Human Rights Law Commons^™

China's Belt And Road Initiative Is Reshaping Human Rights Norms, Mikkaela Salamatin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since its birth in 2015, the Belt and Road Initiative has garnered significant attention for its benefits and its detriments. Much of the current scholarship in this area is focused on particular pieces of the Belt and Road Initiative, with few in legal scholarship considering the impact of the relationship between China's growing soft power and its effect on international law and international institutions. Every state has the right to pursue power and influence, but this Note specifically examines how China's methods of obtaining this power and influence--specifically through the Belt and Road Initiative and related actions within United Nations' …

Why China Should Unsign The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights, Margaret K. Lewis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In March 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council finalized its periodic review of China's human rights record just as human rights in China were under intensified attack. As during prior reviews, China was criticized for its human rights practices. And, once again, China was urged to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which China signed over twenty years ago. It is time to reevaluate this approach.

This Article argues that the international community should change tack and instead call on China to remove its signature from this foundational human rights treaty. While this would be …

Redefining Lgbtq And Abortion Rights In Latin America: A Transnational Toolkit, Alyssa Julian

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Throughout Latin America, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer (LGBTQ) and abortion rights movements have progressed at divergent strengths and speeds, with significant variation among countries. The region is home to some of the most restrictive and discriminatory laws when it comes to these contentious issues. This Note explores some of the reasons behind the variation in LGBTQ and abortion rights throughout the region.

This Note traces the economic and political history of Latin America to illustrate the climate in which these social movements are operating. Further, this Note offers a brief snapshot of recent global developments in LGBTQ …

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor (Unless They Are From “One Of Three Mexican Countries”): Unaccompanied Children And The Humanitarian Crisis At The U.S. Southern Border, Samantha R. Bentley

University of Richmond Law Review

This Comment argues that the United States’s response to the humanitarian crisis at its border is wholly inadequate. It argues that the government chose to advance two policies, Zero Tolerance and Family Separation, that exacerbated the humanitarian crisis at the border. These policies facilitated practices that violated domestic and international law. Most importantly, this Comment argues that the United States government traumatized one of the most vulnerable groups of people in the world: children.

Alston And Heyns On Unlawful Killings: A Compendium Of The Jurisprudence Of The United Nations Special Rapporteurs On Extrajudicial, Summary Or Arbitrary Executions From 2004-2016, Philip G. Alston, Christof Heyns, Sarah Knuckey, Thomas Probert

Faculty Books

This book provides a detailed overview of the law and policy related to unlawful killings and the right to life. It is organized into the key thematic issues and types of killings that arose during the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions between 2004-2016. Each chapter contains an introductory overview and selected extracts from UN Special Rapporteur reports to the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council and other normative work, and covers the applicable international law, policy considerations, and common fact scenarios.

Philip Alston held the mandate of United Nations Special …

Populism And International Human Rights Law Institutions: A Survival Guide, Laurence R. Helfer

Faculty Scholarship

Confronting hostile governments is nothing new for international human rights courts, treaty bodies, and other monitoring mechanisms. Yet there is a growing sense that the recent turn to populism poses a new type of threat that international human rights law (IHRL) institutions are ill equipped to meet. This chapter begins by identifying the facilitating conditions that have, until recently, supported the international human rights system. It then assesses the distinctive challenges that populism poses to IHRL institutions. Turning from diagnosis to prescription, the chapter reviews a range of legal and political tools that might be deployed to address those challenges …

The Policy On Children Of The Icc Office Of The Prosecutor: Toward Greater Accountability For Crimes Against And Affecting Children, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

The Policy on Children published by the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor in 2016 represents a significant step toward accountability for harms to children in armed conflict and similar extreme violence. This article describes the process that led to the Policy and outlines the Policy’s contents. It then surveys relevant ICC practice and related developments, concluding that despite some salutary efforts, much remains to be done to recognize, prevent and punish the spectrum of conflicted-related crimes against or affecting children.

