International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Making Sense Of A Senseless War, J. Peter Pham

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

A Dirty War in West Africa: The RUF and the Destruction of Sierra Leone by Lansana Gberie. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2005.

and

Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight by Rachel Brett and Irma Specht. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005.

The Ethics Of Torture, Rebecca Evans

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Torture: Does It Make Us Safer? Is It Ever OK? A Human Rights Perspective. Edited by Kenneth Roth and Mindy Worden. New York: The New Press, 2005. 201 pp.

Human Rights And The War On Terror Second Edition: Introduction, Jack Donnelly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“9/11 changed everything.” Not really. In fact, there has been far more continuity than change over the past six years in both international and domestic politics. Nonetheless, human rights often have been harmed—although not by terrorism but by “the war on terror.”

Title Page

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Title page for the 2007 supplement to the Human Rights and the War on Terror topical research digest.

A Survey Of Terrorism And Human Rights In Uganda, Arika Long

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Tragically, Uganda is a primary example of a country dominated by terror and human rights violations. In a 2006 interview with Integrated Regional Information Networks IRIN, the news department of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland, called the conflict in Uganda “the worst form of terrorism in the world.” Defining terrorism as indiscriminate violence against civilians, he declares that nowhere in the world is there a more concentrated area where so many people are being terrorized, and have been for such a long period of time. According to …

Chechnya: Human Rights Issues, Latife Bulur

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Chechnya is a country plagued by terrorism and human rights abuses. A primary source of these issues is the unsettled situation between local insurgents and the Russian military. This conflict, increasing in magnitude over time, makes it incredibly difficult to negotiate the terms of Chechnya’s independence perpetuating the crisis. Rising violence fuels Russia’s frustration in addressing the conflict with Chechen groups. Russia has and continues to employ various tactics to minimize the violence, but such tactics have all so far been unsuccessful.

Civil Society And Human Rights, Ken Bonneville

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A dynamic civil society is essential to a functioning democracy. After the fall of the Soviet Union there was hope that Russia could create a robust civil society to compliment its burgeoning democracy, but 15 years after the fall neither occurrence appears to be the case. Instead of an open society, Russian civil society faces challenges of oppression, threats of violence, an overbearing bureaucracy, and a constitution open to interpretation. The following research outlines some of the obstacles facing Russia’s civil society and addresses how the government is restricting civil society functions.

Disability Rights, Annika Johnson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Disability rights are often ignored in discussions of human rights. Recently, however, scholars and activists have begun producing a body of literature on disability rights in Russia and the former Soviet bloc states. Much of the literature focuses on children’s rights with an emphasis on the right to inclusive education. The literature addressing adult issues includes articles considering civil society, civil rights, and community integration. Finally, several articles address the intersection of disability rights with gender rights and ethnic minority rights.

Gender And Human Rights, Lisa Weilminster

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Russia’s historical transition from a communist society to a system of democracy and free market practices has resulted in major social changes affecting the rights of men and women. Analysis of gender and human rights in Russia requires an evaluation of the changing social relations within post-Soviet society, which are shaped by the complex factors of ethnicity, economic class, gender norms, and the role of the state in shaping present gender inequities that hinder the realization of universal human rights. Looking particularly at how gender issues relate to changing identities, employment opportunities, health care and conditions, and public and private …

Violations Of Human Rights In The Russian Military, Cathy Smith

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In 2005, an estimated 450 deaths were caused by injuries due to internal military violence. The degradation inflicted on Russian soldiers within their regime necessitates reformation by the government and implementation of resolutions. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian military has been experiencing heightened levels of personnel decline despite the compulsory draft. The prestige that the Soviet Army of the 1950s received through the late 1980s is dwindling rapidly. Despite the military code of conduct, today’s army is afflicted with perpetual violations of human rights. For the future of the Russian military, extensive action must include systemic …

The Roma: During And After Communism, Florinda Lucero, Jill Collum

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Roma are an interconnected ethnic and cultural group that migrated out of India more than ten centuries ago. In the Czech Republic, they may have been present since the 15th century. Although relations within Czech lands began honorably, they quickly disintegrated into enmity and within a century Czechs could kill the Roma with impunity. Legislation restricting Roma movement came about in 1927 with Law 117: the “Law on Wandering Gypsies,” which stated that the Roma were now required to seek permission to stay overnight in any given location. In the run-up to World War II, parallel restrictions to those …

Sudan: A Survey Of Terrorism And Human Rights, Arika Long

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sudan is a primary example of a country dominated by terror and human rights violations. Upon the release of Amnesty International’s 2007 annual report, Secretary General Khan described the continuing conflict in Sudan's Darfur region as a “bleeding wound on the world’s conscience.” In the report, the authors declare that the world has been “impotent” in the face of major crises like Darfur. They state that policies linked to the “War on Terror” are creating a more polarized and dangerous world, with grave effects in Sudan. In addition to the terror and human rights violations permeating the North, frustration also …

