Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rehumanization Among Veterans Of The Yugoslav Wars: Rethinking Reconciliation And Post-Conflict Justice, Jordan N. Kiper

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Rehumanization is a central element in powerful social movements after war. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork in the Balkans, I consider the convergence and divergence between notions of rehumanization found in human rights literature and the role of rehumanization among veterans in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia. Rehumanization plays a prominent role among these veterans because of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), which has had varied social effects on Balkan communities. By supporting the ICTY, veteran associations have vetted themselves of potential war criminals, and thereby developed overlapping justice discourses that converge on the notion of reconciliation. There are …

Power And Participation In Philanthropy: Human Rights As A Goal Or A Process?, Katy Love, Diana Samarasan, Allistair Mallillin

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This session will examine why it is critical — when addressing human rights — to break down traditional funder approaches and barriers in favor of participation, transparency, accountability, and collaboration.

Institutionalizing Rights: The Rise And Fall Of The Human Rights Paradigm In Managing Migration, Todd Scribner

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In a December 2018 message to a gathering in Rome, Pope Francis challenged attendees to place “human rights at the centre of all policies,” even if it meant going against the grain of popular opinion. The occasion for his message was the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which, at least rhetorically, placed human rights at the center of the international order. Three years after its proclamation, the United Nations used the Universal Declaration as a key pillar on which it built its Convention Related to the Status of Refugees, thus making human rights a …

“Water Is A Human Right”: Exploring The Paradox Of Framing Water As A Human Right In A Hostile Political Climate, Sabrina Kozikis

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Many communities across the United States experience challenges in accessing clean and affordable water. In response, civil society and grassroots organizations are using a human rights framework to advocate for safe and affordable services for all. This is a curious trend, given that the United States is a country in which human rights, specifically socio-economic rights, are not recognized as relevant for domestic policy and even met with hostility. This study explores this tension: why do civil society actors, grassroots organizers, and national level advocates in the United States use a human rights framework to advocate for access to clean …

Counter-Diffusion: Does Russian Propaganda Wind Up In America?, Christopher F. Patane, Marc S. Polizzi

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Does the norm diffusion process work in reverse? Specifically, does the success of the Russian government in building counternarratives and counternorms to reinforce its authoritarian government mean they have the ability to diminish successful human rights advocacy in the United States? This project examines whether the rhetoric used to justify anti-LGBT policies in Russia are broadcast and adopted by anti-LGBT groups in the United States. In the United States, public support for LGBT civil rights is often cited as a success story in the adoption and diffusion of human rights norms. Often, this is used as evidence of broadening norm …

The Strategies And Risks Of Performing Citizenship And Rights Through Music, Carolin Mueller

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

My work explores the capacity of cultural producers to perform “insurgent citizenship,” a term theorized by James Holsten (2008) to describe how the peripheries of social organization can propel alternative modes of civic participation, through music. I utilize Engin Isin’s performative dimension of citizenship (2017) to investigate such forms of insurgent citizenship as they evolve in social and cultural peripheries of the contemporary arts and culture industry in the city of Dresden, Germany to identify the pathways they open to socio-political participation and autonomy for refugees.

While Germany understands itself as a nation of culture, cultural policy unevenly addresses the …

How Can Human Rights Activism Help Tackle Economic Inequality? Lessons From Mining Affected Communities In South Africa, Allison Corkery

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The dramatic rise in socioeconomic inequality produced by neoliberal globalisation has provoked a crisis of confidence in the human rights community and inspired a wave of debate about whether human rights have anything meaningful to offer in advancing economic justice. The pessimistic view argues human rights are inadequate for challenging socioeconomic inequality because they are too closely aligned to Western liberalism and too uncritical of the rise of capitalism. The more optimistic view does not dismiss these critiques entirely. It argues that they are only valid for particular (arguably dominant) types of human rights praxis, however. Failing to acknowledge this …

Fiscal Citizenship: How Can Tax Efficiency And Isonomy Aid In The Promotion Of Economic Rights, Social Participation, Political Accountability, And Cultural Diversity?, Gustavo Voeroes Dénes

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

According to the World Inequality Report 2018 (WID 2017), Brazil is one of the few countries that has not recently displayed an increase in income inequality, having instead sustained it on persistently very high levels, actually composing the world’s “inequality frontier”. While such levels of inequality may be partly attributed to poor distribution of property rights, human capital endowments, and specificity of labor relations, a significant part of it is undoubtedly due the national fiscal system’s reduced distributive capacity, compromised by one the worst taxation systems in the world. Occupying the 184th position out of 190 countries in the World …

Innovative Collaboration To Further Community Self-Determination, Matthew Currie, Amaha Sellassie

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The built urban environment is the product of more than a century of policy decisions that have both intentionally discriminated and have had the effect of discriminating, against African Americas, immigrants, the work class, low income individuals and other undesirables. While more than fifty years have passed since the passage of civil rights legislation in the United States, individuals in today’s cities are living out our discriminatory legacy.

