The Right to Development and Non-State Actors: Rethinking the Meaning, Praxis and Potential of Accountability of Non-State Actors in International Law

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwel Miyawa
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Right To Development ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Right

Can Armed Non-state Actors Exercise Jurisdiction and Thus Become Human Rights Duty-bearers?

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-305
Author(s):  
Amrei Müller
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
State Actors ◽  
The Right ◽  
Political Understanding ◽  
Normative Logic

Abstract Recent literature and United Nations documents advocate that most armed non-state actors (ANSAs) should be bound by human rights law. This article takes a more critical stance on this issue. It argues that only a limited number of ANSAs should potentially become human rights duty-bearers: those that exercise de facto (human rights) jurisdiction and thus have considerable institutional and military capacities, as well as particular normative characteristics. It specifies these capacities and characteristics with an analysis of ANSAs’ practice that tentatively indicates that some of these entities may indeed exercise de facto jurisdiction. The argument is justified by highlighting the broader consequences that recognising ANSAs as human rights duty-bearers will entail. It will also endow them with privileges that will legitimise their authority over time. This is grounded in the normative logic of human rights law that emphasises the interrelationship between human rights, equality and democracy that also permeates the notion of jurisdiction and is further supported by a political understanding of the right to self-determination. The article closes with a brief sketch of two complementary ways to develop international law binding ANSAs to be further explored in future research: the so-called ‘responsibilities for human rights’ and an adapted law of occupation.

The Sen Conception of Development and Contemporary International Law Discourse: Some Parallels

2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bhupinder Chimni
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
International System ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Right To Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

The Sen conception of `development as freedom' represents a departure from previous approaches to development that focused merely on growth rates or technological progress. Sen however fails to adequately address the social constraints that inhibit the realization of the goal of `development as freedom.' There is an interesting parallel here with developments in contemporary international law. While contemporary international law incorporates the idea of `development as freedom' in international human rights instruments, in particular the Declaration on the Right to Development, mainstream international law scholarship has like Sen failed to indicate the constraints in the international system that prevent its attainment. Since Sen is today among the foremost thinkers on the idea of development reviewing the parallels between his conception of development and mainstream international law scholarship is helpful as it offers insights into the limits of both.

scholarly journals Is Development a Lost Paradise? Trade, Environment, and Development: A Triadic Dream of International Law

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Upendra D. Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
International Law ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Environmental Concerns ◽  
Right To Development ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Environment And Development ◽  
The Right ◽  
Developed Nations

After providing a brief background on international law, the history of the right to development is discussed. International law, as it exists today, has been abused by developed nations in their position of power over underdeveloped nations. The right to development, first formalized by the United Nations in 1986 with the Declaration on the Right to Development, was meant to give people of the developing world a right to development. However, the right to development has been supplanted by the concept of sustainable development, as orchestrated by the developed nations. It was hopeful that organizations like the World Trade Organization would implement the right to development through trade; however, these organizations have become merely a tool for the developed nations and associated corporations to continue their dominance over developing nations. Environmental concerns in recent times have shifted the international focus from the right to development to sustainable development, and the right to development has been overlooked. A legal right to development must be recognized before sustainable development can be applied as a tool to benefit underdeveloped nations through environmental and trade-related policy.

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