Immigration and the Human Rights Discourse: The Universality of Human Rights and the Relevance of States and of Numbers

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Gavison
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Administrative Structures ◽  
Human Rights Discourse ◽  
Core Issues

The main thesis of this Article is that the tendency to sweepingly use the human rights discourse in immigration contexts may be misguided. Moreover, the expansion of the human rights discourse beyond its natural and critical scope may have negative results and encourage states to act in ways that may harm important interests of immigrants. The unsuitability of applying human rights discourse to many of the core issues of immigration policy derives from three main reasons: First, is the immanent tension between the moral claims that rights are universal and apply to all individuals, and the fact that actual protection of human rights is the primary responsibility of states. Second, is the related distinction between the basic recognition of a human right and the processes of identifying the nature and scope of the duties such recognition involves. Third, are the institutional implications of choosing between the human rights discourse and discussion of policy questions. Issues determined by rights that have already been regulated can and should ordinarily be decided by independent courts; while issues of policy, especially ones that involve extensive enforcement and administrative structures, should be debated, resolved, and implemented by political players. While there are important aspects of immigration that do belong to core human rights in the strongest sense, most typical immigration issues are not, at this stage, matters of universal human rights.

Housing as a Basic Human Right: A Reflection on South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mziwandile Sobantu ◽  
Nqobile Zulu ◽  
Ntandoyenkosi Maphosa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

This paper reflects on human rights in the post-apartheid South Africa housing context from a social development lens. The Constitution guarantees access to adequate housing as a basic human right, a prerequisite for the optimum development of individuals, families and communities. Without the other related socio-economic rights, the provision of access to housing is limited in its service delivery. We argue that housing rights are inseparable from the broader human rights discourse and social development endeavours underway in the country. While government has made much progress through the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the reality of informal settlements and backyard shacks continues to undermine the human rights prospects of the urban poor. Forced evictions undermine some poor citizens’ human rights leading courts to play an active role in enforcing housing and human rights through establishing a jurisprudence that invariably advances a social development agenda. The authors argue that the post-1994 government needs to galvanise the citizenship of the urban poor through development-oriented housing delivery.

scholarly journals Law, Cosmopolitan Law and the Protection of Human Rights

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Sorial
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Positive Law ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Cosmopolitan Law ◽  
Human Rights Discourse ◽  
Subjective Rights

In Between Facts and Norms, Habermas articulates a system of rights, including human rights, within the democratic constitutional state. For Habermas, while human rights, like other subjective rights have moral content, they do not structurally belong to a moral system; nor should they be grounded in one. Instead, human rights belong to a positive and coercive legal order upon which individuals can make actionable legal claims. Habermas extends this argument to include international human rights, which are realised within the context of a cosmopolitan legal order. The aim of this paper is to assess the relevance of law as a mechanism for securing human rights protection. I argue that positive law does make a material difference to securing individual human rights and to cultivating and augmenting a general rights culture both nationally and globally. I suggest that Habermas' model of law presents the most viable way of negotiating the tensions that human rights discourse gives rise to: the tensions between morality and law, between legality and politics, and between the national and international contexts of human rights protection.

In the Long Run: Rights, Sovereignty, and Bombing

PMLA ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1638-1642
Author(s):  
Bruce Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
The University ◽  
Human Rights Discourse ◽  
University Of Connecticut

Will historians looking back a hundred years from now see the rise of human rights as an agent or reflection of the decline of national sovereignty? I take this question (asked at a recent meeting by Richard Wilson, director of the Human Rights Institute at the University of Connecticut) as an expression of worry about the effects that the decline of national sovereignty is likely to have, including effects on human rights themselves. Human rights advocates will recognize an obvious reason for this worry. Human rights are often seen, correctly but narrowly, as a key line of protection against an invasive and oppressive state. But the project of winning respect for human rights also relies heavily on the state's legal and bureaucratic powers—the power to enforce, to educate, to take positive measures, and so on. This is especially true in the domain of economic, social, and cultural rights, which require for their fulfillment that states exercise what has come to be called “due diligence.” Violence against women, for example, which has only been classified as an abuse of human rights since 1993, is often perpetrated not by states but by private individuals and groups. It can come under the protection of human rights discourse only if a sovereign state, which is held responsible for intervening to punish and prevent, is strong enough to do so. Weaken national sovereignty, and you may subvert the cause of women's rights.

BACK TO THE FUTURE: THE IMPERATIVE OF PRIORITIZING FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA

2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Human Reality ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
History Of ◽  
Group Survival ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

The quite complex problems of human and group survival in Africa do not easily lend themselves to diagnosis or solutions within the human rights frame of analysis. There are several reasons for this. Some arise from the recent and not–so–recent history of the continent, others are associated with the foundations and formulation of the human rights framework itself, and the rest with the orientation of those governments, individuals, and organizations involved in or entrusted with translating the promises of human rights into human reality. The invidious dichotomies within human rights discourse between civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and collective (solidarity) rights or the so–called “categories” or “generations” of human rights, with the attendant and implicit hierarchy among these categories of rights, fails to resonate with most people around the continent for whom contact with the state is a frightening prospect that defies such convenient intellectual categories.

scholarly journals Should a Human Right Discourse be Applied to Labour Standards?

