Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Bashir And The Icc, Kurt Mills

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Nesrine Malik argues that the International Criminal Court (ICC) made a mistake when it declared that it might charge Omar al Bashir with genocide, in addition to the existing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. She argues that the court’s ruling will contribute to Bashir's propaganda efforts and that the current charges have had no appreciable effect. Given the extreme duplicity of Bashir and the other crimes he has quite clearly committed, it is unclear how the genocide charge would make a big difference.

Can The Icc Ever Get It Right?, Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Nesrine Malik makes clear with her title, “The ICC’s Blunder on Sudan,” that something has gone amiss with the efforts of Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to ensure the ICC statute is applied to those circumstances it was meant to address. But why is something amiss in this situation? The Prosecutor has a mandate and the legal regime for the ICC is relatively clear (at least procedurally); the crimes it covers can always be debated, but there is a degree of clarity present as to what acts are addressed; so what has gone wrong? The difficulty lies in expectations about justice and …

Politics And The Law: Enforcing Judicial Integrity, Anna Talbot

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The ruling by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in early February concerning the arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir provoked controversy. The role of the Court has been called into question, with Nesrine Malik’s piece surmising that the ruling has shown that the Court is out of touch with political reality. She argues that the decision plays into the hands of authorities who are using it to their own political ends; that the charge of genocide is unjustified; and that the practicalities of enforcement undermine the Court.

Confronting The Politics And Law Behind Battles Over The Icc’S Bashir Indictment, Anthony Chase

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Nesrine Malik points in the wrong direction in arguing that charges of genocide embarrass the ICC more than they do Omar al-Bashir. The embarrassment here should come from those, such as Malik, who snidely downplay the level of war crimes committed in Darfur, who discuss genocide as if it is a cultural rather than political matter (does Malik seriously think genocide ever has anything to do with a country’s cultural traditions, as she says in defending Sudan?), or who naively give credence to predictable political push-back from Sudan and its allies. The ICC faces serious legal and political obstacles, some …

March Roundtable: Icc And Darfur Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The ICC's Blunder on Sudan” by Nesrine Malik. The Guardian. February 4, 2010.

February Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Tragedy and Opportunity for Haiti” by Kara C. Mc Donald. Council on Foreign Relations. January 14, 2010.

A Time For Anger. And A Time For Rights, Not Charity, Anthony Chase

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sadness but also anger is the immediate reaction to the deaths of 200,000 Haitians. Among the dead are Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan (founders of three leading Haitian feminist organizations) and 14 of the 16 members of SEROvie, the main Haitian organization providing HIV-related services for men who have sex with men and the transgendered – people who have been at the front line in pushing for political change from within Haiti. Kara McDonald’s words that “it is hard to identify another country that has had as many peacekeeping forces, stabilization operations, and crisis responses at work …

Can They Stay The Distance? The International Response To The Earthquake In Haiti, Anna Talbot

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Haiti is devastated again. Over one hundred thousand people are presumed dead. Reports of looting and violence are emerging. The international community is responding, with a statement from the Secretary-General of the UN, a resolution by the Security Council, a Special Session, and resolution from the UN Human Rights Council and numerous aid and UN agencies in the country seeking to help as many survivors as possible. Various commentators, including Kara McDonald, have claimed this is an opportunity for a stronger Haiti. Whether this opportunity is realized or not depends in large part on the international community, and whether it …

Hope For Haiti?, Kurt Mills

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Kara McDonald raises the question of whether or not the international community will go beyond its patchwork response to Haiti's problems. One wonders why the question is even asked, given the international community's track record in Haiti, as well as in other parts of the world. Indeed, setting aside the many positive acts of individuals and states to address the suffering after the earthquake, the response to Haiti illustrates the inability of the international community to respond in a coherent and humane manner to many crises around the world.

