Content Type: Journal Article / Political Geography: / Topic: Human Rights

1. Civil War between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front: A Challenge to Implement the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine

Author:: Israel Nyaburi Nyadera and Census Osedo
Publication Date:: 08-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: African Journal on Conflict Resolution
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: How does the 2020–2022 civil war in Ethiopia contribute to our understanding of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine? This study seeks to revisit the debate over the effectiveness of the R2P doctrine in the wake of increased intrastate conflicts. The objective is to assess the dilemma that arises with the implementation of R2P when governments are involved in the conflict and the international community is reluctant or unable to intervene. The study adopts the systematic review approach (PRISMA) to identify the shortcomings, trends, and debates around R2P. It uses the Ethiopian civil war to contribute further to the existing body of literature. The paper finds that, indeed, the R2P doctrine is facing serious challenges with its implementation. It shows that when governments fail to acknowledge the other actors as legitimate combatants and instead describe them as terrorist groups, it becomes difficult to uphold the R2P doctrine. The paper also identifies a lack of leadership and coordinated efforts at regional and international levels as contributing factors, which further undermine the effectiveness of R2P. The paper concludes that the Ethiopian civil war exposes serious shortcomings in the R2P doctrine that need to be reviewed and reformed urgently. It proposes the adoption of a systems-thinking approach that can streamline the actors and processes of response during civil wars.
Topic:: Civil War, Human Rights, Conflict, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Political Geography:: Africa, Ethiopia, and Tigray

2. Derecho humano a la seguridad:Prevención del Extremismo Violentocon Vasili Grossman

Author:: Verónica Yazmín García Morales Morales
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: El presente estudio aborda el derecho humano a la seguridad desde el enfoque de la Prevención del Extremismo Violento. La Prevención del Extremismo Violento (PEV) es una estrategia en el marco de Naciones Unidas enfocada a fortalecer el respeto de los derechos humanos. La PEV aborda el extremismo violento que conduce al terrorismo desde el enfoque de la prevención y de los derechos humanos. Lo más relevante de esta perspectiva es su innovación para garantizar la seguridad como derecho humano. Es más, la PEVsurge como respuesta a las políticas de seguridad antiterroristas que se consideran insuficientes para erradicar este fenómeno. Las medidas de acción de la PEV, por tanto, van más allá de lo que en sentido estricto se conoce como política securitaria. La educación y la cultura tiene así una función importante en la PEV, como también ponen de relieve las políticas de la UNESCO. El análisis que se desarrolla expone una propuesta de espacio dialógico que aplica la medida de educación, cultura y sensibilización a través de la literatura. Se reflexiona así, a partir del diálogo con Vida y destino de Vasili Grossman, sobre el extremismo violento y los derechos humanos.
Topic:: Security, Human Rights, United Nations, Literature, and Countering Violent Extremism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3. THE ROLE OF REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS IN TIMES OF ARMED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA

Author:: Ufuoma Veronica Awhefeada
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: Armed conflict is a perennial problem that has plagued Africa for decades, resulting in flagrant human rights abuse. The central problem this paper seeks to address is identifying the laws establishing institutions and agencies for protecting human rights in Africa and examining how well-adapted these institutions are to protect human rights in times of armed conflict in Africa. This research employs the doctrinal research method, which entails an examination of the relevant primary sources of the law as laid down in the statutes and treaties and interpreted by the courts as well as secondary source materials, including journal articles, reports, and other relevant sources materials. It is contended that though human rights institutions were not established with the goal of interventions in times of armed conflict to protect human rights, they can be adapted to meet this challenge to stem the tide of gross human rights violations during armed conflicts. The paper concludes by recommending the expansion in the practice of the mandate of these human rights institutions to accommodate mechanisms for the protection of human rights in times of armed conflicts.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:: Africa

4. Los retos de Honduras en materia de inseguridad. El dilema de Xiomara Castro ante el populismo punitivo y de la seguridad.

Author:: Javier Lozano Cobos
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: La militarización y el combate como herramienta casi exclusiva contra la violencia y la inseguridad ha sido el paradigma de profundo calado en Honduras y la mayor parte de la región, lo que implica la solución a los problemas de inseguridad en clave de guerra. Este conflicto asimétrico entre los grupos criminales y los Estados se recrudeció a raíz de la Guerra contra las Drogas iniciada por el presidente mexicano Calderón, y no es sino la continuación de las diversas guerras contra ya ensayadas en Centroamérica bajo inspiración de los EEUU. Con la llegada al poder de la presidenta hondureña, Xiomara Castro, se advertía un cambio en relación a las políticas de seguridad que no se enfocaran exclusivamente en la mano dura, sino que abordara la reforma integral del Estado priorizando la lucha contra la corrupción y la impunidad, así como la mejora de la calidad de la democracia. Una ola de populismo punitivo recorre la región, pero la mejora en los niveles de inseguridad en Honduras no será sostenible mediante el uso exclusivo de la fuerza ni estados de excepción.
Topic:: Corruption, Human Rights, War on Drugs, Democracy, Geopolitics, Inequality, Populism, and Militarization
Political Geography:: Latin America, Honduras, and United States of America

5. Prior Rebel Experience Of Leaders And Its Influence On Physical Integrity Rights

Author:: Adil Yıldız
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Previous research shows that leaders’ prior experiences influence their policy decisions. The existing human rights literature focuses mainly on country-level factors, such as economic development, regime type and the conflict situations to explain violations of rights. This research contributes to a flourishing literature on leaders’ role in upholding rights by theorizing why and how the prior experiences of leaders affect the propensity to violate physical integrity rights. It is argued in this article that leaders with a rebel experience, and who have experienced victory in rebellion are less likely to respect human rights, while those who have suffered defeat are more likely to do so. Both types of leaders have demonstrated a willingness to take risks, but in the former case, victory reinforces their belief in taking risks, leading them to keep risk-taking, whereas in the latter, defeat teaches leaders to become more risk averse. Infringing on human rights is indeed risky, potentially leading to negative consequences such as a damaged reputation, accountability, and social upheaval. The empirical analysis of the research demonstrates that having a rebel background alone does not inherently influence a leader’s behavior regarding human rights; what matters is the outcome of the rebellion. The probability of showing respect for rights decreases when a rebellion is won, while it increases when there has been a previous loss in rebellion. The article highlights the importance of using leaders, rather than just states, as a unit of analysis to explain why certain countries commit human rights violations.
Topic:: Human Rights, Leadership, and Rebellion
Political Geography:: Global Focus

6. Proposing a Relative Enforcement Mechanism for the Treaty on Business and Human Rights

Author:: Muhammad Asif Khan
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: An Intergovernmental Working Group is established by the Human Rights Council to adopt a treaty on Business and Human Rights. According to the draft treaty the enforcement mechanism relies on a treaty body working through a reporting-based mechanism. In this article the enforcement mechanism of the treaty is analysed through the progressive model of accountability presented by Gupta and Van Asselt. It also takes further the analysis based on the progressive model by Nadia Bernaz of the enforceability measures adopted within the treaty. The enforceability of the treaty is further discussed in this article and a relative enforcement mechanism is proposed. The proposal includes structural changes within the treaty body and inclusion of the role of non-state entities for more efficient enforcement.
Topic:: Human Rights, Treaties and Agreements, Business, and Enforcement
Political Geography:: Global Focus

7. The attitude of the international community to the October 1997 student protests in Kosovo

Author:: Aarjan Janova and Oktaj Hasani
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: During the administration of the former Yugoslavia, the Albanian population of Kosovo was denied the basic right to education. Albanian students, although they were numerically in the majority at the University of Pristina, did not even enjoy the basic rights to education in the Albanian language, despite the fact that this university was Albanian and was founded by Albanians more than 20 years ago. This situation pushed Albanians to organise themselves to defend their freedoms and rights, especially in the field of education. The student protests of October 1997, organised in a spirit of cooperation between students, civil society and teachers, became one of the many factors that brought the treatment of the Albanian people under Slobodan Milosevic's regime to the attention of the world.
Topic:: Human Rights, Protests, International Community, Independence, Freedom, Albanians, and Aggression
Political Geography:: Kosovo and Yugoslavia

8. Civil Society & Political Transformations (Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy, Fall 2021)

Author:: Ghazi Ghazi
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Eleven years after the 2011 Arab Spring, feelings of transformation and change still reverberate throughout the region. The Spring 2022 edition, Civil Society and Political Transformations, seeks to illuminate how civil society organizations operate in the region and their effects on political transformations.
Topic:: Civil Society, Education, Human Rights, Migration, Politics, Race, History, Reform, Women, Constitution, Arab Spring, Syrian War, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Baath Party, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Iraq, South Asia, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Libya, Yemen, Palestine, North Africa, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, and United Arab Emirates

9. Progressive Policy Versus Conservative Norms: A Paradox of LGBTQ+ Rights in Cuba

Author:: Melissa Wilk
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: LGBTQ+ rights are gaining attention in national and international political discourse and policymaking. Despite recent progress, complex challenges still stand in the way of establishing human rights for LGBTQ+ communities around the world. One such challenge is the uneven progress towards LGBTQ+ rights caused by conflicts between progressive policy and conservative norms, which poses a threat to the progress that has been made and may lead to worsening conditions for LGBTQ+ people. Within the context of Latin America and Cuba specifically, this paper explores whether progressive policy alone is sufficient for enabling change, and the relationship between policy and norms: does policy shift with norms? Or do norms shift with policy? With a unique history and culture, and some of the strongest pro-LGBTQ+ policies in the region, Cuba provides an opportunity to examine these questions and provides critical insights for literature that is otherwise underdeveloped.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Development, LGBT+, Norms, and Progressivism
Political Geography:: Cuba and Caribbean

10. Robbing Reproductive Autonomy: Forced Sterilizations in the Americas and the Inter-American Human Rights System’s Response

Author:: Meredith McCain
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Forced and coerced sterilizations, far from being a relic of the past, remain a widespread and troubling practice throughout the world. In the Americas, numerous countries have been accused of carrying out state-sponsored campaigns of forced sterilizations against indigenous, Afro-descendant, poor, and/or intellectually disabled women, in what amounts to an appalling act of violence and targeted erasure of marginalized communities. While international jurisprudence on forced sterilizations is limited, the Inter-American Human Rights System has been at the forefront of confronting this issue of reproductive justice. Through an analysis of two landmark cases at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, this paper explores the strides that have been made and the gaps that remain for survivors of forced sterilization to receive justice.
Topic:: Human Rights, Law, State Violence, Reproductive Rights, and Sterilization
Political Geography:: South America, Central America, and North America

11. Tying Human Rights to U.S.-DPRK-ROK Negotiations

Author:: Greg Scarlatoiu
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: For over three decades, the United States and the international community has been attempting to engage North Korea diplomatically, aiming for the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of North Korea. The Kim family regime has been committing crimes against humanity, but human rights concerns have been discounted by U.S. and other negotiators, fearing they would be an obstacle to a negotiated solution to the grave military and security challenges Pyongyang poses. North Korea has breached each and every one of the international obligations it has assumed, from imembership in the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to the 1994 Geneva Agreed Framework to the Six Party Talks to the 2012 Leap Day Agreement. While its negotiating counterparts have neglected human rights concerns in multilateral and bilateral talks, North Korea has continued to develop and test its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. It is time for a new paradigm, that brings human rights into the conversation, in a bilateral or multilateral setting.
Topic:: Security, Human Rights, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, United Nations, and Appeasement
Political Geography:: Asia, North Korea, North America, and United States of America

12. Getting North Korean Human Rights Right, Now and for the Future

Author:: George Hutchinson
Publication Date:: 04-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the agency, dignity and rights of the individual, North Korea’s collectivist notion of freedoms are conditioned to preserve and perpetuate the Kim regime, resulting in the denial of human rights for North Koreans. Pyongyang’s defensive outbursts and angry rhetoric in defense of its distorted definition of sovereignty has deeply affected South Korea’s policy approach over the issue of North Korean human rights. Sensitive to Pyongyang’s feelings, South Korea’s progressive camp prefers to engage with North Korea in the wishful hopes that relations will gradually improve. The conservative camp at times uses the Kim regime’s sensitivity to dial up pressure on issues such as denuclearization. Progressives are willing to concede aid and benefits up front to get to inter-Korean engagement while conservatives make these concessions conditional. Neither approach has alleviated the brutal denial of human rights in North Korea. This paper explores South Korea’s “wicked problem” of partisan treatment of North Korean human rights through careful examination of present and past administrations and concludes with recommendations for a middle ground safe enough so that neither progressives nor conservatives feel they have strayed too far outside of the partisan boundaries of their respective camps
Topic:: Human Rights, Authoritarianism, and Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Political Geography:: Asia and North Korea

13. U.S. Relations With China: DACOR Conference Summary

Author:: Keith McCormick and Emma W. Sandifer
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: As relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) loom ever larger for the U.S., DACOR’s annual conference in 2022 focused on “Balancing Competing Interests in U.S. Relations With China.” The Washington-based organization of foreign affairs professionals brought together diplomats and academics to explore the idea that U.S. policy toward China needs to pursue cooperation in some areas and competition in others while simultaneously confronting Beijing and preparing to deter or win a conflict, if it comes to war. The hybrid conference, with some attendees present at the historic DACOR-Bacon house and others joining online, was conducted under Chatham House Rules. The keynote address, by Ambassador (ret.) J. Stapleton Roy, was live-streamed to a classroom of political science faculty and students at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Bilateral Relations, Trade, and Conference
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