In Dayton, Ohio, a new movement has risen from the community to disrupt the legacy of de jure and de facto discrimination by the collaborative efforts of the impactive individuals, neighborhood leaders, …

The Impacts Of Warming Coffee: The Climate Change-Coffee-Migration Nexus In The Northern Triangle Of Central America, Connor Lynch

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

As climate change continues to threaten every corner of the world, millions of people find their livelihoods and food security at risk as a result of a warming planet. With their human right to livelihood and adequate nutrition at threat, some make the difficult decision to emigrate in search of economic security. The climate change-migration nexus is illustrated in this poster presentation which shows how slow-onset effects of climate change jeopardize the production of coffee in the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA), a region that is particularly vulnerable. Thousands of people who depend on coffee production around Guatemala, Honduras, …

Human Rights And Economic Democracy: Reinvigorating The Human Rights Movement, Curtis T. Kline

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

A 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that in order to avoid a seemingly inevitable ecological collapse that would bring intense suffering especially on the most marginalized and excluded sectors; the world needs to develop “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”. There are many local experiences which demonstrate the possibilities of achieving these needed changes. There are a number of community organizations and associations, social movements, and municipal efforts, among others, with creative visions on this front. In Jackson, Mississippi, for example, Cooperation Jackson strives to be a means …

Caste, Economic Inequality, And Climate Justice In India, Dadasaheb Tandale

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This paper examines the deepening of economic inequities in India as a result of caste and climate change. Caste as a structure of disadvantage and discrimination determines social, economic, and political status in India. Access to the non-agricultural labor market, financial resources like banking and microfinance resources, and rural cooperatives is shaped by one’s position in the caste hierarchy. Further, the social mobility of the rural poor, migration trajectories, and navigation of the urban labor market are shaped by caste networks in India. In recent years, climate change has also adversely affected various caste groups in India. The change in …

Achieving Energy Justice In Low Income Communities: Creating A Community-Driven Program For Residential Energy Savings, Anya Galli Robertson, Kevin Hallinan, Jennifer Hoody

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The cost of residential energy the U.S. is unequally distributed, with low income households paying higher rates and spending 16.8% of their income on utility bills compared to 3.5% of all U.S. Residents.[1] Researchers have found that bringing the housing stock up to the efficiency of the median household would reduce excess energy cost by as much as 68%.[2] However, access to opportunities to reduce residential energy consumption and costs such as tax incentives and utility rebate programs tends to be biased toward wealthier, white homeowners. Additionally, low income residents are most likely to be renters, and residence owners have …

Human Rights, Environmental Justice, Social Justice, Faith Values And Ethics: Building Stronger Partnerships For The Common Good By Understanding The Differences, Theresa Harris, Leanne M. Jablonski, Sarah Fortner, Malcolm Daniels

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Partnerships between human rights practitioners, local communities, scientists, engineers, and health professionals have shown potential to address deeply rooted, systemic human rights concerns. These collaborations are essential for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and for engaging the perspectives and expertise of all constituents. However, even when the individuals in these partnerships or the organizations they represent have common goals, their motivations, analyses, and solutions often come from different perspectives. Members of good will can inadvertently alienate one another when attempting to work together. The fields of human rights, social justice, environmental justice, and ethics have each developed their …

Fear And Resistance Far From The Border: Human Rights And Student Engagement In Immigrant And Refugee Communities In Dayton, Ohio, Theophile J. Majka, Miranda Cady Hallett

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Similar to articles 23-27 of the UDHR, articles 25-31 of the 1990 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families specify equal access by immigrants to educational, vocational & health/social services and equality of living and working conditions and employment contracts.