What Is The Best Use Of The International Community’S Resources; Responding To Disasters Or Trying To Strengthen Fragile States?, Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The recent earthquake in Haiti is, beyond doubt, a truly tragic event. The impact of the quake in terms of the physical destruction of buildings and infrastructure, the massive loss of life, and the inability of the government to respond all demonstrated how fragile the Haitian state is. While Haiti is probably at the extreme end of fragility, it is not alone in terms of states struggling to survive in difficult conditions. And when something unexpected hits a fragile state, the response of the international community is crucial, because the impact is so much greater and the state's own ability …

Migrant Workers In Saudi Arabia, Sarah Jessup

Human Rights & Human Welfare

One of the wealthiest countries in the Middle East, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also one of the largest exporters of oil, and as such, one of the most influential in the region. Despite this, more than 50 per cent of the work force (nearly 6 million people) in the Saudi Arabia are migrant workers (FIDH, 2003, 3). They contribute billions of dollars each year to their home countries through remittances. With such a large population hailing from outside the Kingdom, it would seem that transnational migrants would have a larger voice in the rights and freedoms they are …

The Loss Of Egypt’S Children, Cindy Ragab

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Under the fierce rays of the desert sun, in the heat of the summer, young children are forced to remove pests from cotton crops for eleven hours per day, search for recyclable goods among animals and the pungent stench of city dumps, and are sold to elderly male tourists through temporary marriages by their parents. This is the hideous reality for millions of child laborers in Egypt. Child labor is a manifestation of the pains of extreme poverty on the world’s most vulnerable population. Childhood is lost. Children are forced to take on responsibilities that in normal circumstances push adults …

The Materialization Of Human Trafficking In The Middle East And Impediments To Its Eradication, Mindy Mann

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As a continental hub that connects Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Middle East offers a strategic location for the trafficking of persons from poor to richer states. Extreme poverty, coupled with the corporate and royal wealth of the Gulf States, creates a regional dichotomy in which Middle Eastern states serve as ‘source,’ ‘transit,’ and ‘destination’ countries for human trafficking. Discrepancies in defining human trafficking within the region, as well as the controversial and illicit nature of the practice, cause research to be sparse and with very few first-hand sources. Nevertheless, this paper examines available literature on the subject and addresses …

Teaching Notes: Rights And Rebuilding In El Salvador, Elaine K. Denny, Susan Waltz

Human Rights & Human Welfare

We have prepared this two-part case study with two pedagogical purposes in mind: (1) To develop an understanding of the concept (and political meaning) of human rights. (2) To facilitate discussion about processes of reconciliation and reconstruction and the importance of holistic conceptions of rights and security for future stability.

© Elaine K. Denny & Susan Waltz. All rights reserved.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. …

Minarets Vote Compromises Human Rights For Everyone, Anna Talbot

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Minarets, like church steeples, are a physical manifestation of religion. There is little doubt, then, that their recent banning in Switzerland following a referendum constitutes a breach of the right to freedom of religion, with respect to the right to manifest ones religion. This right is protected under a number of instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 18), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (Article 18), and the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 9). Under these instruments, the right to manifest ones religion can only be limited if such a limitation is necessary …

Is The Wedding Of Trade And Human Rights A Marriage Of Convenience Or A Lasting Union?, Susan Ariel Aaronson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Forced to Be Good: Why Trade Agreements Boost Human Rights. By Emilie Hafner-Burton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009. 220pp.

Amazigh Legitimacy Through Language In Morocco, Sarah R. Fischer

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Contemporary Morocco rests at a geographic and developmental crossroads. Uniquely positioned on the Northwestern tip of Africa, Morocco is a short distance away from continental Europe, cradled between North African tradition and identity, and Western embrace. The landscape is varied: craggy mountains trail into desert oases; cobbled streets of the medina anchor the urban centers; mud homes dot the rural countryside. Obscured from the outside observer, behind the walls of the Imperial cities and between the footpaths of village olive groves, Morocco’s rich and diverse Arab and Amazigh cultures and languages circle one another in a contested dance. Morocco’s identity …

Introduction: Human Rights In The Middle East And North Africa (Mena), Raslan Ibrahim

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The wave of revolutions and popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) at the dawn of 2011 highlights the inescapable relevance and impact of human rights on the region’s politics and security. The Arab regimes’ violations of human rights and lack of respect to the human dignity of their citizens are in fact the seeds of the Jasmine revolution in Tunisia, the rebellion of the Egyptian people against Mubarak regime, as well as the ongoing uprisings across the rest of MENA. The women and men who are protesting in the streets of Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, Yemen, …

Hidetoshi Hashimoto On International Law (Sixth Edition). By Malcolm Shaw. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 1542pp., Hidetoshi Hashimoto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

International Law (Sixth Edition). By Malcolm Shaw. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 1542pp.

