scholarly journals Impediments to the Advancement of Human Rights by the ZHRC in Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Alouis Chilunjika ◽  
Nicol Tinashe Tapfumaneyi ◽  
Felistas Zimano
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
National Human ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
State Compliance

Zimbabwe as a member of the United Nations (UN) ratified a number of human rights treaties and the establishment of the much awaited Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) which was long overdue was a generally welcome development in the human rights arena. The ZHRC is a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) established by the Constitution of Zimbabwe (No.20) Act 2013. The Constitution mandates ZHRC to promote, protect and enforce human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined under the Bill of Rights. The operational legal framework of the ZHRC is provided for in the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Act [Chapter 10:30]. In collecting data questionnaires, interviews and documentary review were used. Against this backdrop, the paper mainly seeks to explore and analyse the challenges faced by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) in executing its mandate. Methodologically, the study relied extensively on available literature and reports. The study revealed that the ZHRC has been impeded by resource constraints, absence of legally binding laws, hostile political environment and lack of state compliance experiencing impediments which have affected its operation. The therefore study made some recommendations to help fortify and reinvigorate the ZHRC.

scholarly journals Electing the experts: Expertise and independence in the UN human rights treaty bodies

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 826-851
Author(s):  
Valentina Carraro
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Public Organizations ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
State Compliance ◽  
Original Survey

Independent experts are employed in international organizations to carry out a variety of functions, including conducting independent evaluations of state performance in a given policy area. In the field of human rights, a well-known example of the use of independent expertise in public organizations is that of the United Nations treaty bodies, committees of independent experts in charge of monitoring state compliance with the major United Nations human rights treaties. Considering the sensitive tasks that these experts perform, and the fact that they are elected by states, the question of whether they actually possess the required levels of independence and expertise to fulfil their role arises. This article proposes and applies a framework to study the formal and informal processes leading to the appointment of expert committees in international bodies, and to assess their level of expertise and independence. Data were collected by means of an original survey and 40 semi-structured interviews. The article shows that the overall level of independent expertise possessed by committees is surprisingly high when considering the highly political electoral process. Therefore, it argues that to study the expertise and independence of expert committees, one should conceive of them as groups that might be able to maintain a certain independence from the states that have elected them.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights under the 2010 Constitutional Dispensation

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-226
Author(s):  
Bonolo Ramadi Dinokopila ◽  
Rhoda Igweta Murangiri
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
National Commission ◽  
Bill Of Rights ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
National Human ◽  
The Status ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights

This article examines the transformation of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and discusses the implications of such transformation on the promotion and protection of human rights in Kenya. The article is an exposition of the powers of the Commission and their importance to the realisation of the Bill of Rights under the 2010 Kenyan Constitution. This is done from a normative and institutional perspective with particular emphasis on the extent to which the UN Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles, 1993) have been complied with. The article highlights the role of national human rights commissions in transformative and/or transitional justice in post-conflict Kenya. It also explores the possible complementary relationship(s) between the KNCHR and other Article 59 Commissions for the better enforcement of the bill of rights.

Council of Europe

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
European Committee ◽  
European Court ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
Two Bodies

This chapter presents an overview of the adjudicative bodies of the Council of Europe—namely, the European Court of Human Rights (established by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR)) and the European Committee of Social Rights—and outlines their mandates with regard to integrating UN human rights treaties. It analyses how these two bodies have cited the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The dataset was forty-five cases dealt with by the Court and two collective complaints decided by the Committee that cite the CRPD up to 2016. Notwithstanding the relatively small size of the dataset, the conclusions are that the Council of Europe system has yet to engage seriously in the CRPD’s jurisprudential opportunities. The reasons for this cannot be ascertained from a desk-based methodology, and further research is required.

scholarly journals Refugee Protection as Human Rights Protection: International Principles and Practice in India

Refuge ◽  
1997 ◽  
pp. 39-44
Author(s):  
Brian Gorlick ◽  
Sumbul Rimi Khan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
National Human ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations

This article focuses on the relationship between international human rights standards and refugee protection. The foundational status of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights treaties are surveyed in light of India's international legal obligations. The authors argue that international human rights law and practice have had a significant impact on the protection activities of the Ofice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) both in countries of asylum, countries of origin and in relation to the United Nations and other human rights actors. In this context, courts and national human rights institutions are important players in safeguarding the rights of refugees. As none of the countries of South Asia is party to the international refugee instruments nor have any of them adopted a national refugee law or procedure, the activities of the Indian National Human Rights Commission stand out as a positive example of national institution expanding the legal protection of refugees in the region.

The Core UN Human Rights Treaty Systems

2019 ◽  
pp. 95-128
Author(s):  
Steven Wheatley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
The Core ◽  
Ordinary Meaning ◽  
System P ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Work First

Chapter 4 examines the core United Nations human rights treaties. It shows how we can think of these as complex systems, the result of the interactions of the states parties and the treaty bodies. The work first explains the regime on opposability and denunciation, which establishes the binding nature of the conventions, before considering the law on reservations, noting how this differs from the scheme under general international law. The chapter then turns to the interpretation of convention rights, detailing the distinctive pro homine (‘in favour of the individual’) approach applied to human rights treaties. The law on interpretation also requires that we examine the subsequent practice of states parties, as well as the pronouncements of the treaty bodies. The doctrine of evolutionary interpretation explains how the ‘ordinary meaning’ of treaty terms can evolve with developments in technical and scientific knowledge, changes in societal understandings, and wider modifications in regulatory approaches outside of the human rights treaty system.

Art.35 Reports by States Parties

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanter Arlene
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Country Report ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Reporting Requirements ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Sixth Session ◽  
United Nations Convention

This chapter examines Article 35 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which sets out the requirements for reporting by states parties to the CRPD Committee. It begins with an overview of the background and travaux préparatoires of Article 35. Although the reporting requirements were discussed at several sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee, it was not until the sixth session, in August of 2005, when the Committee considered the substantive proposals related to Article 35. The following sections of the chapter discuss each paragraph of Article 35, including what constitutes a ‘comprehensive’ country report, as required under Article 35(4). The final section compares the language of Article 35 with the reporting requirements of other human rights treaties, followed by a conclusion.

Art.4 General Obligations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Broderick Andrea
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations

This chapter examines Article 4 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The article sets out the general obligations under the CRPD with a view to encouraging national legal and policy reform and guiding domestic implementation of the Convention. The content of Article 4 is of cross-cutting application, since it contains overarching principles that permeate the text of the Convention as a whole. The obligations contained in the article thus seek to contextualize the interpretation of the substantive provisions of the Convention. Article 4 enumerates both general obligations and specific obligations. This distinguishes it from similar provisions in other human rights treaties, which are more in the nature of general obligations of compliance.

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