Sustainable Human Rights Research Articles

Reinforcing Indigenous Peoples’ Right to Health in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Panacea for Sustainable Human Rights Protection

The rights of indigenous peoples have become an important issue of international law and policy over the past three decades as a result of movements led by indigenous peoples, civil society, international mechanisms and states at the domestic, regional and international levels. Indigenous peoples are widely recognized as being among the world’s most vulnerable, disadvantaged and marginalized peoples. In order to identify, recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of who the indigenous people are. Moreover, the definition that is derived cannot be static, but must change with the times and from place to place as well as adapt to the changing circumstances and environments. This paper analyses the statutory definitions of indigenous peoples and their rights as provided under the United Nations legal framework and other regional frameworks. Furthermore, it examines the unique perspectives on health held by indigenous peoples as well as their vulnerability to the COVID-19 pandemic. The question that was posed in this paper, however, was whether the right to health extends to indigenous peoples, thereby making it binding on a far greater number of actors. And what are the issues that pertain to the human rights of indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, this paper noted that the United Nations Human Rights System, as well as its mechanisms, laws and policies have been at the heart of these developments. This paper takes an analytical and qualitative approach to its research and builds its argument on existing literature, which is achieved through a synthesis of ideas. The paper concludes that the rights of indigenous peoples are increasingly being formally incorporated into the domestic legal systems of various countries.

Prickles and goo: Human rights and spirituality

Although there appears to be a growing interest in exploring the crossroads between spirituality and social change, spirituality remains a relatively obscure topic within mainstream international human rights. This article will explore what a more spiritual grounding for human rights might look like and how it might change perspectives and practices from the comparatively conventional and mainstream. Viewing conventional human rights thinking, policy, and practice through the lens of spirituality can facilitate a better and more balanced reading of the human rights corpus and, ultimately, better and more sustainable human rights practice. Although no panacea, spiritual perspectives that enhance a sense of interconnectedness and inclusionary identity may be one way of reinvigorating the human rights project at a time when it is said to be in a state of crisis.

Building tolerance through human rights education: The missing link

Human rights education (HRE) is an emerging practice across formal and informal educational sectors worldwide. However, most literature and theory on HRE emphasize the importance of imparting knowledge about human rights. In this paper, we argue that increasing tolerance among students is a vital but understudied aspect of HRE. This paper is based on the results of a mixed methods longitudinal study conducted in three classrooms across two New York City public high schools. Our methods include a pre-/post- survey, classroom observations, and semi-structured individual and group interviews. The findings indicate that merely teaching about human rights issues is necessary but not sufficient to shift deeply embedded attitudes that contribute to the transformative nature of the human rights framework. We present tolerance as a necessary precursor to positive social change and sustainable human rights implementation.

Towards Adoption of a Human Rights Based Framework for Social Protection in Botswana

A clear gap in the debate on social protection in Botswana has been the lack of a thorough analysis on the human rights based framework. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the position of the government of Botswana regarding a right- based approach to social protection. The primary objective is to assess whether social protection regime in Botswana is backed by a legal framework. The paper starts by examining conceptual issues. Here we discuss the concept of social security and social protection. The next section examines international and regional instruments that have been formulated to protect the right to access social protection. Through this analysis, it will be clearly shown that although Botswana is officially committed to providing social safety nets to the poor and vulnerably, social protection is not yet entrenched in the legal framework. To arrive at this conclusion, a thorough analysis is made using the Human Rights-Based approach for social protection developed by the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. In conclusion the paper provides recommendations on how Botswana can develop a sustainable human rights- based social protection framework.

Prickles and Goo: Human Rights and Spirituality

Although there appears to be a growing interest in exploring the crossroads between spirituality and social change, spirituality remains a relatively obscure topic within mainstream international human rights. This article will explore what a more spiritual grounding for human rights might look like and how it might change perspectives and practices from the comparatively conventional and mainstream. I argue that viewing conventional human rights thinking, policy, and practice through the lens of spirituality can facilitate a better and more balanced reading of the human rights corpus, and ultimately, better and more sustainable human rights practice. While no panacea, spiritual perspectives that enhance a sense of interconnectedness and inclusionary identity may be one way of re-invigorating the human rights project at a time when it is said to be in a state of crisis.

European Reconfigurations of Transnational Activism: Solidarity and Human Rights Campaigns on Behalf of Chile during the 1970s and 1980s

AbstractThe overthrow of the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende in Chile and the human rights violations under the military junta of Augusto Pinochet spawned one of the most iconic and sustained human rights campaigns of the Cold War. Human rights scholars have argued that this movement on behalf of Chile signalled the “breakthrough” of human rights as the lingua franca of transnational activism. They have emphasized the global dimensions of these campaigns, which inspired movements mobilizing on behalf of other issues in the Third World. However, such narratives have not been corroborated by research on the campaigns as developed in Europe. Historians have so far focused on the impact of the Chilean crisis in specific countries or on particular organizations, and on the ways in which human rights activism was coloured by local and national contexts. This article aims to shift the scope of the debate by establishing relations with and crossovers from other transnational causes and campaigns, analysing the ways in which campaigns on behalf of Chile became intimately related to campaigns on intra-European issues during the 1970s and 1980s. It explores the so far little-studied connections between campaigns over Chile and simultaneously burgeoning movements on behalf of East–West détente, resistance against authoritarian regimes in Southern Europe, and the plight of dissidents in Eastern Europe. It argues that campaigns on behalf of Chile were reconfigured around European themes, created bonds of solidarity within a divided Europe, and drew on analogies rather than a juxtaposition between Europe and the Third World.

