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The Challenges Of Change: Causes And Consequences Of Child Labor In China, Andrea Morley

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The government of China opened its doors to the global economy in the late 1970s, with gradually but steadily increasing competition, trade, and production. The ‘Asian Tiger’ was fueled by export-led development as the number of factories and production facilities spread rapidly across the country. This rapid economic growth exacerbated labor violations, primarily due to the increased incentives for profits and demands of production on Chinese factories. In order to be more competitive, China required a strong labor force; its citizens were thrust into the global economy.

A Legal System That Compromises Due Process And Promotes Organ Harvesting And Human Rights Abuse Of Prisoners: A Case Study Of China, Shivani Ramdeo

Human Rights & Human Welfare

On June 21, 1989, three men were executed in Shanghai two weeks after their arrests. The Xinhua News Agency reported that Bian Hanwu, Xu Guoming and Yan Xuerong were arrested, charged and convicted for sabotaging transportation. Upon rejection of their appeals by the Shanghai People’s High Court, they were executed. Again, Xinhua reported on January 26, 2003, the execution of Lobsang Dondrub, (who was found guilty of inciting a split in the country and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition), hours after his death sentence was approved by the Sichuan Province Higher People’s Court, despite an assurance to a US delegation …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Freedom Of Speech And Expression In The People’S Republic Of China, Liza Negriff

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The international community has been criticizing China for its human rights violations for years. However, one human rights violation has received less attention than some other rights issues both inside and outside of China: censorship and restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. This scantiness of attention is largely attributed to the fact that acquiring reliable information about censorship and freedom of expression in China is challenging.

China’S Infanticide Epidemic, Winter Wall

Human Rights & Human Welfare

China’s one-child policy, initiated to curtail China’s rapid population growth, has resulted in fundamental human rights abuses. Due to the cultural stigma of having female children, the stringent policy has led to millions of female infants being aborted, abandoned, or killed. As China struggles with population control, families are faced with the necessity of bearing male children, who are perceived as being more valuable to the family and who are often charged with the care of their elderly parents. Consequently, the elimination of female infants has created a skewed sex ratio in China’s population—the social, economic, and physical repercussions of …

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, Allison Welch

Human Rights & Human Welfare

China’s human rights record has been the subject of intense scrutiny. Therefore, when China was chosen to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, the decision was predictably controversial. There were calls for boycotts of the opening ceremony by many international actors, such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and an assortment of political figures. Institutions such as the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom argued that boycotting the games would bring critical attention to China’s troubled human rights record, which would ultimately provoke Beijing to alter its controversial policies. Others argued that boycotting the games would only serve to intensify …

Human Rights In Sub-Saharan Africa: Introduction, Jendayi E. Frazer

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Whether one points to the legacy of colonialism, the nature of the post-colonial state, the effects of the Cold War, globalization, and enduring customary cultural practices, the facts presented in this Spring Digest on Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) point to a significant deficit in human rights protection for sub-Saharan Africa’s people. All of the selections recognize that the demand for greater human rights and the form in which they are expressed will largely come from within Africa to be sustainable. The Digest creates a bridge between universal rights standards and their particular application and expression in Africa.

Youth Migration And Poverty In Sub-Saharan Africa: Empowering The Rural Youth, Charlotte Min-Harris

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sangaré, a poor young farmer from a village in southern Mali, leaves his wife and three children to find stable employment in the capital city of Bamako. What he finds is an unrewarding reality that leads him from small job to small job, only earning about US 22 cents per day. These jobs range from selling sunglasses, to shining shoes, to driving a rickshaw. Unfortunately, his income has not proved enough to provide for his family, as his aunt has since adopted his daughter, and his children cannot attend school. The inability to find stable employment in Bamako has forced …

The Continuing Struggle For Agrarian Reform In Brazil, Sarah Mogab

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Brazil is infamous for its enormously skewed distribution of income, wealth, and land. In a country where 4 percent of landowners own 79 percent of the land, an ongoing movement for land reform continues to be a source of conflict and violence in the countryside (Kay 2001: 755). Extreme poverty is highly concentrated in rural areas. Although rural workers comprise only 18 percent of the total population (Filho 2007), it is estimated that as many as 6 million families are in need of land (Thomas: 9). This struggle for land, in Brazil and elsewhere, is framed by its supporters as …

The Brazilian Paradox: The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Battle For Human Rights, Adrienne Rosenberg

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With a rich religious history of Catholicism juxtaposed with a sexually liberal public, Brazil interacts with its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community in a very distinct and often conflicting manner. Although homosexuality has been legal in the state since 1823, save the armed forces, and civil unions are currently permitted in some areas, Brazil has functioned within this paradox as both worst transgressor, with a high record of hate crimes and discrimination, and as world leader, with a progressive domestic and global push for LGBT rights. In order to accurately assess these two opposing statuses, one must analyze the …