14. Another Potemkin Visit? Rethinking the UN Human Rights Chief’s Upcoming Trip to Xinjiang

Author:: Christelle Genoud
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: China Brief
Institution:: The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: In March, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet announced an agreement with China for a May visit, which includes access to Xinjiang. The exact date for the visit has yet to be determined, but recent reports indicate it is due to take place before the end of this month, which will make Bachelet the first UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit China in 17 years (China Daily, May 11). Negotiations were stalled for years with Bachelet first indicating intent to report on Xinjiang in a 2018 request for unhindered access to “all regions of China” (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), September 10, 2018). At the end of April, a UN advance team arrived in Guangzhou to quarantine before traveling to Xinjiang to lay the groundwork for Bachelet’s visit (South China Morning Post (SCMP), April 25.
Topic:: Human Rights, United Nations, and Uyghurs
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Xinjiang

15. The Beijing Olympics in Retrospect: An Anti-Human Rights Politics Machine

Author:: Christelle Genoud
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: China Brief
Institution:: The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: As the U.S. and other Western nations announced diplomatic boycotts of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) frequently exhorted the international community to keep politics out of the games (People’s Daily, December 8, 2021). Spokespersons of the Beijing Organizing Committee also objected to the “politicization” of the Olympic Games, and claimed that the closed loop Olympic bubble was solely a COVID-19 containment measure necessitated by growing concerns over the spread of the Omicron variant in China (Global Times, January 5). Although, the creation of a closed loop bubble was ostensibly undertaken for epidemic prevention purposes, it also had the impact of isolating athletes and journalists, and forestalling unwanted international focus on poor human rights conditions in China.
Topic:: Human Rights, Politics, Sports, and Olympics
Political Geography:: China and Asia

16. National Security: An Exception of Freedom of Speech

Author:: Aman Ullah and Akram Badshah
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: The real autonomy would not be possible if people were not capable to express their thoughts, compose their opinions, or linked with those who might discuss their feelings and thoughts. It is also an essential right in a free society to be liberally allowed to participate in the welfare of society. The equilibrium should be maintained by imposing realistic restrictions which may be levied under the law when the right to Freedom of Speech comes in clash with rights of other individuals which can help the democratic state to preserve the basic right of Freedom of Speech at an admissible level. The basic purpose of this article is to explore the scope and extent of “protection of national security” an exception of Freedom of Speech in the light of national and international instruments.
Topic:: Human Rights, National Security, Freedom of Expression, Free Speech, and Debates
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

17. Defamatory Statements in Recent Political Landscape and Freedom of Speech

Author:: Aman Ullah and Akram Badshah
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: It is an internationally recognized principle that the prerogative to speak freely is a preliminary human right of the utmost importance. It is a fundamental democratic principle which plays a key role in strengthening other human rights. Concurrently, it is widely accepted that this right is not absolute and the legislature may impose restrictions on it, according to law, for the welfare of the people. The unbridled license may not be given to any person for publishing defamatory material, either libel or slander, which defames the dignity and reputation of others on the plea of the prerogative to speak freely. The prerogative to speak freely must be proportionated against other fundamental rights and constitutional principles. The basic purpose of this article is to explore the “defamatory statement” which harms the reputation of others in the light of UDHR, ICCPR and the Constitution of Pakistan, particularly in the recent political landscape.
Topic:: Human Rights, Politics, Freedom of Expression, Free Speech, and Defamation
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

18. A Comparative Analysis of Human Rights Protection in European Union and African Union Countries: An fsQCA Approach

Author:: Emmanuel Oluwatosin Adewusi and Ozker Kocadal
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: This study contributes to the human rights protection literature by using Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in the analysis of 76 cases composed of European Union and African Union countries. Results indicate that the ratification of treaties, establishment of human rights institutions, and high GDP per capita in the absence of rule of law, play crucial roles in the high rate of protection of human rights in Europe. In Africa, however, the low GDP per capita and absence of rule of law significantly weaken human rights protection. The analysis reveals that the establishment of human rights institutions is essential to protect human rights in Europe, while high GDP per capita and rule of law are paramount to improving human rights protection in Africa in relation to any institutional configuration, approach, or policy.
Topic:: Human Rights, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Humanitarian Crisis, and African Union
Political Geography:: Africa and Europe

19. Comment on the Zhao Case: Can a ‘Victory for Human Rights’ in the Netherlands Benefit Children at Risk of Statelessness in the Middle East and North Africa?

Author:: Thomas McGee and Yoana Kuzmova
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: Zhao establishes a significant precedent, but it remains to be seen how easily the outcome can be translated into victories elsewhere. In practical terms, the universal application of the decision may be hampered by the limitations of the legal and institutional landscape in the MENA.This issueneeds to be pushed to challenge violations of the same right:a nationality forall children,at birth,everywhere in the world.
Topic:: Human Rights, Law, Citizenship, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:: Africa, Middle East, and MENA

20. Views Adopted by the UN Human Rights Committee Under Article 5(4) of the Optional Protocol, concerning Communication No 2918/2016

Author:: Rodolfo Ribeiro Coutinho Marques
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: InDecember 2021, the UN Human Rights Committee(‘HRC’)published its views in a ground-breaking case (Communication No2918/2016),1finding that the Netherlands had violated a child’s right to a nationality by registeringthem as having‘unknown nationality’in theircivil records. The HRCreasoned that, in so doing, the Netherlands hinderedthe child’s access to international protection as a stateless child.This was the first time that the HRChas ruled on the right of a child to acquire a nationality under art 24(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(‘ICCPR’).FACTSThe case revolved arounda petition by DZ, a child born in Utrecht in 2010 to a Chinese mother. In 2004, she was trafficked to the Netherlands as a minorbut managed to escape her traffickers at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. She then applied for asylum, but her application was unsuccessful. In 2006, DZ’s mother was forced into prostitution. Two years later, she broke out of her captivity and reported the situation to the police, which gave her the right to a temporary status while the investigation was undergoing. After an unsuccessful, year-long investigation, her temporary residence permit was revoked, and her status changed to ‘illegal alien [sic]’.Moreover, DZ’s biological father, who did not recognise paternity, was not in contact with themor with DZ’s mother.*Teaching Assistant and PhD Candidatein International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.I would liketo thank Dr Katia Bianchini and Professor Laura van Waas for theirinsightful feedback and comments. The usual caveats apply. An earlier version of this case note was published on EJIL:Talk! as a blog post.1Human Rights Committee, Views Adopted by the Committee under Article 5(4) of the Optional Protocol,Concerning Communication No2918/2016, UN Doc CCPR/C/130/D/2918/2016(20 January 2021) (‘Communication No 2918/2016’).
Topic:: Human Rights, International Cooperation, United Nations, and Nationality
Political Geography:: Global Focus

21. Women’s Security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Author:: Immaculée Birhaheka
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: The fight for women’s rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) originated in the 1950s with the creation of young women’s social centers in local Catholic churches. In the early 1980s, challenges within the fight grew with the emergence of the NGO system, which brought non-state actors into activism for social change. This development popularized the idea that, because women constitute 52 percent of the population, abandoning them would be a mistake. However, the road to women’s social emancipation remains long and perilous.
Topic:: Security, Human Rights, History, Women, and Inequality
Political Geography:: Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

22. Extradition in the Criminal Procedural Legislation of Ukraine:" Compliance With The European Standards

Author:: Victoriia Rohalska, Oksana Bronevytska, and Gediminas Buciunas
Publication Date:: 02-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The importance of legal regulation of extradition in the system of legal aid in criminal proceedings is determined both by the national interests of states and the interests of international cooperation in combating transnational and international crimes. The objective of this paper was to get the answer to the main question of this research - Did the provisions of the law on extradition in Ukraine meet international standards? A set of general and special scientific, and philosophical methods of scientific research were used while preparing this article, to clarify the approaches to the extradition procedure of different countries and in practice. The results of the research suggested that the current criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine in the sphere of extradition generally meets European standards. Although, there are some gaps in the national legal regulation of extradition that may adversely affect the observance of the rights and freedoms of persons to whom it is applied.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Cooperation, International Law, European Union, and Extradition
Political Geography:: Europe and Ukraine

23. Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Prostitution Toward Children in Mexico

Author:: César Niño
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: Oscar was born in an illegal prostitution center where his mother was a sex worker (we are not certain if she worked there voluntarily). Oscar was first prostituted at age four, serving up to six “clients” daily at the same center where his mother worked. Both he and his mother were constant victims of rape and physical violence. This was the environment in which he was raised. In recent decades, according to a Reinserta study, violence against children in Mexico has intensi7ed nationwide.1 From 2006 to 2018, there were 325,699 homicides, according to data from Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI). Of these victims, 23,420 were men under the age of 19, a little over 7 percent of the total, and 6,022 were women under the age of 19, about 2 percent of the total.2 Children represent a particularly vulnerable group, as they are immersed in practices that violate their human rights and make it impossible for them to develop physically and psychologically in an adequate manner and according to their age. They experience physical violence, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other forms of violence that are normalized from an early age.
Topic:: Human Rights, Children, Sexual Violence, Abuse, and Prostitution
Political Geography:: North America and Mexico

24. La pobreza como vector de inseguridadglobal e interna: una aproximación regulatoria

Author:: Jordi Bonet
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: Este estudiopretende realizar una reflexión, desde una aproximación esencialmente político-jurídica internacional, sobre la pobreza como un vector susceptible de generar amenazas a la seguridad, tanto desde una perspectiva global como interna de los Estados. Sin desdeñar un enfoque de este tenor (especialmente, si es un enfoque desde el prisma de la seguridad humana), se entiende que la securitización de la lucha contra la pobreza no es demasiado útil para abordarlos problemas que genera y potenciar el desarrollo. Se aboga por orientar la centralidad político-jurídica de la lucha contra la pobreza desde su comprensión como un asunto de interés público global, al que el planteamiento programático de los ODS y el Derecho internacional de los derechos humanos ofrecen una base regulatoria sólida (sin perjuicio de las dificultades reales de llevar a cabo este programa y ejecutar las normas jurídicas internacionales sobre derechos humanos). Asimismo, no se ha querido dejar de lado la importancia colateral, pero propia, de la desigualdad.
Topic:: Human Rights, Poverty, Governance, Inequality, Sustainable Development Goals, and Securitization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

25. Tecnología y desigualdad: la gobernanza tecnológica como nuevo paradigma de la seguridad internacional

Author:: Milena Costas Trascasas
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: En este trabajo examinamos el impacto que la introducción de las tecnologías digitales y la inteligencia artificial está teniendo en materia de igualdad y discriminación. El análisis de la arquitectura global de gobernanza existente, y de las propuestas para su remodelación, demuestra que existen numerosos aspectos que aún no se encuentran lo suficientemente desarrollados, lo que produce el riesgo de exacerbar las desigualdades y perpetuar las discriminaciones. La regulación de las actividades de las empresas multinacionales para anticipar y mitigar los impactos negativos sobre los derechos humanos que se derivan de las mismas y para que rindan cuentas por posibles daños, se presenta como elemento esencial en este contexto. Igualmente se precisa la adopción de acuerdos internacionales que se apliquen con carácter general a aquellas tecnologías que, por su propia naturaleza, tienen el potencial de poner en riesgo la paz y la seguridad internacionales. Este proceso debe perseguir el objetivo de ofrecer igualdad de oportunidades a los ciudadanos, la protección de los valores compartidos entre los Estados y, en definitiva, el bien común de la humanidad.
Topic:: Human Rights, Science and Technology, International Security, Governance, Democracy, Inequality, and Discrimination
Political Geography:: Global Focus

26. THE APPLIED STATE OF VIOLATION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS: YAZIDI WOMEN DURING THE ISIS WAR IN IRAQ

Author:: Roza Omer Hamadamin, Nor Anita Abdullah, and Mohd Zakhiri Md. Nor
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: On 3 August 2014, fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) attacked the Yazidi minority of Sinjar in Kurdistan-Iraq. The Yazidi community was the main target of ISIS fighters, including Yazidi women. The ISIS group has committed violence against Yazidi women in several ways. This study aims to show the crimes committed by the group ISIS against Yazidi women and to highlight the problem of violence against women in war through recent living examples, such as women in the ISIS war between 2014-2017. The second part of this study identifies the legal deficiencies related to the regulations that guarantee the protection of women's rights in Iraq. Through a content analysis approach, qualitative methodologies are used. Also, based on a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, this paper found that the Yazidi women and girls have been subjected to the most heinous crimes involving international crimes. Furthermore, despite various legal provisions in Iraqi laws and the constitution relating to protecting women's rights, these laws have several legal deficiencies. The Iraqi legal authority has not attempted to guarantee sufficient protection for women's rights in armed conflicts.
Topic:: Human Rights, Women, Islamic State, Armed Conflict, Human Rights Violations, and Yazidis
Political Geography:: Iraq and Middle East

27. Interpretation and Application of the ECHR: Between Universalism and Regionalism

Author:: Mattias Guyomar
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract::  e protection of human rights guaranteed by the Council of Europe, in particular through the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the supervision exercised by the European Court of Human Rights, has a dual dimension: its universal vocation goes hand in hand with the regional nature of its implementation. Tensions between universalism and regionalism play out in a fruitful and productive way.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Regionalism, Universalism, and European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)
Political Geography:: Europe

