scholarly journals Religious Minorities’ Rights in International Law: Acknowledging Intersectionality, Enhancing Synergy

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 691
Author(s):  
Silvia Angeletti
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Ethnic Origin ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Fruitful Cooperation

International human rights law on minorities sets forth a complex system of provisions affecting religious groups; still, the question of defining religious minorities remains largely unsettled. While assessing the legal framework of protection established under the UN system, this article explores the current debate drawing on the two key concepts of intersectionality and synergy. The intersectionality approach suggests that belonging to a religious minority cannot be dissociated from other features defining personal and groups’ identities (e.g., culture, ethnic origin, gender, language) and that this distinctive quality marks the multiple forms of violations and cross-cutting discriminations of which religious minorities are often victims. On the other hand, the synergy approach implies a comprehensive understanding of the legal sources protecting individual freedom of conscience and religion as well as religious minorities. Moreover, it entails fruitful cooperation among the relevant institutional and civil actors and the need for inclusive participation of persons belonging to religious minorities in democratic decision-making processes to the aim of the accomplishment of equal and full enjoyment of their human rights.

scholarly journals Freedom of Expression in Malaysia: Compatibility with the International Human Rights Standard

BESTUUR ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Saidah Fasihah Binti Che Yussoff ◽  
Rohaida Nordin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Right ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human

<p>Malaysia is likely to introduce new laws on freedom of information. However, the important questions are whether the said laws are effective and will have enough bite with the public looking forward to opening government policy. Freedom of information has developed under international human rights law as the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive and impart knowledge and ideas through media, regardless of any frontier. This paper aims to examine freedom of expression under the international realm, scrutinize the said freedom in the Malaysian legal framework, and discuss the proposed enactment of freedom of information laws in Malaysia in conformity with international human rights law. This research uses the qualitative research method. This paper concludes that freedom of information in Malaysia is severely impeded by the enforcement of the Official Secret Act. This paper calls for the repeal or amendment to the Act in conformity with international standards.  </p><p><strong>Keywords</strong><strong>:</strong> Expression; Freedom; Expression; Human Right.</p>

Religious Minorities in the Ideology and Politics of Syria

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Anita Sylwia Adamczyk ◽  
Fuad Jomma
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Arab Nationalism ◽  
Theoretical Issues

Abstract Although the Middle East is widely associated with Islam, it is diverse in terms of religion. Syria is an example where two religious groups dominate, i.e. Muslims and Christians, which are internally diverse. The purpose of this article is to examine the position of religious minorities in the ideology and politics of Syria. Syria is not chosen by accident as the authors believe that the failure to recognize the existence of minorities and to respect their rights was one of the reasons for the civil war in Syria. The article consists of three parts. The first discusses the theoretical issues related to the definition and understanding of the notions of what constitutes a religious minority and of pan-Arabism in Syria. The next presents the complex religious pattern in country, and the last concerns the policy of the Syrian authorities, who are influenced by Arab nationalism, towards various religious groups.

8. Human rights in the postwar period

2021 ◽  
pp. 169-191
Author(s):  
Nicole Scicluna
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Law And Politics ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
International Human ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

This chapter focuses on human rights, a perfect topic through which to study the interaction between law and politics in international relations. The topic of human rights offers a microcosm of the clashes and contradictions between realism and idealism, legal principles and political expediencies, state and non-state actors, and collective and individual rights, which characterize international order. The chapter defines human rights and outlines their international legal framework. The chapter then traces the postwar evolution of international human rights law (IHRL). It explains how, by the late twentieth century, the concept of human rights had captured the global imagination. It also explores the international political context in which the rise of human rights took place, including decolonization and the explosion in rights-based civil society activism in the 1970s. Finally, the chapter analyses the efficacy of IHRL in a world of sovereign states, before assessing the cultural relativist critique of human rights, which challenges their claim to universality, often from the perspective of postcolonial societies.

18. The right to self-determination

2019 ◽  
pp. 330-347
Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Territorial Integrity ◽  
The Future ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines the right to self-determination in international human rights law. It traces the origins of this right and considers issues characterizing the current debate on the future of self-determination. The chapter suggests that while self-determination is acceptable for divesting States of colonial powers, problems can arise when groups that are not the sole occupants of a State territory choose to exercise self-determination. The right to self-determination may sit uneasily with respect for territorial integrity of States. Various forms of modern self-determination, including partial or full autonomy within States are emerging.

17. The right to self-determination

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Territorial Integrity ◽  
The Future ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines the right to self-determination in international human rights law. It traces the origins of this right and considers issues characterizing the current debate on the future of self-determination. The chapter suggests that while self-determination is acceptable for divesting States of colonial powers, problems can arise when groups that are not the sole occupants of a State territory choose to exercise self-determination. The right to self-determination may sit uneasily with respect for territorial integrity of States. Various forms of modern self-determination, including partial or full autonomy within States are emerging.

