh as well as previous stressors, such as harassment, encountered in Myanmar.ConclusionsFindings underscore the impact of systematic human rights violations, targeted violence, and daily stressors on the mental health of Rohingya in Bangladesh. Those working with Rohingya should consider the role of such factors in contributing to poor mental health. This research has the potential to inform interventions targeting such elements. Future research should examine the relationships between mental health and human rights violations over time.

The Emergence of the ‘Dealing With the Past’ Agenda: Sociological Thoughts on its Negative Impact on the Ground

In this short piece, I trace the emergence of the ‘dealing with the past’ agenda which entered the public sphere from the 1970s, briefly describing how it has gradually disseminated worldwide. Consequently, the ‘dealing with the past’ approach, where remembering was intimately tied to a preventative vision of ‘never again!’, became deeply embedded in human rights-led memorialization processes around the world. However, though this approach gave voice to long-silenced historical injustices and mass human rights abuses from the past, the erroneous assumption that ‘proper remembrance’ can heal nations also produced numerous troubling ‘side-effects’: the application of Western(ized) medical diagnostic categories of mental illness; hierarchies of victimhood; and new social inequalities, which are briefly discussed in the second part of this article.

A Study on the Claim of Historical Rights under International Law with Special Reference to the Limitation of the Cartographic History of the South China Sea

A Study on the Claim of Historical Rights under International Law with Special Reference to the Limitation of the Cartographic History of the South China Sea

Las dinámicas fronterizas en el siglo XX-XXI: un espejo de la evolución del orden mundial

El artículo analiza las dinámicas fronterizas desde el comienzo del siglo XX a través de una revisión bibliográfica apoyada en el análisis de datos cuantitativos y dos casos de estudio.La tesis central es que existe un conflicto entre las fronteras culturales y las político-territoriales, desafiando los límites geográficos reconocidos oficialmente. La frontera político-territorial es un fenómeno jurídico, una demarcación lineal que establece los límites espaciales dentro de los cuales el estado nación ejerce la soberanía de forma exclusiva, eficaz, autónoma respecto al exterior y bajo el reconocimiento de la legislación internacional. La frontera cultural es un fenómeno histórico que responde a hechos vitales y no a una construcción jurídica ni política ni intelectual. Podemos definirla como un área sociocultural habitada por una población que comparte una serie de elementos simbólicos, costumbres y valores. La gestión del conflicto entre los dos tipos de frontera depende de los desarrollos históricos que tienen lugar en el ámbito de las relaciones internacionalesNuestra tesis muestra que dichas dinámicas pueden articularse en torno a tres ejes. El primero está guiado por el auge del proceso globalizador y la consecuente apertura de fronteras. La apertura de fronteras puede definirse como el aumento en la porosidad de los símbolos, costumbres y valores compartidos en un área sociocultural respecto a los del exterior y/o la disminución de barreras al tránsito físico. Se le contrapone otro eje que lleva al cierre de fronteras, espoleado por los procesos de descolonización, la disolución de la URSS y el resurgir del nacionalismo. El cierre de fronteras se define como la disminución de la porosidad fronteriza o el aumento de las barreras al tránsito físico. El tercer eje está marcado por las disputas territoriales, fundadas sobre diferencias culturales, que llevan a intentar modificar las fronteras oficiales. La modificación de fronteras se da bien cuando un estado nación busca alargar la línea fronteriza que delimita el área bajo su soberanía o un grupo sociocultural trata de delimitar un territorio soberano frente al exterior, bien cuando un área sociocultural definida se expande o retrae sea por el auge o decline de su cultura sea por el del grupo humano que la representa.Los acontecimientos históricos para el análisis de los tres ejes citados provienen de fuentes bibliográficas, periodísticas y de bases de datos. Además, mostramos como la teoría se plasma en dos casos de estudio actuales, el independentismo catalán y el intento venezolano de crear un nuevo poder regional en el Caribe.

The concept of the Ukrainian national state-making in the scientific work of Professor Sergiy Shelukhin

The scientific achievements and social and political activity of Sergiy Shelukhin and its influence on the formation of the concept of independent state of Ukraine in the political and legal thought and state-making practice of the governments and political figures of the UNR, the Directory and public political organizations of Ukrainian political emigration are considered.
 The figure of Sergiy Shelukhin in the history of Ukraine has been symbolic for over a century, as his scientific and socio-political activities have largely contributed to the restoration of the sovereign right of the Ukrainian people to an independent state. His conception of Ukrainian statehood, the origin of the name "Ukraine" is today an integral part of the ideological basis for determining priority directions in contemporary Ukrainian politics, in the context of building an independent independent Ukraine, in terms of forming state ideology and national dignity.
 In the period of national liberation competitions the main topic of scientific research of the scientist was the origin of the Ukrainian state. It was his intelligence that formed the basis for memoranda, statements, and international treaties of the time.
 