28. Fall 2020 edition of Strategic Visions

Author:: Alan McPherson
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Strategic Visions
Institution:: Center for the Study of Force and Diplomacy, Temple University
Abstract:: Contents News from the Director Fall 2020 Lecture Series ……………2 Fall 2020 Prizes …………………….3 Funding and the Immerman Fund ….3 Note from the Davis Fellow …………4 Temple Community Interviews Dr. Joel Blaxland …………………5 Dr. Kaete O’Connell ……………….6 Jared Pentz ………………………….7 Brian McNamara …………………8 Keith Riley …………………………9 Book Reviews Kissinger and Latin America: Intervention, Human Rights, and Diplomacy Review by Graydon Dennison …10 America’s Middlemen: Power at the Edge of Empire Review by Ryan Langton ……13 Anthropology, Colonial Policy and the Decline of French Empire in Africa Review by Grace Anne Parker ...16 Latin America and the Global Cold War Review by Casey VanSise ……19
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Military Intervention, and Empire
Political Geography:: United States, France, Latin America, and Global Focus

29. The ICC and Palestine: Breakthrough and End of the Road?

Author:: Pearce Clancy and Richard Falk
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Palestine Studies
Institution:: Institute for Palestine Studies
Abstract:: The recent ruling of the International Criminal Court (ICC) affirming territorial jurisdiction over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip may at first appear to be a mere procedural decision outlining the court’s authority to investigate Israeli criminality. Upon closer scrutiny, however, it is clearly much more: an indirect, yet far-reaching vindication of Palestinian resistance and struggle in the ongoing “legitimacy war” with Israel. These legal proceedings have momentous potential implications for broader accountability efforts, which could be significant over time, even if attempts to prosecute Israeli perpetrators are ultimately frustrated. This legal event already sheds light on both the limitations of the court and the legal and geopolitical challenges it faces in cases where suspected perpetrators wield significant influence in international political arenas. As of now, the ICC has gained credibility precisely because it has the institutional courage to take on the architects of Israeli criminality.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Geopolitics, Accountability, International Criminal Court (ICC), and Oslo Accords
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

30. The Human Rights Situation in the Nagorno-karabakh Conflict: A Synopsis from the Un Protection Mechanisms/La situación de los derechos humanos en el conflicto de Nagorno-Karabaj. Una visión desde los mecanismos de protección de Naciones Unidas

Author:: Dorothy Estrada Tanck
Publication Date:: 10-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has deep historical roots and has been exacerbated by the armed conflict of 2020. In this context, the human rights situation of those affected, and especially of women and girls, is often left invisible. Thus, this article analyses the conflict by referring to the general position of the UN and public international law and by widening the lens, in particular, on international human rights law and the UN mechanisms articulated for the protection of those rights. A distinct focus on the human rights of women and girls is presented, giving an account of the empirical situations they face, to then study them through the lens of human rights with a gender perspective, emphasizing what the main international protection mechanisms dedicated to the issue have expressed in this regard./El conflicto entre Armenia y Azerbaiyán sobre el Nagorno-Karabaj presenta hondas raíces históricas y se ha visto exacerbado por el conflicto armado de 2020. En este contexto, a menudo la situación de los derechos humanos de las personas afectadas y, en particular, los de las mujeres y niñas, queda invisibilizada. Así, este artículo analiza el conflicto refiriendo la postura general de la ONU y el Derecho Internacional Público y ampliando el lente, en especial, sobre el Derecho internacional de los derechos humanos y los mecanismos de Naciones Unidas articulados para su protección. Se presenta un enfoque específico sobre los derechos humanos de las mujeres y niñas, dando cuenta de las situaciones empíricas que enfrentan, para estudiarlas después bajo la mirada de los derechos humanos con una perspectiva de género, poniendo énfasis en lo que al respecto han manifestado los principales mecanismos de protección internacional dedicados al tema.
Topic:: Human Rights, United Nations, Women, Conflict, and Girls
Political Geography:: Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh

31. La perspectiva de género en las operaciones militares. Exigencia jurídica y operativa

Author:: Javier Ruiz Arévalo
Publication Date:: 01-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: The inclusion of the gender perspective in military operations is now a legal requirement. This exigency is mainly consequence of the doption of the UNSCR 1325. But it is also an operational requirement derived from the need to take into account in decision-making processes the human factor in all its dimensions, to ensure that military actions are adapted to the reality of the scenario in which they take place. This article tries to show that, in the process of integrating this aspect in operations, decision makers tend to only consider the legal aspects of this issue, ignoring the operational benefits that it entails. The official documents of organizations such as the UN or NATO, recognize this duality but, in practice, do not develop this perspective in their operating procedures. All this creates significant problems for those responsible for integrating the gender perspective in operations and requires the introduction of regulatory changes along these lines./Integrar la perspectiva de género en la conducción de las operaciones militares es una exigencia jurídica derivada principalmente de la RCSNU 1325. Pero es también una exigencia operativa derivada de la necesidad de tener en cuenta en los procesos de toma de decisiones el factor humano en toda su extensión, para garantizar que las actuaciones propias se adaptan a la realidad del escenario en el que se desarrollan. A lo largo de este trabajo se evidencia que, en la integración de este aspecto en las operaciones, se tiende a incidir únicamente en los aspectos jurídicos de esta cuestión, pasando por alto los beneficios operativos que conlleva. Los documentos oficiales de organizaciones como la ONU o la OTAN, reconocen esta dualidad pero, en la práctica, no la desarrollan en sus procedimientos operativos, lo que supone un problema para los responsables de integrar la perspectiva de género en las operaciones y hace necesario introducir cambios normativos en esta línea.
Topic:: NATO, Gender Issues, Human Rights, United Nations, Military Affairs, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:: Global Focus

32. “Reformed Multilateralism” at the United Nations

Author:: Asoke Mukerji
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: Editor’s note: The author was the Indian Ambassador to the UN 2013-2015. Calls for “reformed multilateralism”[1] at the UN’s 75th anniversary session in September 2020 stressed the need for equal participation by member-states in UN decision-making. Five years earlier, when adopting Agenda 2030, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) acknowledged the inter-linkage between peace, security, and development.[2] With its universal scope, Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development has become the central focus of the United Nations (UN) for the foreseeable future. Agenda 2030 requires a paradigm shift in the approach of UN member-states to global issues and underscores the imperative for an inclusive human-centric approach through the participation of multiple stakeholders in UN activities. This would enable the UN to pool resources through partnerships to meet the major challenges in all its three “pillars” – political, human rights, and socio-economic development.
Topic:: Development, Human Rights, Politics, United Nations, Reform, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

33. Minority Rights in Central Asia: Insights From Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

Author:: Aram Terzyan
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: This paper explores the state of minority rights in the three Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. These countries share a lot of similarities in terms of their post-Soviet authoritarian legacy and weakness of democratic institutions. The repressive political landscapes of the Central Asian states have taken their tolls on minority groups, leaving them discriminated against, mistreated, and severely disadvantaged. Minority rights violations range from ethnic and religious discrimination to state-sponsored homophobia. Even though the leadership changes have positively affected the state of human rights in the three countries, there is still a slow pace of reforms. Overall, domestic changes in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have not yielded considerable results so far in terms of alleviating the plight of minority groups across these countries.
Topic:: Human Rights, Minorities, Discrimination, and Oppression
Political Geography:: Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Asia, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan

34. Refouling Rohingyas: The Supreme Court of India's Uneasy Engagement with International Law

Author:: Malcolm Katrak and Shardool Kulkarni
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The complex relationship between international and municipal law has been the bone of significant scholarly contention. In the Indian context, despite a formal commitment to dualism, courts have effected an interpretive shift towards monism by espousing incorporation of international law. The case of Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India, which involves the issue of deportation of Rohingya refugees from India, represents a challenge in this regard owing to the lack of clarity as to India’s obligations under the principle of non-refoulement. The paper uses the Supreme Court’s recent interim order in the said case as a case study to examine India’s engagement with international law. It argues that the order inadequately examines the role of international law in constitutional interpretation and has the unfortunate effect of ‘refouling’ Rohingyas by sending them back to a state where they face imminent persecution.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Law, Minorities, Constitution, and Discrimination
Political Geography:: India and Asia

35. People's Right to a Nationality and the Eradication of Statelessness in Africa

Author:: Darren Ekema Equmbue Monono
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: The right to nationality, enshrined in art 15 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, is absent in the 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, known as the Banjul Charter. On-going efforts by African institutions to address this gap, with a view to eradicating statelessness in the continent have, however, focused on the right to nationality as an individual right. This has undermined the spirit of the Banjul Charter, which consecrates peoples’ rights as an African specificity. This article highlights the Banjul-led African human rights system and its specificities of human rights, particularly with regard to collective community and peoples’ rights. Based on the recognition and communitarian theories, it examines different concepts related to collective rights and highlights the manifestation of peoples’ rights in African case law. It then analyses the nexus between peoples’ rights to nationality and statelessness in the continent. It concludes that the eradication of statelessness by 2024 in Africa cannot be effective unless the focus is on peoples’ collective rights to nationality.
Topic:: Human Rights, Citizenship, Stateless Population, and Nationality
Political Geography:: Africa

36. Humanitarian Intervention and International Order: The Endless Wars Problem

Author:: Alex J. Bellamy
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: Nowadays, few approve of humanitarian intervention, understood as the use of non-consensual force for the principal purpose of alleviating massive human suffering. Realists have always held that armed humanitarian crusades are an irrational, dangerous, and counterproductive extravagance likely to cause more problems than they solve, and at great expense.1 In a world full of autocracies and communities that define their values very differently from one another, re- alists argue, the forceful pursuit of “liberal hegemony” is likely to produce only “a perpetual state of war.”2 Critical thinkers have always suspected that a thinly veiled Western liberal imperialism lay behind what some described as the “new military humanism.”3 Its confidence in Western perfidiousness was briefly shaken by revelations of its misplaced faith in the Khmer Rouge and Slobodan Milošević but restored with gusto by the false pretexts for war with Iraq in 2003. English School pluralists value international order over individual rights;4 legal positivists lament the illegality of humanitarian intervention;5 post-colonial scholars, states, and other critical writers believe humanitarian intervention is the thin end of a neo-imperial wedge to erode hard-won self-determination and sovereignty;6 pacifists complain that humanitarian war is still, after all, war, and highlight the tragic irony of taking lives in order to save lives.7 More recently, Samuel Moyn situated humanitarian intervention within a broader politics by which “endless war” has been normalized as humane at the expense of war prevention.8 So intense is global antipathy that prominent advocates of the “responsibility to protect,” like Gareth Evans, carefully distinguish the principle they champion from humanitarian intervention. Samantha Power, meanwhile, was chastened by a painful experience in Libya into doubting whether humanitarian goals could be achieved by military force.9
Topic:: Human Rights, War, Humanitarian Intervention, and International Order
Political Geography:: Global Focus

37. The Uyghur Genocide and International Policy Response

Author:: Omer Kanat
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: The Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghurs has gone from a relatively obscure issue in the international press to a central one. It has become the subject of discussion and policymaking in the halls of governments around the world and has gained widespread awareness among the general public. This is because Uyghurs are subject to some of the worst human rights abuses in the world; in many respects, their treatment meets the accepted definition of geno- cide. The fact that these abuses are being perpetrated in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a nation widely expected to have a major role in shaping the twenty-first century, has contributed to the urgency of the issue. The Uyghur community has welcomed the long overdue response from some governments. An increasing number of parliaments have condemned the Chinese government’s actions as genocide, and some are developing legislation aimed at addressing issues such as forced labor in the supply chain and transnational repression di- rected at Uyghurs living abroad. Although the Chinese government denounces these as attempts to meddle in their internal affairs, the repression of Uyghurs has a global dimension that requires a global response.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Genocide, Human Rights, and Uyghurs
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Global Focus

38. Moral Imperatives and Legal Realities: The Perennial Conundrum of Humanitarian Intervention

Author:: Chris O'Meara
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: Article 1 of the UN Charter embodies a well-known tension that exists in international law. On the one hand, it sets out perhaps the most fundamental purpose of the UN: the maintenance of international peace and security. This principle underpins the operation of the post-World War II rules-based inter- national order. It is reflected in Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political indepen- dence of any state.”1 Such prohibition, while routinely flouted by states, stands as an intransgressible rule of international law.2 On the other hand, Article 1 establishes what appears to be an equally foundational principle: promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Indeed, the burgeoning body of international human rights law that has arisen since the signing of the Charter has increasingly placed human rights and human security at the center of international concern.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Humanitarian Intervention, and International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

39. To Be Served and Protected: Israeli Arab Citizens and the Police

Author:: Guy Ben-Porat
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: In January 2021, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to Umm al-Fahm, an Arab city in the north of Israel. The visit, officially celebrating the country’s millionth COVID-19 vaccine recipient, also had a political purpose: winning the forthcoming elections in March 2021. For the first time, Netanyahu and the Likud party hoped to gain support from Israel’s Arab citizens. Among Netanyahu’s promises of economic betterment was a commitment to fight ris- ing crime and violence in Arab cities. He pledged “a comprehensive plan” with the primary goal of constructing more police stations “because a dense network of police stations creates more security.” Going further, he added that he “also want[ed] more intelligence, more officers, and more means [of enforcement].” Netanyahu declared himself “first and foremost committed to the rule of law and safety for citizens.”1
Topic:: Human Rights, Inequality, Citizenship, Rule of Law, and Police
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

