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The Right Side Of The Coin: Focus On The Human Rights Of People, Not The Failure Of States, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

US policy toward failed states should focus on strengthening civil society and social movements so that people are better able to hold their leaders accountable.

The language of “failed states” disassociates foreign policy from international dialogue about human rights. Instead, “failed states” is a contemporary sound bite that connotes a lack of sovereignty, suggesting that intervention would not violate national sovereignty because in a failed state, there is none. Of course, we could have a similar cynicism about the use of human rights concerns to justify invasion. Certainly, states have tried to choose when to reference international human rights norms …

The Hearts And Minds Of The Citizens, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

If the US contributes increased military support to Guatemala under the premise of curtailing the drug trade, it could inadvertently further destabilize this already politically unstable country. It certainly will not contribute to developing a sense of political alliance in the hearts and minds of its citizens. Concerns about destabilization in Guatemala (and Central America more generally) and the role of this destabilization in facilitating the drug trade have led the Economist to suggest that the solution is to increase military foreign aid to Guatemala.

A Rights-Based Approach To Global Injustice, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Is reflection on global injustice part of the everyday lives of those who live in global privilege? Or does privilege let us wait to raise concerns about justice only when the media bring the graphic images of genocide and tragedy to our family rooms?

Labor Rights And Environmental Protection Under Nafta And Other U.S. Free Trade Agreements, David A. Gantz, C. Ryan Reetz, Guillermo Aguilar-Alvarez, Jan Paulsson

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Climate Change And Indigenous Peoples In Latin America, Amy C. Rademacher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focused on the detrimental effects of climate change on indigenous peoples in Latin America. Indigenous peoples throughout the region tend to live subsistence livelihoods, which tie them closely to their land and the surrounding environment. This close relationship often means that indigenous peoples acutely experience the effects of climate change and are more susceptible to its negative outcomes than other populations. Further, indigenous peoples in the region lack the mitigation and adaptation capacities to deal with damaging climatic effects.

This research was designed to view the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples through a human rights framework, …

Commentary On Achim Steiner's 2009 Grotius Lecture, Dinah Shelton

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Confronting A Rising Tide: A Proposal For A Convention On Climate Change Refugees, Bonnie Docherty, Tyler Giannini

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This Article proposes a new legal instrument to confront the issue of climate change refugees. It defines climate change refugees as people whom climate change forces to relocate across national borders. The existing international legal framework – including its laws and its institutions – does not adequately address the emerging crisis. The proposed instrument should create obligations to deal with both prevention and remediation of the climate change refugee problem. First, the instrument should establish guarantees of human rights protections and humanitarian aid for a specific class of people. Second, it should spread the burden of fulfilling those guarantees across …

Global Funder, Grassroots Litigator—Judicialization Of The Environmental Movement In Thailand, Frank W. Munger

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

The Human Right To A Green Future: Environmental Rights And Intergenerational Justice (Book Review), Darla Jackson

Other Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Why We Do The Things We Do? The Role Of Ethics In Water Resource Planning, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

Water provides a natural framework in the role of ethics because ethical issues are present in every facet of water management. The value of water and the creation of ethics dictate decisions regarding water resource management. Value can be assessed from factors including happiness, well-being, or intrinsic value. Once a value is assessed, obligations that dictate actions regarding this issue are generated, and an ethic is created.

Various domestic and international policies have, both explicitly and implicitly, called for a human right to water. The presence of domestic and international policies that recognize or protect a person’s right to water …

Panel: Ethics-Based Decision-Making In Societal Water Management, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

There is an ethical overlay to water-related decision-making and management, frequently drawing on personal experiences with water and the ubiquitous need for water. The modern South African Bill of Rights, ensuring its people’s access to water; the movement towards recognizing water as a basic human right; and even occurrences in Texas, including the passage of “environmental flows legislation” and the efforts to preserve and protect the Edwards Aquifer, reflect the presence of ethics in decision-making with respect to water management. Ethics are a part of water management decision-making.

Forced Child Labor And Cocoa Production In West Africa, Marjie Sackett

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The cocoa industry has profited from the utilization of forced labor in West Africa since the late 1800s. Despite the Portuguese decree in 1876 abolishing slavery, and the release of cocoa plantation slaves, slave labor was quickly reemployed, aided by the exploitation of legal loopholes and government officials willing to turn a blind eye. In 1905, after hearing reports of unfavorable labor conditions, William Cadbury dispatched a member of the Anti-Slavery Society to investigate the cocoa plantations. Upon receiving confirmation of human rights violations, Cadbury boycotted Portuguese cocoa and persuaded two other chocolate firms to do the same. Cadbury’s actions …

Indigenous Peoples And Environmental Justice: The Impact Of Climate Change, Rebecca Tsosie

The Climate of Environmental Justice: Taking Stock (March 16-17)

Presenter: Rebecca Tsosie, Professor of Law, Arizona State University

1 page.

