Human Rights Law Commons^™

The Little India Riot: Domestic And International Law Perspectives, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

A riot involving hundreds of foreign labourers broke out in Little India, Singapore, on 8 December 2013. Only the second riot to occur in more than 40 years in fairly tranquil Singapore, the damage was extensive as rioters destroyed police and emergency vehicles and even injured dozens of police and civil defence personnel. The authorities only needed a few days to complete the investigations and shortly after, some of the alleged rioters were arrested and charged, while some of them were repatriated. The swiftness of the entire process prompted harsh criticism from international and local human rights groups, who claimed …

The Finney County, Kansas Community Assessment Process: Fact Book, Debra J. Bolton Phd, Shannon L. Dick M.S.

Dr. Debra Bolton

This multi-lingual/multi-cultural study was called, Community Assets Processt, by the groups that “commissioned” it: Finnup Foundation, Finney County K-State Research & Extension, Western Kansas Community Foundation, Finney County United Way, Finney County Health Department, United Methodist Community Health Center (UMMAM), Center for Children and Families, Garden City Recreation Commission, and the Garden City Cultural Relations Board, because we intend for this to be an ongoing discussion. An objective, for those promoting the study, was to connect foundation, state, and federal funding with activities or services that addressed the true needs of people living in Finney County. The group was looking …

Dignity, Vol 1, Issue 1, 2016, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Assessing Baxi’S Thesis On The Emergence Of A Trade-Related Market-Friendly Human Rights Paradigm: Recent Evidence From Nigerian Labour-Led Struggles, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The objective of the article is to assess some of the sub-claims that emerge from Baxi’s thesis on an emergent trade-related market-friendly human rights paradigm in the light of the available evidence regarding the intense contestations and confrontations that have occurred between Nigeria’s politically and economically transitional Obasanjo regime and a local labour-led coalition. The piece sets out to ascertain the contextual and localised validity of these ‘Baxian’ sub-claims, within the wider context of the government vs. labour confrontations in Nigeria during the neo-liberal socio-economic reforms undertaken in that country between 1999 and 2005.

Singapore's New Discretionary Death Penalty For Drug Couriers: Public Prosecutor V Chum Tat Suan, Siyuan Chen

Siyuan CHEN

The article offers information on the history, evolution and significance of the new discretionary death penalty legislation for drug couriers in Singapore under the application of the Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA). It discusses the judicial decision of the Singaporean High Court in the case of Public Prosecutor v. Chum Tat Suan in which the Court convicted the accused with chareges of importing of more than 94.96g of diamorphine into Singapore that was punishable under section 33 of the MDA.

Remarks By Winston Langley, Provost And Vice Chancellor For Academic Affairs At Umass Boston, Winston Langley

Winston E. Langley

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UMass Boston, Winston Langley, discusses Rita Arditti, human rights, and the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.

Towards Respecting Indigenous Rights In Development Policy: The Case Of A Community-Based Forest Management Project In Panama, Benjamin Goodman

Benjamin Goodman

As Latin American countries reach new heights of development, perched on the shoulders of an increasingly globalized economy, their local indigenous communities continue to be the most marginalized and impoverished people in the world. Sustainable development initiatives present themselves as a way to contribute to global economic development, while at the same time, respecting the livelihoods of rural peoples and preserving natural resources for future generations. However, unsustainable exploitation of natural resources continues to threaten the livelihoods and identities of many rural indigenous communities. As the economic, legal and political marginalization of indigenous peoples persists, the inevitable result of these …

The Language Of Westernization In Legal Commentary, Holning Lau

Holning Lau

You Say You Want A (Nonviolent) Revolution, Well Then What? Translating Western Thought, Strategic Ideological Cooptation, And Institution Building For Freedom For Governments Emerging Out Of Peaceful Chaos, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

With nonviolent revolution in particular, displaced governments leave a power and governance vacuum waiting to be filled. Such vacuums are particularly susceptible to what this Article will call “strategic ideological cooptation.” Following the regime disruption, peaceful chaos transitions into a period in which it is necessary to structure and order the emergent governance scheme. That period in which the new government scheme emerges is particularly fraught with danger when growing from peaceful chaos because nonviolent revolutions tend to be decentralized, unorganized, unsophisticated, and particularly vulnerable to cooptation. Any external power wishing to influence events in societies emerging out of peaceful …

Africa, Mark J. Calaguas

Mark J Calaguas

The Africa Committee's contribution to the 2011 Year-in-Review issue of the American Bar Association Section of International Law's quarterly journal, The International Lawyer.

Human Rights, Revolution, And Reform In The Muslim World, Anthony Chase

Anthony Chase

The book rejects popular arguments that there is an incompatibility between human rights and the Muslim world and details ways in which human rights have long impacted the Muslim world’s political and social life, with revolutionary potential.