40. The National Police Service and Nigeria’s Woes

Author:: John Campbell
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: In October 2020, a viral video showed an officer from the Special Anti- Robbery Squad (SARS), a notoriously brutal Nigerian police unit, killing an unarmed civilian. Following credible reports by human rights organizations about a string of extrajudicial killings by police, this video sparked spontaneous demonstrations in Lagos. The video was widely circulated and the demonstrations spread to other cities. These protests reached a nadir when the police killed at least 12 unarmed demonstrators at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on 20 October; human rights groups maintain that the number killed was far greater.1
Topic:: Human Rights, Governance, Police, and Police Brutality
Political Geography:: Africa and Nigeria

41. Policing and Violence: The Less Visible Harms of Policing Practices

Author:: Cecilia Menjívar
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: In recent years, pervasive physical violence perpetrated by police forces across the world has come to light. From São Paulo to Cape Town, from Hong Kong to every major U.S. city, the public has witnessed—mostly through media images—policing through the use of excessive force, such as beatings, assaults, false arrests, verbal abuse, and terrorization. These acts shock us and may even make us feel unsafe. However, they are not directed toward all groups equally. The experiences of Black people fighting for justice in the United States; poor residents protesting extreme social inequality in Ecuador and Chile; Muslims in India facing violence for their religious beliefs; women in Mexico City and Santiago protesting gender-based violence; and anti-government protesters in Hong Kong demonstrate a clear pattern: vulnerable groups who oppose the state or its policies, or who seek to redress past state violence, are the primary targets of police violence.
Topic:: Human Rights, Inequality, Violence, Police, and Police Brutality
Political Geography:: Global Focus

42. Bringing Down the Hammer On Chinese Tech

Author:: Dawn M. K. Zoldi
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: Law is what you must do; policy is what you should do. With regard to country-of-origin bans on technology, either one has the effect of the proverbial hammer. Of late, the U.S. government has been wielding that hammer consistently against China in what amounts to an all-out tech war. The most visible fronts have involved Huawei, ByteDance (TikTok), and TenCent (WeChat). However, a lesser-known conflict relating to the commercial drone sector involves Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a Chinese technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is a three-pronged assault based on cybersecurity, national security, and human rights concerns. Will the U.S. commercial drone ecosystem get hammered in this conflict?
Topic:: Human Rights, National Security, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, and Drones
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

43. A Critical Analysis of Fundamental Rights Under the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Author:: Naveed Ahmed
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Political Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: In general sense the right is considered that source by using that a person is being entitled for all obligation intended to other persons as per the approved limitation of law. The legal right after its recognition takes power for its enforceability from the Constitution. Therefore, in order to alter a legal right, it needs amendments in the Constitution by legislature. The philosophy of human rights is as old as the establishment of mankind. The right to life is considered as the most important and basic human right and is the foundation of all other rights guaranteed by the Constitution. However, where there is right there is always some obligation to enjoy that right. The right of equality demands that all the people have same rights and self-respect as they are born as free and entitle for equal protection as per the Constitution without any discrimination. Generally, human rights are deliberated as a matter of right other than special favor and privilege and must be accepted with full regard not being constrained to the territorial limitations. Therefore, the focus of this study is to critically analyze the most important fundamental rights and how seriously the judiciary of Pakistan perceives these rights in the context of Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. The study may provide an opportunity to build a bridge between the judiciary and the executive for the proper implementation of fundamental rights in Pakistan.
Topic:: Human Rights, Constitution, and Judiciary
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

44. Identity Crisis and Rights in Trouble: Transgenders in Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Author:: Muhammad Mumtaz Ali Khan
Publication Date:: 07-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Political Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: Transgenders have been facing grim situations since ages and in Pakistan since its inception. They have been murdered, raped, sexually abused, physically victimized, and discriminated in all fields of life. In wake of their grievances Supreme Court of Pakistan has laid down a milestone whereby they are recognised as subduct of human rights and allowed them to be a part of mainstream of society. However, at institutional level in Pakistan, whether it relates to education, health, or any other domain, it needs severe scrutiny for the implementation of the rights given to transgenders. Moreover, society as a whole, needs a big transition and drastic change of behaviours to be receptive and inclusive, so that the complexes faced by the transgenders through centuries be redressed and cured.
Topic:: Human Rights, Constitution, Transgender, and Gender Minorities
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

45. The Era of Dis-and-Misinformation Volume XXII, Number 1

Author:: Nicole Kalczynski, Rebecca Blaser, Nicholas J. Cull, Peter J. Phillips, Gabriela Pohl, Michael Christensen, Leonie Holthaus, Bohdan Harasymiw, Feeza Vasudeva, Nicholas Barkdull, Arthur D. Soto-Vásquez, Nadra Hashim, and Vincent Chenzi
Publication Date:: 08-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:: As the world continues to recover from the devastating fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, navigating the harms of misinformation and disinformation remain at the forefront of global conversations on paving the path forward. Preventing the dissemination of false information—particularly during a time where the ways in which we engage with information environments have fundamentally changed—is increasingly complex. Social media platforms have enabled users to not only engage with media but become distributors of it themselves. When coupled with bad actors, limited repercussions, and poor content regulation, social networks are easily weaponized. At all scales of governance misinformation and disinformation campaigns pose a multidimensional threat. In Myanmar and China, disinformation campaigns were leveraged to target minority groups, while in Central and Eastern Europe, they serve as the cornerstone of destabilizing operations between adversarial states. In yet another facet, countries like Turkey, China, Russia, and Iran have embraced digital authoritarianism and restrict policies on internet accessibility under the pretext of stemming the spread of “fake news.” This year’s issue seeks to shed light on the nature of these evolving threats from a variety of innovative and understudied perspectives. This issue explores the causes and effects of the spread of misinformation and disinformation throughout different parts of the world and will be timely for years to come given the ever-increasing role and breadth of new technologies infiltrating people’s everyday lives.
Topic:: Corruption, Human Rights, Science and Technology, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Media, Internet, Social Media, Surveillance, COVID-19, Disinformation, Misinformation, and Fake News
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Europe, Iran, Sudan, Eurasia, Turkey, Ukraine, Middle East, India, Eastern Europe, Asia, Myanmar, Central Europe, and United States of America

46. Public Policy and the Challenge of Health Care Services to Women prisoners in Myanmar

Author:: Swe Zin Linn Phyu
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: While women's rights are seen as human rights in Myanmar to a larger extent, this is not however true for women prisoners. This disregard of rights to women prisoners is because of administrative and legal hurdles. According to the 2008 Constitution though both men and women enjoy equal rights, nevertheless on the implementation level administration and laws, which are drawn from a mix of colonial and traditional sources, makes is practically difficult to realize the constitutional guarantee. This paper explores and reflects on the issues of women prisoners’ access to their basic health care rights from the human rights perspective. Furthermore, I also throw light on how various loopholes of in the public policy increase their vulnerability.
Topic:: Health, Human Rights, Prisons/Penal Systems, Women, and Prisoners
Political Geography:: Southeast Asia and Myanmar

47. Exceptionality of the Principle of the Presumption of Innocence

Author:: Carlos Manuel Rosales
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: The Principle of Presumption of Innocence (PPI) is one of the constitutional pillars of modern democratic state system. However, various theories and justifications have been developed for its inalienability to be reconsidered, especially based on the local context and needs of each country. This research highlights and critically analyzes the question of its reconsideration, the exceptions so far created, and its impact on the continental human rights jurisdictional system.
Topic:: Human Rights, Law, Justice, Jurisdiction, and Presumption of Innocence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

48. Stable Regime, Historiography and Truth Commissions: A Case Study of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement of Pakistan

Author:: Farhat Taj
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: This article discusses the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement's (PTM) demand for establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to facilitate the right to truth of victims of the war on terror in Pakistan. It highlights the tension among the right to truth, geopolitical considerations, and historiography in pursuit of transitional justice under a stable regime. It argues that Pakistan is not likely to establish a TRC due to its geopolitical considerations vis-a-vis Afghanistan. It, however, also underscores that PTM as a pressure group could contribute greatly to realising several human rights based right claims of the war victims, if it disengages itself from the anti-Pakistan Afghan diaspora
Topic:: Human Rights, Transitional Justice, War on Terror, Pashtun, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), and Truth and Reconciliation
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South Asia

49. George Floyd’s Murder: A Human Rights Analysis of the Racial Discrimination in the United States

Author:: Farnaz Raees Kazemi
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: George Floyd’s murder by the police in Minneapolis provoked widespread political agitation across the country. It once again highlighted the problematic racial dimension of policing and eggregious violation of human rights commitments on the part of the government. In this article we explore how the human rights law and racism in the United States interact with each other? We employ qualitative research based on descriptive-analytical method and divide the article in four parts: a brief introduction, ahistorical background of racism, a conceptual comprehension of racial discrimination and a brief survey of the international human rights instruments against racism, and the onground situation of racial discrimination in the country. We conclude that the process of negotiation between human rights law and racism in the United States is far from settled yet.
Topic:: Human Rights, Minorities, Discrimination, Protests, Police, Racism, and George Floyd
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

50. Women's Rights and Democratic Transitions: A Comparative Study of Pakistan, Chile, and South Africa

Author:: Abida Bano
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: Democratization provides women an opportunity to represent their interests/issues effectively. Institutional change of democratic transition proves women's movement's best chance to push for gender-sensitive policy outcomes. This case study critically examines three selected democratic transitions' workings and assesses the cross-cases variation in women's gendered outcomes (South Africa, Chile, and Pakistan). The research questions state as "how and why did women's movements perform differently in achieving gendered policy outcomes in the democratic transitions?” Engaging comparative framework and the qualitative approach, the study shows that the socio-political context, historical legacies, and party alliances have played vital role in varying gendered outcomes.
Topic:: Democratization, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Social Movement, Women, and Collective Action
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Africa, South Asia, South Africa, South America, and Chile

51. Gender and Migration from North Korea

Author:: Erin Engstran, Caitlin Flynn, and Meg Harris
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: Women make up more than 80 percent of North Korean migrants to South Korea. This paper provides a gendered analysis of their migration and offers recommendations to address the systematic oppression and abuse of North Korean migrant women and girls. Gendered human rights abuses and societal shifts in gender roles due to famine contributed to women leaving in record numbers. On the journey, often via China, women face human trafficking fueled by China’s skewed sex ratios, sexual violence, and the threat of extradition back to North Korea where defectors are imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Even those who successfully complete the journey suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, discrimination, and difficulty adjusting into South Korean society. Interventions and policies must acknowledge the gendered dimension of migration to effectively address the harm North Korean women and girls experience.
Topic:: International Relations, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Migration, Women, Refugees, Gender Based Violence, and Human Trafficking
Political Geography:: China, South Korea, North Korea, and Asia-Pacific

52. Pirates, Boat People, and Bystanders: Contradictions at the Marine Bedrock of the International Human Rights Regime

Author:: Matej Jungwirth
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:: School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:: This paper explores the high seas as a critical space for the formulation and development of international human rights law in two inter-related areas: anti-piracy campaigns and rescue of the so-called “boat people.” While the high seas have been instrumental in promoting inter-state cooperation and coordination, I argue that they have also laid bare the limits of states’ nominal commitments to rights protection. Using historical case studies of the Vietnam crisis, Haiti arrivals to the United States, and the current marine policies of Australia, I show that states too often willfully neglect their human rights obligations. In doing so, these states might succeed in protecting their short-term interests, but undermine the foundations of international human rights regimes in the long run.
Topic:: Human Rights, Migration, Refugees, and Maritime
Political Geography:: Vietnam, Australia, Australia/Pacific, North America, Southeast Asia, and United States of America

53. Peace as a Human Right: Outlook of the Relationships between Human Rights and Peace from the 21st Century | Bir İnsan Hakkı Olarak Barış: İnsan Hakları/Barış İlişkisinin 21. Yüzyıldan Görünümü

Author:: Fatma Akkan Güngör and Zehra Aksu
Publication Date:: 09-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Novus Orbis: Journal of Politics & International Relations
Institution:: Department of International Relations, Karadeniz Technical University
Abstract:: The 20th century has been regulated with a conservative principle due to the fact that states could not be able to solve their national and international problems on their own, and therefore should embrace the concept of global cooperation. That is the reason why state sovereignty has been the subject of many discussions until today. When peace emerged as a human right in the form of solidarity, it was taken into consideration in the literature together with the concept of humanitarian intervention. Furthermore, after that, its validity was discussed in the context of state sovereignty. While all these discussions are taking place, many philosophers/academics, who focus on the problematic of state right or human right and whose ideas evolve to peace studies over the inevitability of wars and reach a stalemate between the subject or state over the right of intervention, bring the old concepts back to the agenda and produce new ideas for the new order. Based on the question of whether peace should be in the system or within the nation, the main problematic in this era is whether a society that includes the entire universe or a system in which the sovereignty principles of states will continue and whether a system, in which wars are also possible, will be accepted as "right" by the subject. | 20. yüzyıl devletler için ulusal ve uluslararası sorunlarını tek başlarına çözemeyecekleri ve bu nedenle küresel işbirliğine yanaşmaları düzleminde muhafazakar ilkeyle düzenlenmiş ve günümüze kadar geçen sürede devlet egemenliği birçok tartışmaya konu olmuştur. Barış, dayanışma türünde bir insan hakkı olarak ortaya çıktığında literatürde insani müdahale kavramı ile birlikte ele alınmış ve sonrasında devlet egemenliği bağlamında geçerliliği tartışılmıştır. Tüm bu tartışmalar yaşanırken devlet hakkı mı insan hakkı mı sorunsalına odaklanan ve savaşların kaçınılmazlığı üzerinden barış çalışmalarına evrilen ve müdahale hakkı üzerine özne mi devlet mi çıkmazında kalan birçok düşünür, eski kavramları yeniden gündeme taşımakta ve yeni düzene yeni düşünceler üretmektedir. Barışın sistemde mi ulusta mı olması gerektiği sorusu üzerinden hareketle ana sorunsal, bu çağda tüm evreni içine alacak bir toplumun mu yoksa devletlerin egemenlik ilkelerinin devam edeceği ve savaşların da olası olduğu bir sistemin mi özne tarafından doğru kabul edileceğidir.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Cooperation, Sovereignty, Self Determination, Humanitarian Intervention, and Peace
Political Geography:: Global Focus

