Browsing by Subject "human rights"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 42

Agents of Change: A Study of Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations, PRP 149
(LBJ School of Public Affairs, 2005) Schott, Richard L.
Annual Review 2014-2015
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2015) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2015-2016
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2016) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2015-2016
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2016) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2016-2017
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2017) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2017-2018
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2018) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2018-2019
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2019) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2019-2020
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2020) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Annual Review 2020-2021
(Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2021) Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice
Archives Beyond Borders: Preserving Historical Memory Through Transnational Collaboration in Latin America
(LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, 2014) Sangwand, T-Kay
Archiving Human Rights Documentation: The Promise of the Post-Custodial Approach in Latin America
(LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, 2016) Polk, Theresa E.
Archiving Memory after Mass Atrocities
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2012-04) Ciorciari, John D.
Archiving and disseminating records of past atrocities is crucial in societies emerging from periods of conflict or repressive rule. It advances victims’ “right to the truth” and promotes broader social goals of accountability and historical truth. This working paper explores legal and policy issues that arise when collections of documents pertaining to past atrocities are discovered in societies emerging from civil war, state collapse, or dire misrule. It argues for a foundational approach to documentation focused on sound archival methodology and the application of a transparent set of norms as fairly as possible to build a credible base for accountability and accurate historical memory. The paper considers the difficult questions of who should lead such efforts, how the interests of preservation and dissemination can best be advanced, and how to deal with concerns pertaining to privacy and national security. To develop the argument for a foundational approach, the paper draws on examples from a number of cases, including Cambodia, Guatemala, Iraq, Paraguay, Serbia, and others.
A "Bilingual" Approach to Language Rights: How Dialogue Between U.S. and International Human Rights Law May Improve the Language Rights Framework
(Harvard Human Rights Journal, 2012) Gilman, Denise
Collaborative Digital Collection Building: The Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive
(LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, 2012) Norsworthy, Kent
Critical Reflections on the Structural Legal Power in Human Rights Law
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2023-03) Hajyahia, Alaa
In Europe, a wide range of religion-based practices have been at the center of public debate over the last two decades. This paper focuses on one such practice: the wearing of Islamic veils in public spaces in Europe. Through one representative case study, I explore how the Muslim woman is constructed by the European Court of Human Rights. I offer a diagnosis of the Court’s ontological position, which, I argue, is shared by the Court’s legal–feminist critics. Later, I turn to the fields of cultural sociology, social anthropology, hermeneutics, law, and political theory to develop an ‘alternative ontological position’, a position that situates Muslim women as neither ‘political’ nor ‘suffering’ others, but as morally evaluative humans distinctly and deeply informed by their unique cultural experiences. Having set forth that alternative position, this paper argues that in cases involving Muslim women, the determinations of the European Court of Human Rights, serve to – both actively and passively – maintain, protect, and enforce white power and control as defined by critical race scholars, all under the guise of gender equality.
Decolonizing the International Criminal Court: Considering Questions of Bias in the Prosecution of African Leaders
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2018) Getabicha, Mihret
Although the establishment of the International Criminal Court remains a historic achievement in the field of international criminal law, the court is increasingly subject to criticism by some African leaders and due to the prosecution of African leaders. Understanding the reason for these critiques requires an appreciation of the innovations in international law that led to the court’s eventual establishment. This paper provides a brief legal history of international criminal law and uses case studies of two African situations in order to better understand contemporary debates around the prosecution of African Heads of State by international courts. As such, the paper offers useful background information for actors that may be unfamiliar with the trajectory of international criminal law and how historical developments continue to impact the perceived legitimacy of international criminal law in Africa.
Digital Credit: Closing the Water Financing Gap in Rural Tanzania
(2020-05) Patel, Neil
The United Republic of Tanzania explicitly recognizes the human right to water and sanitation in its constitution. However, full implementation of this right has been complicated by Tanzania’s ongoing decentralization process for water governance, which has created a significant public financing gap for cash-strapped rural water schemes. Under the framework of the progressive realization of the human right to water, this thesis examines the potential for digital credit financing to bridge the public financing gap for rural water schemes in Tanzania. The thesis utilizes (1) country-wide data on digital financial inclusion and rural water access and (2) two case studies of digital credit financing in the rural water sector to explore the viability of a digital credit financing model. This thesis challenges sector-wide intuition on a “cost-recovery” model for rural water financing, instead arguing in favor of a “cost-reduction” model that prioritizes the use of debt financing for cost-reducing asset improvements, such as low-maintenance solar pump technology. It further finds that the weak regulation of the digital credit industry creates a major risk of predatory lending toward financially-illiterate consumers and outlines clear delineations of responsibility for various government agencies in regulating lending terms and providing technical assistance for rural water schemes. Finally, the thesis explores opportunities for cross-subsidization to ensure that the improved financial sustainability of water schemes does not come at the cost of equitable access to water for the rural poor.
Domesticating Human Rights on African Soil: Theorizing from Practice
(The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, 2019) Asare, Abena Ampofoa
In the 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), this paper proposes an alternative perspective on the progress of the international human rights regime inaugurated in 1948. Focusing on the multiple ways that international human rights discourse is deployed in diverse African locales throughout the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, this paper launches the concept of domestication as a way to apprehend the variety of human rights practice. In so doing, this paper challenges definitions of human rights progress that focus on expanding global consensus, and instead theorizes a future for human rights discourse that is rooted in difference, particularly the divergent strategies and ideologies of diverse local stakeholders.
Drowning On Dry Land: Rethinking Mexican Migration Policy From A Human Rights Perspective
(2019-05-01) Finstein, Blaine; Leutert, Stephanie
As structural issues such as organized crime and corruption deepen in Mexico, migrants are caught in the crosshairs, resulting in migratory routes rife with danger and a worsening human rights record. This paper explores how human rights practices for migrants in Mexico can be improved with respect to state policy. I begin by establishing the international and domestic law in place before moving into an assessment of the extent to which rights are guaranteed. I addresses the disconnect between legal instruments and what happens on the ground, analyzing the influence of securitization as well as social and structural factors at play against migrants in policy-making and implementation. Finally, I propose policy solutions in light of protection gaps and constraints, arguing for a non-traditional regularization of migration through Mexico that would free migratory routes from organized crime networks that pose the majority of the risk. In addition, I advocate for: the incorporation of the National Human Rights Commission into the judicial system in order to provide accountability for crimes committed against migrants, superior training of state migration workers and streamlined protocol, along with funding increases for COMAR, Mexico’s refugee agency.
From Human Rights to Climate Justice: An Analysis of Publications from Amnesty International
(2023-05) Borchardt, Maia I.
Human rights are a powerful legal and rhetorical tool for guiding international systems. The introduction of an international human rights legal framework in the mid-20th century created a “universal” framework of rights, but not one that has gone uncontested. Emerging global issues, including climate change, challenge the efficacy of the human rights system as a force for comprehensive solutions and serve to highlight the debates between “equity” and “equality.” While some scholarship has offered insight into the human rights discourses surrounding climate change, research that elucidates how these discourses are formed and their effects on more traditional rights rhetoric is sparse. This thesis describes current scholarship on climate change in connection to human rights and takes Amnesty International as a case study for human rights organizations’ self-structured links to the issue, using qualitative description to note rhetorical patterns and gesture to these patterns’ broader implications. Ultimately, the thesis argues that for human rights to retain their rhetorical power in the context of climate justice, human rights need to either be centered in arguments that explicitly argue for climate justice or be reimagined to include a broader scope of interdependencies and relational frameworks.