Human Rights Law Commons^™

Disclosing Disclosure's Defects: Addressing Corporate Irresponsibility For Human Rights Impacts, Marcia Narine

Articles

Although many people believe that the role of business is to maximize shareholder value, corporate executives and board members can no longer ignore their companies' human rights impacts on other stakeholders. Over the past four years, the role and responsibility of non-state actors such as multinationals has come under increased scrutiny. In 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the "UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights," which outline the State duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, and both the State and corporations' duties to provide remedies to parties. The Guiding …

Las Madres De Plaza De Mayo, Then And Now: A Comparative Analysis Of Its Fractured Factions And Lasting Sybolism In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sondra Anton

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

I conducted research on three different factions of the original Madres de Plaza de Mayo cause in Buenos Aires, Argentina: Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora, and Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. Through interviews and archival research, I have completed a comparison of the three groups. I have concluded that although their original cause of demanding the whereabouts of their disappeared children united them, they are now deeply fragmented among one another due to their differing opinions of how to achieve justice in post-Dirty War Argentina. Furthermore, it is interesting to note the …

The Rules And The Reality Of Petition Procedures In The Inter-American Human Rights System, Dinah Shelton

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In this Essay, Professor Dinah Shelton draws on her personal experience as a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to discuss the underlying causes of a "crisis of commitment" to the Inter-American system of human rights. Shelton traces the roots of this crisis in large part to the Inter-American petition procedures. Giving an in-depth account of the structure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the details of the petition procedures, Shelton explores the issues of legitimacy, transparency, effectiveness, and efficiency raised by various aspects of the petitioning process, and discusses the various ways in which these …

The Relationship Between Inter-American Jurisdiction And States (National Systems): Some Pertinent Questions, Sergio GarcíA RamíRez

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

In this Article, Judge Sergio García Ramírez of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights explores the complex and often vexing relationship between the Inter-American Human Rights system and the domestic human rights protections within the system's member states. García Ramírez identifies a number of challenges to implementing human rights protections in Latin America, many of which are rooted in a history of authoritarianism in the twentieth century and the nascent nature of the region's democratic institutions. Yet he sees solutions in the role of the Inter-American Court in the region. García Ramírez highlights the Court's role in interpreting international human …

Civilian Protection: The Imperative Role Of Civil Society, Collen Kelly

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

The Woes Of Roe: The Future Of Women's Reproductive Health In 2015, Victoria Dempsey

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Federal Outreach And Mechanisms To Ensure Human Rights Implementation And The Federal, State And Local Levels, Human Rights Institute, International Association Of Official Human Rights Agencies (Iaohra)

Human Rights Institute

The United States has repeatedly affirmed that state and local governments are vital to comprehensive human rights implementation within and throughout the country. During the 2010 UPR, the Legal Adviser to the U.S. State Department emphasized that “the best human rights implementation combines overlapping enforcement by ... the federal government working together with state and local partners.” Indeed, state and local authorities are on the front lines of addressing key human rights issues, including housing, employment, criminal justice and education. This includes the over 150 state and local civil and human rights agencies that enforce federal, state and local human …

Memo To The Obama Administration On The U.S. National Action Plan On Responsible Business Conduct, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In January 2015, CCSI sent a memo to President Obama to provide input on the U.S. National Action Plan on responsible business conduct. The memo applauded the U.S. Government’s decision to develop a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.S. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to explore in particular how the National Action Plan can address …

The Challenges And Perils Of Reframing Trafficking As 'Modern-Day Slavery", Janie Chuang

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Gender Based Violence As A Continuum Of Human Rights Violations In Russia And The Czech Republic, Alena Lebron

Dissertations and Theses

Gender-based violence can take various forms – physical, sexual, psychological, and economic. Violence against women is a global public health problem and not only violates human rights, but also hampers productivity, reduces human capital, and undermines economic growth. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, human trafficking for sexual exploitation and domestic violence have become a significant problem in post-communist countries. The fall of the Soviet Union also shaped national gender policies in post-communist countries. Despite the common challenges they face, success in implementing anti-trafficking procedures and measures against domestic violence varies from country to country.

According to …

Copy And Paste: Transplanting International Hiv/Aids Model Laws Into African Countries, Maya Berinzon

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

There has been a recent increase in legislative and regulatory frameworks to govern HIV in Africa. This includes rules on when and how a health practitioner may disclose the HIV status of a patient to a spouse or sexual partner. In balancing the right to privacy against a doctor's duty of care, two international model laws have emerged, and have been wholly or partially copied by a number of African countries. This paper questions the usefulness of such model laws as legal transplants in national legislatures through an analysis of the regulations developed in thirty-eight African countries.

A Brief Assessment Of The 25-Year Effect Of The Convention On The Rights Of The Child, Lynne Marie Kohm

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), despite its widespread adoption by 193 nations, has failed to significantly improve the lives of children globally. While the CRC established important provisions to protect children from exploitation, abuse, and harmful practices, its lack of enforcement mechanisms and reliance on domestic implementation have rendered it ineffective. The Convention's focus on state actors overlooks private human rights violations and cultural challenges, leading to persistent issues such as child trafficking, labor, soldiering, marriage, and genital mutilation. Critics argue that the CRC serves as a facade for governments that continue to abuse children's rights, …

The Conflation Of Ethnicity And Religion In Malaysia: A Reflection, Mahmood Chandia, Kartina A. Choong

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

According to the Malaysian Constitution, a "Malay" is one who, among other things, professes the religion of Islam. All Malays are, by legal definition, at least Muslims and they are not at liberty to leave Islam since a renunciation of the Islamic faith is tantamount to a renunciation of one's legally defined ethnic identity. This constitutional conflation of ethnicity and religion, which also serves the purpose of uniting the Malays and advancing their socio-economic interests, has been a distinct feature of the social landscape of the country since 1957, when it gained independence from British rule. This Article seeks to …

Unrwa And The Convention On The Rights Of The Child: Who Is Responsible For Violations In Education?, Alexandra M.C. Douglas

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that the Palestinian Authority's curriculum, used in UNRWA schools, violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by promoting a culture of violence, martyrdom, and jihad, rather than fostering respect for human rights, peace, and tolerance. It contends that donor countries, particularly the U.S. and E.U., bear responsibility for these violations due to their significant funding of UNRWA and the extraterritorial obligations under the CRC. The note proposes conditioning future funding on the adoption of a neutral education system to ensure compliance with the CRC.