54. Myanmar’s Foreign Strategy Toward China Since Rohingya Crisis: Changes, Outlook and Implications

Author:: Jaesoo Park
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: Myanmar has crafted a neutral foreign policy since its colonial years to avoid leaning too much on any foreign power, but a spiraling political crisis at home is pushing it toward China as a buffer against international outrage. Myanmar faces charges of genocide against the Rohingya. China has backed Myanmar in the UN. In fact, China is in a similar situation. China is grappling with international criticism over the perceived repression of ethnic Uighur people. Myanmar is exposed to various words and loud in the international community. So Myanmar wants to improve relations with China and is turning into an active cooperative attitude as a strategy to secure a friendly army. This paper shows how the diplomatic relations between Myanmar and China are changing, and how Myanmar’s foreign strategy toward China is approaching. Also, this article analyzes the outlook of diplomatic relations and the implications of the current situation.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Human Rights, Bilateral Relations, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Rohingya
Political Geography:: China, Myanmar, and Indo-Pacific

55. Institutional Responsibility for Mass Atrocity Crimes with Thomas Pogge

Author:: Jed Lea-Henry
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: Humanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) are currently limited and encumbered by a pervasive absence of a political will. In states’ calculations, political considerations are constantly winning-out over the moral considerations of saving at-risk segments of our planet. While institutional and legal reforms undoubtedly play a role in addressing this challenge, such reforms and structures have existed for generations now, and have largely failed to bridge this gap from ‘moral necessity to political action’. What has been lacking is a moral understanding of humanitarian crises that is capable of reliably motivating the international community to undertake remedying actions, rather than merely expressions of concern. Such a moral foundation is achievable through institutional cosmopolitanism, an understanding of humanitarian intervention as satisfactions of our negative duties, and specifically the work of Thomas Pogge.
Topic:: Genocide, Human Rights, Atrocities, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: Global Focus

56. Afghan Women Education: Bottlenecks & Future

Author:: Muhammad Saleem Mazhar and Naheed S. Goraya
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: Afghanistan is a country with strong cultural norms and a male-dominated society, comprising 49% of women population. The plight of Afghan women is embedded in long history of the country. Decades old war has led 90% of Afghan women without education (aged 25). In war- torn countries around the world, thousands of women are deprived of education. The displacement and the predominance of norms or ideologies dampen the very idea of education for women. Most of the schools are far enough and the children, predominately the girls, have no easy access there. Girls do stay at home following the gender norms. However in post 2001, there have been significant developments regarding female education and their participation in public life. The most important contribution was the adoption of National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA1), 10 years strategic framework (2010-18). The paper argues that the girls‘ education in Afghanistan requires to be looked through the lens of culture. It will analyze the other barriers to women education and explore the facts how they are unequally treated in terms of access to all levels of education in the country. However, there is a long way to meet the challenges regarding women education. It will conclude with the idea that it is undoubtedly true that countries can develop where there is no gender discrimination with regard to ducation politics and social and economic rebuilding. Only gender-oriented tasks can rule out inequalities in conflict-affected societies and transform them into peaceful societies of respect and equality.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Education, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Women, Feminism, and Equality
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and Middle East

57. Indian Constitutional Rearrangements in Jammu & Kashmir and the Responses of Kashmiri Diaspora

Author:: Lubna Haroon and Nazir Hussain
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: In the aftermath of August 5, 2019, almost the entire population of Indian-held Jammu & Kashmir was placed under stark lockdown with pro-freedom and mainstream politicians arrested. This was to prevent any outbreak in response to the revocation of region‟s special status. There were only two indigenous constituencies left for campaign and raising voices; „Pakistani-administered‟ J&K and Kashmiri diaspora. The diaspora‟s feeling of being backstabbed created a sense of dispossession and alienation. Kashmiri diaspora across the globe mobilised on various fronts ranging from diplomatic, social, political, academic, and media. Though they managed to highlight the Kashmir conflict internationally, but they could not make some tangible impact as India‟s constitutional re-arrangements and the human rights violations in Jammu & Kashmir continued unabated.
Topic:: Human Rights, Migration, Diaspora, Social Movement, Constitution, and Protests
Political Geography:: India and Asia

58. Portrayal of Developed and Under Developed Countries in Tweets of International News Agencies (2010-2016)

Author:: Muhammad Usman Saeed, Mian Hanan Ahmad, and Noshina Saleem
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Political Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: In the context of modern information and communication systems, present study was designed to examine the information and communication imbalances among the developed and under developed countries in tweets of international news agencies during 2010-16. Theoretically, the study takes roots from world system theory and structural imperialism theory. Methodologically, the triangulation of method is used. Firstly, the content analysis was performed on purposively selected tweets of four international news agencies; AFP, AP, Reuters and Xinhua about the 15 sample countries for the period of 7 year from 2010-2016. Further, the social network analysis technique was used to examine the network structures of international news determinants and world countries. This study revealed that core and semi-periphery countries are shared more and framed positively, while periphery countries are shared less and portrayal negatively not only by the international news agencies but also by their followers. Further, it was also found that Reuters’ tweets agenda about core, periphery and semi-periphery countries is different from other news agencies specifically from Xinhua. Moreover, study also found that in the tweets of international news agencies the core and semi-periphery countries are covered and shared in context of foreign relations, trade, economy, entertainment, and human interest, while periphery countries are covered and shared with reference to conflicts, disasters, and human rights violations.
Topic:: Development, Human Rights, Communications, Media, Social Media, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Global Focus

59. Comprehensive, Contentious, Convulsive, and Continuing: Some Observations on the 2010–2020 Arab Uprisings

Author:: Rami G. Khouri
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Harvard Journal of Middle Eastern Politics and Policy
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: The grievances that exploded all over the Arab region between 2010 and 2020 are historic in so many ways that it is hard to know where to start understanding them. Scholars should avoid a single-focus analysis and instead grasp why the protests across nearly a dozen countries have addressed almost every dimension of material, political, and psychological life. Four key factors that converge, though, should take priority in any assessment of what this decade means for the Arab region: (1) the expanding range of rights, denials, and grievances that citizens raise; (2) the fact that Arabs have unsuccessfully tried to redress these grievances since the 1970s without receiving any serious responses from their states; (3) the demands today to go well beyond reforms in individual policies and instead totally overhaul the governance systems and throw out the ruling elites; and, (4) the simultaneous uprisings across much of the Arab region, revealing the common suffering of citizens and the incompetence of governments in about a dozen states at least. In short, the deterioration of the quality of citizenship and the dilapidated state of public services and governance have reached such a severe condition that they have caused mass eruptions by citizens in multiple lands to redress these stressful and often dehumanizing realities.
Topic:: Human Rights, Social Movement, Reform, Citizenship, Arab Spring, History, and Accountability
Political Geography:: Middle East and North Africa

60. Crime in the Northern Triangle

Author:: Mark L Schneider
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Fletcher Security Review
Institution:: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:: Violence and crime in the Northern Triangle Countries (NTC) of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras continue to endanger citizen security in those countries, as well as in Mexico and in the United States. The extent, conditions, and policy responses are important in and of themselves, but also because this violence constitutes one of the significant factors driving migration toward the United States.
Topic:: Security, Crime, Human Rights, and Migration
Political Geography:: Central America, North America, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador

61. Do Global Publics View Human Rights Organizations as Handmaidens of the United States?

Author:: David Crow and James Ron
Publication Date:: 03-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Political Science Quarterly
Institution:: Academy of Political Science
Abstract:: David Crow and James Ron look at how global publics view the relationship between human rights organizations and the U.S. government. They argue that ordinary people across various world regions do not perceive human rights groups as “handmaidens” of U.S. foreign policy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Government, Human Rights, Non-Governmental Organization, and Public Opinion
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

62. Counterterrorism and Preventive Repression: China’s Changing Strategy in Xinjiang

Author:: Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Myunghee Lee, and Emir Yazici
Publication Date:: 02-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Security
Institution:: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:: In early 2017, the Chinese Communist Party changed its internal security strategy in Xinjiang, escalating collective detention, ideological re-education, and pressure on Uyghur diaspora networks. This strategy shift was likely catalyzed by changing perceptions of Uyghur involvement in transnational Islamic militancy in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, heightening perceived domestic vulnerability to terrorism.
Topic:: Security, Human Rights, Minorities, Counter-terrorism, and Repression
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Xinjiang

63. Incorporation of Universal Human Rights’ Norms in Municipal Law: An Analytical Study of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and India

Author:: Moosa Akefi Ghaziani and Mohmmad Akefi Ghaziani
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: The incorporation of universal human rights’ norms in public municipal law has often been a challenge for both Islamic and secular states. Employing an analytical method this article explores the main legal challenges to the incorporation of universal human rights norms into municipal laws in three states--Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two Islamic states, and India, the secular state. It is argued that despite their differences in the larger legal framework they follow a peculiar dualistic system to incorporate the human rights norms, which results in its application challenges.
Topic:: Human Rights, Law, and Norms
Political Geography:: Iran, Middle East, and Saudi Arabia

64. Human Rights: An Uprising Volume XXI, Number 2

Author:: Sushant Naidu, Mahmood Monshipouri, Jodie G. Roure, David T. Johnson, Randolph B. Persaud, Jackson Yoder, Debra L. DeLaet, Nicholas McMurry, Kathleen Mahoney, and Morten Koch Andersen
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:: For centuries, protests have been used to mobilize citizenry in efforts to bring about sweeping change in different parts of the world. Protestors have protested to convey their discontent, to demand a moral response, and to speak truth to power. In 2010, antigovernment protests in Egypt inspired similar uprisings in other Arab countries, which became known as the Arab Spring. This year, the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd have led people in the US and across the world to march against racism and police brutality. Despite a global pandemic, thousands have taken to the streets to demand justice for Black lives, demonstrating that the principle of equality, a common moral good, is worth risking both health and life. “Human Rights: An Uprising,” the second issue of our twenty-first volume, sheds light not only on the right to protest itself, but the human rights that have inspired them. Mahmood Monshipouri explores the variations and similarities in contemporary protest while discussing the Black Lives Matter movement. Joudie Roure addresses gender-based violence and LGBTQI rights in Puerto Rico, especially the murder of trans women. Debra DeLaet explains the importance of soft law approaches in making progress toward the realization of gender-based human rights and LGBTQI rights. Randolph Persaud and Jackson Yoder apply the concept of homo sacer to examine differential rights within two key areas: migrants/refugees/asylum seekers in Europe and the effects of COVID-19 on African Americans in the US. Nicholas McMurry argues that the right to be heard is developing in human rights law as expounded in the practice of the UN treaty bodies. Kathleen Mahoney discusses Indigenous rights in Canada. Morten Andersen argues that an investigation of the relationship between corruption and human rights is best viewed as a framework of socially constructed norms, political power, and the complex interrelation of political, legal, economic, and social systems. Finally, David Johnson writes about the origins, causes, and contemporary implications of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. This issue sheds light on the strata of protests and human rights. It further affirms the growing political salience of human rights and the power of social movements to overcome the tyranny of exclusion, greed, and special interests which have always undermined them.
Topic:: Corruption, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Migration, Natural Disasters, Women, Protests, Violence, LGBT+, Crisis Management, Indigenous, COVID-19, and Biopolitics
Political Geography:: Philippines, Asia-Pacific, and Global Focus

65. Peace Forged by Warfare: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 70 Years After

Author:: Thiago Rodrigues, Tadeu Maciel, and Joao Paulo Duarte
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in December 2018 created a need to problematise its precepts and their political consequences in contempo- rary times. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s genealogical approach to power, this article analyses the normative inscription of the UDHR as the emergence of a juridical-political device that produces new modulations of biopolitics. As such, it is not based on peace, as is commonly argued, but on the permanent reinscription of war, sometimes in dimensions that go beyond the boundaries of sovereignty.
Topic:: Human Rights, United Nations, War, Intellectual History, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Global Focus

66. Protection or Interference? The Legitimacy of Contemporary Humanitarian Interventions and the Engagement of Nonhegemonic Powers

Author:: Daniel Campos de Carvalho
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: In this article, we use the notion of legitimacy to analyse shifts in global humanitarian interventions since the 1990s, culminating in the contested adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) framework under the United Nations umbrella in 2005. We assess how this important shift was disputed with narratives of protection and interference, and argue that the engagement of non- hegemonic actors (specifically Brazil and Russia) with the scope of humanitarian protection has influenced the substantive legitimacy of this global governance issue over the past three decades by creating a norm-making proce
Topic:: Human Rights, Governance, Humanitarian Intervention, and Legitimacy
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Brazil, and South America