 Shelukhin proved that for the Ukrainian people the right of state sovereignty was restored not only as a result of the renunciation of the tsar and release from the oath of nationality, but also on the contractual grounds of the act of 1654 connection between Ukraine and Russia, since this connection was only the face of the tsar-protector. Thus, on February 28, 1917, the Ukrainian people, on the basis of their historical rights and legal consequences, renounced the tsar and exempted him from the oath by legal means, regained his sovereignty over himself and his Ukrainian statehood.
 
 Scientist in historical monographs "Where does Russia come from:" Names: Rus, Galicia, Ukraine and Little Russia "(1928)," The Theory of Celtic Origin of Kievan Rus from France "(1929)," Ukraine - the Name of Our Land from the Ancient Times "(1936) for the first time explores the problem of the origin of the terms "Rus", "Ukraine", "Russia", "Mala Rus". These studies have played and play an extremely important role in refuting political speculation and falsification regarding the origin of Ukrainians and the emergence of Ukrainian statehood. During his life, S. Shelukhin's works have gained recognition among lawyers, historians, and political figures both in Ukraine and abroad.

Early Modern Reindeer Husbandry, Sami Economy, and Grazing Rights

The main historic trajectory in property rights to land was the development of more exclusive rights by the dissolution of common property. In the Swedish lappmarks the opposite occurred, and by the end of the nineteenth century the old system with privately assigned land finally disappeared when Samis obtained lawful common user rights to large areas for reindeer herding. Earlier research focused on the role of the state. We bring together three previously rather neglected perspectives—self-governance, ecology, and the functionality of large-scale reindeer nomadism—to explain changes in property rights. By analysing how Samis from two types of villages in Lule lappmark using different ecological settings between 1550 and 1780, we show that the older property-rights system dissolved due to the emergence of large-scale reindeer nomadism. Grazing land became one of the most valued economic assets, and a common-property regime evolved. The institutional change that spurred the development was new trading patterns during the seventeenth century. By taking a self-governing perspective in a common-pool resource (CPR) context we identify the microlevel interactions between users through which property rights evolved in early modern Sami communities. How indigenous people during this time created and negotiated property rights is highlighted. On a higher level, the CPR perspective facilitates a discussion about Sami property rights in the context of property rights elsewhere, especially regarding common property. We emphasize the importance of addressing self-governance in the analysis of historical property rights of indigenous people.

Strategy and Law in the South China Sea Disputes: Workshop Report

The South China Sea dispute is one over the Chinese claim to rights within the nine-dash line it has drawn in the South China Sea. Within this line China has two objectives. First, it wishes to exercise control, or at least a veto, over resource exploitation, including both fisheries and oil and gas exploration. Second, strategically, China wishes through its island-building to push its defensive perimeter out, secure its sea lines of communication, and achieve area-denial capability. These ambitions cut deep into the rights of neighboring coastal states over their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). The mood within Chinese foreign policy elites appears, however, to have hardened on these questions. Chinese interests in the South China Sea and now framed in terms of asserting and defending Chinese claims rather than maintaining regional stability. Nonetheless, Chinese foreign policy scholars see the South China Sea largely as a diplomatic dispute, and see a greater risk of conflict in the East China Sea. The South China Sea disputes are deadlocked. There is no reasonable prospect of China modifying its claims to special historic rights within the nine-dash line in the near future. There is also little likelihood of other coastal states relinquishing their own claims under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. In each case, national constituencies and domestic politics will make modification of adopted positions very difficult.

Atlas of an Empire: Photographic Narrations and the Visual Struggle for Mozambique

This article engages with the historiography of the Portuguese empire with reference to Mozambique. It explores the impact of visual archives on existing debates and asks what difference photographs make to our interpretation and understanding of this colonial past. Deprived of their 'historical rights' by the requirements of the Berlin treaties that insisted on 'effective occupation', the Portuguese started to employ a complex of knowledge-producing activities in which photography was crucially involved. This article examines different photographic moments before and during the 'Pacification Campaign' that assured Portugal's authority over the Gaza Empire in southern Mozambique in the 1890s, by official, commercial and missionary photographers. It identifies controversies over the small number of portraits of the Gaza king Ngungunyane that took on distinctive and disputed 'other lives' after their initial production. The realisation of how one image might be disassembled to generate others becomes an exercise - in visual terms - of rethinking colonial violence. A critical engagement with the slippages and repositionings around photographs, and the errors or disputes in various captions, allows for a better understanding of the production of both silence and particular narratives in the archives and popular history. The demonstration of these other lives matters because it stimulates awareness of what is seen, what is made visible, and addresses the desire to look beyond the image to find others in a continuous interrogation of photographic excess.

Македонский вопрос в освещении сербской и болгарской пропаганды в России в конце XIX — начале XX века

The article is devoted to the actions of the officials of Belgrade and Sofia to create in Russia such an image of Macedonia and its inhabitants that would prove their right to join these territories.These actions began after 1885 and continued with varying degrees of intensity until 1913. They consisted of publishing books and articles in Russia that described their point of view. Bulgarian propaganda took a passive position, because there was a well-established opinion that Bulgarians live in Macedonia. The Serbs had to be more active and take into account the situation, so their propaganda went through four stages. At the first stage, they proved that Serbs, not Bulgarians, live in Macedonia. In the second stage, the stake was placed on the existence of a separate Macedonian people. At the third stage, there was a good idea that these lands are inhabited by a Slavic population that does not have a clear national identity. At the final stage, the arguments were supplemented with political arguments. At the same time, at all stages of the propaganda, there was a historical right — the entry of Macedonia into the Kingdom of Stefan Dusan, numerous architectural monuments of the time of Serbian rule, Serbian heroes of epic tales of the Macedonian Slavs. The Bulgarian propaganda, because of its lack of initiative, only defended itself, repeated previous theses and conceded positions, and on the question of historical rights it failed to formulate a clear answer. But at the end of this discussion, there was also a Macedonian view of the history of the Balkans.The article considers the Bulgarian-Serbian dispute in its development, specifies its main participants and arguments of the parties. The research was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian science Foundation (project no.20–18–00294) in Scientific Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning, branch of the Central Institute for Research and Design of the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation.

Primate Wyszyński towards Polish Western Lands after the Second World War

Primate S. Wyszyński was interested in each symptom of social and religious life of the society in the Western Lands. Thanks to his frequent visitations he knew Church, social and national reality in this area very well. He also noticed an important role of the Church in its mission to unite these lands with “homeland”. Primate was not doubtful that these lands fairly belonged to Poland. The assignment of these lands to Poland was perceived by him as not only the recognition of historical rights, but also as “Divine restitution”, as an expression of justice for Poland being harmed by the German occupier, and not a political game. In his speeches and sermons, he reassured and encouraged its inhabitants. He called them to last here, on these old Piast lands, and believe in „historical moment of the nation on these lands” and to love this land. Primate noticed the effects of confusing policy of the communists towards Silesian people in Opole region. He saw that the encounter of indigenous people with Poland by communism must have been disastrous for Poland, which identified everything, which was Polish, with communism.

Legality of China’s Entitlements of Historic Rights beyond the UNCLOS in the South China Sea

Abstract In the Award of the South China Sea Arbitration, the Tribunal concluded that the Convention had superseded any historic rights in excess of the limits imposed by the Convention. Consequently, China’s claim of historic rights in the relevant part encompassed by the nine-dashed lines in the South China Sea exceeded the limits of China’s maritime entitlements under the Convention. But an analysis on the context and negotiation history of paragraph 8 of the preamble and issues related to historic rights in the Convention leads to an opposite conclusion. For the issues related to historic rights, the negotiation history of the Convention indicated that the Convention does not supersede any historic rights but left lacunae on related issues. According to the text and negotiation history of paragraph 8 of the Convention, historic rights were not superseded but were regulated by general international law.

Rethinking the Concept of Historic Rights in International Law

Abstract Historic rights have been acknowledged by international legislation including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, although many issues concerning the concept still remain uncertain. This article will mainly discuss the legal connotation and juridical functions of the concept of ‘historic rights’ for maritime entitlements and maritime boundary delimitation, and attempt to clarify some legal ambiguity and explain the function of the legal regime through analysis of legal documents and identification of typical difficulties in the application of the concept of ‘historic rights’.

Historic Rights in the South China Sea

Abstract China has, without challenge, enjoyed and exercised certain rights in the South China Sea throughout recorded history. Those rights do not derive from the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; rather, they exist under customary international law and commonly known as ‘historic rights’. Recent interpretations related to those rights, however, remain highly controversial, which can be typically seen from the South China Sea Arbitration Case initiated by the Philippines against China. This article gives a case-by-case study based on China’s diplomatic positions on historic rights and compares them with certain international practice from an academic perspective; and then it examines the possible content and nature of historic-related rights enjoyed by China in the South China Sea and evaluates its legal implications on the dispute settlement approach in this region.

Historic Rights in African State Practice

Abstract Historic rights in the law of the sea has been given prominence since the publication by China of the so-called nine-dash line map. Certain States have challenged this claim as inconsistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which China is a State Party. On the other hand, it has been argued that although historic rights claims are not comprehensively regulated by the UNCLOS they are actually governed by the principles of general international law. Consequently, this would require establishing if there is a general and consistent practice of States followed by them from a sense of legal obligation which establish historic rights claims are consistent with Customary International Law. This article explores the State Practice of African States in order to determine whether these States acknowledge and recognize historic rights claims as consistent with contemporary law of the sea.

Maritime Historic Rights in United States Jurisprudence

Abstract This article provides a review of the major “historic rights” cases in United States federal jurisprudence involving disputes between the United States and its constituent states. On the basis of these cases, the article describes the three step-approach taken by the judiciary in deciding whether there are cognizable “historic right” claims.

Regional Customary International Law Related to China’s Historic Rights in the South China Sea

Abstract In the customary international law system, there exist general customary international law and regional customary international law. Based on the general practice and opinio juris of the States surrounding the South China Sea, China’s historic rights which conclude historic title to all the maritime features in the South China Sea, and historic fishing rights and navigational rights, are regulated by regional customary international law. Due to the parallel relationship between this regional customary international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), China’s historic rights should co-exist with the rights regulated by UNCLOS.

Historic Fishing Rights in Foreign Exclusive Maritime Zones

Abstract The South China Sea Arbitration is only the fourth case since the entry into force of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to touch on the issue of historic rights – in this case, traditional fishing rights. Traditional or artisanal fishing rights are acquired rights. This article reviews the basis and characteristics of a historic rights claim and compares it with the origin and properties of an entitlement-based fishing rights claim, which the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea mainstreamed into the body of international maritime law. And in light of this comparison, the article evaluates the Tribunal’s Award on the geographic scope of application of historic or traditional fishing rights in the exclusive maritime zones of a coastal State.

The International Law of the Sea

Abstract The concept of “historic rights” has been much discussed recently in the light of the arbitral award in the Philippines v. China case. The United Kingdom, as a major maritime power, has had long experience of dealing with claims about such rights and those which are similarly worded. This includes the seminal case of the Anglo-Norwegian Fisheries case in the International Court of Justice, as well as two other international decisions and a judgment of what is now the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU). In addition, the London Fisheries Convention and the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy seem to employ terminology to similar effect. Finally, it is interesting to speculate about whether claims to historic rights will be made by other EU Member States after BREXIT.

Historic fishing rights in the law of the sea and Brexit

AbstractThe United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the 1964 Fisheries Convention and from the European Union has raised questions concerning the potential existence of third states’ fishing rights in the UK’s maritime zones post-Brexit. Historic fishing rights are a complex and controversial issue in the law of the sea. Uncertainty remains regarding their nature, the process for their formation and ascertainment, as well as their contemporary relevance in the light of the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) and other fisheries agreements. This article explores the concept of historic fishing rights in the law of the sea. First, it examines the nature and scope of historic fishing rights as discussed in the jurisprudence of international courts and tribunals and their relationship with other akin terms such as ‘customary’ and ‘traditional’ fishing rights. Issues related to the formation and establishment of these rights are also explored. The article also examines whether these rights have been superseded by the LOSC in the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), or whether they are still relevant in the post-LOSC era and maritime zones. It finally explores the relationship between historic fishing rights and treaty-based fishing access rights, and addresses the question posed by Brexit whether withdrawal from a fishing access treaty can unilaterally eliminate any related pre-existing historic rights. This discussion will provide an answer to the question whether it is possible for other states to have historic fishing rights in the UK’s territorial sea and EEZ following its withdrawal from the London Fisheries Convention and the European Union.

Misrecognising the victim of state violence: denial, \u2018deep\u2019 imperialism and defending \u2018our boys\u2019

This article critically examines public responses to attempts at holding former British soldiers accountable for historic human rights violations committed during conflicts fought overseas. Using the case of British Army veterans who served in the North of Ireland and Iraq as an empirical basis, it posits that such responses are defined by a moral myopia that distinguishes between state violence ‘here’ and ‘there’ and ‘now’ and ‘then’. This moral myopia, it is submitted, is a form of identity politics forged through a marriage between deep imperialism and the strategies of denial used by the state. This essentially misrecognises the victim of state violence and ultimately leads to public sympathy favouring those who stand accused of human rights abuse over and above those actually subjected to it. Ultimately, the article concludes, this means that public opinion is channelled in a way that calls for such violations not to be punished rather than for them to be punished.