Human Rights Law Commons^™

Full Volume 84: International Law And Military Operations (2008)

International Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Reconstructing Sovereignty: From Control To Responsibility, Eric K. Leonard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As I stood with a standing-room only crowd last fall at a United Nations University of New York (UNU-ONY) event entitled, "Prevention of Mass Atrocities: From Mandate to Realization," I began to wonder how far the responsibility to protect (R2P) could be stretched. As defined by the UNU-ONY organizers, the purpose of the event was " to explore the work of mass atrocity prevention across the UN system, with a focus on the role of the new Office of the Special Representative for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (SRPGMA)." As I currently look at the international community's response …

The Course Of True Human Rights Progress Never Did Run Smooth, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

As the United States moves toward the inauguration in January 2009 of a new President, greater attention is paid to what the country might do to restore and reinforce its traditional role as a leader in the promotion of human rights. This essay warns against any assumption that innovation alone will assure greater enforcement of rights; its points of reference are not only the current administration, but also one long past, that of President John F. Kennedy. Rather than jump to embrace new, global concepts like responsibility to protect, therefore, it argues for careful pursuit of local change. It then …

July Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

"Armed and Humanitarian" by Bruce Falconer. Mother Jones. May 19, 2008.

Mission Creep: De-Militarizing Humanitarian Protection, Sonia Cardenas

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Over a decade ago, the U.S. military was warning liberal internationalists about the dangers of "mission creep." Today it is doing the opposite, incorporating relief and development work into its operations. In the devastating aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma , the U.S. military's newfound mission may seem compelling. Unfortunately, expanding the military's role into humanitarian work reflects a flawed logic that should be resisted. There are more promising ways to protect victims of humanitarian disaster.

When Steel And Guns Meets Bread And Butter, Daniel J. Graeber

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Speaking before the 191-member United Nations in 2005, then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that "For the first time . we are agreed that states do not have the right to do what they will within their own borders but that we in the name of humanity have a common duty to protect people where their own governments will not." This notion, that of responsible sovereignty , says that nation states forfeit the right to uninterrupted internal freedoms when they no longer uphold the responsibilities associated with sovereignty.

The Limits Of Offshoring-Why The United States Should Keep Enforcement Of Human Rights Standards "In-House", John Mckenzie

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments In Transnational Human Rights Litigation: A Postscript To Torture As Tort, Francois Larocque

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Torture as Tort: Comparative Perspectives on the Development of Transnational Tort Litigation marked the first in-depth inquiry by non-US scholars into transnational human rights litigation. In this article, the author canvasses a range of new developments in the field since its publication in 2001. Of special note are five transnational human rights claims, decided after September 11, that were brought in Canadian and British courts. The author mines these cases for insights into other important developments involving the American Alien Tort Statute (Part I) corporate complicity in human rights abuses (Part II) the expansion of common law jurisdiction to include …

Unilateral Home State Regulation: Imperialism Or Tool For Subaltern Resistance?, Sara L. Seck

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

Home state reluctance to regulate international corporate activities in the human rights context is sometimes characterized as an imperialistic infringement of host state sovereignty. This concern may be explicit, or it may be implicit in an expressed desire to avoid conflict with the sovereignty of foreign states. Yet, in the absence of a multilateral treaty directly addressing business and human rights, a regulatory role for home states in preventing and remedying human rights harms is increasingly being suggested. This paper seeks to explore theoretical perspectives that support unilateral home state regulation. Having established that unilateral home state regulation could serve …

An Assessment Of The Law School Climate For Glbt Students, Kelly Strader, Brietta R. Clark, Robin C. Ingli, Elizabeth Kransberger, Lawrence C. Levine, William D. Perez

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The 2008 Ruggie Report: A Framework For Business And Human Rights, Christiana Ochoa

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In June 2008, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, John Ruggie, submitted the final report of his initial three-year mandate. The Report, titled Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rights, provides a governance-based set of findings and recommendations on the issue of business and human rights. This essay provides a concise description and brief analysis of the Report.

On Armed Conflict, Human Rights, And Preserving The Rule Of Law In Latin America, Luz E. Nagle

Penn State International Law Review (1982 - 2011)

No abstract provided.

June Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

"A Screaming Start: The UN and Human Rights." The Economist. April 24, 2008.

Exile: Why The Human Rights Council Will Not Work, Daniel J. Graeber

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Economist writes in an April 24th edition that the U.N.’s Human Rights Council, the predecessor to the sixty-year-old U.N. Commission on Human Rights, is a “one-sided Israeli-bashing” organization. The Economist argues that the inclusion of second- and third-tier countries from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) makes it a forum for targeting offenses committed by the Israeli government against the Palestinian people.

The Human Rights Council: A Failure In Global Governance, Eric K. Leonard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“The UN and Human Rights: A Screaming Start,” makes several valid points of concern in regards to the recently formed Human Rights Council. As the article stipulates, in many ways the Council does not look radically different from its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, in that it fails to provide membership regulations that would keep “not free” states of the Council (with only twenty-three out of forty-seven states defined as free) and it lacks the clout in the political hierarchy to truly accomplish anything of substance. However, the article does point out that the one mechanism that could prove useful …

Stephen James On The Battle For Welfare Rights: Politics And Poverty In Modern America By Felicia Kornbluh. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. 287pp., Stephen James

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Battle for Welfare Rights: Politics and Poverty in Modern America by Felicia Kornbluh. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007. 287pp.