67. State Human Rights Performance and Recommendations under the Universal Periodic Review

Author:: Eric Cox
Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:: Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:: This paper analyzes recommendations made to states under the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in order to determine whether or not the UPR is making meaningful recommendations to states under review. The UPR reviews the human rights of all UN Member States every four years. During the review, each state receives a number of recommendations from other UN member states. This paper uses data from UPR Info to determine if states with better human rights performance as measured by the CIRI human rights data project receive fewer recommendations than states with worse performance. It finds that, even when controlling for other factors, states with worse records on civil and political rights generally receive more recommendations than states with better records. States with lower scores from CIRI on women's economic and political rights receive more recommendations regarding women's issues than states with higher scores. These findings hold regardless of region, suggesting that, at a minimum, the UPR process is identifying violators of human rights.
Topic:: Human Rights, United Nations, and Governance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

68. U.S. Policy Options Toward China: An Appraisal

Author:: Simon Lester
Publication Date:: 10-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Cato Journal
Institution:: The Cato Institute
Abstract:: Most Americans will agree that the Chinese government has behaved badly in a number of ways, although they may not agree on exactly which Chinese government behavior is a problem. Perhaps it’s the treatment of ethnic or religious minorities, such as the Uighurs or Tibetans or Christians; maybe it’s the crackdown on protests in Hong Kong and failure to uphold the “one country, two systems” principle; or assertiveness in territorial disputes; or censorship; or protectionist trade practices; or intellectual property theft; or cyber‐hacking; or spying; or most recently, being slow to disclose the emergence of the coronavirus and engaging in a propaganda war regarding who is at fault. It’s a long list, and everyone has their own priorities. But while there is loose agreement on the existence of a problem, there is great difficulty in coming up with an appropriate response. What can or should the United States government do about any of this? Is it possible to change the behavior of other governments? Is the U.S. government in a position to do it? Is it appropriate to do so?
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Bilateral Relations, and Trade
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

69. South Africa's Possible Withdrawal from the International Criminal Court

Author:: Innocent Mangwiro
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: Human rights violations continue to dominate Zimbabwe’s social and political spaces. Despite being a signatory to continental and global human rights conventions, Zimbabwe’s commitment to human rights remains questionable. As there remains a rift between the African Union (AU), some member states and the International Criminal Court (ICC), the South African government tabled a motion in parliament to withdraw from the Rome Statute in October 2019. This followed an earlier attempt in October 2016 to withdraw, one year after the then AU chairperson, Robert Mugabe, insisted that its members must not cooperate with the ICC, as it was accused of being anti-African.1 South Africa initially rejected the call for non-cooperation but, in 2015, refused to arrest Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, with the ICC’s powers of universal jurisdiction, signalling contempt of court.2 Given this context, this article contends that it will not be South Africans who will bear the consequences if the country eventually succeeds and withdraws from the ICC, but other African people living under regimes without good human rights records, such as Zimbabwe. While the dimension of South Africa’s geopolitical interests in Africa has sufficiently been analysed by Isike and Ogunnubi,3 I argue that the implications for human rights of the country’s withdrawal have not been exhausted.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Cooperation, International Criminal Court (ICC), African Union, and Human Rights Violations
Political Geography:: Africa, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

70. Security vs. Human Dignity: The Migratory Crisis is Knocking on the Door of the Fortress ‘Europe’

Author:: Carlos Espaliú Berdud
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: In view of the magnitude of the migration crisis, the SEGERICO research group at the Nebrija University in Madrid organised a call for papers, inviting all interested researchers to join us in the reflection on these relevant events, which we wanted to describe metaphorically in the image of the migration crisis knocking on the door of Fortress ‘Europe’. As a result of this reflection, we present to the general public, and to the scientific community in particular, a selection of six articles that address specific aspects of this crisis of human dignity and security, but that together provide a global and multi-faceted image of it, in accordance with the composition of our research group.
Topic:: Human Rights, Migration, Governance, European Union, and Refugees
Political Geography:: Europe

71. Can Religious Human Rights Discourses Help Integrating Muslim Migrant Communities Across Europe?

Author:: Sonia Boulos
Publication Date:: 05-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: The perception of Islam as antithetical to European human rights values is widespread in Europe. Such perceptions complicate the task of integrating Muslim minorities across Europe. While incrementing respect to human rights norms among migrant communities is an important element of any integration policy, this goal should not be perused by forcing migrant communities to adhere to human rights norms based on purely secular grounds. The drafting history of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the ultimate proof that human rights can be justified from different political, philosophical and religious perspectives. While European States cannot compromise their commitment to human rights, even in relation to migrant communities, still, they must allow other narratives on the importance and the meaning of human rights to emerge. Muslim migrant communities must be allowed to engage in intra-group religion-based dialogues to reevaluate their stance on human rights and to debate their meaning. After being given the opportunity to engage in internal debates on the significance of human rights, Muslim migrant communities should also be engaged in cross-cultural dialogues with the rest of community to generate a wider agreement on the meaning and the application of human rights. This two-fold strategy is consistent with the principle of subsidiarity, which suggests that for human rights be effective they must be seen as legitimate by all those small groups that are close to the individual. Such legitimacy cannot be imposed from the outside, it must emerge from within these small groups. However, for these intra-group and cross-cultural dialogues to succeed, the separation of religion and State cannot be understood as the complete exclusion of religion from the public sphere. Individuals of different philosophical or religious convictions must have an equal access to public debates on the centrality of human rights in the European legal order.
Topic:: Human Rights, Islam, Religion, Culture, and Integration
Political Geography:: Europe

72. Business, Armed Conflict, and Protection of the Environment: What Avenues for Corporate Accountability?

Author:: Marie Davoise
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: In July 2019, the International Law Commission (ILC) provisionally adopted, on first reading, a series of draft principles on the protection of the environment in relation to armed conflict (the Draft Principles). The role of businesses in armed conflict is addressed in Draft Principle 10 and Draft Principle 11. The latter, in particular, requires States to implement appropriate measures to ensure that corporations operating in or from their territories can be held accountable for environmental harm in the context of armed conflict. The inclusion of those two Draft Principles reflects increasingly vocal calls for corporate accountability, which has been the focus of the growing field of Business and Human Rights (BHR), an umbrella term encompassing a variety of legal regimes from tort law to criminal law. This contribution will look at the link between businesses, the environment, and armed conflict. Using the newly adopted Draft Principle 11 as a starting point, it explores three major liability regimes through which businesses could be held accountable for damage to the environment in armed conflict: State responsibility, international criminal law, and transnational tort litigation. Using case studies, the article discusses some of the challenges associated with each of those regimes, before concluding that the cross-fertilization phenomenon observed in this article (between public/private law, domestic/international level, and across various jurisdictions) is making BHR an increasingly salient discipline and useful tool in the fight against impunity for corporate environmental harm in armed conflict.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Business, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Global Focus

73. Enhancing Environmental Protection During Occupation Through Human Rights

Author:: Karen Hulme
Publication Date:: 07-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: Environmental protection is not specifically included in treaty law relating to State obligations during situations of occupation. While clearly not of the same scale as damage caused to the environment during armed conflict, damage caused during occupation is often similar in nature – largely due to those who seek to exploit any governance vacuum and a failure to restore damaged environments. What can human rights offer in helping to protect the environment during occupations? What protection can be offered by an analysis of environmental human rights law?
Topic:: Environment, Human Rights, Governance, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Global Focus

74. A Study and Analysis of the Treatment of Mexican Unaccompanied Minors by Customs and Border Protection

Author:: Kiera Coulter, Samantha Sabo, Daniel E. Martinez, Katelyn Chisholm, Kelsey Gonzalez, Edrick Villalobos, Diego Garcia, Taylor Levy, and Jeremy Slack
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on Migration and Human Security
Institution:: Center for Migration Studies of New York
Abstract:: The routine human rights abuses and due process violations of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have contributed to a mounting humanitarian and legal crisis along the US–Mexico border. In the United States, the treatment of UAC is governed by laws, policies, and standards drawn from the Flores Settlement, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), and CBP procedures and directives, which are intended to ensure UAC’s protection, well-being, and ability to pursue relief from removal, such as asylum. As nongovernmental organizations and human rights groups have documented, however, CBP has repeatedly violated these legal standards and policies, and subjected UAC to abuses and rights violations. This article draws from surveys of 97 recently deported Mexican UAC, which examine their experiences with US immigration authorities. The study finds that Mexican UAC are detained in subpar conditions, are routinely not screened for fear of return to their home countries or for human trafficking, and are not sufficiently informed about the deportation process. The article recommends that CBP should take immediate steps to improve the treatment of UAC, that CBP and other entities responsible for the care of UAC be monitored to ensure their compliance with US law and policy, and that Mexican UAC be afforded the same procedures and protection under the TVPRA as UAC from noncontiguous states.
Topic:: Human Rights, Migration, Border Control, Children, Youth, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

75. A Human Rights Approach to Conflict Resolution

Author:: Claudia Fuentes-Julio and Raslan Ibrahim
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: The role of human rights abuses in the causes, dynamics, and consequences of conflict illustrate the importance of a human rights approach to conflict resolution:1 if human rights are part of the problem, they must be part of the solution. This essay aims to show how a human rights perspective can improve the odds of transforming violent conflicts into sustainable peace by enhancing the design and implementation of peace processes and conflict resolution practices. In doing so, we will clarify the main characteristics of a human rights approach to conflict resolution and identify a set of human rights standards to guide its implementation. We will then briefly analyze the Colombian and the Israeli-Palestinian peace processes, each through the lens of the human rights approach. These two cases illustrate opposite ends of the spectrum when considering the inclusion of human rights in conflict resolution. At one end, the Colombian peace process illustrates how negotiations and a final agreement can recognize peace as a human right, highlighting the need to transform the structural conditions of injustice and human rights violations that give rise to armed conflict. At the other end, in the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, human rights are virtually absent despite the fact that systematic abuses are among the main underlying causes and consequences of the conflict. In the conclusion, we address one of the main criticisms and challenges of a human rights–based approach to conflict resolution.
Topic:: Human Rights, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Colombia, Palestine, and South America

76. The Georgian Herald Samizdat Journal

Author:: Aleksandra Gryzlak
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: From the very beginnings of Soviet rule in Georgia, the communists were not very popular throughout Georgian society and treated as occupants. Almost all active forms of resistance ceased to exist after the bloody suppression of the August Uprising of 19241. The massive purge of the Georgian intelligentsia that followed deprived the nation of its patriotic elites. Only after the death of Stalin and in the wake of Nikita Khrushchev’s famous speech in 1956, did the situation change. Khrushchev’s words of accusation and criticism, leveled at Stalin for his cult of personality and other mistakes, were treated in Georgia as an attack on their nation and an element of Russian chauvinism. It gave rise to a series of mass protests in Tbilisi in March 1956, that were brutally dispersed by the army. Approxi- mately 150 people died as a result2. During the 1950s and 60s, Vasilii Mzhavanadze was the leader of the Georgian Com- munist Party. In keeping with Khrushchev’s strategy of somewhat reduced control over the national republics, one could observe a consolidation of power by the ruling elite in Geor- gia3. This led to the spread of corruption, bribery and other illegal economic operations. Despite a weak economy, according to official statistics, the average Georgian’s savings in the 1970s were nearly twice that of the average Russian. Also, during this time, a very high number of educated specialists – who while graduating, did not take job assignments were still able to live reasonably well. Another phenomenon characteristic for the 1950s and 60s was a growing sense of nationalism. Symptoms of this included a relatively small number of national minority representatives able to gain access to higher education in the Georgian Republic, as well as clear-cut Georgian control over local and national party structures. The situation did not change after the fall of Khrushchev.4 Only in the early 1970s, did things start to change. In 1972, the key position of the First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party was passed to the former Minister of the Inte- rior – Eduard Shevardnadze, who began his rule with a broad campaign against corruption, overgrown bureaucracy, nepotism, and the so-called “second economy” (black market). Harsh administrative methods used in this campaign brought some positive effects – especially in the agricultural sector – but also resulted in a negative reaction from Georgian society5. Shevardnadze was also supposed to fight against growing Georgian nationalism. Campaigns, that condemned such things as reluctance to learn Russian lan- guage and promotion of national chauvinism in culture, were initiated. The teaching cur- riculum of the subject of history was also put under siege by the new authorities.
Topic:: Agriculture, Communism, Corruption, Human Rights, Nationalism, and Culture
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, and Georgia

77. Freedom of Expression and Justiciability in Pakistan

Author:: H.S. Sharif and Jafar Riaz Kataria
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: This paper would discuss freedom of expression and restrictions on the freedom with particular reference to the provisions of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the „Justiciability Doctrine‟ as enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). The question whether the freedom of expression claims are justiciable or not, in third world countries like Pakistan and how it helps in the advancement of rule of law and good governance would be explored. The focus would be on the cultural relativism narrative developed ever since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The claims of „Universalism‟ associated with human rights especially freedom of expression would be criticized with respect to the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine as reflected in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and adopted in other jurisdictions. Freedom of expression and the rights of minorities in Pakistan would be discussed with a special mention of proselytization and forced conversions. Lastly, the role of legislation and judiciary in Pakistan for the protection and advancement of the freedom of expression guarantee would be discussed.
Topic:: Human Rights, Governance, Culture, Freedom of Expression, and Rule of Law
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

