Human Rights Law Commons^™

Global Human Rights Organizations And National Patterns: Amnesty International's Representations Of Darfur, Joachim J. Savelsberg Phd

Societies Without Borders

This article investigates the contribution of International Non-Governmental Organizations to the social construction of knowledge about episodes of mass violence. The focus is on the dynamics between global and national forces, explored through a case study of Amnesty International and the mass violence that unfolded in the Darfur region of Sudan during the first decade of the 21st century. Interviews with Amnesty staff and volunteers, supplemented by an examination of Amnesty websites, suggest that the organization succeeds in generating a relatively unified representation, reflective of its goal to promote human rights, but that it can succeed only by granting leeway …

Radical Right-Wing Parties In Western Europe And Their Populist Appeal: An Empirical Explanation, Peter Doerschler Phd, Pamela Irving Jackson Phd

Societies Without Borders

In a majority of Western European countries, the vote share cast for radical right-wing populist parties in national elections was over 10% by 2015, reaching 46% in Austria’s 2016 presidential election. Policy agendas of national governments have also moved to the right, demonstrating greater restrictiveness on immigration and skepticism toward the EU. With data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey, European Social Survey, Multiculturalism Policy Index, and Parliaments and Governments Database, we extend current models of electoral support for far-right parties by assessing whether the ethnic majority’s sense of discrimination and safety help explain the allure of the right-wing message. …

Comparing Ignorance: Imagined Immigration And The Exclusion Of Migrants In The Us And Western Europe, Daniel Herda Phd

Societies Without Borders

There exists a well-documented tendency among citizens to perceive immigrant populations as much larger than indicated by official statistics. This misperception has been linked to desires to halt the flow of immigration or restrict immigrants’ rights, raising concern about the consequences of pervasive faulty information. However, ignorance extends beyond questions of population size. There are also many qualitative misperceptions upon which individuals base their opinions about foreigners. In particular, citizens are likely to hold incorrect perceptions about the legal status of the typical immigrant (i.e., documented vs undocumented). The current study takes a unique approach by simultaneously examining both quantitative …

Determinants Of Open Attitudes Towards Foreign Nationals In Japan, Shigemi Ohtsuki Phd

Societies Without Borders

With a declining birth rate and aging population, Japan needs to open the door to immigrants to maintain its workforce. “Multicultural Coexistence,” or “tabunka-kyosei” in Japanese, is commonly used to describe the relationship between Japanese people and foreign nationals in Japan. Unfortunately, the definition of the term is unclear. This study defines multicultural coexistence based on two conceptions, namely “willingness for communication” and “support for or opposition to the equality of rights.” The analyses are based on quantitative data of a sample of 1,823 Japanese persons and 292 foreign national persons (immigrants) living in the industrial city of Tokyo (Hamura …

Immigrant Voices: How Do Patterns Of Expressive Forms Of Civic Engagement Differ Across Immigrant Generation?, Renee Stepler Ma, Hiromi Ishizawa Phd

Societies Without Borders

Prior research suggests that immigrants in the U.S. are less likely to civically engage than the native-born, but few studies have systematically examined whether levels of expressive engagement differ by immigrant generational status – particularly in the case of contacting a public official and boycotting or buycotting products for political or social reasons. Using the Current Population Survey, November 2011 and 2013 Civic Engagement Supplements, this study examines whether these forms of expressive engagement differ across immigrant generational status, and by race and ethnicity within immigrant generations. In accord with classical assimilation theory, the findings show that the first generation …

Social Inclusion In A Context Of Global Migration - Introduction, Loretta E. Bass Phd

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Struggles Over Universal Human Rights, Brian K. Gran Phd

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Sexual Violence Against Women In An Armed Conflict, Nowsheen Altaf Dar, Benish Mehraj

Violence Against Women conference

Documentation of life under militarization has mostly been done by “men writing about men.” The need to have a gendered perspective of conflict and war was only recently introduced in the academic discourse after the collective violence against the women of Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s was given the attention it deserved by the international media. In Kashmir, women are subjected to violence through physical, sexual, and mental harassments. The very nature of the conflict has pushed Kashmiri women to the wall, putting the burden of violence on their shoulders. Women face physical and sexual assault at checkpoints, during …

Submission: 2018 Legislative Review Of Export Development Canada, Sara Seck, Keith Macmaster, Penelope Simons

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This submission to the 2018 review of Export Development Canada is informed in part by a conference and policy meeting that we hosted in October 2017 on the subject of extractive industries and the human rights of women and girls, at the Human Rights Resource Education Centre in Ottawa. This submission will reflect on some of the insights that emerged from the conference and policy meeting, as well as our own prior and subsequent research. Our submission will focus primarily on Theme 5: Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Rights, which asks whether, in fulfilling its mandate, EDC reflects the expectations …

Re: Dhs Docket No. Iceb-2018-0002; Rin 1653-Aa75, 0970-Ac42; Comments In Response To Proposed Rulemaking: Apprehension, Processing, Care, And Custody Of Alien Minors And Unaccompanied Alien Children, Katherine Kaufka Walts Jd, Diane Geraghty

Center for the Human Rights of Children

No abstract provided.

