scholarly journals Exploring the Human Rights Implications of Microfinance Initiatives

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Farrer
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Social Enterprise ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Grameen Bank ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Behavior Theory ◽  
Rights Issues

This Article explores Microfinance and microcredit (“MFI”) programs from several perspectives, with particular emphasis on human rights issues. These programs involve making small loans to people who would otherwise be unable to borrow money to facilitate them starting their own businesses: frequently, the programs focus on women borrowers in developing countries. The emphasis of MFI programs on women in developing countries makes it important to consider these programs in terms of both women's and indigenous rights, while MFI as an approach to poverty merits a discussion of economic rights. Part I of the article will explore the concept and scope of current MFI programs, describing key components of these programs and assessing comments from both fans and critics. The Grameen Bank, which has been studied extensively and has acted as a model for several other programs, will be examined in detail. Part II of this Article considers MFI in the context of human rights considerations, including economic, indigenous, and women's rights. One particular aspect of Grameen's program, namely the use of Sixteen Decisions, is also critiqued, applying organizational behavior theory. Part III will compare MFI with other approaches to poverty, inclu property rights initiatives, women's cooperatives and social enterprise approaches.

Information and Communication Technologies, Democracy, and Human Rights in Nigeria

2015 ◽  
pp. 626-645
Author(s):  
Joseph Wilson ◽  
Nuhu Gapsiso
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Share Information ◽  
Rights Issues

The unprecedented impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on nearly every facet of human endeavour has continued to attract individual and organizational interest to explore these technologies for specific cause. ICTs are increasingly being used in promoting democracy and human rights issues: to mobilize and strengthen solidarity, increase communication among interest groups, and share information more quickly. There is no doubt that ICTs deployment in Nigeria and other developing countries has sparked growth in citizens' abilities to communicate and share ideas, but there are impediments. This chapter looks at the evolution of ICTs in Nigeria, the place of ICTs in promoting democracy/human rights, and discusses the challenges of harnessing the enormous benefits of ICTs in promoting democracy and human rights in Nigeria.

Toward a More Youthful Democracy

2021 ◽  
pp. 141-160
Author(s):  
Richard P. Hiskes
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
Group Rights ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Rights Issues

This concluding chapter begins with a discussion of how the global coronavirus pandemic called attention to children’s rights issues, specifically in how children were not allowed to participate in decisions directly affecting their “best interests,” as required by CRC. Granting children human rights will fundamentally alter the nature of both democracy and human rights. Giving children citizenship rights will renew democracy, as past enfranchisements have, but also will push democracies to resemble less Western, liberal models. Group rights will predominate in democracies where children are full citizens. Also, the human rights agendas of child-incorporating democracies will be dominated by social and economic rights issues, since children’s rights of protection and provision will be given priority. Finally, children’s participation rights will emerge as crucial in diminishing structural inequality in democratic societies, providing a pathway to a fuller form of social justice predicated on the human rights of children.

Solutions to property rights ‘violations’ experienced by Ghanaian (Akan) widows and their children: The role of international social workers in addressing human rights

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 405-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Korang-Okrah ◽  
Wendy Haight ◽  
Priscilla Gibson ◽  
James Black
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Property Ownership ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
Economic Survival ◽  
Ghanaian Women ◽  
Rights Issues ◽  
International Social

Social workers are increasingly embracing international perspectives and roles to address persistent human rights issues. This study examines solutions to property rights disputes involving Ghanaian women who are widowed from the perspectives of Akan men and women in four communities. Property ownership is fundamental to the economic survival of women and their children, but millions of women around the world lose their rights to property following the deaths of their husbands. We conducted focus groups with 102 participants in four Akan communities to generate local, culturally viable solutions for preventing property rights violations and resolving them when they do occur.

scholarly journals Natural Resources, Property Rights, and the Domestic Logic of BIT Signing

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence K. Teo ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Bilateral Investment Treaties ◽  
Investment Treaties

In contrast to the substantial scholarship on whether bilateral investment treaties (BITs) increase foreign direct investment (FDI), there is less work on what drives governments to sign these treaties in the first place. I develop a theory of treaty signing that emphasizes the domestic factors that motivate a government to sign BITs. Using a panel dataset of developing countries from 1960 to 2010, I find that governments scarce in natural resources are more likely to sign BITs compared to their richer counterparts. In addition, governments with middle levels of property rights are more likely to sign BITs compared to those with low or high levels. Finally, the most likely BIT signers are resource-scarce countries with middle levels of property rights. That strategic dynamics exist in BIT signing has implications for assessing the effects of these treaties in other issue areas such as trade, human rights, and the environment.