78. Regulating Civil Society in Pakistan

Author:: Tahira Jabeen
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: Since the introduction of the Policy for Regulation of INGOs in Pakistan, 2015 and the draft Regulation of Foreign Contribution Act 2013-15 (RFCA),the state-civil society relationship in Pakistan has been once again in jeopardy. This paper examines the issue of regulating civil society organizations in Pakistan, considering the unique composition of Pakistani civil society, its role, and the existing legal framework while drawing on examples from the region. Based on the analysis, it is recommended that due to the importance of associational life in the development and democratization of Pakistan, civic organizations should be regulated in the light of the constitutional provisions, which consider rights to association as basic human rights.
Topic:: Civil Society, Human Rights, Non-Governmental Organization, Regulation, and State
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, and Punjab

79. The Power of Ideas That Won the Cold War is Still Needed

Author:: Christopher Datta
Publication Date:: 11-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: To win the Cold War, President Ronald Reagan did something for which he is never credited: he dramatically increased the budget of the United States Information Agency, the public diplomacy arm of our struggle against communism. Senegal, in September of 1999, was about to hold a presidential election. Because of USIA's long history of promoting journalism in Senegal, the embassy decided to work in partnership with the local Print, Radio and Television Journalists Federation to hold a series of workshops on the role of journalists in covering elections. USIA was uniquely organized to promote democratic development through the long term support of human rights organizations, journalism, programs that helped build the rule of law, educational programs that encouraged the acceptance of diversity in society and, perhaps most importantly, through partnering with and supporting local opinion leaders to help them promote democratic values that stand in opposition to ideologies hostile to the West.
Topic:: Cold War, Diplomacy, Human Rights, Elections, Democracy, Rule of Law, Ideology, Networks, and Journalism
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Russia, United States, Europe, Iran, Soviet Union, West Africa, Syria, and Senegal

80. Can the European Union Save Multilateralism?

Author:: Mikael Barfod
Publication Date:: 05-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: American Diplomacy
Institution:: American Diplomacy
Abstract:: Controversies have abounded, including Palestine and Israel within the UN's Human Rights Council, lack of US support for the International Law of the Sea (since 1994), and the International Criminal Court (since 2002). Collectively, the European Union and its Member States remain by far the largest financial contributor to the UN, providing 30% of all contributions to the budget and 31% of peace-keeping activities in addition to substantial contributions towards project-based funding. 4. Some may object that the European Union has been hampered by the lack of a common position among EU Member States on the future of the UN Security Council (UNSC), where two member-states, UK and France, currently have permanent seats and one, Germany, is desperate to get one.
Topic:: International Relations, Cold War, Human Rights, European Union, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Africa, China, United Kingdom, Europe, Iran, Israel, Asia, France, Germany, and United States of America

81. The “22 vs. 50” Diplomatic Split Between the West and China Over Xinjiang and Human Rights

Author:: Roie Yellinek and Elizabeth Chen
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: China Brief
Institution:: The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: On July 8, 2019, a group of 22 states issued a joint letter to the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which condemned China’s mass detention of Uyghurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region of northwest China. [1] In the letter, the signatories expressed their countries’ concerns about “credible reports of arbitrary detention in large scale places of detention” in the region and “widespread surveillance and restrictions” targeting Uyghurs and other minorities. The letter (hereafter “First Letter”) called upon the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to uphold its national laws and international commitments, and to “refrain from the arbitrary detention and restrictions on freedom of movement of Uyghurs, and other Muslim and minority communities in Xinjiang” (UNHRC, July 8). Just four days later, on July 12, 2019, another group of 37 states issued a competing letter to the UNHRC that backed the PRC’s policies in the Xinjiang region (Xinhua, July 13). This letter (hereafter “Second Letter”) asserted that “the work of [UNHRC] should be conducted in an objective… non-confrontational and non-politicized matter,” and expressed “firm opposition to relevant countries’ practice of politicizing human rights issues, by naming and shaming, and publicly exerting pressures on other countries.” This Second Letter commended “China’s remarkable achievements” in “protecting and promoting human rights through development.” The letter further “call[ed] on relevant countries to refrain from employing unfounded charges against China,” and urged the UNHRC to approach the Xinjiang situation “in an objective and impartial manner… with true and genuinely credible information” (UNHRC, July 12). One signatory state, Qatar, subsequently withdrew its support. [2] However, by the time the Second Letter was re-issued later in July, representatives of thirteen additional states and the Palestinian Authority had added their support, bringing the total number of signatories to fifty. [3] This letter exchange between 22 critics and 50 supporters of the PRC’s policies in Xinjiang demonstrates how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has leveraged its economic and political influence over other voting members at the UNHCR to advocate for its own positions, and to weaken legal and procedural frameworks of the international human rights regime.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Human Rights, International Cooperation, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Global Focus

82. Exploring Undocumented Students' Understandings of the Role of Higher Education during the Trump Era

Author:: Karina Santellano
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: California Journal of Politics and Policy
Institution:: Institute of Governmental Studies, UC Berkeley
Abstract:: Law pertaining to immigrants is conceptualized as legal violence (Menjívar and Abrego 2012). Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an executive policy with an uncertain future under the Trump administration. In California, many DACA beneficiaries are students at public colleges and universities. This paper conceptualizes DACA as another form of legal violence and draws from 30 in-depth interviews with undocumented students to explore the ways in which undocumented students believe the role of their college/university is to mitigate the legal violence stemming from the liminality of DACA. Some participants believe their colleges/universities should provide safety, specifically via the designation of sanctuary campus status for its symbolic importance, others believe their colleges have a responsibility beyond intellectualism sharing they should be progressive leaders against xenophobia, while others expressed cynicism, describing institutions of higher education as corporations interested in their brand rather than in being immigrant rights advocates on behalf of their students. This study serves as a way for institutions of higher education to learn how undocumented students perceive their roles and duties. At the end of this paper, the author suggests how colleges and universities can work towards mitigating legal violence in the lives of undocumented students.
Topic:: Human Rights, Immigration, Law, Immigrants, and Higher Education
Political Geography:: United States and California

83. The Right to a Nationality and the Right to Adequate Housing An Analysis of the Intersection of Two Largely ‘Invisible’ Human Rights Violations

Author:: Benjamin Gronowski
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: Millions of individuals around the world face challenges enjoying their right to a nationality, and millions more face challenges enjoying their right to adequate housing. While these human rights violations are recognised in general terms, little research has considered the extent to which these human rights abuses intersect as stateless persons face violations of specific socioeconomic rights, especially the right to adequate housing. This research attempts to fill that gap. This analysis explores the term adequate housing and the various legal instruments that enshrine this right, as well as the unique challenges faced by stateless persons in its enjoyment. This research argues that states have failed to respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing for stateless persons in a number of contexts and that these failures are particularly acute for stateless persons with additional marginalised identities, which can then result in additional human rights violations. This analysis examines how previous policy solutions have failed to adequately consider the unique needs of inadequately housed stateless persons and calls attention to the need for more holistic and inclusive approaches to realise the right to adequate housing for all, which must include stateless persons.
Topic:: Human Rights, Housing, Stateless Population, and Nationality
Political Geography:: Global Focus

84. Better Must Come: Citizenship and Belonging after Statelessness

Author:: Patrick Balazo
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: In light of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee’s global #IBELONG Campaign to end statelessness by 2024, this paper examines the benefits of citizenship acquisition among Sri Lanka’s previously stateless Up-Country Tamil population. From 1948 until 2003, the Up-Country Tamil population was stateless and excluded from the Sri Lankan political process, though with the 2003 grant of citizenship Sri Lanka was celebrated as an example of what it means to successfully end statelessness. Using a liberal theory of citizenship extended by the Rancièrian concept of dissensus, and based on qualitative interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted in Sri Lanka between July and August 2016, this paper identifies potential shortcomings of citizenship acquisition that clash with the promise of the #IBELONG Campaign and the narrative of Sri Lanka’s success in ending statelessness: a rural rights deficit and a shared absence of belonging despite the acquisition of citizenship.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Cooperation, United Nations, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:: Asia and Sri Lanka

85. Aspirations and Realities in Africa: Ethiopia’s Quiet Revolution

Author:: Jon Temin and Yoseph Badwaza
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Democracy
Institution:: National Endowment for Democracy
Abstract:: While enormous challenges persist, the ongoing political opening in Ethiopia offers an opportunity for the expansion of democracy and respect for human rights in a geopolitically important state, and is already having significant implications for peace and security in the Horn of Africa. Managing massive expectations, maintaining stability, and instituting a political order in which the country’s divergent political groups and ethnic communities are meaningfully represented and at peace with each other are key tests that will determine the trajectory of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s bold political experiment. With robust citizen engagement and prudent international support, there is reason to believe that the challenges are surmountable.
Topic:: Human Rights, United Nations, Democracy, and Political stability
Political Geography:: Africa and Ethiopia

86. The Indo-Pak Rivalry and the Kashmir Issue: A Historical Analysis in the Security Context of the South Asia

Author:: Syed Shahbaz Hussain, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Imran, and Adnan Nawaz
Publication Date:: 07-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Political Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: The Kashmir issue is a primary source of resentment between India and Pakistan. It is considered the oldest issue on the schedule of the Security Council yet to be resolved. This divisive issue remained unsolved and has become the nuclear flashpoint. The peace of the South Asian region is severely contingent upon the peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute. It is not only the pivot of bitterness in the bilateral relation of India and Pakistan, it also a continuous threat to the regional peace in South Asia. This study critically assesses and evaluated the issue in the perspective of historical facts and current context regarding Kashmir. Chronological data presented and describe that the Kashmir issue has deteriorated the fragile security of South Asian region and remained a continuous threat of nuclear escalation in the region. Kashmir issue has severe implications for populace of Kashmir as well as for the region
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Security, Human Rights, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, India, and Kashmir

87. Implementation of Child Right to Participation under UN Convention: Myth and Reality

Author:: Haroon Rafique
Publication Date:: 01-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Political Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: The landmark United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) introduced „unique‟ provision of the right to child participation in its Article 12. This Convention, ratified by most states including Pakistan, gives right of participation to children in making decisions on matters related to them and makes it binding for the states to implement it in letter and spirit. The state is responsible for creating enabling environment which includes creation of necessary institutions, enacting or where necessary amending laws, formulating policies and strategies, allocating sufficient budgets, making congenial environment for NGOs and public consultations. This paper argues that state in Pakistan has not been able to sufficiently develop the enabling environment to fulfill the obligations that resulted in the aftermath of ratification UNCRC.
Topic:: Government, Human Rights, United Nations, and Children
Political Geography:: Pakistan and Global Focus

88. Turkey’s Refugee Policy under the Shadow of the Neo-ottomanism: A Source of Silent Conflict?

Author:: Gülsen Kaya Osmanbaşoğlu
Publication Date:: 04-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Academic Inquiries
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: Along with Turkey’s changing refugee policy from the Eurocentric, secular nation-state ideology to the neo-Ottomanist one on the state level, there also exist main handicaps on the micro power level concerning the successful coordination of the refugee issue with full respect of the human rights. Economic, cultural and especially political factors play a role in the relationship between Syrians and Turkish residents. Fragmentation within the Syrian community living in Turkey is also evident. On the other hand, different from the state policy, Turkish people implicitly show their reluctance towards this migration wave without creating a social turmoil. In this line, it is suggested here that Neo-Ottomanism, as a rising trend, helps a considerable majority of the society to take a moderate stance towards the immigration flux.
Topic:: Human Rights, Migration, Syrian War, and Neo-Ottomanism
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

89. Fighting for the Disability Rights through Vernacularization in Bangkok

Author:: Swe Zin Linn Phyu
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: In many non-Western societies there are still challenges to the legibility, and hence applicability, of international human rights law. This is partly due to the gap between Western legal regime and local cultural contexts. However, with the process of vernacularization some of this gap has been bridged, especially in issues of relating to women rights. This paper explores how NGOs and Human Rights defenders in Bangkok have adopted the process of vernacularization to enhance disability rights.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Disability, and NGOs
Political Geography:: Asia, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and Bangkok

90. Pakistan’s Commitment to Human Rights: A Probe into the Question of Ratification of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court

Author:: Mazhar Ali Khan
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: The question of ratification of the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court is one of the most debated questions in public international law. Because it involves strict commitment to human rights many states often see it as a hurdle to their national interests. Nevertheless a number of states have ratified the statute except a few. Pakistan is one of those states that have not ratified the Rome Statute even though it has been a party to various other treaties on human rights. This article focuses on the question why Pakistan did not ratify the statute? The article also provides recommendations how the ratification can be made possible.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, Islamic State, International Community, International Criminal Court (ICC), Rome Statute, and Universal Jurisdiction
Political Geography:: Pakistan, South Asia, and Global Focus

91. Operation Zarb-e-Azb, IDPs, and the Life in Camps

Author:: Sajad Rasool and Zahid Anwar
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Review of Human Rights
Institution:: Society of Social Science Academics (SSSA)
Abstract:: This article focuses on internal displacement of the tribal people from North Waziristan Agency in the wake of military operation called Zarb-e-Azb. It takes Abharam Maslow’s model of hierarch of needs for analyzing the life of IDPs in camps. We argue that the institutions responsible for taking care of the camps tried their best to cope with the situation nevertheless, keeping in view Maslow’s model of hierarchy of needs, the IDPs faced difficulties to overcome their biological and psychological trauma.
Topic:: Human Rights, Displacement, and Trauma
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and South Asia