EVOLVING INTERPRETATION OF MULTILATERAL TREATIES: ’ACTS CONTRARY TO THE PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS’ IN THE REFUGEE CONVENTION

AbstractThe 1951 Refugee Convention does not apply to a person with respect to whom there are serious reasons for considering that ‘he has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations’ (Article 1(F)(c)). To date, this exclusion clause has generally been interpreted by courts, commentators and UNHCR in a static manner which fails to take into account developments in international law and practice. This paper considers the ‘evolutive approach’ to treaty interpretation, generally, and applies this approach, alongside standard rules of treaty interpretation, to Article 1(F)(c). This paper challenges a number of assertions commonly made regarding this clause, and concludes that it should be interpreted to the effect that conduct amounting to serious or sustained human rights violations, such that would constitute ‘persecution’ for the purposes of Article 1(A)(2) of the Convention, meets the standard for exclusion under Article 1(F)(c).

Muslim clerics and leadership in human rights education in Muslim societies

Several human rights instruments have declared that human rights education is a fundamental right for all. However, human rights education in Muslim societies is still facing serious challenges most of which arise from lack of effective educational methods. Our research shows that Muslim clerics can be considered as leaders of human rights education in Muslim societies, playing an important role in addressing and dealing with most of the challenges and enhancing universal culture of human rights. The findings indicate that in an effective human rights education method resulting in flexible, accessible, acceptable and sustainable human rights, Muslim clerics can be considered to play an active role. In addition, the results highlight that this educational method can promote, localize and institutionalize human rights in such societies and can help prevent and resolve the possible conflicts between religious and human rights discourses.

Reframing Cultural Studies: Human Rights as a Site of Legal-cultural Struggles

In the twenty-first century, after more than 60 years of development1 since its rise to prominence worldwide, the modern human rights system has become a common, even popular, public and policy dis...

Sustainable Human Rights and Governance: The Quest of an Arctic Entity in Transition

Abstract This paper explores the subject of sustainable governance in Nunavut and analyses the efficacy of the Nunavut Human Rights Act and the Human Rights Tribunal. It argues that sustainable governance in Nunavut is linked with the issue of the efficacy of the human rights regime in the territory and vice-versa. The paper looks at how socio-economic conditions, self-reliable development of Nunavut and performance of its governmental institutions are vital for the prospects of sustainable governance and human rights in this Arctic jurisdiction populated by a majority of indigenous Inuit.

The truth and fiction about (Turkey's) human rights politics

Despite their strong transnational links and support in the second half of the 1990s, Turkish NGOs have not yet had a “tremendous” impact on domestic political and social change. But new points of contact have been established in the public sphere between governmental agencies and the IHV and IHD, with both sides engaged in an argumentative process, which may, in the long run, lead to the subscriptive phase of “human rights talk” and deed. The general tenor of this essay may lend itself to suggesting two prerequisites for establishing such a sustainable human rights regime in this geography: the first is “capacity building”, the other is grounding this regime in an accurate perception of the structures of power, domestic and international, so as to “integrate” the human rights bundle into all aspects of life, at all levels, within all traditions and institutions by empowering the community into the language of human rights. Most of all, integration of human rights into a liberal democratic order requires coming to terms with the past. Capacity building can be defined in different terms: in the words of Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, it is “facing-up to the bullies.” It is a cliche that the legalistic entrenchment of human rights is sufficient guarantee against their violation. It is almost unrealistic to expect a system to volunteer to set up a human rights regime that will limit and cripple the power it wields. So, what to do? Mary Robinson suggests a “national plan,” as, opposed to fragmented political notions, building a sustainable model with strong bricks and mortar. As Robinson notes, “even where there are plans, plans without effective strategies for implementation are empty vessels.” We could add more: in contexts like Turkey where “special circumstances” provide the pretext for legitimating an anti-human rights discourse, Mary Robinson's national plan's chances of success depend on building a strong survival capacity for any civilian government that works to bring, itself, the urban middle classes, civil society and the military into the realities embedded in human rights.

The Dignity of the Human Person and the Idea of Human Rights: Four Inquiries

The heart of Michael Perry's argument lies in his claim that “every human being is sacred” and, that being the case, it follows that there are “some things that ought never (for example, under any circumstances or conditions) to be done to any human being or some things that ought always (under all conditions) to be done for every human being?” The “foundational” claim is that every human being, because sacred, is owed a certain regard and that this regard, in our time, has taken shape as, and congealed around, the idea of human rights. The dignity of the person, in other words, is a necessary prior assumption from which rights derive. The ontological claim, or to put it in a similar if not identical way, certain anthropological presuppositions, necessarily ground any sustainable human rights argument. It is possible, certainly, to make human rights claims on purely conventional grounds or, in more “Rortyesque” language, as just the way we do things around here. But that claim is not sustainable over time, argues Perry. It follows that “there is no intelligible (much less persuasive) secular version of the conviction that every human being is sacred; the only intelligible versions are religious.”