The Colonial Legacy And Human Rights In Mexico: Indigenous Rights And The Zapatista Movement, Alexander Karklins

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The current status of human rights in Latin America has been profoundly affected by the legacy of colonial institutions. Since the time of conquest, through colonialism, and after independence, the growth of the Latin American state has been challenged by the alternative discourse of indigenous rights. In Mexico, the dominance of mestizaje (or the quest for a single Mexican ethnic identity) in the formation of its modern state apparatus has left indigenous cultures out of the realm of political participation and exposed to human rights violations. With the Zapatista uprising of 1994-1996, the contradictions inherent in Mexico’s constitution were brought …

Police Violence In Brazil, Kyra Moon

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“This was just the beginning. They want war, and they‟ll get war. The problem of trafficking will only be resolved with blood. It is the only language they understand.” This was the response of Mario Azevedo, chief delegate of the 21st police precinct in the Bonsucsso neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, after drug traffickers killed three police officers. Three days after that assault, one hundred and twenty heavily armed police officers stormed into the Nova Brasilia favela (the Brazilian term for slum or shantytown) and killed thirteen residents, four of which were minors. Press reports initially described this incident in …

Violence Against Sex Workers In Latin America: Pervasiveness, Impunity, And Implications, Stephanie A. Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

On December 17, 2005, two transgendered sex workers in Guatemala City were shot in the head, one fatally. Witnesses—including the survivor—alleged that police forces shot the victims. Human rights advocates have argued that the attack was part of a broader social cleansing campaign that has targeted all sex workers.

Sex workers in Latin America are subjected to violence regularly. This violence varies greatly, but its pervasiveness and the impunity for perpetrators are two common themes. Violence against sex workers comes from many different sources: police, pimps, johns, serial killers, gang members and others. The violence also takes many forms, including …

Disease In The Desert: Las Vegas As A Case Study Of How First Responders And Emergency Managers Understand Novel Threats To Human Health And Plan To Respond During Biological Emergencies, Monique Williamson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over recent years it has become clear that technological advancements, globalization, and ecological change, combined with the onset of increased terrorist incidents, are all currently working to create an extremely hazardous environment in terms of pathogenic invasion. Realizing that infectious diseases are both newly emerging and re-emerging in many parts of the world, the question of how prepared an expansive United States will be in the face of an oncoming global pandemic is easily raised. Using Las Vegas as an example of just how unequipped a largely visited U.S. city may be in the face of such a situation, this …

Explaining The Deadlock Of Military Modernization In Taiwan During 2001 To 2007: A Political-Economic Analysis, Pei-Shiue Hsieh

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis tries to explain why the Taiwanese have postponed several critical defense plans for seven years while China's threat toward Taiwan is increasing year by year. Many observers and scholars relate the deadlock over arms procurement in Taiwan to domestic political struggles since the DPP is not the majority party in the Legislative Yuan and opposition parties, such as the Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party (PFP), have repeatedly boycotted President Chen Shui-bian's policies. However, I found that domestic politics is insufficient for explaining such a deadlock. Rather, the U.S.China- Taiwan triangular relationship, including the variation of the …

Human Rights Or Inhuman Wrongs, Edward Friedman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The project of promoting universally recognized human rights, that is, the commitments of the U.N. General Assembly-ratified Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), is in danger. Military and political intervention, including economic sanctions, to stop genocide and ethnic and other political mass murder is under attack. Apparently the lessons of Hitler’s holocaust, the Turkish genocide of Armenians, Pol Pot’s slaughter of innocents, and the loss of life in Rwanda are being rethought and un-taught. So-called peace is now preferred over prevention. The dead may have died in vain.

Challenging The International Criminal Court Over Al-Bashir, Emma Gilligan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

As of late November 2008, we are still awaiting the decision of the U.N. Security Council with regard to the request for the arrest of Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide put forward by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in July. With former Presidents Charles Taylor of Liberia and Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia as the only two heads of state formally indicted by the ICC since its inception in 2002, the question remains whether the U.N. Security Council will allow this controversial indictment of al-Bashir by Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo or invoke Article 16 …

Alex De Waal's Shuttle Diplomacy, Sarah Stanlick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This month’s discussion piece, “The Activist,” is a critical look at one of the most renowned scholars of the turmoil in Sudan. Alex de Waal, a man with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the different factions, aspects, and issues surrounding the conflicts in Sudan, is profiled under a careful eye. De Waal, a competent critic—as McDonell notes who “takes pride in his competence, and he does not hesitate to criticize activists he deems inexpert”— has built a career on a meticulously researched understanding of the conflict. He honed that reputation through careful action, critical thinking, and a critical voice for …

Peace Without Justice, Or Justice Without Peace?, Clair Apodaca

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Peace without justice is an illusion. The use of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute human rights violations not only provides restorative justice for those harmed by the wrongdoing but also retributive justice towards the perpetrators. Restorative justice seeks to help heal the wounds of the victims and community by acknowledging and witnessing the pain and suffering of the victim. Retributive justice seeks to punish the offenders. The hope is that retribution will deter or prevent future acts of violence by holding perpetrators accountable for the violations of human rights, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. …

