UN Convention Research Articles

Plant Medicine, Psychedelics and the Inner-Sciences of Mental Wellness: Implications for Healthy Longevity and Rejuvenation

Plant Medicine, Psychedelics and the Inner-Sciences of Mental Wellness: Implications for Healthy Longevity and Rejuvenation

Finding connections between the ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Flag State Responsibility for IUU Fishing and the advancement of Ocean Justice

The 2015 Advisory Opinion (AO) of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing underscored the critical importance of due diligence obligations for flag states and represented a significant step in the upholding of the International Rule of Law and in the struggle towards ocean justice. The AO highlighted that flag states possess a duty to effectively exercise their jurisdiction and control over vessels flying their flag to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing activities. Furthermore, the AO emphasized the responsibility of flag states to cooperate with other states and international organizations to combat IUU fishing, thus fostering the shift from a historical and sectorial to a modern and integrated approach to fisheries’ management, especially among member states to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. In this paper, it is claimed that the AO revealed how valuable the work of international organizations such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) can be for the interpretation and consolidation of new juridical perspectives on ocean governance and may ultimately contribute to the ideal of blue justice.

Reflections on co‐productive research in a youth‐focused climate education project

AbstractThe 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasises the value of listening to young people’s voices. Since its inception, there have been significant moves to involve young people in research that concerns their lives in a time of environmental emergency. Drawing on critical analysis of our work with Youth Action Partnerships (YAPs), this article explores how co‐production with young people can effectively be achieved and offers meaningful ways for young people to share their stories in a time of climate crisis. We draw on rich insights from our experience of working in partnership with young people and explore how they have been supported to shape and influence the research process. Our findings enable us to build on Hickey’s five principles for co‐production with adults in a health and social care context. We show that, in addition to those, there is need to consider three other principles when co‐working with youth. We embed the eight principles for co‐production in a new model for effective co‐production with young people to support researchers to successfully prepare for, and implement, such co‐production processes in other work.

Crimes against humanity: concepts and signs

The relevance of the article is obvious because the terrible crimes committed by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine shook not only Ukrainian society but also the whole world. Russian military personnel and their command commit large-scale and systematic attacks on the civilian population - brutal murders, torture, torture, rape, enslavement, extermination, deportations, imprisonment, the crime of apartheid and other illegal acts of a cruel nature directed against the people of Ukraine.
 The relevance of the study is also related to the fact that the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter - the Criminal Code of Ukraine) does not contain a definition of crimes against humanity, unlike other crimes such as military or war crimes. We will try to figure out how the actions of criminals will be qualified by Ukrainian courts and who will be held criminally responsible at the international level in the event that crimes against humanity are committed in Ukraine.
 «Crimes against humanity» as a separate group of crimes in international law was first reflected in the joint declaration of the governments of France, Great Britain and Russia on May 28, 1915 as a protest against the genocide committed by Turkey against the Armenian population. The result of the criminal events was the killing of more than a million people, prompting the international community to label this shameful act as a «crime against civilization and humanity» for which the leaders of the Turkish government should be held accountable.
 Crimes against humanity are crimes designed to destroy the very nature of man. These crimes are considered the most heinous crimes, because they mean deliberate mass killings either by the fact of the very existence of people (crimes against humanity) or by the fact of belonging to an ethnic or national group (genocide).
 In a number of international documents, such as: the Statute of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, article 6c; Charter of the International Military Tribunal in Tokyo, Article 5c; Law No. 10, adopted by the Control Council of the Allied Powers in Germany in 1945, Article II, 1c; UN Convention of December 9, 1948 on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide and its Punishment; Statutes of international criminal tribunals for Yugoslavia, Art. 3-5 and Rwanda Art. 2-3; Statute of the International Criminal Court, Art. 7, such international crimes as crimes against humanity are reflected, from this it follows that universal jurisdiction extends to crimes against humanity.