92. Can Memories of the Japan-Korea dispute on “Comfort Women” Resolve the Issue?

Author:: Gabriel Jonsson
Publication Date:: 10-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Journal of Korean Studies
Institution:: International Council on Korean Studies
Abstract:: About 80 percent of the estimated 70,000 to 200,000 ”comfort women” Japan took by coercion from 1932 to 1945 were Korean. The issue was long neglected by both countries for pragmatic reasons. When Korean women raised the issue around 1990 and the former comfort woman Kim Hak-sun came out in 1991, it emerged as a point of dispute. Solidarity organizations in both countries have contributed to raise the visibility of the issue. Museums in Seoul and Tokyo educate the public on victims’ suffering. However, increased awareness has not succeeded in producing a solution to the issue that satisfies both countries given their fixed positions. Japan has given no official apology to the victims. The crucial issue of legal responsibility remains unresolved. On December 28, 2015, Japan expressed an apology and agreed to provide $8.3 million for a foundation to be established by South Korea to support the victims. However, the issue remains unresolved since the victims were not consulted in advance of the agreement, as well as disagreement also on other issues.
Topic:: Human Rights, War, Women, History, Memory, Sexual Violence, and Comfort Women
Political Geography:: Japan, Asia, and Korea

93. Amnesties and Human Rights within the Framework of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Author:: Frederic Foka Taffo
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: Many African countries, over the past years, have suffered the effects of civil war – and, more specifically, gross human rights violations. During peace negotiations, victims of human rights abuses are generally not prioritised, as the focus on peace is seen by political actors as superseding the interests of victims and justice. However, what kind of peace can be built in total disregard of the suffering of hundreds or thousands of people? Can a democratic society and sustainable development be achieved where there is no accountability for human rights abuses? Usually, amnesties are used as an instrument of conflict settlement. The effect of these amnesties is to preclude any investigation or prosecution of perpetrators of human rights abuses committed during the conflict period. Amnesties are often an insurmountable obstacle to the victims’ right to a fair trial, and an ineffective remedy for the prejudice suffered. Amnesties can be defined as the legal measures that are used in transitional processes, often as part of peace settlements, to limit or preclude the application of criminal processes and, in some cases, civil actions against certain individuals or categories of individuals for violent actions committed in contravention of applicable human rights and international humanitarian law rules.1 From this definition, “amnesties have a long pedigree in peace negotiations and have historically been commonly used as part of peace settlements even for armed conflicts manifesting most atrocious acts.”2 Amnesties bring into confrontation two fundamental needs of all democratic societies: the need for peace and the need for justice. For example, this was the case after the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa. The need for peace led the new regime, with Nelson Mandela at the helm, to opt for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission rather than using the judiciary to inquire into past atrocities. As such, the aim of this article is to put forward the position of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereafter African Commission) on the question: are amnesties compatible or incompatible with the human rights obligations of state parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (hereafter African Charter)?
Topic:: Civil War, Human Rights, Democracy, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:: Africa

94. The Migrant Crisis in Libya and the Nigeria Experience

Author:: Ugwumba Egbuta
Publication Date:: 06-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conflict Trends
Institution:: The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:: The drive for survival and for greener pastures has continued to force millions of West African young men and women to gamble with death in attempts to cross over to Europe and other parts of the world. This quest to escape poverty, hunger, unemployment and insecurity, among other reasons, caused a major segment of Nigeria’s population to seek alternatives for better livelihood prospects for themselves and their families.1 Those seeking economic survival see irregular migration as the best alternative, given the difficulty and resources involved in migrating through regular and legitimate routes. In many instances, very few of the original number who set out on these dangerous journeys live to tell their stories. While many regularly drown in the Mediterranean Sea, many also die in the deserts, and others are sold as slaves in a modern slave market. Most of the victims of this trade are from West Africa. Many of them leave home with expectations of getting to Europe and other destinations perceived to have better economic prospects for them, but they end up in the slave merchant nets in North Africa. The victims are put in camps and sold in open markets in Libya, while the international community watches in silence. The geographical location of Libya renders it a transit route for migrants journeying to Italy and many other parts of Europe. The migration crisis in Libya and its attendant consequences was made more possible by the instability in Libya, occasioned by the October 2011 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)-led war against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. The fall of that regime left the country even more politically unstable, with increased security threats that are spilling over into other parts of Africa. Europe, in particular, lost a credible partner in its efforts to address or reduce irregular migration from Africa. Poor governance and institutional ruin as a fall-out of the war paved the way for the emergence of criminal syndicates, whose trade in human beings is now finally attracting some global attention. To address this, the European Union (EU) proposed setting up reception centres in Libya for African migrants while their asylum applications undergo consideration.
Topic:: Human Rights, Migration, Slavery, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:: Africa, Libya, and Nigeria

95. Avoiding the Legal Black Hole: Re-evaluating the Applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights to the United Kingdom’s Targeted Killing Policy

Author:: Liam Halewood
Publication Date:: 08-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: In 2015, the United Kingdom (UK) became the first European State to incorporate extraterritorial targeted killing with drones into its counterterrorism framework. This article examines whether the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) extend to such operations. Scholars have suggested not, based on a comparison of a drone strike to the circumstances of the landmark Bankovic case, which was inadmissible on jurisdictional grounds. Consequently, the UK policy is perceived as occurring in a legal black.hole outside the purview of the Convention. However, this article argues that the comparisons to Bankovic overlook the uniqueness of targeted killing operations and the context in which the UK policy is utilized. Considering the distinctiveness of the UK policy, this article re-evaluates the applicability of the ECHR and proposes that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) could find a jurisdictional link between the UK and the victims of targeted killing, thereby avoiding the perceived legal black.hole.
Topic:: Human Rights, Military Strategy, Drones, and Extrajudicial Killings
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

96. Reconciling the Irreconcilable? – The Extraterritorial Application of the ECHR and its Interaction With IHL

Author:: Severin Meier
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: This article examines the extraterritorial application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) during international armed conflict. After a brief discussion of the different historic origins of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL), the article examines the test for establishing jurisdiction under Article 1 of the ECHR. A critical analysis of some contentious legal issues regarding derogations completes the picture of when jurisdiction is established. Subsequently, the article considers the interaction between the ECHR and IHL in international armed conflicts and concludes by arguing that a balance must be found between protecting human rights in international armed conflicts while not interfering unduly with IHL.
Topic:: Human Rights, International Law, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Europe

97. Evaluating the Zero Draft on a UN Treaty on Business and Human Rights: What Does it Regulate and how Likely is its Adoption by States/

Author:: Julia Bialek
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:: The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:: Infringements of human rights through the actions of transnational corporations are common in our globalizing world. While the international community has undertaken numerous attempts to hold private corporations responsible for their actions, only soft law instruments govern this area of public international law. Only recently, a first draft was released for a Legally Binding Instrument to Regulate, in International Human Rights Law, the Activities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises, also known as the Zero Draft. This article argues that the Zero Draft, while based on contemporary international law, represents a positive first step in the treaty-making process, but it still needs specification and clarification in order to close the gap in human rights protection effectively. First outlining the need for a closure of the gap in human rights protection, this article then closely examines the content of the Zero Draft. To that end, an in-depth analysis of the core provisions of the Draft is offered, especially focusing on the rights of victims, the prevention of human rights infringements, and corporate liability. Furthermore, this article analyzes current State practice and the expectations of the international community towards a legally binding instrument on the topic of business and human rights. Significantly, this article also compares the Zero Draft to existing soft law and previous recommendations on how to close the gap in a binding manner. Finally, the article concludes that, by indirectly holding companies accountable without depriving States of their sovereign power over their companies, the Zero Draft has the potential to be implemented as a future Treaty on Business and Human Rights.
Topic:: Globalization, Human Rights, Treaties and Agreements, and transnationalism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

98. Defending Democracy and Human Rights in the Western Hemisphere

Author:: Luis Almagro
Publication Date:: 03-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: PRISM
Institution:: Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:: One glimpse at the covers of the main news and political magazines in recent years is often enough to discern a common theme. These publications often display fatalist titles such as “Democracy in Demise,” “Democracy in Crisis,” “Democracy in Peril,” or maybe the alternative favorite, “Authoritarianism on the Rise.” First the 2008 financial crisis, then the results of certain elections worldwide led many to question the future of liberal democracy. In Latin America, an additional series of events such as the “Operacão Lava Jato” (Operation Car Wash) corruption scandal that put many high-level elected and public officials in jail, paved the way for fed-up citizens to rebel against their governments in the streets and in the polls, ousting traditional parties and political elites from power. Despite the bad news, and the serious backsliding in some specific cases and notorious exceptions (e.g. Cuba and Venezuela), I argue that democracy is not dying. For better or worse, it is moving forward. Recent events do not necessarily mean that democracy is on the brink of extinction; rather, they show that there are challenges inherent to democratic life. If anything, the heated public debates confirm that democracy is a living process, which requires constant maintenance and strengthening
Topic:: Human Rights, Governance, Democracy, and Leadership
Political Geography:: South America and North America

99. Kashmir: A Case for Self-Determination

Author:: Hafsa Kanjwal
Publication Date:: 09-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:: Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:: On 5 August 2019, the Indian government unilaterally changed the legal status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, undermining its own constitutional process and completely annexing a territory that remains disputed in the in- ternational arena. In a statement to the Indian parliament, the Indian Home Minister announced the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status enshrined in Article 370 of the Indian constitution, as well as the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories to be directly governed by the central government. Since then, the government has placed Indian-occupied Kashmir on lockdown.1 Despite restrictions on the movement of reporters and human rights observers and a clampdown on communication infrastructure (including the internet and some phone services), there have been reports of widespread human rights abuses including extrajudicial detentions (including of minors), torture, sexual violence, and lack of access to basic medical and healthcare services.2 The BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has justified its actions by claiming that Kashmir’s development and progress was stunted under Article 370, a provision in the Indian constitution that gave the state some autonomy. Moreover, the government asserted that the region needed to be fully integrated into the Indian state in order to prosper. It also argued that this move would curb what it deems “terrorism,” a long-standing movement for political self-determination in Kashmir.3
Topic:: Human Rights, Territorial Disputes, Conflict, and Self-Determination
Political Geography:: South Asia, India, Kashmir, and Jammu and Kashmir

100. The Case for Foreign Electoral Subversion

Author:: Cecile Fabre
Publication Date:: 09-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: Most foreign policy is not implemented through war. Yet, with a few recent exceptions—like James Pattison’s 2018 monograph The Alternatives to War—political and moral philosophers have yet to explore all options between war and doing nothing.1 Here I consider one such option: subversive interference in a democracy’s nationwide elections. In that regard, the years 2016–2017 have proved rich in controversies. In France, Russian banks with close ties to the Kremlin provided cash loans to the National Front in the run-up to the 2017 presidential elections. In December 2017, the Australian premier announced a tightening of restrictions on foreign funding of political parties out of concern with alleged and undue Chinese influence on some Australian politicians. Last, but far from least, in the United States the Office of the Director of National Intelligence along with the CIA, FBI, and NSA all take the strong view, backed in part by social media data, that Russian authorities actively sought to undermine Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and to bolster Donald Trump’s.2 Interestingly, however, some of President Putin’s critics are vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. To give but two examples, the United States has a long history of interfering in the institutions and elections of its Latin American neighbors and, indeed, at the height of the Cold War, of its European allies. More recently, many believe that, absent U.S.-driven assistance, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia would have lost the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election to Slobodan Milošević.3 Attempting to subvert the democratic elections of a putatively sovereign country is a time-honored way of bending the latter’s domestic and foreign policy to one’s will. However, it seems to elicit far more condemnation than war and, indeed, other forms of coercive diplomacy. Perhaps this is because, to many people, the rights of democratic participation have primacy over all other rights; or because most often electoral subversion takes place covertly. Either way, given how destructive those other modes of interference are, this is puzzling. I frame my inquiry as follows. I focus on the state-sponsored, nonviolent, nonkinetic subversion of nationwide elections (for short, subversion). Moreover, because I am interested in exploring whether there are any situations in which subversion may be justified, I consider cases in which subversion is used as a means to prevent or end large-scale human rights violations, though my argument also has implications for subversion as a tool of foreign policy in general. In addition, my aim is not to evaluate subversion as an alternative to war or, for that matter, to other measures, such as economic sanctions. Due to space constraints, I simply wish to show that, under certain conditions and subject to certain constraints, subversion is pro tanto justified. Whether it is justified all things considered—and, in particular, once one has taken into account other options—is another matter and one that I cannot settle here. Finally, although subversion affects election candidates, it above all undermines a citizen’s right to vote. Accordingly, in what follows I focus on the latter and not the former. Attempting to subvert the democratic elections of a putatively sovereign country is a time-honored way of bending the latter’s domestic and foreign policy to one’s will. However, it seems to elicit far more condemnation than war. Before I begin, let me outline the overall normative framework on which my arguments rely. I take it for granted that all individuals, wherever they reside in the world, have rights to the freedoms and the resources they need to lead a minimally flourishing life—in other words, human rights. Moreover, they hold those rights against all human beings and their respective governments. Put differently, on this cosmopolitan view, all of us, wherever we reside in the world, are under duties to all other individuals, wherever they reside, to respect their human rights. How precisely we discharge those duties partly depends on the institutional structures under which we live. Be that as it may, I am not under a stronger duty to respect my compatriots’ human rights—for example, not to be killed or to be given means of subsistence—than I am to respect those same rights of noncompatriots, and vice versa
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Sovereignty, Elections, and Election Interference
Political Geography:: Global Focus

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS