Human Rights Law Commons^™

The Wall And The Law: A Tale Of Two Judgements, Susan M. Akram, S. Michael Lynk

Faculty Scholarship

The seminal rulings in 2004 by the International Court of Justice and the Israeli High Court on the legality of the wall/barrier that Israel is building through the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem provide a study in contrast. While both judgements were critical of the wall/barrier, their judicial approaches and legal conclusions were strikingly divergent, particularly given that the two courts were purporting to rely upon the same principles of international law. The judgements also elicited quite different political and diplomatic reactions, especially among the parties most involved in the Israel/Palestine conflict. This article explores the legal analysis and …

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. …

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.

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 …

South Korea's National Security Law: A Tool Of Oppression In An Insecure World, Diane B. Kraft

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In September 2004, the ruling party in South Korea, along with two opposition parties, called for the abolishment of the 1948 anti-communist National Security Law. The following month, Amnesty International, a long-time critic of the law, officially called for the law's repeal. The law had been enacted in 1948 in response to threats from communist North Korea, but has long been used by the government to silence legitimate opposition in South Korea. This Comment will examine South Korea's National Security Law as viewed by its domestic supporters and critics, as well as by the international community. Part I will consider …

Sexual Labor And Human Rights, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol, Jane E. Larson

UF Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, we engage the current human rights debate that dichotomizes prostitution either as a modern form of slavery or as the exercise of the right to work. This framework effectively sets up a coercion/consent polarity. These poles raise fundamental human rights issues; both the prohibition against slavery and the right to work are matters addressed by and central to the international human rights paradigm. Yet we argue in this Article that the human rights issues raised by prostitution cannot properly be studied nor moved towards meaningful resolution in the context of the prevailing polarity. Prostitution in its current …

The Right To Food: Holding Global Actors Accountable Under International Law, Smita Narula

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Economic globalization represents both an unmet opportunity and a significant challenge for the fulfillment of social and economic rights, including the right to food. While corporate sector accountability and the responsibility of international financial institutions (IFIs) to ensure social and economic rights are now at the forefront of the globalization discourse, greater attention must be paid to how these actors can be held accountable under international law. The existing human rights legal framework is ill-equipped to deal with violations committed by non-state actors, such as transnational corporations (TNCs), and multi-state actors, such as IFIs. Using the right to food as …

Human Rights And Transnational Culture: Regulating Gender Violence Through Global Law, Sally Engle Merry

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

In the current era of human rights activism, the global production of human rights approaches to violence against women generates a wide variety of localization processes. Activists translate between global discourses and local contexts and meanings. Culture is conceptualized in quite different and sometimes contradictory ways in this process. Essentialized ideas of culture inhibit recognition of the potential contributions of local cultural practices and provide justifications for groups to resist these changes. This article shows, with reference to a case study of Fiji, that a more anthropological conception of culture provides a better picture of the localization process and foregrounds …

Illegal Peace?: An Inquiry Into The Legality Of Power-Sharing With Warlords And Rebels In Africa, Jeremy I. Levitt

Journal Publications

When warlords use violence to coerce democratically constituted governments to share power, does power-sharing simply become a euphemism for "guns for jobs"? Which legal rules, if any, govern peace agreements in internal conflicts? Specifically, which rules regulate power-sharing? Are the aims of peace, justice, and adherence to the rule of law attainable, let alone compatible, with coerced political transitions where warlords force democratically constituted or legitimate governments to share power?

This Article represents the first conscientious attempt to address these questions, present a conceptual framework for examining the legal and political efficacy of coercing democratically constituted governments into sharing power, …

China And The Human Right To Health: Selective Adaptation And Treaty Compliance, Pitman B. Potter

All Faculty Publications

The international community has devoted considerable energy to dialogue and exchanges with China on issues of treaty compliance in areas of trade and human rights, and while many improvements are evident in China’s legal regimes for trade and human rights, problems remain. Further, academic and policy discourses on China’s trade and human rights policy and practice are all too often conflicted by normative differences and illusions about them. The paradigm of “selective adaptation” offers a potential solution by examining compliance with international trade and human rights treaties by reference to the interplay between normative systems associated with international rule regimes …

Exploring The Limits Of International Human Rights Law, Margaret E. Mcguiness

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

The Limits of International Law stands on the shoulders of international relations realists who have traditionally argued that international law does not affect interstate relations and is therefore unworthy of much scholarly attention. International law scholars have in many ways set out to disprove the realist claim and explain the sources and effects of law as separate from politics: Why do states, which are driven primarily (according to realist theory) by a need to protect and expand security interests, insist on using international law at all? In Limits, Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner engage both the international relations …

Today's Indian Wars: Between Cyberspace And The United Nations, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

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 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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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 ).

Defending Human Rights In The "War" Against Terror, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

Safeguarding human rights in our "war" against terrorism is both the right and the smart thing to do. It is right because human rights embody our fundamental values as Americans and as Christians. Our Constitution stands for freedom; our Creator teaches us to respect the God-given dignity of each human soul. Christians are called to cherish human dignity, not only of innocents, and not only of captives in war whose status as combatant or civilian may be uncertain, but also of cardinal sinners, the terrorists themselves. Christ Jesus teaches us to hate the sin, but somehow to bring ourselves to …

Rethinking The "Less As More" Thesis: Supranational Litigation Of Economic, Social And Cultural Rights In The Americas, Tara J. Melish

Journal Articles

In their 2005 law review article Less as More: Rethinking Supranational Litigation of Economic and Social Rights in the Americas, James Cavallaro and Emily Schaffer argue for a "rethinking" of strategies to advance economic, social and cultural rights in the Americas. They posit that to achieve higher rates of real-world protection for such rights, social rights advocates should do two things: first, bring less litigation and, second, frame any marginal litigation that is pursued as violations of classic civil and political rights. According to the authors, this recommended course will increase the "legitimacy" of the litigation and lead to higher …

Counter-Rejoinder: Justice Vs. Justiciability?: Normative Neutrality And Technical Precision, The Role Of The Lawyer In Supranational Social Rights Litigation, Tara J. Melish

Journal Articles

An important debate is currently underway in the inter-American human rights system involving the proper approach litigators, adjudicators, and advocates should take to supranational litigation of economic, social and cultural rights. Centered on questions of jurisdiction and the proper characterization and limits of justiciability, its resolution has tremendous implications for the tools available to on-the-ground advocates, their real-world effectiveness and sustainability in adjudicatory and advocacy contexts alike, and the rationalization of the system's developing jurisprudence over the long-term.

This article book-ends a trilogy of pieces appearing in the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics by two sets of authors, …

Finding The Winning Combination: How Blending Organ Procurement Systems Used Internationally Can Reduce The Organ Shortage, Sarah E. Statz

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The shortage in transplantable organs worldwide not only leads to unnecessary death, but also to grave human rights abuses through illegal methods of procuring organs. The shortage leads some desperate to find an organ through any possible means, including purchasing an organ on the black market. The system for procuring organs in the United States is based on altruism, where potential donors have to opt in to the system in order for their organs to be donated. This creates issues at the time of death for medical professionals or the next of kin to decide whether their patient or loved …

The United States As Global Sheriff: Using Unilateral Sanctions To Combat Human Trafficking, Janie Chuang

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In recent years, the issue of human trafficking - the recruitment or movement of persons by means of coercion or deception into exploitative labor or slavery-like practices - has moved from the margins to the mainstream political agenda. The rapid proliferation of international, regional and domestic anti-trafficking laws bespeaks universal condemnation of the practice, but belies deep divisions among States over how to define and approach the problem. It is thus significant that the international community was able to reach consensus and conclude a new international law on trafficking - the Palermo Protocol. But just weeks before the signing of …