Queering children’s rights: a critical queer analysis of the UNCRC

ABSTRACT While there is increasing attention for LGBTQIA+ concerns within human rights, the legal instruments and academic discussions regarding children’s rights remain largely silent on issues involving sexuality and gender. Due to pervasive protectionist narratives and heteronormative assumptions governing modern childhood, children’s rights implicitly limit the expression of (queer) children and lack the tools and guidance to navigate complex queer disputes. In this context, this paper explores the world’s leading document on children’s rights – the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) – from a queer theoretical perspective, uncovering how children’s rights are interwoven with social constructs surrounding gender and sexuality. In doing so, this paper first explores the relevance of queering the UNCRC and sets out a queer theoretical framework within the human rights context. Through this lens, finally, the paper discusses three overarching areas of queer critique within the UNCRC: 1) the construction of childhood, 2) child sexuality and gender and 3) the normalising impacts of restrictions on child agency on queer children. It concludes that the UNCRC has great potential to catalyse the implementation of LGBTQIA-focused protections, but more work is needed to clarify and strengthen the legal position of the queer child within its ambit.

‘Our opinions really matter': conceptualising and operationalising authentic student voice through negotiated integrated curriculum

ABSTRACT Student democratic participation in schools is often limited to involvement in school councils with associated dangers of tokenism and speaking for others. There is limited space for students to have a voice in what is learned due to mandated state curricula and scepticism about student capacity, even though consultation with students about matters that affect them is a legally binding obligation under Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. These challenges have resulted in limited research on operationalising substantive student voice. Student agency remains feasible within the boundaries of the formal curriculum, but with significant limitations on decision-making. This paper conceptualises the relationship between student voice and agency, mediated by forms of curricular engagement. We posit that ideological dimensions of engagement and associated student positionality exert a dominant influence on voice and agency. Furthermore, we examine the potential for more authentic approaches to voice and agency to dynamically alter student engagement. Empirically, we draw on work on curriculum negotiation and integration to consider the operationalisation of student voice as the fundamental driver of curriculum, with authentic engagement and agency as emergent properties. Practical considerations for incorporating such approaches in state curricula are explored.

A Significant Events Approach to Children’s Rights with children under three in early childhood education and care

ABSTRACT The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is one of the most widely-ratified human rights treaties, yet the visibility of children in the early years, in the mandatory government reports to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and in the Committee’s concluding observations to States Parties, is relatively low (Lundy, 2020, “Implementing the Rights of Young Children: An Assessment of the Impact of General Comment No. 7 on Law and Policy on a Global Scale,” In Routledge International Handbook of Young Children’s Rights, edited by J. Murray, B. B. Swadener, and K. Smith, 15–29, London: Routledge). This paper sets out an innovative approach to record and analyse rights-based practice with young children, which focuses on significant events in a child’s daily life that could help raise the visibility of children in the early years as rights holders. The analysis of 75 h of participant observations across two settings in England and two in Finland, involving 16 two-year-old children, revealed that there were five rights that cut across the two countries and related to all children. The study found that having a way of recording rights-based practice is important if we wish to support all children, in learning about, experiencing, and exercising their rights, so that they can have an impact on pedagogical practice and thus influence their own lives in ECEC.

ON THE NEW EDITION OF ARTICLE 146 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN AND ITS COMPLIANCE WITH THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT

Kazakhstan, as a democratic, law-abiding state, follows the norms of international law and has made it its duty to respect human rights and freedoms, protecting them from any unlawful encroachments and violations, including through the legislative prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and torture. This article analyses the new wording of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which establishes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture as a separate offence. On the basis of comparative legal analysis of criminal legal norms establishing liability for these acts, as well as for torture, intentional infliction of serious harm to health with particular cruelty and intentional infliction of moderate harm to health with particular cruelty, the question is raised about the complexity of differentiation of these forms of violence against a person due to the lack of precise criteria for their differentiation in the criminal law. The simple elements of tortures, torture and ill-treatment are absolutely the same in terms of objective side. At the same time, it should not be overlooked that the purpose of torture can be absolutely any. The situation is similar with the qualified corpus delicti of ill-treatment and tortures. This significantly complicates the differentiation of these offences between themselves in their qualification, and therefore it is problematic to carry out the correct qualification. While the provisions of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in relation to the definition of tortures establishes the criterion of "severe pain or suffering" and recommends to classify torture as a serious offence. The authors present their arguments to eliminate the inconsistency of the new definition of tortures with international norms and to distinguish Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan from other related offences.