Totalitarianism: The Case Of Turkmenistan, Hayden Gore

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, Saparmurat Niyazov, the former First Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkmenistan and self-styled “Turkmenbashi” (Father of All Turkmen), became the country’s first president, quickly fashioning Turkmenistan into one of the most repressive regimes in the world. Declared president-for-life after a dubious parliamentary election in which he selected all of the candidates, Niyazov has created a Stalinistic personality cult to glorify his image and to solidify his control over the state. His “reforms” have outlawed political dissent, marginalized ethnic and religious minorities, gutted the public health system, and enforced a campaign …

Ethnic Conflict, Kristina Libby

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has experienced high levels of ethnic conflict with regard to exit claims by former satellite states that no longer want to be part of the federation. Exit claims often antagonize the state. However, political leaders of titular ethnicities maximize ethnic revivals to keep traditions alive, and to minimize the amount of exclusion vis-à-vis the center. Massive human rights violations have resulted because of misperceptions between the center and the periphery, especially in Chechnya, the Volga-Ural’s Region and Eastern Siberia.

The Health Crisis In Russia, Christine Danton

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A health crisis has emerged in Russia due to declining health and inadequate health care. The crisis is so severe that the term “disappearing population” has been applied to Russia due to a high death rate, low birth rate, and low life expectancy among its people. These factors continue to worsen due to inefficiency and a lack of resources throughout the health care system. The government has been slow to respond to the current crisis, often ignoring calls to reform the system and sometimes passing inappropriate measures. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and medical professionals report there is an urgent need to …

The Relative Universality Of Human Rights (Revised), Jack Donnelly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

© Jack Donnelly. All rights reserved.

This article is forthcoming in Human Rights Quarterly.

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 cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website …

Beyond Bankovic: Extraterritorial Application Of The European Convention On Human Rights, Federico Sperotto

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The obligations set forth in the international and regional instruments on human rights are considered as having a strictly territorial scope. States parties have the duty to guarantee the rights recognized in the treaties to all individuals within their territories. The territorial reach of these obligations is expanding by way of interpretation. In its decision on Bankovic, the European Court reduced the impact of this international trend toward a progressive enlargement of the protection granted by human rights treaties, affirming those attacks conducted by NATO against Yugoslavia in 1999 fell out of the extraterritorial reach of the European Convention. After …

J. Eric Dibbern On Forbidden Families: Family Unification And Child Registration In East Jerusalem By Yael Stein. Hamoked: Center For The Defense Of The Individual, 2004. 41pp., J. Eric Dibbern

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Forbidden Families: Family Unification and Child Registration in East Jerusalem by Yael Stein. HaMoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, 2004. 41pp.

Sarah Bania-Dobyns On New Terror, New Wars By Paul Gilbert. Washington, Dc: Georgetown University Press, 2003. 176pp., Sarah Bania-Dobyns

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

New Terror, New Wars by Paul Gilbert. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003. 176pp.

Labor’S Human Rights: A Review Of The Nature And Status Of Core Labor Rights As Human Rights, Roy J. Adams

Human Rights & Human Welfare

© Roy J. Adams. 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 cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website without express permission of the author.

Gabriel H. Teninbaum On The Witnesses: War Crimes And The Promise Of Justice In The Hague By Eric Stover. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 230 Pp., Gabriel H. Teninbaum Esq.

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Witnesses: War Crimes and the Promise of Justice in The Hague by Eric Stover. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005. 230 pp.

Kurt Mills On The Dark Sides Of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism By David Kennedy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005. 400 Pp., Kurt Mills

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Dark Sides of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism by David Kennedy. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005. 400 pp.

Richard Burchill On International Human Rights And Humanitarian Law: Treaties, Cases And Analysis By Francisco Forrest Martin, Stephen J. Schnably, Richard J. Wilson, Jonathan S. Simon, And Mark V. Tushnet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 1022 Pp., Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law: Treaties, Cases and Analysis by Francisco Forrest Martin, Stephen J. Schnably, Richard J. Wilson, Jonathan S. Simon, and Mark V. Tushnet. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 1022 pp.

Richard Burchill On The Practice And Procedure Of The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights By Jo M. Pasqualucci. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 488pp., Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Practice and Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by Jo M. Pasqualucci. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 488pp.

Christiane Wilke On Global Justice Or Global Revenge? International Criminal Justice At The Crossroads By Hans Köchler. New York: Springer, 2003., Christiane Wilke

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Global Justice or Global Revenge? International Criminal Justice at the Crossroads by Hans Köchler. New York: Springer, 2003.

Christina M. Cerna On The Torture Papers: The Road To Abu Ghraib. Edited By Karen J. Greenberg And Joshua L. Dratel. Cambridge, Ma: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 1249 Pp., Christina M. Cerna

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib. Edited by Karen J. Greenberg and Joshua L. Dratel. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 1249 pp.

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.

Addressing The Gaps—Promise And Performance, Synthesis And Purity, Large-N And Small-N: A Response To Moore, Todd Landman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A response to:

Moore, W. (2006). Synthesis v. purity and large-N studies: How might we assess the gap between promise and performance? Human Rights, Human Welfare, 6(1).

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.

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.