The normative framework of the EU’s commitment to human rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 79-116
Author(s):  
Chiara Altafin ◽  
Karin Lukas ◽  
Manfred Nowak
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
Double Standards ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
The Eu

The chapter presents and assesses the various normative layers—domestic, European, regional, international—on which the European Union’s (EU’s) commitment to human rights is built. It analyses the interaction of EU primary law, general principles of law derived from constitutional traditions of Member States, and international human rights law, including relevant regional instruments such as the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter, and the Istanbul Convention. It is contended that, despite an impressive and pioneering normative framework on human rights, the EU currently faces a number of challenges that call for a strong stance on human rights realisation in all areas of its competence and influence. Enduring deficiencies in the relevant normative framework include the absence of a fully fledged EU competence to legislate in the area of human rights protection and the application of ‘double standards’ in the EU’s approach to human rights internally and externally, leading to a deep divide between internal and external policies guided by starkly different logics. Further areas of concern include the difficulties of the Charter of Fundamental Rights implementation in view of EU institutions and Member States’ competencies, which have become particularly apparent in the EU’s response to the Eurozone crisis and the arising tensions between EU and Member States’ austerity measures, as well as the uneven nature of the EU and Member States’ human rights obligations with regard to the international legal framework, leading to gaps and overlaps.

scholarly journals Prolonged occupation: An analysis of obligations of the occupying powers in an occupied territory and contemporary challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37
Author(s):  
Sardar M. A. W. K. Arif
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Occupied Territory ◽  
The Subject

The International Law of Occupation (ILOC) regulates all kinds of occupation. However, the other bodies of law, such as, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL) also apply in times of occupation. These bodies of law create obligations especially on states and in particular, on the occupying powers. The presumption is that occupations are temporary in nature but why prolonged occupations? In this context, this article focuses on legal aspects of belligerent prolonged occupation. It evaluates the international legal framework and sources of belligerent prolonged occupation. While protection of civilians is central to the bulk of texts of international treaties and the occupiers have obligations, it investigates into obligations of the occupying powers in occupied territory by analysing the existing legal framework under IHL and IHRL. Further, it also discusses the provisions of ILOC. The argument developed throughout this article is that the occupying powers are under humanitarian and human rights obligations to guarantee the best possible protection of rights of occupied people in the case of prolonged occupation in particular and adding on that IHL and IHRL apply in complementarity in situations of prolonged occupation. For the purpose of this article, qualitative method is followed, and existing literature on the subject has been analysed. 

scholarly journals Assessing U.S. Targeted Killings Under An International Human Rights Law Framework

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Michael Ramsden
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Domestic Legislation ◽  
The Us ◽  
International Human ◽  
Post Hoc

The US practice of targeted killings provokes difficult questions concerning the appropriate legal framework and the standards that govern such strikes. This article will argue that, in certain cases, it is necessary to examine the legality of targeted killings under international human rights law (IHRL). An explicit IHRL justification for targeted killings is important and, at present, often ignored by the US. IHRL requires any use of lethal force to be proportionate to the legitimate aim of safeguarding life and a necessary measure with no other reasonable means available to address the threat. It is possible, following a survey of human rights decision-makers, that targeted killings in exceptional circumstances are justifiable under IHRL. It is also incumbent on the US to pass domestic legislation that provides a legal basis for strikes disconnected to September 11, and also the provision of administrative and judicial review in order to provide a post-hoc check on targeted killing decisions.

scholarly journals Book Review: Author: Al Khanif; Title: Religious Minorities, Islam, and The Law: International Human Rights and Islamic Law in Indonesia; Publisher: Routledge, 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Abubakar Eby Hara
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Review Author ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
International Human ◽  
Minority View ◽  
Secular State

This book examines religious minority rights in Islam in Indonesia from the international and local human rights perspectives. Its main contribution lies in the effort to find Indonesia's uniqueness in managing minority rights in religion. This study leads the author to a rich discussion of how international human rights through its activists spread the need for freedom of every citizen and how advocates of religious orthodoxy ​​respond to it. In contrast to analysts who use the dichotomous view of the acceptance or rejection of international human rights values, the author sees complexity in the process of spreading these values. It can be said that there is a process of modifying the values ​​of secularism in human rights and localization to make these values ​​an integral part of society. In this line of view, the author calls the Indonesian state a quasi-theistic secular state which means that Indonesia is a secular country but friendly and tries to guarantee freedom of religion and worship. In the case of minority rights in Islam, the state prioritizes harmony in society and supports the orthodox views of the majority. The minority view must be assimilated with the orthodox teachings of Islam to get a place to live. The quasi-theistic secular state continues to experience contestation and has undergone a long construction process based on the narration of the peaceful entry of Islam and the relatively moderate character of Indonesian Islam. At a certain level, this state concept has developed to be an identity and norms that become a reference for how to treat religious minorities. The author thus succeeded in showing that Indonesia is an example of a country that can develop its own identity and norms of religious life that are different from that of the Western secular state system.

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