Law Commons^™

Implementing Undrip In Canada: Any Role For Corporations?, Basil Ugochukwu

The Transnational Human Rights Review

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) offers guidance on how the rights of indigenous populations could be protected in the context of member states of the United Nations. While the Declaration prescribes what states need to do to effectively realize its objective, question is whether there are expectations on non-state actors such as corporations to contribute towards attaining those objectives. Though on the one hand the UNDRIP is textually not directed at corporations, on the other hand, corporations are routinely implicated in environments where massive violations of indigenous rights have occurred in various regions of …

Book Review: Irini Papanicolopulu, International Law And The Protection Of People At Sea (Oxford: Oxford University Press) 2018, Ramat Tobi Abudu

The Transnational Human Rights Review

No abstract provided.

International Accountability In The Implementation Of The Right To Development And The “Wonderful Artificiality” Of Law: An African Perspective, Obiora C. Okafor, Uchechukwu Ngwaba

The Transnational Human Rights Review

The landscape for the implementation of the right to development has undergone significant transformative shifts with the recent establishment of a new expert mechanism on the right to development by the UN Human Rights Council, and the finalisation of a draft treaty on the right to development. Yet, much more can clearly still be done to strengthen UN, state and non-state actors thinking on accountability in the implementation of the right to development, to add to the already considerable progress that has taken place. Our paper explores what can be done, focusing on the African and international context. We conclude …

Opening The Doors To Justice In Africa: Analyzing State Acceptance Of The Right Of Individual Application To The African Court On Human And Peoples' Rights, Simon Zschirnt

The Transnational Human Rights Review

The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights took its place as the youngest of the three regional human rights courts with its establishment in 2006. However, the Court’s jurisdiction remains a work in progress. Thirty of the African Union’s fifty-five member states have ratified the protocol allowing the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to refer cases to the Court but only ten have made the optional declaration allowing individuals direct access. Previous research has indicated that transitional states desirous of “locking in” new commitments to democracy and human rights have been particularly likely to ratify the protocol …

A Theoretical Framework For The Protection Of Environmental Refugees In International Law, Mathias Sahinkuye

The Transnational Human Rights Review

This article analyzes the reality and the criteria for the legal protection of environmental refugees. Using an interdisciplinary approach, it addresses questions about the existence, nature, universality, justification, and legal status of environmental refugees. Despite the lively debates within the community of experts and scientists specializing in migration and/or environmental issues, there is no consensus today on a definition of the term “environmental refugees” since 1985 when it officially appeared. Several descriptions such as ecological refugees, environmental refugees, climate refugees, eco-refugees, climate évacué, environmental migrants, displaced persons due to a natural disaster, environmentally displaced persons, etc. have been used without …

Economic Wrongs And Social Rights: Analyzing The Impact Of Systemic Corruption On Realization Of Economic And Social Rights In Kenya And The Potential Redress Offered By The Optional Protocol To The International Covenant On Economic, Social Rights And Cultural Rights, Caroline Omari Lichuma

The Transnational Human Rights Review

No abstract provided.

A Right To Universal Health Coverage In Resource-Constrained Nations? Towards A Blueprint For Better Health Outcomes, Uchechukwu Ngwaba

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Universal health coverage, as conceived by the World Health Organization (WHO) and adopted in the programmatic framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is a clarion call for states to strengthen their health financing systems to avoid catastrophic and impoverishing health spending. However, the framing of the goals of universal health coverage fails to take account of underlying determinants of health and appears to abandon decades of health rights scholarship and jurisprudence. This scholarship and jurisprudence, although not entirely free from disagreements and shortcomings, is argued to offer a better framework for universal health coverage when strengthened with the paradigm …

Deprivation Of Nationality As A Counter-Terrorism Tool: A Comparative Analysis Of Canadian And Dutch Legislation, Tom Boekestein

The Transnational Human Rights Review

No abstract provided.