Climate Change, The United States, And The Impacts Of Arctic Melting: A Case Study In The Need For Enforceable International Environmental Human Rights, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

Climate change is currently the most significant and daunting international environmental problem, with disproportionate and devastating impacts on indigenous groups. The plight of the Inuit is illustrative of a larger need to recognize and enforce international environmental human rights violations. Part I of this Article examines the evolution of various approaches to environmental human rights theories in (1) United States law, (2) international human rights law instruments, and (3) the laws of other nations. Part II considers the scientific evidence and legal theory underlying the Inuit petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and explores how this scenario underscores …

Changing Territoriality, Fading Sovereignty, And The Development Of Indigenous Group Rights, Austen L. Parrish

Articles by Maurer Faculty

For much of the 19th and 20th Centuries, the international community resisted the notion of indigenous peoples' rights. In recent years, however, this has changed. The emergence of indigenous rights in international law may finally be upon us. At the very least, the language of international instruments and certain court decisions indicate a new era is emerging in which international law is beginning to recognize the rights of indigenous peoples. And the public seems increasingly aware of the challenges facing indigenous groups. Despite a past where victories for indigenous peoples' rights have been few, scholars are cautiously optimistic for the …

Linking Global Warming To Inuit Human Rights, Marguerite E. Middaugh

San Diego International Law Journal

Under international law, the United States government has violated the Inuit's human rights by failing to take action against climate change. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights should find that the allegations of human rights violations by the Inuit are justified and rule in their favor. This Article first explores the impacts of climate change on the Inuit and each of the Inuit's basic human rights, which are implicated by the environmental changes. Next, the role and responsibility of the U.S. with respect to climate change is examined. This section discusses the current attitude and actions of the U.S. government, …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Water: Evaluating Water As A Human Right And The Duties And Obligations It Creates, Amy Hardberger

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

No abstract provided.

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Water: Evaluating Water As A Human Right And The Duties And Obligations It Creates, Amy Hardberger

Faculty Articles

The Right to Water should be an independent, explicit human right. As such, the status of the right to water would be raised to the status of customary international law (jus cogens), imposing an affirmative, obligatory duty an all nations. Historically the right to water has been included in the right to life, limiting the right; however, that approach undermines the essential importance of water and causes enforcement problems that would be avoided by regarding water as an independent right.

Landmark international agreements, treatises, and the work of various international entities and other non-governmental organizations have made tremendous strides in …

Bi-Polar And Polycentric Approaches To Human Rights And The Environment, Michael Burger

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Within the well-established human rights system, there exist at least three ways to promote environmental ends (each of which is discussed further in Section III below): (1) mobilizing existing rights to achieve environmental ends; (2) reinterpreting existing rights to include environmental concerns; and (3) creating new rights, such as the right to a clean environment. To justify engaging in any one of these processes, an advocate must recognize both their moral legitimacy and legal utility. As one author has argued, "the justification for rights is to be found in the way in which they enable us to address a key …

Justice And Natural Resources: Concepts, Strategies, And Applications, Kathryn M. Mutz, Gary C. Bryner, Douglas S. Kenney

Books, Reports, and Studies

This digital resource contains only an abstract, cover image and table of contents information from the published book.

Print copy of book is available in the University of Colorado's Wise Law Library: http://128.138.161.92/record=b257401

Contents: PART ONE : FRAMEWORKS: Beyond "traditional" environmental justice / David H. Getches, David N. Pellow -- Assessing claims of environmental justice : conceptual frameworks / Gary C. Bryner -- Water, poverty, equity, and justice in Colorado : a pragmatic approach / James l. Wescoat Jr., Sarah Halvorson, Lisa Headington, Jill Replogle -- International environmental protection : human rights and North-South divide / Tseming Yang -- PART …

The Wooster Voice (Wooster, Oh), 2001-04-19, Wooster Voice Editors

The Voice: 2001-2011

Jen Telischak, class of 2002, is elected Wooster Student Government Association president. Peace, Justice and, Earth Week, an annual series of student sponsored events intended to raise awareness about peace action, human rights and environmental issues around the world, takes place at the college. College officials and community leaders host a town meeting to discuss measures to prevent alcohol-related violence on campus. In protest of President Bush's proposed spending of $160 billion on a Defense Missile Shield, students display a 50 foot inflatable missile outside Lowry Center. Thirteen Wooster students and two staff members travel to Paraiso, Dominican Republic. The …

To The World Commission On Dams: Don't Forget The Law, And Don't Forget Human Rights-Lessons From The U.S.-Mexico Border, Raúl M. Sánchez

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Neglected Pillar: The "Teaching Tolerance" Provision Of The International Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Racial Discrimination, Stephanie Farrior

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' this year, I would like to take particular note of the first of the core human rights treaties developed since adoption of the Universal Declaration, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.