Human Rights Law Commons^™

The Profit Motive: Can Corporate Networks Be An Effective Conduit For Improving Worker Rights?, Alisa Dicaprio

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Can Labor Standards Improve Under Globalization? By Kimberly Elliott and Richard Freeman. Washington: Institute for International Economics, 2003. 179pp.

and

Rising Above Sweatshops: Innovative Approaches to Global Labor Challenges. Edited by Laura Hartman, Denis Arnold and Richard Wokutch. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2003. 414pp.

and

Transnational Corporations and Human Rights. Edited by Jedrzej Frynas and Scott Pegg. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. 223pp.

Polemics In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jerome Slater

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2003. 264pp.

and

Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History by Norman G. Finkelstein. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. 332pp.

Examining The Declining Utility Of Military Force, Ali Wyne

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War by Andrew J. Bacevich. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 270pp.

Escaping The Cultural Context Of Human Rights, Andrew Fagan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom by Chandran Kukathas. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2003. pp.292

Human Rights In Argentina, Scott Muttersbaugh

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The election of populist Juan Peron in 1946 brought expanded economic and social rights to the working class. Consequently his popularity continued to rise, although the armed forces staged a coup in 1955, resulting in Peron’s nearly twenty-year exile. By 1973 Argentina’s economy had fallen apart and the still popular Peronist party gained the support needed for Peron’s return. With terrorism on the rise, the government granted a special executive authority to the military, allowing Peron to imprison people indefinitely without a trial, signaling a change in the government's priorities towards human rights.

Human Rights In Cuba, Susan Kemp

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In 1959, Fidel Castro established a Cuban socialist state closely aligned with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's collapse brought an end to Soviet economic support which, combined with the U.S. embargo, created an economic crisis in the early 1990s. The Cuban government's instability and desire to maintain control overrides the individual rights of its citizens. These events are the background for the lack of fundamental human rights in Cuba today.

Human Rights In El Salvador, Tait Robinson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Between 1979 and 1991 El Salvador was embroiled in a civil war that claimed over 70,000 lives. Longstanding socio-economic inequality between the rich and poor led to government-backed human rights abuses dispensed by the military. These ranged from denials of freedom and civil liberties to village massacres.

Human Rights In Guatemala, Jennifer Archibald

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Thirty six years of civil war affected human rights negatively in Guatemala. Many actors that violated human rights were also victims of human rights violations; a complex series of events that has still not been fully resolved today.

Human Rights In Honduras, Andrea Degaetani

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Honduras’ history of human rights violations is rooted in a political culture of militarization. Following a military coup in 1963, Honduras faced strengthened military authority and a decade of harsh military rule. It was also during this time that the United States used the country as a base for Contras fighting leftist Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In 1981 Honduras returned to a parliamentary democracy, electing Roberto Suazo Cordova as president. However, by then the process of militarization had been so heavily funded by the U.S and had made such a significant impact on public policy that little changed for the better. …

The Organization Of American States, Natalie Knowlton

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The international community focused its attention on protecting human rights in response to horrendous human rights abuses during World War II. Latin and South American states enacted The American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man [Declaration] in 1948, shortly after their creation of the Organization of American States [OAS]. While the Declaration set forth dozens of rights, little was done in the next decade to establish a means for their protection.

The African Union, Makaria Green

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The African Union (AU) was established on July 8, 2001. Its predecessor was the Organization for African Unity (OAU)—established in 1963. The charter that created the OAU was the result of several multinational African conferences held in the 1950s and 1960s aimed at supporting Africans who were still under colonial rule to incite change through non-violent means. The OAU had just four organs: the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the Council of Ministers, the General Secretariat and the Commission of Mediation, and Conciliation and Arbitration. On September 9, 1999, the Assembly of Heads of State and Government issued …

Office Of The High Commissioner For Human Rights, Robin Richardson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A rights-based approach to development is a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. Essentially, a rights-based approach integrates the norms, standards and principles of the international human rights system into the plans, policies and processes of development (The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights).

United Nations Development Programme, Jason Keeler

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The central goal of Development has and will be the promotion of human well-being. Given that human rights define and defend human well-being, a rights-based approach to development provides both the conceptual and practical framework for the realization of human rights through the development process (United Nations Development Programme: Regional Bureau for Asia & Pacific ).

World Health Organization, Wendy Braun

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Over the past 60 years the World Health Organization (WHO) has succeeded in improving the general standard of health around the world. The WHO is an international agency within the United Nations and is comprised of 192 countries. The World Health Assembly, a 34 member elected board, meets annually to determine new regulations and budgetary needs for the organization. Rights-based policy is integrated throughout the World Health Organization’s programs. The WHO works with several entities, including non-governmental organizations, U.N. agencies and private organizations to achieve goals and implement new programs. Key topics for the WHO include gender rights, policy, and …

World Bank, Adrienne Stohr

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The mission of the World Bank is to aid developing countries stabilize their economies through financial and technical assistance. The five dominant themes that emerge in a review of the World Bank literature are: health, gender, environment, globalization, and global governance. Each of these themes is broadly related to issues that consistently influence the larger issue of how the World Bank incorporates, rejects, or impacts human rights.

Paul J. Magnarella On European Court Of Human Rights: Remedies And Execution Of Judgments. Edited By Theodora Christou And Juan Pablo Raymond. London, Uk: British Institute Of International And Comparative Law, 2005. 115 Pp., Paul J. Magnarella

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

European Court of Human Rights: Remedies and Execution of Judgments. Edited by Theodora Christou and Juan Pablo Raymond. London, UK: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2005. 115 pp.

Aaron Peron Ogletree On A Brief History Of Neoliberalism By David Harvey. Oxford, Uk: Oxford University Press, 2005. 256 Pp., Aaron Peron Ogletree

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

A Brief History of Neoliberalism by David Harvey. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2005. 256 pp.

How To Recapture Human Rights Within The Political: Validating The Discourse Theory Approach, Magdalena Zolkos

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Human Rights and Democracy: Discourse Theory and Global Rights Institutions by Eva Erman. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005. 243 pp.

Contending Interventions: Coming To Terms With The Practice And Process Of Enforcing Compliance, Emilian Kavalski

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Purpose of Intervention: Changing Beliefs about the Use of Force by Martha Finnemore. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. 174pp.

and

International Intervention in the Post-Cold War World: Moral Responsibility and Power Politics edited by Michael C. Davis, Wolfgang Dietrich, Bettina Scholdan, and Dieter Sepp. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2004. 332pp.

Adolf Eichmann: Understanding Evil In Form And Content, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Criminal Case 40/61, the Trial of Adolf Eichmann by Harry Mulisch. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005.

Beyond Power Politics: International Law And Human Rights Discourse In The Post-9/11 World, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Imperialism, Sovereignty and the Making of International Law by Antony Anghie. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 356 pp.

Human Rights In Latin America: Introduction, Regina Nockerts

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As with many regions of the world, human rights are an issue of enduring concern for Latin America. The essays and bibliographies in this digest chart the recent history of human rights issues in this region, beginning, in most cases, with the wave of military coups that began in the 1970s, highlighting their lasting effects on the governments, civil societies, and economies of the region today. The cases of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Peru are given here; the Organization of American States (OAS) is also covered.

Human Rights In Chile, Stephanie Raessler

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Chile might evoke memories of Augosto Pinochet and his brutal reign, though there is more to this country than an oppressive authoritarian regime. A history of politics longer than Pinochet's rule has shaped Chile's current situation. Many issues recur across Chilean history, and continue to influence the present.

Human Rights In Colombia, Mariko Frame

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With its notoriously vicious paramilitary death squads, rampant drug trade and collusive government, Colombia remains a complex and tumultuous nation. Needless to say, the human rights history of this country has been marked by political violence, absence of due process, and at times a general lawlessness that has made it perpetually unstable. Coupled with Colombia's domestic problems, U.S. involvement in its 'war on drugs' has exacerbated the situations that already were at a boiling point. With an ongoing power struggle between the government, the military and the drug lords, it is no exaggeration to describe Colombia as in a constant …

Human Rights In Peru, William Osborne

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As many Central and South American nations continue to experience the human rights violations that characterized the twentieth century, Peru has moved forward. The truth and reconciliation process, which officially ended with a final report in August 2003 and corrective legal action by recent governments, created a stable nation where the rule of law applies.

Rights-Based Approaches To Development: Introduction, Sarah Hamilton

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This digest offers a multidimensional, well-chosen, and timely compilation of resources analyzing the myriad relationships between fields devoted to the realization of human rights and human development. I appreciate having the opportunity to introduce the issue for two reasons. First, the contributors perform a tremendous service to both fields. They have created an accessible pathway to works that engage: the normative, substantive, and empirical dimensions of the human rights/development nexus; key debates among theoreticians, policy-makers, and practitioners concerning this nexus; inclusive analysis of institutional frameworks and actors; and attention to both opportunities for, and challenges to, the realization of increasingly …

International Monetary Fund, Kris Kirby

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Just as the United Nations (U.N.) was created in direct response to the human atrocities and international conflict of World War II, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created to help repair the decimation that was experienced by the developed nations that became involved in the war. While both organizations have seemingly similar objectives (i. e. , post-war reconstruction and creation of an environment for lasting peace), the Articles of Agreement of the IMF, however, contains no explicit mention of human rights.

An American Dilemma Of The 21st Century?, Wallerstein

Societies Without Borders

In 1941, Henry Luce proclaimed the twentieth century the American Century. And in 1944, Gunnar Myrdal wrote of the American dilemma, the discrepancy between its values and the actual treatment of Black Americans. In the post-1945 period, the need of a hegemonic United States to project a positive world image led to major improvements in the position of Black Americans – an improvement however primarily for educated elites and much less for the Black working-class strata. In the period since 1970, U.S. power has been on the decline, which has caused increased internal tensions in the U.S. This intersects with …

Human Rights Dialogues, Sahle, Ollen Mwalubunju

Societies Without Borders

In this conversation Ollen Mwalubunju discusses the politics of exile, the rise of Malawi's popular movement in the early 1990s and its legacies. Further, Mwalubunju discusses at length the struggle by civil society groups to deepen the democratic space that has emerged since the demise of the postcolonial authoritarian regime in 1994. Finally, Mwalubunju reflects on the tensions and complexity of his work as a social activist and the difficulties of promoting the respect and protection of human rights in the current global political and economic conjuncture. This conversation took place in January 2006.

Recognizing Victimhood, Christine Wilke

Studio for Law and Culture

The category of victimhood resonates deeply with many contemporary struggles for recognition without, however, receiving similar attention by political theories of recognition. Many “struggles for recognition” are fought with explicit reference to massive injustice that have ceased without having been publicly recognized as injustices. The state responses to claims for the recognition of victimhood mirror, I will argue, the state’s dominant conceptions of justice and injustice. In many cases, the state affirms its conceptions of injustice and moral innocence through the selective recognition of victims. For example, the U.S. government has granted Japanese-Americans interned during the Second World War an …