Beginning in 2007, Professor Majka has involved students in his immigration classes in research on the challenges and obstacles immigrants and refugees in the Dayton area experience relevant for those areas specified by the Convention. Joined by students in Professor Linda Majka classes, students arranged and conducted interviews with representatives …

Community Based Global Learning, Anthony N. Talbott, Molly Maccready, Matt Maroon

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

This panel explores frameworks for effective implementation and assessment of community-based learning. Relationships between universities and community partners must be just and reciprocal—meeting student learning outcomes and improving the capacity of the partner organizations. Case studies of both international and US-based community engaged learning will be presented.

The Human Right To Science, Brian K. Gran, Anne Bryden, Mark Frezzo, John Dale

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Human rights may be game changers to science. Science is under pressure. The ability to do science, to gain scientific educations, and to make and implement public policies based on science are under attack globally. Harms from doing science continue despite greater attention. Individuals are harmed in the name of science and scientists are persecuted for doing their work. The human right to science may change these scenarios. The human right to science belongs to everyone. Discrimination along lines of nationality, gender, skin color, beliefs, and other markers is not permitted. The human right to science bolsters other rights, including …

No Human Right To Sodomy: Christian Conservative Opposition To Sogi Human Rights, Cynthia Burack

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The American Christian conservative movement is the most consistent and persistent adversary of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) civil rights in the US. In recent years, the Christian right has responded to changes in attitudes to same-sex sexuality in the US by relocating some of their attention and operations to issues and arenas of contest outside the US that hold more promise for implacable antagonism to rights and recognition for LGBTQ people. In some parts of the world, these US-based anti-LGBTQ actors have become recognized as “experts” on gender and sexual minorities and the dire consequences the existence of …

Faith-Based Civil Society Organizations And The Protection Of Victims Of Human Rights Abuses In Nigeria, Nathaniel Umukoro

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Nigeria has witnessed various forms of human rights violations such as extrajudicial killings, rape, and torture during both military and civilian regimes. Amnesty International, the U.S. State Department, and the Political Terror Scale of the Centre for Systemic Peace indicate that Nigeria is a country characterized by generalized human rights violations.

Over the years, several scholars have examined the causes, nature, responses of the state, and reasons for the persistence of human rights violations in Nigeria. A careful consideration of these studies indicates that the role of faith-based civil society organizations in the protection of victims of human rights abuses …

Collective Memory Of Past Human Rights Abuses-South Korea, Ñusta Carranza Ko

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

The discourse on transitional justice by academics and practitioners center upon a common understanding of the importance of truth-seeking or truth-telling, reparations, prosecutions, and other institutional reforms in addressing a state’s past abuses. Policies of memorialization complement these processes of transitional justice, with the production of collective memory and history that helps transitioning states from authoritarian pasts toward reconciliation.

This study builds on the growing interest in memory initiatives by bringing to light the integral and "visible" role memory practices have played in truth-seeking and reparations processes. Particularly, it focuses on the building of collective memory integrated in truth commission …

Understanding Truth: How Commissioners Influence The Final Report Of A Truth Commission, Christine Bianco

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Ensuring a future of human rights means coming to terms with past violations of human rights. This both recognizes human rights as an important position in the policy of the state and helps to end a system of impunity against such actions, even if it is done symbolically. One of the major mechanisms that states have used to address their past has been truth commissions. The strength of truth commissions lies in their ability to bring to light the voices of the victims as well as their ability to criticize those who have committed human rights abuses.

In order to …

Shaming The Truth: Naming And Shaming And Transitional Justice, Christopher F. Patane, Marc S. Polizzi

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

While it is generally recognized that “naming and shaming” carried out by transnational human rights actors can lead to an improvement in aggregate conditions, it is less clear whether this strategy influences more specific behavior. As more states are democratizing, the international community has stepped up efforts at transitional justice to promote accountability and reconciliation. What is unclear is whether this promotion has been positive or negative for the pursuit of transitional justice broadly or if the community prioritizes some mechanisms over others.

In this paper, we examine the role that human rights advocacy plays in the onset of transitional …

We Just Need To Pee: Bathroom Bills And The Intersection Of Human Rights, Gender, And Race, Lena Tenney

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Although rarely publicly discussed, bathrooms are a fundamental element of everyday life. In fact, the majority of the population does not question their right or ability to access public restroom facilities because they are a mundane aspect of daily routine. However, the recent rise of “bathroom bills” in state legislatures has sparked significant media coverage and highlighted activist movements seeking to guarantee safe, affirming, and legally protected access to bathrooms for people of all gender identities and expressions.