Taxation and Human Rights

2019 ◽  
pp. 259-278
Author(s):  
Reuven S. Avi-Yonah ◽  
Gianluca Mazzoni
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Data Security ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tax Revenue ◽  
Trade Secrets ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Revenue Collection ◽  
The One

This chapter assesses the appropriate balance between strengthening tax revenue collection tools to ensure states have adequate resources to meet their human rights obligations, and protecting taxpayer rights to privacy and data security. On the one hand, the ability of rich residents of developing countries and multinational corporations operating in those countries to evade or avoid taxation is directly linked to violations of human rights in those countries, especially from the perspective of social and economic rights like health and education. Providing such countries with the means to fight back and collect adequate revenues is essential in advancing such rights. On the other hand, some of the techniques used to achieve adequate revenue collection, like automatic exchange of information (AEoI) and country-by-country reporting (CbCR), risk violating other human rights like privacy and the legitimate protection of trade secrets.

Information and Communication Technologies, Democracy, and Human Rights in Nigeria

2014 ◽  
pp. 94-113
Author(s):  
Joseph Wilson ◽  
Nuhu Gapsiso
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Share Information ◽  
Rights Issues

The unprecedented impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on nearly every facet of human endeavour has continued to attract individual and organizational interest to explore these technologies for specific cause. ICTs are increasingly being used in promoting democracy and human rights issues: to mobilize and strengthen solidarity, increase communication among interest groups, and share information more quickly. There is no doubt that ICTs deployment in Nigeria and other developing countries has sparked growth in citizens' abilities to communicate and share ideas, but there are impediments. This chapter looks at the evolution of ICTs in Nigeria, the place of ICTs in promoting democracy/human rights, and discusses the challenges of harnessing the enormous benefits of ICTs in promoting democracy and human rights in Nigeria.

Comparative Human Rights Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Fredman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Cultural Relativity ◽  
Foreign Materials ◽  
Speech Education ◽  
Similar Solutions ◽  
Rights Issues

Courts in different jurisdictions face similar human rights questions. Does the death penalty breach human rights? Does freedom of speech include racist speech? Is there a right to health? This book uses the prism of comparative law to examine the fascinating ways in which these difficult questions are decided. On the one hand, the shared language of human rights suggests that there should be similar solutions to comparable problems. On the other hand, there are important differences. Constitutional texts are worded differently; courts have differing relationships with the legislature; and there are divergences in socio-economic development, politics, and history. Nevertheless, there is a growing transnational conversation between courts, with cases in one jurisdiction being cited in others. Part I (Chapters 1–5) outlines the cross-cutting themes which shape the ways judges respond to challenging human rights issues. Chapters 1–5 examine when it is legitimate to refer to foreign materials; how universality and cultural relativity are balanced in human rights law; the appropriate role of courts in adjudicating human rights in a democracy; and the principles judges use to interpret human rights texts. The book is unusual in transcending the distinction between socio-economic rights and civil and political rights. Part II (Chapters 6–12) applies these cross-cutting themes to comparing human rights law in five jurisdictions. These chapters focus on seven particularly challenging issues: the death penalty, abortion, housing, health, speech, education, and religion, with the aim of inspiring further comparative examination of other pressing human rights issues. It is primarily court-centred, but also examines courts’ drawbacks.

scholarly journals Natural Resources, Property Rights, and the Domestic Logic of BIT Signing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence K. Teo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Bilateral Investment Treaties ◽  
Investment Treaties

In contrast to the substantial scholarship on whether bilateral investment treaties (BITs) increase foreign direct investment (FDI), there is less work on what drives governments to sign these treaties in the first place. I develop a theory of treaty signing that emphasizes the domestic factors that motivate a government to sign BITs. Using a panel dataset of developing countries from 1960 to 2010, I find that governments scarce in natural resources are more likely to sign BITs compared to their richer counterparts. In addition, governments with middle levels of property rights are more likely to sign BITs compared to those with low or high levels. Finally, the most likely BIT signers are resource-scarce countries with middle levels of property rights. That strategic dynamics exist in BIT signing has implications for assessing the effects of these treaties in other issue areas such as trade, human rights, and the environment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document