Canadian-Zambian Human Rights Engagements: A Critical Assessment Of The Literature And Research Agenda, Misozi Lwatula

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Canada’s engagements with African states with regards to human rights began about five decades ago, and different countries in Africa have since benefited from such engagements. With Zambia specifically, such engagements have mainly centered along human rights issues. Recently, Canada has heavily invested in Zambia’s mining sector. This article explores Canada’s human rights engagements with Zambia. The article first reviews the economic performance of Zambia since its independence and the effect that this has had on the country. The article then looks at Canadian engagements with Zambia in terms of health, women’s rights, refugees’ rights and mining. It acknowledges that …

In Search Of Accountability: A Critical (If Preliminary) Assessment Of The Literature On Canadian-Nigerian Engagements On The Immunities Of State Officials For Human Rights Violations, Udoka Ndidiamaka Owie

The Transnational Human Rights Review

The trials of German and Japanese state officials following the end of World War II at the International Military Tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo along with treaty obligations undertaken by states since at least the establishment of the United Nations, have together given rise to the question of whether states and their officials are entitled to immunity for violations of human rights. This question was highlighted by the case against Pinochet Ugarte of Chile, which came more recently before the United Kingdom House of Lords. The case propelled the immunity of state officials into the limelight of judicial and academic …

Towards Justiciability Of Economic, Social, And Cultural Rights In Nigeria: A Role For Canadian-Nigerian Cooperation?, Halima Doma Kutigi

The Transnational Human Rights Review

On the broad level, this article discusses ESC rights in Nigeria in the context of the international human rights architecture, and in the context of the reality and play of global affairs. In these contexts, bilateral as well as other international agreements maintain a vital role in fostering transnational cooperation in the field of human rights. It is within this framework that Canadian-Nigerian engagement in the fulfilment of ESC rights is considered. The article also considers the theoretical aspects of ESC rights juxtaposed against CP rights, thereby expounding interdependence of these categories of rights. In the course of the discussion, …

Canada-Botswana Human Rights Engagements: A Critical Assessment Of The Literature And A Research Agenda, Bonolo Ramadi Dinokopila

The Transnational Human Rights Review

This article discusses the past and present of Canada-Botswana human rights engagements, offering an insight into their nature and significance. The article highlights that despite the absence of strong diplomatic ties between the two countries, there nonetheless have been significant human rights engagements. The engagements, though not entirely systematic or clearly defined in their focus, have certainly improved the human rights situation in Botswana. It is also noted that the sustainability of these engagements is questionable considering that the weak ties between the two countries have resulted in reduced Canadian funding to Botswana. In the end, the article emphasizes that …

Canadian-Anglophone African Human Rights Engagement: A Critical Assessment Of The Literature On Health Rights, Uchechukwu Ngwaba

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Contrary to common expectations, the engagement between Canada and Anglophone African countries on the issue of health rights has not been a “one-way-street” whereby Canada is the “giver” and Anglophone African countries are the “takers” of health benefits. This article, which undertakes a preliminary and critical assessment of the literature documenting this engagement, finds that both Canada and Anglophone African countries have mutually benefitted from their engagement in the area of health rights. These benefits have taken the form of Canada’s financial and technical contributions to various initiatives that seek to improve the availability and accessibility of health-related goods and …

Canadian-African Human Rights Engagements –A Literature Review And An Agenda For Future Research: An Introduction, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The Transnational Human Rights Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Discourses In Nigeria Across Time: Trajectory, Successes And Potentials For Canadian-Nigerian Engagement, Solomon Ukhuegbe

The Transnational Human Rights Review

:

Canada has, for decades, been actively involved in funding and providing support for the development of legal and political institutions and rights advocacy activities in Nigeria. A careful documentation and assessment of this support will likely show that its impact has been significant and perhaps critical in some areas. This article, however, considers a different form of engagement, or rather, a possible engagement. Although Canada’s human rights jurisprudence, especially the Charter of Rights case law, is highly regarded the world over, its influence on Nigerian courts has been limited. Yet, there is a great opportunity for meaningful engagement here, …

Background: Towards A Critical Assessment Of Canadian-Nigerian Bilateral Relations, Olabisi Akinkugbe

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Although the diplomatic relations between Canada and Nigeria is almost six decades old, the nature of this bilateral relationship has not been the subject of rigorous academic research. While a recent body of research by international relations scholars has taken up the broad critical study of Canadian-African relations, a significant gap exists with respect to studies that focus on the context of Canada’s engagement with individual African countries. Against this background, this paper briefly examines the bilateral trade and investment engagements between Nigeria and Canada. The modest aim is to highlight the existing framework that guides the relations of both …

Assessing Universalism And The Rhetoric Of Development Assistance In Human Rights Research: Canadian-Ghanaian Human Rights Engagements, Sylvia Bawa

The Transnational Human Rights Review

This article is a contribution to the question of how Canada engages human rights in Ghana and Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa in general. In order to critically assess human rights engagement between Ghana and Canada, I situate the discussion within the broader global human rights milieu to deconstruct the myriad ways in which power dynamics in the global arena shape human rights practice and discourse. Using the rights concerns of women and minorities in Ghana as an entry point, I discuss the interconnected nature of first- and second-generation rights and cultural relativism in universal rights discourses. This discussion aims to propose …

Canadian-Tanzanian Human Rights Engagements: A Critical Assessment Of The Literature And A Research Agenda, Julena Jumbe Gabagambi

The Transnational Human Rights Review

This article examines the historical background of human rights in Tanzania and the ways in which Canada has been engaging with Tanzania on the improvement of human rights. In the past, Tanzania was ruled by colonial powers, for which respect for human rights was never a priority. Having attained independence in 1961, however, the country did not adequately respect human rights. This is in part due to the argument that, if the British themselves did not practice it, then independent Tanzania should not be forced to. Furthermore, the introduction of human rights at the time held the potential to paralyze …

Women’S Health Rights In Canadian-Anglophone African Human Rights Engagements: Normativity, Indigeneity And The Spaces Beyond The Norm Life Cycle, Irehobhude Iyioha

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Canada has a demonstrated interest in sustaining a human rights agenda in Anglophone Africa. While this commitment is of common knowledge, its nature and achievements, as well as associated complications and possibilities have not been subjected to as much critical analysis as these issues deserve. This paper takes a prelusive step towards a rigorous assessment of human rights engagements between Canada and the Anglophone African region within the specific field of women’s health. It conducts a summative appraisal of the nature of norms and a dialectic enquiry into the origin of norms within the context of Finnemore and Sikkink’s theory …

Canada-Ghana Engagements In The Mining Sector: Protecting Human Rights Or Business As Usual?, Cynthia Kwakyewah, Uwafiokun Idemudia

The Transnational Human Rights Review

While states have traditionally had the responsibility to protect human rights, multinational corporations (MNCs) are now increasingly expected to also respect human rights in their pursuit of profitability. However, the increased incidence of human rights violations associated with the activities of MNCs in developing countries has led to various efforts to promote the corporate duty to respect human rights. This article seeks to examine the extent to which Canada’s national Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy can contribute to the prevention or amelioration of incidences of human rights violation associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies operating in Ghana. The …

Evaluating Canadian And South African Collaborative Human Rights Initiatives: A Preliminary Analysis And Research Agenda, Moses Retselisitsoe Phooko

The Transnational Human Rights Review

South Africa’s now defunct, autocratic apartheid government was based on minority rule, racially discriminatory laws, and disregard for the fundamental human rights of almost all black people. At that time, Parliament was supreme and could do anything that it wished, including enacting laws that denied the vast majority of the population from the right to vote. This regime lasted until the 1990s when parliamentary supremacy was replaced by constitutional supremacy. The adoption of the Interim Constitution of South Africa in 1993 eventually paved way for, among other things, respect for the fundamental human rights of all peoples without any distinctions …

Rethinking The Jurisdiction Of The National Industrial Court In Human Rights Enforcement In Nigeria: Lessons From South Africa, Abdullahi Saliu Ishola, Adekumbi Adeleye, Dauda Momodu

The Transnational Human Rights Review

In 2009, the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009were introduced to improve administration of justice in human rights cases in Nigerian courts. The Rules established that all human rights cases could be filed in any High Court in the State where the violation occurred. Depending on the parties involved and the place of the violation, this gives wide opportunity for victims to file a case either at the Federal, State, or the Federal Capital Territory High Court. However, in 2011, the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria was altered and thereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction over human rights cases arising from …

Who Will Remember The Children? The International Human Rights Movement And Juvenile Justice In Africa, Faisal Bhabha, Cristina Candea

The Transnational Human Rights Review

Our goal in this paper is two-fold: we seek to evaluate the development of juvenile justice in Africa by making use of a thorough and ethical method of analysis. We begin with a contextual explanation of the children’s rights movement as it has developed on the continent. We then reframe David Kennedy’s ten-item critique of the international human rights movement into three broad categories. Using these categories, we evaluate the development of juvenile justice in sub-Saharan Africa as it has arisen out of the children’s rights movement.