The Complexities Of Democracy, Development, And Human Rights In China's Belt And Road Initiative, Diane Desierto

Journal Articles

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)-a dense network of China-funded multi-year infrastructure projects in over 65 countries from the Western Pacific to the Baltic Sea, collectively aiming to establish China's strategic "Maritime Belt" and "Silk Road" connectivity using an estimated range of USD$1 Trillion to USD$8 Trillion--is as unprecedented phenomenon in sovereign project financing and bilateral investment lending, since the United States' grant of USD $800 Billion for the Marshall Plan was for Europe's post World War II reconstruction. The scale, scope, and terms of BRI projects remain shrouded in relative opacity, with China as of this writing only incrementally …

The Long Tail Of World War Ii: Jus Post Bellum In Contemporary East Asia, Timothy Webster

Faculty Scholarship

The shadow of World War II still looms over East Asia. Unlike the West, issues of state accountability, corporate liability, and individual reparation roil the victims, governments, and civil society organizations. It stills form a critical, often controversial, backdrop for international relations among China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian nations. This chapter fills an important gap by focusing on jus post bellum outside of the West. The chapter examines the results, motivations, and achievements of civil litigation, namely approximately one hundred World War II reparations lawsuits filed in Japan. In so doing, it answers three related questions. Why does World …

Regulating The Border, Eunice Lee

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Untangling The Yemen Crisis, Paul Williams, Laura Graham, Jim Johnson, Michael P. Scharf, Milena Sterio

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Slavery-Like Conditions And Abuse Of Positions Of Vulnerability: Why The United States Should Judge Countries' Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking Based On The Palermo Protocol And Consider The Effects Of Legalized Prostitution On Human Trafficking, Danica Baird

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Paradigm Perplexities: Does International Humanitarian Law Or International Human Rights Law Govern The Gaza Border Protests Of 2018-2019, & What Are The Consequences? A Response To The Supreme Court’S Opinion In Yesh Din V. Idf Chief Of Staff (Hcj 3003/18), Anthony Carl

Student Articles & Notes

In March 2018, thousands of Gazan citizens mobilized for a mass protest movement at the border with the State of Israel that endured for more than a year and a half, ending in late 2019. By February 2019, the IDF’s response to these protestors resulted in 189 deaths and 23,313 injuries to Gazan Palestinian protestors. Upon hearing challenges to the IDF’s rules of engagement brought by a number of human rights groups, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in HCJ 3003/18 Yesh Din v. IDF Chief of Staff that the IDF’s response was proper under the law enforcement paradigm of international …

Art As A Weapon, Sahar Akhavan

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Overrepresented Yet Overlooked: Lgbtq Survivors Of Trafficking And The Imperative For The Nordic Approach To Sex Trafficking Laws In The United States, Claire Mooney

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that LGBTQ survivors of human trafficking are disproportionately affected by inadequate legal frameworks and societal discrimination. It advocates for the adoption of the Nordic Model in the U.S., which criminalizes the purchase of sex while decriminalizing its sale, to better address the needs of LGBTQ survivors and align with international human rights standards.

An Examination Of How The Canadian Military’S Legal System Responds To Sexual Assault, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Although the Canadian military has been conducting sexual assault trials for over twenty years, there has been no academic study of them and no external review of them. This review of the military’s sexual assault cases (the first of its kind) yields several important findings. First, the conviction rate for the offence of sexual assault by courts martial is dramatically lower than the rate in Canada’s civilian criminal courts. The difference between acquittal rates in sexual assault cases in these two systems appears to be even larger. Since Operation Honour was launched in 2015 only one soldier has been convicted …

Equitable Hiring Policy In Higher Education At The University Of Montana, Victoria Mckinley Bigelow, Kinsey Anderson

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

Higher Education; University of Montana; Equity; Hiring; University; College; Montana; Missoula; Public Administration; Organization; Missoula; Diversity; Women; Policy

Can The International Criminal Court Succeed? An Analysis Of The Empirical Evidence Of Violence Prevention, Stuart Ford

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

Despite significant optimism about the future of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) during its early years, recently there has been growing criticism of it by both scholars and governments. As a result, there appears to be more doubt about the ICC’s ability to succeed now than at any other point in its history. So, are the critics correct? Is the ICC failing? No. This Article argues that, not only can the ICC succeed, there is strong evidence that it is already succeeding. It analyzes several recent empirical articles that have convincingly demonstrated that the ICC prevents serious violations of international …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Power In Human Rights Advocate And Rightsholder Relationships: Critiques, Reforms, And Challenges, Sarah Knuckey, Benjamin Hoffman, Jeremy Perelman, Gulika Reddy, Alejandra Ancheita, Meetali Jain

Faculty Scholarship

Human rights advocacy can construct passive “victims,” objectify or displace rightsholders and affected communities, and contribute to their disempowerment. In response to critiques – made by rightsholders, activists, and scholars alike – about the values and effects of such disempowering advocacy models, many advocates are increasingly prioritizing an understanding of these dynamics and reforming practice to better center and support the agency of directly affected individuals and groups. However, the tactics and modalities of these efforts are under-examined in scholarly literature, and many human rights advocates lack access to adequate documentation of tactics and spaces for peer learning. In this …