ON THE NEW EDITION OF ARTICLE 146 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN AND ITS COMPLIANCE WITH THE UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN AND DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT

Kazakhstan, as a democratic, law-abiding state, follows the norms of international law and has made it its duty to respect human rights and freedoms, protecting them from any unlawful encroachments and violations, including through the legislative prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and torture. This article analyses the new wording of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which establishes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture as a separate offence. On the basis of comparative legal analysis of criminal legal norms establishing liability for these acts, as well as for torture, intentional infliction of serious harm to health with particular cruelty and intentional infliction of moderate harm to health with particular cruelty, the question is raised about the complexity of differentiation of these forms of violence against a person due to the lack of precise criteria for their differentiation in the criminal law. The simple elements of tortures, torture and ill-treatment are absolutely the same in terms of objective side. At the same time, it should not be overlooked that the purpose of torture can be absolutely any. The situation is similar with the qualified corpus delicti of ill-treatment and tortures. This significantly complicates the differentiation of these offences between themselves in their qualification, and therefore it is problematic to carry out the correct qualification. While the provisions of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in relation to the definition of tortures establishes the criterion of "severe pain or suffering" and recommends to classify torture as a serious offence. The authors present their arguments to eliminate the inconsistency of the new definition of tortures with international norms and to distinguish Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan from other related offences.

Could the medicalization of psychedelics lead to the next generation of antidepressants?

A major part of the counterculture that emerged in western societies in the 1960s centred around the use of mind-altering psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Humans had, however, been consuming hallucinogenic substances since prehistoric times and often incorporated them into their religious rituals. Concerns over the effects of potent psychedelics like LSD led to them being outlawed in many jurisdictions around the world via the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances in 1971. During the intervening decades, the scientific investigation of psychedelics and their potential for legitimate therapeutic use has consequently been limited. In recent years, hints that psychedelics may be effective against certain treatment-resistant depressive states like post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) have led to more concerted efforts to obtain reliable clinical data that could convince drug regulators to approve them as legitimate medical treatments.

Child-friendly justice and children's rights from criminal cases; Islamic Law notes

This article aimed to discuss the Islamic law notes on child-friendly justice and the importance of protecting children's rights during the juvenile process. The reform of Juvenile Justice in Indonesia was based on the UN convention, where on January 26, 1990, in New York, the Indonesian Government signed the 1989 Convention on the Rights of Children. Thus, to protect children through criminal law, paying attention to the principles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been the norm. The Child Protection Law in Indonesia has regulated the age limit for a child who can be held accountable. The existence of provisions regarding the minimum age limit for children in the law is what is required by international documents, especially regarding the minimum age of criminal responsibility, namely at least 12 years. Such provisions are parallel to The Beijing Rules, which recommend an age limit that is not too low. The problem is the provision of the law that children under 12 years (meaning between 8-12 years) can still be processed for trial and can be subject to action. Even at the age of 8 years, it is still possible to process. The problem is whether the eight-year age limit needs to be higher. Even though they were not punished and were only subject to action, the experience during the process of being submitted to trial did not bring stigma and negative impacts for children of young age. Based on Islamic law notes, this article found that child-friendly justice

Playful (music) teaching and learning in Irish primary school classrooms

ABSTRACT The value and importance of play for children’s well-being, learning and development is evidenced by its inclusion within the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its increased policy and research presence on a national and international stage. However, with a need for educators and pupils to navigate a range of implicit tensions in understandings of play and formal learning, enactment of playful pedagogy in primary schools is not without its challenges. This article situates playful teaching and learning in the primary education sphere, drawing from the broader policy and research context, and findings from empirical case study research conducted with Irish primary school teachers (n = 6) exploring playful music pedagogy over a 6-week period in their classrooms in 2019. Results indicated teacher perceptions of a capacity for playful music pedagogy to facilitate deep, holistic learning in tandem with enhanced engagement and motivation for children. Also of note is a blurring of boundaries between play and work with implicit shifts to classroom culture, ownership, and associated movement outside comfort zones for teachers and pupils alike. Recommendations are made pertaining to cultural and policy shifts, and sustained support for educators in navigating tensions, paradoxes and challenges associated with implementing playful pedagogy in the Irish primary education context.

Durability, Flexibility and Plasticity in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Abstract The overall resilience of the Convention – its durability, its flexibility and its plasticity in the face of myriad challenges that have unfolded over time – is largely attributable to certain design features within the Convention, to a willingness to ‘bend’ the Convention toward practical outcomes when necessary, and to the foresight of the drafters in closely tying the Convention to other agreements and standards, as well as to the general field of international law, so that the Convention might evolve as the world evolves. There are risks in flexibility and plasticity; in measured doses they promote resilience, while if taken too far they can erode confidence and support in the regime. Ultimately, such resilience rests on the good faith of States and other relevant actors in pursuing common ground in regulating a common space.

‘It’s not fair’: hearing the voices of young children

ABSTRACT The ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly Article 12 on children’s right to participate in matters affecting them, provides a rationale for including the voices of young children when seeking to better understand their lives. Early childhood educators collaborate and converse with young children in their daily practice, learning with them as they enhance children’s learning opportunities. This article explores opportunities and challenges in listening to young children’s voices, in a manner that ensures they are heard, and feel heard. It contends that early childhood education and care [ECEC], with its unique pedagogy and methods, is well placed to access and activate young children’s voices, and considers the factors contributing to the gap found between conceptualisations of children’s voice and its practical realisation within ECEC.

Law of the Sea Dispute Settlement in the Eastern Mediterranean with Particular Reference to the Delimitation of Palestine’s Maritime Boundaries: Negotiation, Conciliation, Arbitration, or Adjudication?

Abstract Palestine currently holds contractual relations with 167 States under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. unclos’s dispute settlement mechanisms might vary depending on the process States have opted for. In order to pick a preferred mechanism, a State Party should deposit a declaration with the UN Secretary-General. As it did not file any such declaration, Palestine is deemed to have accepted arbitration by default. However, Palestine can still deposit a declaration to choose other procedures and therefore open the possibility to resort to the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, or a special arbitration. Yet, the neighboring States have different approaches. While Egypt has cast opposition to arbitration regarding boundary delimitation, Israel is not a Party to unclos and does not recognize its settlement mechanisms. How can disputes be resolved? Would conciliation work? What are exit channels? This article answers such questions.

An in-depth investigation of the widespread effects of child abuse on development and wellbeing

The problem of child abuse is an everywhere phenomenon throughout the world that leads to the most detrimental effects on the children in the question of their development and general health. This article makes an effort to convey the complexity of child abuse by focusing on its physical-emotional-sexual-neglect dimensions. The World Health Organization's exhaustive definition of the concept furnishes the basis for the acknowledgement of the injuries that one person can suffer from the relationships based on care, authority, or dependency. Approximately 40 million children around the world were abused last year regardless of whether they were wealthier, belonged to a particular culture or were badly educated. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child features childhood its age from the moment of birth until 18 years recognizing the fact that individuals at this age have specific vulnerabilities which are inherently tied to their dependence on others. The session next proceeds into addressing child abuse, with its different dynamics and levels of complexity. Brief description of different kinds of mistreatment including violence, sexual, emotional, and neglect specifying the urgent necessity to eliminate sexual abuse – especially the already existing one-in-ten girls globally. The consequences of child maltreatment on behavioral development throughout the various periods, including infant period through adolescence are considered. Stages of the syndicated approach will shed the light on the particular difficulties and bad results, promoting the application of the relevant measures. Issues concerning common behavioral signals include but are not limited to difficulty in identifying the signs and the importance of being able to sign them, which pays a big role in fighting the issue of abuse. Finally, the paper states that the world's dedication should never fail if our intentions are to end abuse among children. The main reason why every child ought to be ensured of a safe environment so that they can all flourish is that the diverse types of child abuse and the long-lasting impacts on the development of behavior need to be addressed in their entirety. Keywords: Child Abuse, Behavioral Development, World Health Organization, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Sexual Abuse, and Responsibility.

Rethinking and Advancing a ‘Bottom-up’ Approach to Cultural Participation of Persons with Disabilities as Key to Realising Inclusive Equality

Abstract Debates about cultural participation of persons with disabilities within legal and socio-legal scholarship and within disability studies tend to remain disconnected. This article brings legal analysis and other academic disciplines into a critical dialogue. It sheds light on how the right to cultural participation is understood from the bottom up, building on a study carried out across Europe. Participants in this study perceived opportunities to participate in, and to contribute to, arts and culture in ways that are consistent with the human rights approach to disability as expressed in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and as central to the concept of inclusive equality. Cultural participation was also understood as intrinsic to the humanity of all people, as vital to inclusion in mainstream life, as capable of communicating experiences or identities not otherwise represented, and as potentially transformative of art-forms and ultimately, of society.

On the Interrelation of the Concepts of Corruption, Corruption-Related Crimes and Bribery in the Legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation

Corruption has become a transnational phenomenon that threatens the stability and security of the society. Moreover, this phenomenon has a negative impact on various spheres of society, which undermines the democratic institutions and values of any state. Statistical data from Russia and Kazakhstan indicate that the number of corruption-related crimes has been increasing, thus pointing at the lack of effective measure of combating this phenomenon. In the studies and normative acts of Russia and Kazakhstan regulating the issues of combating corruption, the concept of corruption is given a different interpretation. In this regard, using the analogy with the legislation of Kazakhstan, the authors propos a new understanding of corruption, which should be codified in the relevant Federal Law of Russia. In addition, in order to improve the quality of legal regulation of anti-corruption in the General part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to consolidate the list of corruption-related crimes. There are quite a lot of definitions of the term bribery in academic literature. At the same time, most authors believe that it should be considered through criminal and legal components. Bribery is one of the most important elements of corruption, responsibility for it is provided in articles 366, 367, 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and articles 290, 291, 2911, 2912 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. In the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the offer and promise of a bribe (including the offer and promise of mediation in bribery) is not criminalized. In this connection, the authors, with regards to the requirements of the UN Convention against Corruption on criminalization of acts of promising, offering mediation in bribery, and relying on the practices of the legislator of the Russian Federation, propose to amend Article 368 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Mediation in Bribery). The authors believe that the discussed changes and additions will result in a legal framework for combating corruption and defining its boundaries.

Disability discrimination in the provision of health insurance: Article 25(e) of the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

Article 25(e) of the CRPD obliges State Parties to “prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in the provision of health insurance… which shall be provided in a fair and reasonable manner”. Equal access to health insurance is critical in ensuring that persons with disabilities can enjoy the highest attainable standard of health. However, the scope and substance of Article 25(e) have not been examined in existing scholarship on the CRPD. Standing at the intersection of international human rights law, disability studies and insurance law, this article fills the lacuna by offering a balanced interpretation of Article 25(e) that aims to strike a balance between actuarial fairness and the CRPD’s prohibition against all forms of disability discrimination. Greater clarity in the interpretation of Article 25(e) would therefore assist State Parties in properly complying with their obligations under the CRPD. Civil society, including disabled people and their representative organizations, would also be empowered to hold their governments to account where the laws and policies in the country have fallen short of what is expected under Article 25(e).

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – A Commentary, edited by John Tobin

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – A Commentary, edited by John Tobin