Believable Victims: Asylum Credibility And The Struggle For Objectivity, Michael Kagan

Scholarly Works

Asylum adjudication is often the invisible frontline in the struggle by oppressed groups to gain recognition for their plights. Through this process, individual people must tell their stories and try to show that they are genuine victims of persecution rather than simply illegal immigrants attempting to slip through the system. In 2002, because the world had not yet acknowledged the nature of the calamity from which they were escaping, many Darfurian asylum cases would have relied on the ability of each individual to convince government offices to believe their stories. They would have had to be deemed “credible,” or they …

Bill 13 (The Accepting Schools Act): Ontario Legislation Mandating Support For Lgbt Students In Publicly-Funded Schools, Renato M. Liboro Jr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Twenty-six key stakeholders from schools in Waterloo Region, Ontario, participated in semi-structured, open-ended interviews for this dissertation. They included students, teachers, school board representatives in administrator and superintendent roles, trustees, and community service providers. This study explored the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in publicly-funded schools, the effect of those experiences on their mental health and well-being, and the success of strategies, programs, and policies implemented by schools to address LGBT youth issues. It also examined the perspectives of participants on Bill 13, Ontario’s Accepting Schools Act, particularly strengths and weaknesses of the bill in terms …

Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen Gonzalez

Faculty Articles

From the Ogoni people devastated by oil drilling in Nigeria to the Inuit and other indigenous populations threatened by climate change, communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. Domestic and international tribunals have concluded that failure to protect the environment violates a variety of human rights (including the rights to life, health, food, water, property, and privacy; the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources; and the right to a healthy environment). Some scholars have questioned the utility of the human rights …

Raising Legal Giants: The Agency Of The Poor In The Human Rights Jurisprudence Of The Nigerian Appellate Courts, 1990-2011, Obiora C. Okafor, Basil E. Ugochukwu

Articles & Book Chapters

This article examines the extent to which the jurisprudence of the Nigerian appellate courts has expanded, maintained or contracted the opportunities of the poor for exercising as robustly as possible their own ‘agency’ to act to redress human rights abuses committed against them during the period between 1990 and 2011. In doing so, the article mostly utilises a critical socio-legal framework which situates Nigeria’s human rights law relating to the agency of the poor within its historical, social, economic and political context. Specifically, it utilises – among others – the kernel ideas of Upendra Baxi’s seminal trade-related market-friendly human rights …

Un Quick Impact Projects: A Stepping Stone For United Nations Missions Effectiveness Through The Creation Of A Confidence Building System, Marie Lepin

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is focusing on the United Nations Quick Impact Projects, which were officially established as part of the UN peacekeeping missions program through the Brahimi report in 2004. Their primary purpose is to develop and strengthen the relationship between the mission and the host population. Precisely, this analysis is centering on the influence that improved relationships have on the effectiveness of a UN mission. In order to do so, the structure of this research is based on a comparative method, using interviews from the field and at the UN headquarters in New York City. The purpose of such method …

Table Of Contents, Public Interest Law Reporter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Vaccination Debate: From The Playground To The Courtroom, Michelle Corda

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

"Reparations Now!": Municipal Reparations, International Tribunals, And The Chicago Torture Justice Memorials Campaign, Nickolas Kaplan

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Does America Care About Mental Health Care?, Zainab Mehkeri

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Coop Businesses: Ownership For The Disowned, Tyler Gurss

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Congress Addresses Federally-Funded Animal Research Lab, Angela Sukurs

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Future Of United States "Wet Foot-Dry Foot" Policy For Cuban Immigration, Elizabeth Hanford

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Public Interest Law Reporter

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Lawyers Represent Clients ... Or Do They?, Alan Mills

Public Interest Law Reporter

In most cases, lawyers file cases on behalf of clients. However, lawyers do not-get to make substantive decisions about the cases we work on; our clients do. Illinois Rule of Professional Conduct 1.2 makes this clear: [A] lawyer shall abide by a client's decisions concerning the objectives of representation and .. . Shall consult with the client as to the means by which they are to be pursued. But what happens in a class action lawsuit? Once a class is certified, lawyers represent both named plaintiffs and every member of the class. What happens when there is a conflict between …

Making Higher Education An Option: Taking A Look At The Chicago Support System For Undocumented High School Students, Martha Laura Garcia

Public Interest Law Reporter

From the injunction on the President's Executive Action to expand the current immigration policies to the current language presidential candidates have used when speaking about immigration reform, immigrants have more than enough reasons to feel uneasy about their future in this country. All is not bad, however, especially for undocumented students. Cities like Chicago, a city of immigrants, are making great strides to create welcoming and supportive communities for immigrants. Compared to other U.S. cities, Chicago is very immigrant-friendly, with people working across the city to provide support for undocumented students and ensure that they have access to higher education. …

Polling Stations Not Up To Ada Standards Prevent Voting, Bethany Dixon

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.