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Morteza Shirzad
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Labour Rights ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Universal Human Rights ◽  
Public Rights ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

Whether a rights discourse should be applied to labour standards, entails addressing two issues. Firstly, what are the philosophical grounds for labour rights and whether they are human rights at all? Even if they cannot be regarded as human rights, should they be applied strategically? While, there is no single comprehensive theory identified to provide sufficient grounding for all labour rights, this paper argues, firstly, that labour rights certainly lack characteristics of universal human rights since they are time-bound and place-bound. Secondly, while recognising the relatively large strategic turn to human rights discourse by labour scholars and labour organisations, this paper argues that this is not a universally applicable strategy and in fact in some contexts application of human rights discourse is counterproductive. The paper, thus, concludes that not only deploying human rights approaches when it comes to countries authoritarian contexts are not effective, but also it is highly likely to be counterproductive, since human rights discourse needs public rights awareness public and authoritarian contexts lack this awareness.

scholarly journals Review of Reproductive Rights as Human Rights: Women of Color and the Fight for Reproductive Justice by Zakiya Luna (New York University Press)

Lateral ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Djuna Hallsworth
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
New York University ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

Zakiya Luna’s rich study combines comprehensive discourse analysis of political rhetoric and archival documents with her own ethnographic experiences within the reproductive justice movement. This book is an entry point into this often-marginalized arena, presenting a unique perspective informed by years of participant observation and thorough research which has produced additional projects, attesting to Luna’s expertise in this field of study. As a woman of color, Luna’s work is symbolically significant, and her intersectional lens renders this study broadly applicable to scholars of law, sociology, and gender studies, to policymakers and activists, and, indeed, to all women, who the reproductive justice movement indirectly or directly impacts. In tracing the way that reproductive justice has been framed as a “human right,” Luna addresses the potential for the human rights discourse to deliver on its intrinsic promise to secure freedom and equity for all.

scholarly journals Chinese Multinational Companies in Africa: The Human Rights Discourse

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 33-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingxiu Bu
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Hard Law ◽  
Human Rights Abuse ◽  
Global Presence ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

In this century, human rights have been transformed into a mainstream issue for multinational companies with a global presence. It is likely that a multipronged mechanism will imminently be demanded to ensure the accountability of economic actors responsible for human rights abuse. This paper places particular stress on the ostensibly prioritized objectives within international human rights arenas. A highly contentious debate revolves around whether China’s approach to ensuring human rights is in tandem with the West’s in helping Africa move forward or whether it will complicate the current playing field and even undermine the West’s long-standing credibility in relation to the protection of human rights. Relying heavily on instruments like the Alien Tort Statute (ats) has proved inadequate. A more promising path seems to be a comprehensive framework of hard law and soft law initiatives, along with other incentives.

scholarly journals DINAMIKA HUKUM DAN HAK ASASI MANUSIA DI NEGARA-NEGARA MUSLIM

Al-Ahkam ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 201
Author(s):  
Muhammad Hafiz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Permanent Commission ◽  
The Core ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Constructive Dialogue ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

Muslim countries often stuck in a dilemmatic situation between be exclusively with retaining the Islamic principles of human rights through Islamic law or follow the principles of human rights which is regulated internationally through Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The existence of Independent Permanent Commission of Human Rights (IPHRC) as one of the core institutions of organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) intended to be a mediator for the occurrence of constructive dialogue between human rights discourse on one side with Islamic law on the other side. This is the way to reduce dichotomous view that impact on gaps and conflict. The equivalent dialogue continuously between two entities, Islamic law and human rights must always be attempts to open opportunities in more widely shared understanding and in turn will facilitate the achievement of progress and the protection of human rights in Muslim countries. This dialogue also important to remove the negative stigma against Islamic law that is often accused of violating human rights. and also to open space of interpretation to Islamic law that relevance with contemporary life.

The human right to health: Autonomy

2020 ◽  
pp. 73-91
Author(s):  
Klisala Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Urban Poor ◽  
Urban Poverty ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Downtown Eastside ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse ◽  
Therapy Sessions

Taking its cue from how human rights activists frame human rights in cultural moments, this chapter begins to map how human capabilities are instrumentalized to develop human rights in the Downtown Eastside, and how human rights circulate in music. The music jams and music therapy sessions promote the human right to health of urban poor in different ways, including through enabling their capability to connect socially through music-making; facilitating their capability to psychologically process stress using music; promoting these participants’ senses of autonomy (i.e., control over life situations); and encouraging their use music to grieve early deaths in urban poverty. According to the medical literature and building on human rights discourse of the health equity movement, such capabilities potentially enhance their health and arguably strengthen their human right to health.

scholarly journals Globalisation, Human Rights and Islam: Competing Narratives and Discursive Practices in The Muslim World

ICR Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-361
Author(s):  
Asif Mohiuddin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Muslim World ◽  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Multicultural Society ◽  
International Norm ◽  
Human Rights Regime ◽  
Human Rights Abuse ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
Human Rights Discourse

Globalisation the growing interpenetration of ideas, states, and markets across borders has not only fostered the very blurring of distances but also growing avenues of appeal for citizens suppressed by their own states. There is no doubt that, in contemporary times, international norms and institutions for the protection of human rights are more developed than at any previous point in history. However, assaults on basic human rights continue, and the emergence of a global human rights regime may also be engendering new sources of human rights abuse. This paper examines how these developments have transformed the complex and mutable relationship between human rights and Islam and how this relationship is readjusting in response to the changing global situation. Focusing on the dramatic expansion of human rights discourse in the Muslim world, the paper argues that, for critics of Islam, the position on the incompatibility of Islam and human rights, which assumes two settled entities in an unstable relationship, is becoming hard to sustain as is the position on the Western origin of human rights. The main implication of this study is that human rights principles can be a binding international norm in a globalised world and that many normative conventions can play a pioneering role in promoting these rights and contribute to the emergence of a multicultural society.

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