The Human Right To Water: A Plea To The United Nations And The Global Community To Enact And Adhere To A Convention On The Human Right To Water, Regina J Elliott

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Press Freedom In Egypt, Amira Abdel Fattah Hussein

Archived Theses and Dissertations

In many countries, those who dare to criticize their governments, speak on behalf of a suppressed minority, or call for political or economic reforms are often portrayed as "traitors" trying to disseminate hatred and hostility and disturb national stability. In such cases, states that are often "equipped" with tailor-made national laws, remaining on alert to punish those who are courageous enough to challenge their governments can easily harass those who dare to defy the state's policies, measures or even orientation. As noted by James D. Seymour in his article Indices of Political Imprisonment, imprisonment is one of the most …

Exposing The Protection Gap: Detention As Perpetuating Refoulement In Egypt, Dalia Malek

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Rescaling The Human Right To Adquate Housing: Criteria And Condominiums In Addis Ababa, Jesse Mcclelland

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission: Living Up To Its Mandate? A Look Into The Commission's Role In Promoting Transitional Justice, Mohamed Moussa

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Beacon Of An Illusion : A Critique Of The Mainstream Narrative Of Self-Determination, Mai Amr Taha

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Islamic Law And Women's Rights: Questioning The Validity Of The Reservations Invoking Islamic Law To The Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw), Malak Khalil

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis will attempt to demonstrate that the reservations invoking Islamic law to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are invalid. Reservations to human rights treaties in general are problematic, because these ones not only govern the relationship between States, but they also govern the relationship between the State and its citizens. Thus, finding a balance between state sovereignty, the pillar of international law and the rights of the people remains a challenge in the international arena. Another dimension of the argument is analyzing the validity of claiming Islamic law as a basis …

The International Security Presence In Kosovo And The Protection Of Human Rights, Federico Sperotto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

On March 11th, 2000, two children who were playing in the neighborhoods of Mitrovica, Kosovo, got hurt by an “unexploded ordnance”. One of them died in the explosion, the other was severely injured. An inquire clarified that the ordnance was a “bomblet”, a part of a cluster bomb dropped during the 1999 NATO air campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

© Federico Sperotto. 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 …

“What’S The Matter With You Catholics?” Soundings In Catholic Social Thought: Traditions In Turmoil. By Mary Ann Glendon, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Working Paper Series

This review essay of Mary Ann Glendon's Traditions in Turmoil (2006) explores such topics as tradition, moral discourse, human rights, subsidiarity, natural law, the common good, civil society, and constitutional and statutory interpretation. In doing so, it provides an introduction both to Catholic social thought and to the thought of Bernard Lonergan.

“We Are At War And You Should Not Bother The President”: The Suffrage Pickets And Freedom Of Speech During World War I, Catherine J. Lanctot

Working Paper Series

The story of Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party and its 1917 picketing campaign onbehalf of woman suffrage is almost unknown in legal circles. Yet the suffrage pickets were among the earliest victims of the suppression of dissent that accompanied the entry of the United States into World War I. Nearly forty years before the modern civil rights movement brought the concept of nonviolent civil disobedience to the forefront of American political discourse, the NWP conducted a direct action campaign at the very doorstep of the President of the United States, and they did so during a time of war.

In …

"Instant Karma": How Globalization Contests China's Abuses, Alison Brysk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

China’s rise from impoverished backwater to prospective superpower has been accompanied by the repression of tens of millions of its own people, at the hands of a nationalist, developmentalist government. Under contemporary conditions of globalization, suppression of civil liberties, domination of ethnic minorities, and unholy alliances with resource-rich dictatorships are no longer plausible requisites of this model—if they ever were. The broadening and deepening of economic globalization towards a more sustainable complex of political influence involves “soft power,” including international reputation and norms. Thus, China’s Olympian reach for true hegemony provides the best chance for human rights advocates to weave …

May Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

"China's Olympic Delusion" by Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. Nation. March 19, 2008.

Seductions Of Imperialism: Incapacitating Life, Fetishizing Death And Catastrophizing Ecologies, Anna M. Agathangelou

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“China’s Olympic Delusion” is a great piece which gestures to the ironies and/or contradictions of political systems in bed with imperialist-capitalism as we know it at this time: the tensions between a dominant idea that liberal democracy is the best political system to pay attention to and address human rights, and capitalism with no limits, can go hand-in-hand. This is merely the delusion, and also the fantasy, that keeps “us” (i.e., citizens, intellectuals etc) put, and from thinking critically.

Sport And Politics, Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

I found the reflection interesting, but unsurprising. Protestors use the Olympic spotlight (or should we say torch?) to shine on China’s flaws, and China tries to re-direct or extinguish its beams.