This paper will illustrate that bathroom access is not only a matter of public policy, but also a question of human rights. …

The Power And Pathologies Of Language: How Human Rights Messaging Can Also Affect Support For Violent Non-State Actors, Alexandra Haines, Michele Leiby, Matthew Krain

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Are framing strategies that are effective at encouraging pro-social behavior such as participation in human rights campaigns also effective at mobilizing support for “anti-social” and violent causes? Using an experimental research design, we seek to understand under what conditions individuals will express support for retributive violent action.

We hypothesize that a personal story of victimization, wherein the humanity and vulnerability of the victim and the intensity of the violence suffered are described in vivid detail, will be necessary and sufficient to cause the audience to express support for the victim’s subsequent participation in organized, retaliatory violence. We expect that personal …

The 'Nayirah' Effect: The Role Of Target States’ Human Rights Violations And Victims’ Emotive Images In War Support, Joseph Braun, Kiyoung Chang

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

When a target state violates human rights, how does the identity of the victims and the presence of emotive imagery affect the level of public support for interventionist war? How does the perceived race and gender of victims affect this relationship? We employ a survey experiment to study whether and when information about a target state’s human rights violations affects public attitudes toward the use of force. Specifically, we manipulate a fictional victim’s race (light-skinned vs. dark-skinned) and gender (male vs. female), and explore how these variations affect support for interventionist war. In our experiment, we find that war support …

Homophobia, Human Rights And Diplomacy, Douglas Janoff

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Multilateral human rights diplomacy is a product of the triad relationship between intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), civil society organizations (CSOs), and states. This paper examines the emergence of LGBT rights within the context of the UN human rights system. Recently, the global debates around LGBT rights have become much more public and increasingly complex: Ministers, leaders, and even the UN Secretary-General routinely call on states to do more to protect sexual minorities. Countries such as Uganda and Russia are labeled “homophobic” — not just by human rights activists, but by other states. These “accusations” are delivered both bilaterally and in multilateral …

Gay Teachers In Catholic Schools: A Conflict Of Human Rights, Ish Ruiz

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

What happens when a person’s exercise of a human right conflicts with another’s enjoyment of a human right? Such is the case when a gay teacher in a Catholic school is fired as the school exercises its right to religious freedom in order to ensure its teachers live lives consistent with Church teaching.

As religious institutions, Catholic schools are protected by a ministerial exception that offers legal immunity to Catholic educational institutions that fire gay and lesbian teachers (teachers are sometimes considered “ministers” by the courts). In many states these firings on the basis of sexual orientation or marital status …

Gender, Displacement And Transitional Justice, Sinead Mcgrath

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

In the past fifteen years, there has been huge emphasis on the need for gendered mechanisms dealing with both forced migration and peacebuilding. The UN landmark resolution on Women, Peace and Security (S/RES/1325) and the gender-mainstreaming of the 1951 Refugee Convention have urged all actors to increase the participation of women in peacebuilding and their protection in instances of displacement. An underdeveloped link between these issues has not been addressed by the academic community, particularly when looking at societies in transition and the relationship of displaced women to international migration organisations in the context of transitional justice. This study aims …

Inequalities, Human Rights, And Sustainable Development Goal 10, Gillian Macnaughton

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Most of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets echo the goals and targets in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) framework. SDG 10 — reduce inequality within and among countries — is, however, completely new. The idea that the global community should work together toward equality had no part in the MDG framework, which focused on reducing poverty rather than making a more equal world. From a human rights perspective, the inclusion of the new SDG on reducing inequality is a great step forward.

Notably, Oxfam reported in January 2017 that the eight wealthiest men in the world …

Out Of The Prison And Onto The Streets: The Trafficking Of Incarcerated Women (A Trans-Disciplinary Media Research Project), Mei-Ling Mcnamara

Biennial Conference: The Social Practice of Human Rights

Women are being actively targeted for the sex trafficking trade within US prisons and are recruited by a network of fellow inmates who are given "finders fees" for supplying victims. In prisons from Florida to North Carolina, Ohio to Massachusetts, women are promised housing and food in exchange for work upon release but instead are deceived and prostituted for the human trafficking trade. Some traffickers stalk their victims through public-access profiles from statewide prison websites, then groom them over months through correspondence and phone calls.

Inside the largest women’s prison in the United States, the Florida Lowell Correctional Institution, officers …