Communicable Disease And International Security: The Case Of Africa & Hiv/Aids, Amy L Rue

Archived Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I will look at how communicable disease fits into the human security discourse particularly with the disease being views as the 'potential threat' and the 'referent object' within the international sphere. The case of Africa will be used to illustrate the impact of HIV/AIDS on international security at country, regional and international levels. Ultimately, I will argue that communicable disease, as a human security issue, is a clear and important international security issue due to its status as a continual "potential threat" within international relations particularly in Africa. The elements that I will use to establish my …

A Battle Of Wills: Examining The Religious Factor In Hizbullah's 2006 Ground Engagements With Israel, Arwa Salah Mahmoud

Archived Theses and Dissertations

[abstract not provided]

Environmental Elitism Vs. Environmental Justice: How Egyptian Ngos Shape Environmental Injustices Between The Elite And The Rest, Sarah Sensamaust

Archived Theses and Dissertations

[abstract not provided]

Unintended Consequences Of Repression: Alliance Formation In South Korea's Democracy Movement (1970-1979), Paul Y. Chang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Research regarding the impact of repression on social movements has yielded conflicting findings; some argue that repression decreases the total quantity of protest events while others argue that it motivates protest. To move beyond this impasse, various scholars have suggested exploring how repression influences the quality of social movements. This study assesses the impact repression had on the information of alliances between different social groups participating in South Korea's democracy movement. Results from negative binomial regression analyses show that repression facilitated the formation of alliances between movement actors at a time when the overall number of protest events decreased. This …

December Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Activist.” Harper's Magazine. November 2008.

Global Ethics And The Role Of Academics, Christien Van Den Anker

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Academics have a social and professional responsibility that stems from their individual duties as global citizens. With their privileged position as lifelong learners they need to assess carefully where they direct their attention for research, their teaching and their exchange of knowledge with the wider public. This means that academic freedom does not only bring a range of rights, it also involves duties to develop and advocate ethical positions on real-life dilemmas and to engage in self-reflection on being in the role of contributing to oppression.

Myths, Reasonable Disagreement, And A League Of Democracies, James Pattison

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The United States ' election in 2004 was based on a number of foreign policy myths. Three of the most obvious were:

• The war in Iraq was necessary as a response to the threat of international terrorism. As a result, the world is now a safer place;
• The institutions of the UN are corrupt and do nothing but restrict American power;
• Al Qaeda and international terrorism more generally are extremely significant threats to American national security

Human Rights And The 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, Brent J. Steele

Human Rights & Human Welfare

There has been a vivid tendency this year by the conventional keepers of Washington wisdom to explicate the two presidential candidates' foreign policy views using old frameworks of "hawk" and "dove." Not only is this binary wrong, it fundamentally obscures some rather ironic potentials for how each candidate, if elected president, will focus upon human rights in their foreign policy. McCain's neoconservative view of the world is founded upon the Wilsonian call for democratization-culminating in what he terms a "League of Democracies." To use a concept that Arnold Wolfers first coined, and one which Joshua Muravchik has proffered as well, …

Speak Softly...With Everyone You Can, Todd Landman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

From the Monroe Doctrine to the Bush Doctrine, United States foreign policy has been predicated on the assumption that somehow it knows what is best for the rest of the world. Monroe feared a potential encroachment from Russia and meddling in the "American" Hemisphere by the European powers and issued what originally appeared as a modest statement about resistance to intervention by any other country than the United States . Ironically enforced by the British Navy at that time, the Monroe Doctrine went far beyond its modest beginnings to set a precedent for the development of U.S. foreign policy. The …

America As An Ordinary Nation, William F. Felice

Human Rights & Human Welfare

For decades, scholars of international relations have called attention to the limits of American power. For example, in 1976 Cornel University Press published America as an Ordinary Country: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Future , edited by Richard Rosecrance. As the title indicates, Rosecrance's book analyzed the impact of the economic, military, and foreign policy setbacks of the 1970s on U.S. power. Suddenly the U.S. seemed less the powerful, "indispensible" leader and more the vulnerable, "ordinary" country unable to control external forces lashing the society's economy and foreign policy. These insights led many scholars to call for a reassessment of …

November Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Foreign Policy Myths Debunked." The Nation. October 6, 2008.

Missed Opportunities For Children?:An Exploration Of The Impact Of New Funding Mechanisms For Early Childhood Education And Care (Ecec) In Ireland, Bernie O'Donoghue Hynes, Noirin Hayes, Siobhan Bradley

Articles

This presentation begins with a review of the overall funding structure for early childhood education and care in Ireland. It moves on to look in detail at the impact of the changes to the social inclusion funding measures. It concludes with a review of the reaction of various Irish stakeholders to these changes that have resulted in a 'missed opportunities for children'.