Persecution Of Coptic Christians In Modern Egypt, Alla Rubinstein

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Christian community of Egypt dates back to the seventeenth century and comprises 12 per cent of the population today. As one of the oldest churches of the world, the Coptic Christian Church, first formed in Alexandria, has stood resilient and faithful to its traditions against intolerance, siege and persecutions. Having been present in most institutions of the state among the overwhelmingly Sunni-Muslim population, Copts are not new to the slow process of Islamization that Egypt has been undergoing for the last twenty years. What has been unique to the recent Coptic experience is the forced integration of Shari’a law …

Palestinian Refugees: Protection In Exile, Vivienne Chew

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Palestinian refugee problem is perhaps the most critical and complex of the outstanding issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sixty-two years have now passed since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced en masse and rendered stateless. Since then, successive generations of Palestinian refugees have endured discrimination, insecurity, repeated cycles of displacement, and infringement of their basic rights and freedoms.

“Revolution By Eradication:” On The Khmer Rouge’S Making Of The Tragedy Of Cambodia, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Killing of Cambodia: Geography, Genocide and the Unmaking of Space . By James A. Tyner. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. 209pp.

The Abuse Of Child Domestic Workers: Petites Bonnes In Morocco, Joanna Miller

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The International Labor Organization (ILO) classifies child domestic labor as a “worst form of child labor” for a very good reason. Driven by dire poverty and lack of access to education, children are sent away from their homes, often moving to large and unfamiliar cities to work for wealthier families. Morocco has one of the worst child domestic labor problems in Northern Africa with an ILO estimated 66,000-88,000 children between the ages of 7 and 15, 70% of whom are under age 12, working in Morocco today (Rinehart 2007). Many of these child laborers are young girls working as maids, …

Steve C. Ropp On Human Rights In Latin America: A Politics Of Terror And Hope. By Sonia Cardenas. Philadelphia, Pa: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. 256pp., Steve C. Ropp

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Human Rights in Latin America: A Politics of Terror and Hope. By Sonia Cardenas. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2010. 256pp.

Kurt Mills On Governance, Order, And The International Criminal Court: Between Realpolitik And A Cosmopolitan Court. Edited By Steven C. Roach. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 289pp., Kurt Mills

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Governance, Order, and the International Criminal Court: Between Realpolitik and a Cosmopolitan Court. Edited by Steven C. Roach. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 289pp.

Paul Okojie On Darfur And The Crisis Of Governance In Sudan: A Critical Reader. Edited By Salah M. Hassan And Carina E. Ray. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009. 528pp., Paul Okojie

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Darfur and the Crisis of Governance in Sudan: A Critical Reader. Edited by Salah M. Hassan and Carina E. Ray. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009. 528pp.

Edzia Carvalho On Human Rights: Politics And Practice. Edited By Michael Goodhart. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 455pp., Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Human Rights: Politics and Practice. Edited by Michael Goodhart. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 455pp.

Bedouin Women In The Naqab, Israel: Ongoing Transformation, Marcy M. Wells

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since its inception in 1948, the state of Israel has based development plans on an agenda of nation-building that has systematically excluded Palestinian Arab citizens such as the indigenous Bedouin. Policies of relocation, resettlement, and restructuring have been imposed on the Bedouin, forcing them from their ancestral lands and lifestyle in the Naqab (or Negev, as it is called in Hebrew) desert of southern Israel. The rapid and involuntary transition from self-sufficient, semi-nomadic, pastoral life to sedentarization and modernization has resulted in dependency on a state that treats the Bedouin as minority outsiders through unjust social, political, and economic structures. …

Beyond The Brink: Somalia’S Health Crisis, Bryson Brown

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Somalia is approaching a daunting anniversary: in 2011, the country will begin its twentieth consecutive year without an effective centralized government. The fall of the Soviet supported Siad Barre government in 1991 created a power vacuum that was filled by warlords, clans and, most recently, Islamists. Fourteen interim governments have failed to supplant those forces. Health infrastructure and the general health of the population have been devastated as a result. Precious few organizations are still providing health-related services. Unfortunately, recent events suggest that this crisis is going to get worse before it gets better.

Income Inequality And Poverty In Iran, Katie Susman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Income inequality is a hindrance to the global fulfillment of human rights, as acknowledged in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a steady increase of economic disparity. The impact of the global economic environment and the 2008 recession has brought to the forefront the region’s economic reliance on the rest of the world. As a result, a triple “food-fuel-financial” crisis has emerged. This will undoubtedly affect the most impoverished part of the population and could potentially exacerbate the gap between the poor and the rich.