"A Sea Change In Security: How The War On Terror Strengthened Human Rights", Michael Galchinsky

Michael Galchinsky

The UN Security Council's initial response to 9/11 (UNSC Res. 1373) deemphasized the requirement that states respect human rights and humanitarian law in their counter-terrorism efforts. However, starting in 2002, a backlash by numerous global governance institutions asserted that human rights and security are mutually reinforcing. The emerging norm of mutual reinforcement influenced the SC to direct its Counter-Terrorism Committee to incorporate human rights concerns more robustly into its work. The SC’s increasing adoption of a rights-based approach indicates that the UN's security and human rights missions are bound more closely together than ever before.

Innovation Cooperation: Energy Biosciences And Law, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This Article analyzes the development and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies that can address climate change. Climate change poses catastrophic health and security risks on a global scale. Universities, individual innovators, private firms, civil society, governments, and the United Nations can unite in the common goal to address climate change. This Article recommends means by which legal, scientific, engineering, and a host of other public and private actors can bring environmentally sound innovation into widespread use to achieve sustainable development. In particular, universities can facilitate this collaboration by fostering global innovation and diffusion networks.

Cancun Climate Negotiations, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, held from November 29 to December 11, 2010, in Cancún, Mexico, relaunched the United Nation's multilateral facilitation role.

Tribes As Essential Partners In Achieving Sustainable Governance, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Indigenous peoples have modeled sustainable development around the world. Incentivizing the innovation and instillation of wind, solar, and other renewable energy sources can come in the form of public funding, including renewable portfolio standards, feed in tariffs and green tag programs. This article analyzes ways in which tribal communities are helping to expand cooperative good governance.

Child Labor In India, A Consumer’S Perspective: Identifying Causes, Acknowledging Realities, And Proposing Incentives For Improvement, Vanessa L. Deniro Esq.

Vanessa L. De Niro

The exploitation of modern child labor in developing countries persists in part because of consumers like us. However, in light of increased global trade liberalization in developing countries and free market principles, cheap labor is what allows these nations to have a competitive edge in the global economy. With that said, a category of people that work longer hours for meager wages, absent unionization or labor protections, is an efficient means of production and justified by the economy of scales. Child laborers, exploited by employers competing in the global economy, are simply a product of laissez-fair economics, participating and contributing …

China In Context: Energy, Water, And Climate Cooperation, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Climate resilient communities can be achieved with the support of global research, development, deployment, and diffusion of environmentally sound low GHG emission technologies and processes. Technology cooperation should lower emissions remaining mindful of biodiversity, ecosystem services and livelihoods. China and the United States need to respond effectively to both economic and climate crises and can do so in part by cooperating on environmentally sound technology that transforms the global use of energy.

International Human Rights Law And Co-Parent Adoption, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Children would benefit substantially if governments legally recognized same sex marriages and parenting. This article analyzes international human rights law, co-parent adoption, and the recognition of gay and lesbian families. It addresses civil marriage and adoption challenges for same sex families and assesses European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence relating to same-sex adoption. This article considers the international community's efforts to implement the best interest of the child standard concluding that recognition of same sex families is in the best interest of the child and should be facilitated in a timely manner by jurisdictions at all levels.

Collaborative Community-Based Natural Resource Management, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

This article analyzes the importance of increasing civil society actor access to and influence in international legal and policy negotiations, drawing from academic scholarship on governance, conservation and environmental sustainability, natural resource management, observations of civil society actors, and the authors’ experiences as participants in international environmental negotiations.

Emerging Law Addressing Climate Change And Water, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

The World Economic Forum recognizes that while restrictions on energy affect water systems and vice versa, energy and water policy are rarely coordinated. The International Panel on Climate Change predicts that wet places will become wetter and dry places will become dryer. Transboundary water, energy and climate coordination can occur through international consensus building.

Towards A New Transitional Justice Model: Assessing The Serbian Case, Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

Roozbeh (Rudy) B. Baker

Given the “third wave” of democratic development and entrenchment that has taken hold around the world within the past three decades, the topic of how these transitioning societies cope with the legacy of atrocity and criminality that often accompany authoritarian rule has taken on a fresh salience. The structural, ethical, legal, and political problems faced during such transitions have become the topic of a burgeoning “transitional justice” sub-field within the fields of Law and Political Science. This Article will survey key episodes of transitional justice in various countries since the 1970s, and then apply the lessons gleaned to the transition …

Clitoridectomy And The Economics Of Islamic Marriage And Divorce Law - Ryan M Riegg - 2009, Ryan M. Riegg

Ryan M. Riegg

No abstract provided.

Patriotismo Constitucional Y Procesos De Integración, Pablo Contreras

Pablo Contreras

El rol y centralidad del Estado Nación están en cuestión, a lo cual colaboran los procesos de integración regional. En este marco se postula la necesidad de revisar la identidad política nacional y pensar en esquemas postnacionales, buscando los ejes de aglutinación social en bases y principios que escapen a los caracteres típicos del concepto de nación. Clave en este proceso es el empleo del concepto de patriotismo constitucional. A partir del cual el autor plantea tres interrogantes: comprensión del concepto de patriotismo constitucional, su operatividad, y los aportes y desafíos que éste plantea al proceso de integración regional latinoamericano.