International Human Rights Law: Imperialist, Inept and Ineffective? Cultural Relativism and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Harris-Short
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
International Human

The Holy See and Children’s Rights: International Human Rights Law and Its Ghosts

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-88
Author(s):  
Ntina Tzouvala
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Child Abuse ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Legal Subject ◽  
Holy See ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Vatican City ◽  
International Human

The revelation of a series of child abuse incidents committed by Catholic priests and other members of religious orders has given rise to the question of establishing the responsibility of the Holy See for these acts under international human rights law. This article focuses on the report issued in 2014 by the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the monitoring body of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (crc). It is argued that in order to fulfil this task we need to take three steps: first, to establish the relationship between the Vatican City state and the Hole See, a distinct and peculiar international legal subject. To do so, a historical account of the Holy See and its position within the fabric of international law is considered necessary. Secondly, this article argues that the crc was ratified by the Holy See both in its capacity as the government of the Vatican City and as a non-territorial legal subject. Hence, the application of the crc is not confined within the limited territory of the Vatican City, but ‘follows’ the authority of the Holy See irrespective of state borders. Thirdly, it is argued that the vertical, hierarchical structure of the Holy See is homologous to that of the modern state and, therefore, attribution rules can be applied by analogy in this case. The final conclusion is that it is possible to hold the Holy See responsible under the crc for acts of child abuse that occurred under its authority around the globe.

‘Past’ Violations under International Human Rights Law: The Indigenous ‘Stolen Generation’ in Australia

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-272
Author(s):  
Maria O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Government

This article examines the debate relating to reparations for ‘past’ human rights violations, with particular focus on the case of the indigenous ‘Stolen Generation’ in Australia. The ‘Stolen Generation’ is a term used to describe the government-sanctioned practice of forced removals of part-Aboriginal children from their indigenous parents and placement into non-indigenous institutions and homes, which occurred in Australia from approximately 1910–1970. The ‘Stolen Generation’ violations present a unique and difficult legal question for international human rights law because they straddle the divide between ‘historic’ violations and contemporary acts, that is, they were committed by Australia after Australia signed key agreements such as the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Declaration on the Rights of the Child and the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, but prior to its ratification of international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. This means that bringing a claim under international human rights law in relation to the violations raises a number of problems. The object of this article will be to explore whether Australia can be held responsible under international human rights law for the ‘Stolen Generation’ violations and possible avenues of redress. In this regard, the focus of the article will be on the possible claims victims could make to relevant treaty monitoring bodies and the types of obstacles they would face in doing so. These legal questions are also relevant to the wider debate that is taking place in relation to reparations, namely the extent to which a State can be held legally responsible to provide reparations for past violations.

Human Rights and Refugees: Enhancing Protection through International Human Rights Law

2000 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
International Human

AbstractThis essay analyses how UN mechanisms of human rights protection – namely the UN Commission and Sub-Commission on Human Rights, the Committee Against Torture, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee – can be used as a practical and analytical tool to enhance the protection of refugees and suggests that they can make a significant contribution to refugee protection. Although UN mechanisms may not provide a framework of protection as expansive and reliable as domestic systems, recent developments in international human rights law have contributed to an increasingly important legal framework that can be invoked in support of both specific cases and more broad-based advocacy on behalf of refugees. This article draws on specific examples to argue that UNHCR and refugee advocates can use these laws and mechanisms to enhance protection principles and give effect to forms of enforcement.

Breaking Imaginary Barriers

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 213-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seira Yun
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Vienna Convention ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
International Human ◽  
State Actors

This paper seeks to clarify the confusions regarding the relationships between international human rights law and international humanitarian law, the principle of equality of belligerents, and the use of the term “should” in treaties. For this purpose, it examines, as a case study, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, on which doctrine is divided whether Article 4(1) thereof is binding on armed non-State actors. First, this paper reconceptualizes international humanitarian law as a subset of international human rights law, which share the same purpose, mutually reinforce, and depend on each other. Second, drawing on the customary rules of treaty interpretation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and through a comprehensive analysis of the authentic texts in other languages and the travaux préparatoires, it argues that the term “should” in the operative part of treaties always creates legally binding obligations and that the equality principle does not strictly apply to norms applicable during peacetime. As such, despite its use of “should” and differential treatment between States and armed non-State actors, Article 4(1) of the Protocol creates a direct human rights obligation on armed non-State actors.

Using international human rights law to mobilize for children’s rights and reproductive rights in Ireland

2021 ◽  
pp. 131-182
Author(s):  
Gráinne de Búrca
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Reproductive Rights ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Government

This chapter uses the experimentalist framework to examine two processes of social change in Ireland in recent decades—children’s rights reform and reproductive rights reform—which included the engagement of domestic advocacy groups with international human rights law as a key element of those campaigns. In the case of child rights, a coalition of hitherto separate organizations and groups came together following Ireland’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and re-oriented their work and advocacy around the idea of children’s rights. By bringing issues before the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and requiring the government to engage repeatedly with the Committee and with the meaning and consequences in practice of the obligations taken on under the Convention, they injected fresh impetus into existing campaigns, opened a public conversation about children’s rights, and placed Ireland’s practices and attitudes towards children and the family in the context of international standards. In the case of abortion law reform which was a bitterly divisive and difficult issue in Ireland, domestic activists drew upon and engaged with a variety of international human rights institutions and laws over decades to keep pressure on the government and the state to introduce change, as well as to create public awareness of the suffering of specific women and to highlight existing and emerging international norms on reproductive rights. Both campaigns ultimately succeeded in pressing for the adoption of a range of important legislative and policy reforms.

scholarly journals The compatibility of sexual orientation change efforts with international human rights law

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 176-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignatius Yordan Nugraha
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Orientation Change ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right ◽  
Change Efforts

Sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) have been promoted aggressively under the belief that homosexuality is a curable disease. However, scientific research has shown that such practice can cause detrimental effects such as self-loathing, depression and even suicidal urges. It has also revealed that homosexuality is a mere variation of human sexuality and dispelled the myth that it is a ‘contagious disease’. This raises some concerns that the practice of SOCE could amount to human rights violations, and thus this article shall tackle the issue of whether such practice is compatible with international human rights law. Given that children have been identified as a group that is particularly vulnerable to SOCE, this article shall commence by scrutinising whether there is an obligation to ban SOCE for minors under the jurisprudence of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This article shall then proceed to the question of whether a similar obligation is also applicable to SOCE for adults through the application of the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

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