Knowledge Of Human Rights Research Articles

Human rights discourse during a short-term field placement abroad: An experience of social work students from Israel and India

The literature highlights the difficulty involved in integrating human rights and social work practice, especially among students who encounter extreme and unfamiliar social problems. Content analysis of narratives written by students during their field placement abroad contributes to identifying the conditions that are necessary to increase students’ awareness of their own obstacles and difficulties in promoting human rights. The findings provide insights into the actions that need to be taken in order to enhance human rights knowledge and to better integrate it into practice. International field placement is recommended as a preferred setting for implementing social rights practice in global contexts.

The Transformation of Human Rights in the Information Society Connected with the Formulation of the «Rigt to be Forgotten» by the European Court of Justice

Actuality of this research work. Human rights and freedoms - are main concepts of rights in modern Russia. Lack of scientific development of “new” human rights in new “digital measurement”, information society holds back development of applied research, including the matters of enforcement, improvement of law-making, efficiency improvement of legal regulation. Due to the fact that “the right to oblivion” was formulated by European Court of Human Rights less than a year ago, in Russia there is no comprehensive legal research on this issue. In fact, in our country a new direction of jurisprudence - legal regulation of technology and protection of private data are being formed. It is not a secret that in the United States, these issues are allocated to a separate specialization for lawyers. Russia is at the beginning of this path. The targets of this research. The target of this research is to study the concept and essence of “the right to oblivion”, to deepen the theoretical knowledge of human rights and freedoms, as well as to attract scientists, theorists and practicing lawyers’ attention to this issue. The target is concretized in tasks. The authors had the following targets: - To explore the essence of “the right to oblivion", its characteristics, analyze its purpose; - To identify authors’ attitude to a number of controversial issues that have arisen in the course of this research work; - Explore ways and means to improve legal regulation. Conclusions. “The right to oblivion” is a new inalienable human right that needs identifying, understanding, and formulation. Legal regulation of this right in Russia is at the stage of formation and is imperfect. It is necessary to increase awareness of the Russian legal science, legislature and judiciary to this problem. It is necessary to develop a general policy with regard to “the right to oblivion”, accurately reflect the position in law and judicial practice. The authors analyzed the new phenomenon in Russian law – “the right to oblivion” and analyzed the nature and problems of legal regulation of this important right in information society. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s3p399

Cultural rights versus human rights: A critical analysis of the trokosi practice in Ghana and the role of civil society

In this article, I examine critically the culture versus human rights debate, and the crucial role and tactics of civil society organisations, drawing on insights from transnational advocacy networking, in the struggle to extend human rights to vulnerable people with reference to the trokosi practice in Ghana. This trokosi system turns virgin girls into slaves of the gods to atone for crimes committed by their family members. Theoretically, universal human rights must take precedence over any demand for cultural rights. In practice, however, the actual enforcement of human rights laws that conflict with other cultural values and practices can be more messy and complex than it is often conceptualised. Essentially, universal human rights accommodate, recognise and promote cultural rights; however, the latter ends at a point where its observance is likely to result in the violation of the fundamental human rights of others. I conclude that, although the call for cultural pluralism and the need to celebrate and respect the diversity of cultures sound legitimate, this demand cannot be allowed to trump the minimum package of the fundamental human rights that protect human dignity, wellbeing and integrity within the context of human rights protocols that state parties already have ratified. Yet, for this to materialise, stronger civil society organisations with a solid broad-based networking capacity and tenacity of purpose are crucial. This article helps to extend our current knowledge of human rights struggles and the implications these have for the furtherance of universal human rights. Key words: universal human rights; cultural relativism; trokosi; civil society; transnational advocacy networking; Ghana

Human Rights as an Academic Discipline in Nepal

The study attempts to understand the understanding regarding Human Rights knowledge among youths of Nepal, who are basically students of Business, Science, Arts or something apart from Law. Human Rights have been regarded as one of the essential requirement in today's era. However, how do youths perceive it? The study attempts to figure this out. Compiling the views of students, the analysis can be seen. The study reveals that Human Rights is not properly understood by young peoples in Nepal. Youths of Nepal seems to be concerned only about their subject matter, that their teachers and families guide them. They don't regard the knowledge of Human Rights as the thing that they must know. During the study, it was found that youths don't know what UDHR is all about. They even regarded a criminal case Human Rights violation issue. The study also potrays the necessity of Human Rights education from very grass root level in order to build a peaceful society and country.

A Peaceful Pedagogy: Teaching Human Rights Across the Curriculum

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child identify the essence of what it means to be human and provide a foundation through which schools can become peacebuilding learning communities. An examination of the publications of the United Nations enables the definition of a set of knowledges, values and skills that underpin the enactment of human rights through peace education. UNESCO argues that ‘human rights education implies the learning and practice of human rights … and that they are taught through both content transmission and experience’ (Statement of Values, 2000). The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights argues that ‘teaching about human rights is not enough. The teacher will want to begin, and never to finish, teaching for human rights.’ (UN, 2003:21). This paper considers how the knowledge, values and skills of human rights can become the core consideration for teachers’ curriculum planning and teaching to enable teachers and learners to engage in socially just action based on human rights within and beyond the school. A model of a human rights curriculum is developed from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this model, the transmission of content, the epistemologies of human rights, can be seen as learning about the human rights, values and skills that enable peace. The experience of learning through ‘peaceful pedagogy’ can ideally be seen as learning through human rights. Enacting learning within the classroom, throughout the school or beyond the school can be seen as learning for human rights. This paper will demonstrate how a specific issue of the learners’ context becomes the catalyst for peaceful learning for both teacher and student through content transmission and experience.

Facilitating Student Engagement: Social Responsibility and Freshmen Learning Communities

Human rights education is advanced as a method for promoting social responsibility, with an emphasis on promoting ideals of “global citizenship” among undergraduate students. At the same time, the practice of learning communities is widespread on college campuses for retaining freshmen and promoting student success. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of combining these approaches. In response to this literature gap, this article first provides an overview of key concepts—social responsibility, human rights education, and learning communities—and outlines how these terms are currently understood within higher education. Second, the methods and initial findings of a longitudinal study within Webster University’s Social Engagement Learning Community focus on gauging and assessing human rights knowledge and social engagement. Initial findings suggest that most freshmen respondents lack basic human rights knowledge and an activist orientation, yet their empathy and perspective-taking abilities provide foundations for building awareness of human rights issues and social responsibility. Lastly, recommendations are outlined for addressing learning goals related to identity awareness, helping students step outside of their “comfort zones,” and promoting awareness and solutions.

The Dominant Discourse of Human Rights Education: A Critique

Human rights education (HRE) is commonly viewed as imparting knowledge of human rights. This is problematic, because both human rights and education are multifaceted and the way that human rights are conceptualized will determine the types of educational practice and processes engaged in as a result. Using critical discourse analysis, this article unpicks the historical formation of human rights education, exploring how it has evolved and come to prominence; it examines the way that power relations shape the conceptions and practices of educators, which fail to capture diversity and complexity of knowledge. It shows how a dominant discourse of human rights education has been controlled through the global human rights framework and how this shapes a human rights education practice concerned with finding methods which make global human rights principles relevant and resonant in different communities. This is problematic because it ignores the way that power shapes and controls the formation of human rights education discourse and how practitioners and educators respond to that. Given this, the conclusion suggests how we should rethink human rights education discourse.

TOWARD “THE DAY AFTER”

Since 1998, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a quasi-private, grant-making organization funded almost entirely by the U.S. Congress via the U.S. State Department, has been, directly or indirectly through its four core institutes, supporting right-wing, neoconservative South Korean human rights and defector groups. In addition to technical assistance, this support has included $6.7 to $11.9 million from 1999 to 2010, with an additional $3 million starting January 2009 directly disbursed to many of these groups by the State Department under then newly elected Barack Obama. This article contends that NED's “human rights” work is part of a much larger strategy of destabilizing the North Korean government in line with U.S. interventionist aims against its foes. By funding international conferences and defector critiques of North Korea (including strategic testimony provided before Congress in the push for passage of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004), NED has fostered a North Korean human rights knowledge economy that has substantially shaped public images and opinion about North Korea in South Korea, the United States, and around the world. At the same time, NED's radio broadcasting, propaganda leaflet drops, and other incursionary media have sought to sow discord in North Korea.

Facilitating Student Engagement: Social Responsibility and Freshmen Learning Communities

Human rights education is advanced as a method for promoting social responsibility, with an emphasis on promoting ideals of “global citizenship” among undergraduate students. At the same time, the practice of learning communities is widespread on college campuses for retaining freshmen and promoting student success. However, there is limited research on the effectiveness of combining these approaches. In response to this literature gap, this article first provides an overview of key concepts—social responsibility, human rights education, and learning communities—and outlines how these terms are currently understood within higher education. Second, the methods and initial findings of a longitudinal study within Webster University’s Social Engagement Learning Community focus on gauging and assessing human rights knowledge and social engagement. Initial findings suggest that most freshmen respondents lack basic human rights knowledge and an activist orientation, yet their empathy and perspective-taking abilities provide foundations for building awareness of human rights issues and social responsibility. Lastly, recommendations are outlined for addressing learning goals related to identity awareness, helping students step outside of their “comfort zones,” and promoting awareness and solutions.

Schooling for Conflict Transformation: A Case Study from Northern Uganda

Civil wars are impeding progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. Educational access contributes to peace-building after civil war but little is known about the role of the school curriculum. A framework derived from a synthesis of peace education, human rights education and citizenship education is proposed and then examined through a qualitative case study of eight educational institutions in a district in northern Uganda emerging from a 20-year civil war. The schools promote reconciliation values, develop some problem-solving and communication skills, and reveal some knowledge of human rights. There is little understanding of history, or of local, national and international political/legal systems, and minimal development of discussion and critical thinking skills. It is argued that the framework can be used to investigate other schools and to inform the design of a curriculum that can contribute to conflict transformation, with the ultimate aim of reducing the risk of civil war re-eruption.

Human Rights and NGOs

The basic principle is that all human being are born free and equal in dignity and rights, for which the United Nations has adopted holistic approach in determining what human rights are. Human rights are all about the life, liberty, freedom, security and dignity of men, women, youth and children. The Constitution of India provides ample scope for protection human rights of Indian citizens through Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of the State policy. Our Judiciary also safeguards human rights by issuing certain writs in this regard. Yet the human rights are being violated frequently by the administration itself and state governments are incapable to maintain the law and order as per the spirit of the Constitution as well as for the democratic framework of the country. It shows the indifferent attitude of the state government to implement the law and order. Actually, it is the duty of state government to safeguard the human rights of its citizens with the help of NHRC and SHRC. But a dent making effect has not been visible. It reflects the failure of our system. In this arena, NGOs can be better actor for protecting the human rights of the people. As the NGOs are too much close to the people so they may help in making people aware about human rights. It may be noted that silence nourishes oppression. Therefore, it is necessary for NGOs to be given new strength to follow up action in promotion of equality and indiscrimination. NGOs may also be involved in framing the policy, implementing and monitoring regarding the human rights. In addition, adequate funds are also required for the awareness campaign. Apart from this, higher educational institutions may also be involved to train the NGOs to enable them disseminate the knowledge of human rights to the people. NGOs can collect information about the violation of human rights especially at the grassroots level. State government should provide conducive environment to enable NGOs to function freely and openly within their societies to eliminate of racism and racial discrimination.

Modernization of Arts Education Paradigm by the Principle of Historical Continuity

The purpose of the article is to show how the principle of historical continuity could be realized in order to make educational process more integral and purposeful. Research reveals relevance of historical continuity to the valuable forms of human’s spiritual activity. Main ideas which are developed in the article are based on the principles of the cultural policy elaborated by M. Lukšiene. The author of the article established a goal to evaluate art as a means to educate the sense and/or understanding of historical continuity, by the same token elevating perception of artworks to the metacognitive level and enlarging the field of historical and cultural contexts. Material of the investigation is laid by invoking the philosophical analysis of socio- and psychocultural phenomena and their impact on modernization of arts education.
 The role of the historical continuity and cultural awareness have activated during the last decades after the method of interpretation had intensified in valuable forms of human spiritual activity (moral, politics, aesthetics). So after such qualities of the works of art as depiction and/or craftsmanship had depreciated, the interpretation of the works of art and even the evaluation of interpretations sets in more and more robustly. In the presents of such or other contradictions the reform of European education has rippled by various different waves. As a result, the competence of democratic culture which enables the values, including artistic values, of democratic culture to implant to the attitudes of learners becomes the most essential orientation for teacher education.
 Development of democratic culture in EU defies such aspects of activity as knowledge and understanding of human rights, democratic participation and especially the development of competence for engaging in a meaningful and open - minded intercultural dialogue. Author is convinced that in order to realize and promote these ideas they should be accompanied by the development of the competence of dialogue with the past. Development of the competences of historical continuity and cultural context is increasing by mastering the ideas of great thinkers on education, including arts education, and helps to impersonate one of the most important domains of cultural heritage – educational potential of culture. In other words, historical continuity and cultural context are such core principles and values which can enable the development of the competence of full-rate intercultural dialogue.
 In case of arts education, when the paradigm of artistic thinking is rapidly changing, it is evident that an integrated history of artistic education should be developed. The main role of such academic course is not only to reveal cultural peculiarities of different countries but also to show the reasons of unequal educational power of different arts in different epochs.
 The role of historical continuity and cultural context is growing according to the development of digital technologies which are changing social conditions and possibilities of traditional artistic functions. Just the history of art and ideas of artistic education could balance both historical continuity of social artistic functions and involve learners into dialogue with the past.

Human Rights Fact-Finding and the Reproduction of Hierarchies

As it is practiced by the world’s biggest international human rights NGOs (INGOs), fact-finding has become an elite activity, carried out, for the most part, by a class of professionalized 'experts.' Over the last several decades, their work has catapulted organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to positions of prominence and influence in myriad global political and policy processes. The work of these individuals and organizations is projected to be (and indeed is sincerely imagined to be) neutral and apolitical, the product of technocrats concerned only with exposing abuses by powers small and large. While no one can doubt that INGO-led fact-finding has been a force for much good, raising the level of global human rights awareness, the collection and dissemination of human rights facts and knowledge have also been intimately bound of up with politics, power, and the reproduction of hierarchies, making the technocratic view of human rights fact-finding highly problematic. In this chapter, I argue that there is a particular need to think carefully and critically about the role of human rights fact-finding in generating institutional legitimacy and power, in privileging certain questions of social justice over others, and in potentially serving to narrow the terrain through which broader projects of social change might take place. Understanding fact-finding not as a technocratic exercise, but as part of a set of complex institutional and global power dynamics with distributional consequences may suggest the need to democratize the field, including the collection and dissemination of human rights facts. Though it has fallen out of favor with some of the biggest NGOs, 'capacity building' is one potential model that could be used to try to diversify and pluralize the production of human rights knowledge, making human rights fact-finding more of a true global project rather than the domain of a relatively restricted set of elite institutions. Yet capacity building projects carry their own problematic dimensions, implying, among other things, a one-way transmission of expertise from elite to ‘local’ organizations, and may serve to propagate the very hierarchies and elite strategies for change typified some global NGOs. Thus, simplistic recipes of 'more local, less global' are not sufficient to address some of the more problematic aspects of fact-finding practice. Ultimately, I argue, there is a need for NGOs, both local and international, to diversify and democratize not only in terms of composition, but in terms of fundamental advocacy paradigms. Fact-finding and the projection of professional, technocratic expertise has served as an impressive platform for high-level lobbying and pressure politics via the mobilization of shame, but is ultimately no substitute for developing a genuine human rights constituency akin to other social justice movements throughout history. While fact-finding may still serve as an engine of growth and legitimacy for some INGOs in the 21st century, it needs to be leveraged to support a richer palette of advocacy tactics if the human rights 'movement' is to move outside of the elite circles to which it has largely heretofore been restricted.

Are Human Rights Redundant in the Ethical Codes of Psychologists?

The codes of ethics and conduct of a number of psychology bodies explicitly refer to human rights, and the American Psychological Association recently expanded the use of the construct when it amended standard 1.02 of the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. What is unclear is how these references to human rights should be interpreted. In this article I examine the historical development of human rights and associated constructs and the contemporary meaning of human rights. As human rights are generally associated with law, morality, or religion, I consider to which of forms of these references most likely refer. I conclude that these references in ethical codes are redundant and that it would be preferable not to refer to human rights in codes. Instead, the profession should acknowledge human rights as a separate and complimentary norm system that governs the behavior of psychologists and should ensure that they have adequate knowledge of human rights and encourage them to promote human rights.

Human rights impact assessment in practice: Oxfam's application of a community-based approach

From 2010 to 2012, Oxfam America (Oxfam) supported two partner organizations to conduct pilots of a community-based human rights impact assessment tool, Getting it Right, Human Rights Impact Assessment Guide, to assess the effects of private investments. The tool generates a norm-based interview protocol based on human rights concerns identified with community members. The pilots were carried out in contexts where companies and government agencies had failed to respond to repeated human rights concerns. One of the two pilots, documenting migrant tobacco farmworker conditions in North Carolina, is detailed. The pilots generated three primary outcomes: (1) increased human rights knowledge and vehicles for effective claim-making among community members and support organizations; (2) increased engagement between community support organizations and companies; and (3) responsive action by companies. The final report's actionable recommendations, amplified through subsequent public outreach through media, internet and active citizenry, generated heightened response and significant initial actions by companies. Areas of future application are suggested, including more frequent application of independent community-based human rights impact assessments for significant private investments.

An Exploratory Study of Human Rights Knowledge: a Sample of Kindergarten and Elementary School Pre-service Teachers in Spain

This study aims to explore the level of information and knowledge 150 Spanish kindergarten and elementary school teachers in pre-service training have about human rights. We compared two groups of students: students with no specific training and students with specific training (the students with specific training study with the new training teaching programme that includes a compulsory subject related to citizenship education). The contents are organized around three thematic areas. Human rights are included in the first area ‘Basic concepts to promote equality and participation in Elementary Education’; the other two areas are: ‘Learning to participate at Elementary School’ and ‘Building a civil school that promotes equality and participation at Elementary School’. It is a one semester subject with 3 h of teaching per week. The main hypothesis is that a specific training on human rights will lead to an important improvement not only in student’s level of knowledge but also in the way they categorize this specific content. We have administered a questionnaire designed for the study. In general, our results show that students of both groups have a basic and limited knowledge about human rights. The group with specific training shows a higher level of knowledge than the other group and a different way of organizing it. This would go in the direction of other studies of supporting and reinforcing the inclusion of specific training on human rights during the initial teacher training programmes at the university.

The Rights for Others: The Contested Homecoming of Human Rights in the Netherlands

This article describes and explains the historical and current emphasis on human rights as a foreign policy issue in the Netherlands. Whilst human rights have, in the past decades, had a central place in Dutch foreign policy they hardly figure in political and societal discourse on pressing domestic social problems. In order to explain why this is the case, the article presents a three-fold model of understanding how human rights acquire meaning as a discursive framework. Whilst the legal dispensation is important, attention also has to be paid to legal culture and legal consciousness and the role of actors in rights implementation. Applying this model to the Netherlands, it is noted that there is hardly a country in the world in which human rights have a more privileged legal position. There is, however, a lack of knowledge of human rights combined with a legal culture that privileges consensualism over adversarialism and fears juridification of disputes. Additionally, the many actors involved in policy-making are also considered a factor in explaining the relative lack of reference to human rights in a country that is so active in their formulation and implementation at the international level.

Human rights training: impact on attitudes and knowledge

PurposePeople with learning disabilities are vulnerable to human rights violations, creating a need for human rights education for both services users and support staff. This research paper aims to examine factors contributing to effective human rights training for staff. It seeks to investigate human rights awareness training (HRAT) within an NHS setting and its effect on human rights knowledge and attitudes towards human rights.Design/methodology/approachA total of 23 support staff were given HRAT, completing a “human rights based approach knowledge quiz” and an “attitudes to human rights questionnaire” before and after training.FindingsThe results indicated that HRAT had a significant effect on human rights knowledge scores; however, training had no significant effect on attitudes towards human rights and no significant relationship between staff attitude and human rights knowledge was found.Research limitations/implicationsFuture training would benefit from a greater focus on psychological theories of attitudes and behaviour in the planning, execution and evaluation of the training. This may help to facilitate development of positive attitudes towards human rights. A validation of the measure of attitudinal change is needed. Training models with a greater emphasis on staff's emotional responses, defences and the impact of organisational culture may allow a deeper understanding of the complexities of delivering effective human rights training.Originality/valueThis research paper highlights the need for human rights training; one that encompasses attitudinal change as well as basic education. Without effective training to secure staff engagement in organisational change, human rights legislation is unlikely to create meaningful change in the lives of people with learning disabilities.

Soldiers in the Court Room: The British Army's Part in the Kenya Emergency under the Legal Spotlight

In April 2011, civil proceedings were launched in the High Court in London concerning alleged torture during the Mau Mau Emergency in Kenya, from 1952 to 1960. In this on-going case, the claimants allege that torture was widespread in Kenya, and that it was condoned by the British state. This article explains the background to the case and describes the expert evidence given by the author on the British Army's role in the Emergency. The historical evidence on five issues is summarised: the command and control arrangements for the security forces, the nature of the intelligence system, the relationships between British and local security forces, the army's knowledge of human rights abuses and whether efforts were made to stop them, and army participation in screening and interrogation. In each case, it is shown how the British Army was deeply implicated in a system of mass repression of the civilian Kikuyu, Embu and Meru populations. Finally, the article examines the discovery of a vast cache of documents at Hanslope Park, which covers 37 territories during the decolonisation period. The discovery of some 8,800 files is likely to have a significant impact on the understanding of post-war decolonisation.

‘Standing up for my human rights’: a group’s journey beyond consultation towards co‐production

Accessible summary Our health service ran a group to support people to stand up for their human rights. People with learning disabilities have their own stories to tell about human rights. Group members created a character called FREDA (fairness, respect, equality, dignity, autonomy) to understand how human rights laws affect their lives. The group did not follow its original plan. The group shared their own knowledge and experiences with each other. Acting on what people in the group wanted was most important. Written by Tina O’Connor1 SummaryService user inclusion is a key component of a human rights‐based approach to healthcare and models of inclusion are developing rapidly. This article describes work with a group of NHS service users, designed to increase their knowledge of human rights, as part of a broader set of initiatives focussing on changing organisational culture. During a mutual learning journey, ‘co‐production’ emerged as a preferred model for promoting service user’s understandings of human rights. ‘Co‐production’, or sharing service design and delivery more equally with service users, led to outcomes that were initially inconceivable. During the group, co‐production appeared to be a vehicle for resolving dilemmas about services ‘empowering’ service users. This article considers how, when service user involvement and a HRBA are combined, a move away from tokenism towards collaboration, empowerment and redistribution of power is possible.