“Protecting Children”: A Welcome Addition To Efforts To Redress Wartime Harms, Diane Marie Amann

Popular Media

This essay is the second in an online mini forum that Just Security is hosting on the new book, Protecting Children in Armed Conflict.

The Authoritarianization Of U.S. Counterterrorism, Sahar F. Aziz

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are Rights A Reality? Evaluating Federal Civil Rights Enforcement, International Association Of Official Human Rights Agencies (Iaohra), Human Rights Institute

Human Rights Institute

This comment draws upon prior submissions to UN human rights experts, and past resources and scholarship, as well as independent research conducted by the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, in partnership with state and local actors, including a 2018 survey of IAOHRA member agencies.

Updates To The Uncitral Legislative Guide On Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects, Brooke Guven, Motoko Aizawa

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI, jointly with The Observatory for Sustainable Infrastructure, submitted comments to the UNCITRAL Secretariat regarding updates to the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Privately Financed Infrastructure Projects. CCSI’s comments focused on the need for an updated guide, which will now refer to Public Private Partnerships, to holistically and systematically incorporate considerations of: (1) sustainable development and the SDGs, (2) rebalancing of the public versus private nature of PPPs, (3) transparency, participation, accountability, and remedy, (4) empirical evidence-based assessments of contexts in which PPPs may be desirable, (5) objectives of investment and PPPs, (6) human rights, (7) labor, (8) climate change, …

U.N. Sovereign Immunity: Using The Haitian Experience To Transition From Absolute To Qualified Immunity, Brianna Sainte

University of Miami Law Review

The United Nations (“U.N.”) has been looked at globally and historically as an international organization that has given aid to millions of people in the hopes of promoting peace and reducing human rights violations. It is no surprise then that many countries have welcomed U.N. troops with open arms in the hopes of stabilizing communities. However, instead of receiving aid, imagine receiving a deadly disease. Imagine having the nearby river that has been your only source of water for drinking, laundry, and bathing for decades turned into a waste dump. It is from that river turned waste dump that you—and …

The Bring Your Own Tampon Policy: Why Menstrual Hygiene Products Should Be Provided For Free In Restrooms, Elizabeth Montano

University of Miami Law Review

Like toilet paper, menstrual hygiene products, such as tampons and pads, are necessities for managing natural and unavoidable bodily functions. However, menstrual hygiene products widely receive separate treatment in restrooms across the globe. While it would be absurd today to carry a roll of toilet paper at all times, it is considered necessary and common sense for all menstruators to carry menstrual hygiene products at all times, for approximately forty years, in case of an emergency. This is the “Bring Your Own Tampon” (“BYOT”) policy and it is a violation of human rights and equal protection.

This Note seeks to …

We Are All Farkhunda: An Examination Of The Treatment Of Women Within Afghanistan's Formal Legal System, Ashley Lenderman

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

In this paper, I will examine three cases of violence against women that went through the Afghan formal legal system: the case of Farkhunda, the Paghman district gang rape case, and the case of Sahar Gul. In the first Part, I will discuss the formal legal system framework on which the cases are based. In the second Part, I will discuss the cases in detail. In the third Part, I will describe neo-liberal, reformist, and neo-fundamentalist approaches to interpretation of Islamic law, and I will then draw out pieces of the decisions from the three cases that closely match these …

Human Rights Litigation Against Corporations After Jesner V. Arab Bank, Patrick C. Reed

Publications and Research

In this paper, Dr. Reed explores issues of corporate civil liability for human rights violations. The paper analyzes the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Jesner v. Arab Bank where the Court rejected federal subject-matter jurisdiction over corporate defendants under the Alien Tort Statute. The paper then moves beyond the Supreme Court ruling to identify potential legal exposure for corporations outside the Alien Tort Statute.

Much Ado About Nothing?: Local Resistance And The Significance Of Sanctuary Laws, Alyssa Garcia

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment explores the current constitutional discourse of sanctuary laws and compares their various components. Part I provides background on the basic policy components of sanctuary laws and modern policies. Part II explores and compares the substantive legal and political value of sanctuary laws. This section will first assess the impact of sanctuary policies on existing immigration and constitutional law. In doing so, specific sanctuary jurisdictions involved in litigation, Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago, and their likelihood of withstanding preemption under existing doctrine will be compared. The impact sanctuary laws may have on the Tenth Amendment will next be discussed. …

A Life Absolutely Bare? A Reflection On Resistance By Irregular Refugees Against Fingerprinting As State Biopolitical Control In The European Union, Ziang Zhou

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In a legally transitory category, irregular refugees- experience a double precariousness. They risk their lives to travel across treacherous seas to Europe for a better life. However, upon the long-awaited embarkation on the European land, they are exposed once again to the precariousness of the asylum application. They are “powerless”, “with no rights” and “to be sacrificed” as Giorgio Agamben and Hannah Arendt suggested in their respective understanding of a “bare life”, la nuda vita. In light of the administrative difficulties in managing asylum application, the European Union introduced the “Dublin Agreement”, which stipulates mandatory biometric data collection for …