8. Human rights in the postwar period

Human Rights Law ◽

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.

The Arrest of Abdullah Öcalan

Leiden Journal of International Law ◽

10.1017/s092215659900028x ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 565-574 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Geoff Gilbert

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Late Twentieth ◽

International Human ◽

Human Rights Standards ◽

Domestic Affairs ◽

Late Twentieth Century

Abdullah Öcalan's arrival in Turkey in February 1999 followed a prolonged search in Europe for asylum following his expulsion from Syria in late 1998. His coming within Turkish jurisdiction raises questions about the international processes to bring alleged transnational fugitive offenders before the courts. This article looks at the extradition regime within Europe and the alternative methods of rendition that were eventually employed to remove him from Kenya. Extradition law developed during the nineteenth century and is based on ideas of revolution, the principle of nationality and liberal democracy which pervaded that period. The late twentieth century has a different ethos that offers fewer protection to the political revolutionary, but has incorporated international human rights standards. Extradition law straddles the enforcement of criminal law, non-interference in the domestic affairs of another State and international human rights law. The article concludes by examining the demands of international human rights law for the trial in Turkey.

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

BESTUUR ◽

10.20961/bestuur.v9i1.51637 ◽

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 ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Human Right ◽

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. Keywords: Expression; Freedom; Expression; Human Right.

International Human Rights in Canada: At the Juncture of Law and Politics

International Journal of Legal Information ◽

10.1017/s0731126500011525 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Faisal Bhabha

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal Status ◽

Access To Justice ◽

Supreme Court Of Canada ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Law And Politics ◽

The Status ◽

Thank you for the opportunity to address the very timely topic of international human rights law from the Canadian perspective. As my title suggests, my analysis of this topic sits at the intersection of law and politics, as so much of international law necessarily does. I will proceed in three parts. First, I will provide a sketch of the political context, drawing from recent events and trends, to describe a conflicted official government approach to international human rights. Next, I will examine the formal legal status of international human rights law in Canada, drawing selectively from key Supreme Court of Canada decisions. This will be far from a comprehensive account. Finally, I will discuss the recent adoption of the newest international human rights treaty, the disability convention, and discuss calls to promote access to justice at the international level for breaches of Convention norms domestically. Notwithstanding important efforts to advance the status of international human rights law in Canada, my overall observation is that, in both law and politics, the Canadian approach to international human rights is predominantly inward looking.

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

Groningen Journal of International Law ◽

10.21827/5a86a74398465 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 19

Author(s):

Michael Ramsden

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Decision Makers ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

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.

International Human rights law in an armed conflict: Legal perspectives on obligations of States and Extraterritoriality

Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences ◽

10.52131/pjhss.2018.0601.0032 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 44-58

Author(s):

Sardar M. A. Waqar Khan Arif

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Armed Conflict ◽

Legal Framework ◽

International Humanitarian Law ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

International Human ◽

The Law

Human rights are available to everyone on the basis of humanity. Universality, non-discrimination, equality and inalienability are core principles governing International Human rights Law (IHRL). The law governing armed conflict or war is known as International humanitarian Law (IHL). In the case of armed conflict, IHRL poses certain obligations on states along with humanitarian obligations. In this context, this article identifies the international human rights obligations of States in armed conflict. It argues that States must respect, promote, protect and fulfill human rights obligations of individuals, in the case of armed conflict, with increasing and serious concern, by analyzing the applicable legal framework under IHRL. It also addresses the extraterritorial application of IHRL and its limitations and derogations in armed conflict. Further, it discusses contemporary challenges for States in jurisdictional applicability and implementation of IHRL. To that extent, the argument developed throughout this article is that States have obligations under IHRL, irrespective of humanitarian obligations, not only in peace situations but also in the case of war or armed conflict.

EU security and counter-terrorism policies and human rights

The European Union and Human Rights ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198814191.003.0021 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 457-477

Author(s):

Mikaela Heikkilä ◽

Elina Pirjatanniemi

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Terrorist Attacks ◽

The European Union ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Judicial Cooperation ◽

Counter Terrorism ◽

Numerous terrorist attacks both within and outside the European Union (EU or the Union) have prompted the Union to increasingly act in the field of counter-terrorism. Since the adoption of the Union’s counter-terrorism strategy in 2005, the Union’s action in relation to counter-terrorism has been based on four connected pillars: to prevent, to protect, to pursue, and to respond. A general trend in the Union’s counter-terrorism action has been a move towards a pre-emptive approach, where the focus lies on countering terrorism threats in advance. The aim of this chapter is to discuss whether the adoption of these pre-emptive measures strengthen the security landscape of the Union. The chapter thus takes a closer look at how the Union strives to detect persons planning or preparing terrorist offences, and to hinder actual attacks from taking place. In particular, attention is paid to the EU’s police and judicial cooperation, general surveillance, the criminalisation of preparatory terrorist offences, and cooperation with third states and international organisations. A central objective is also to assess how the various counter-terrorism measures concur with international human rights law, including the Union’s legal framework on data protection.

Immigration detention under international human rights law: the legal framework and the litmus test of human rights treaty bodies monitoring

Challenging Immigration Detention ◽

10.4337/9781785368066.00021 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 265-292 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mariette Grange ◽

Izabella Majcher

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Immigration Detention ◽

International Human ◽

Litmus Test

The Human Rights of Minority Women: Romani Women's Rights from a Perspective on International Human Rights Law and Politics

International Journal on Minority and Group Rights ◽

10.1163/157181110x12595859744123 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 1-45 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Camilla Ida Ravnbøl

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Minority Group ◽

Minority Women ◽

Humanitarian Law ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Law And Politics ◽

New Findings ◽

AbstractThis article explores the complexities surrounding the human rights of minority women. With analytical focus on Romani women in Europe it seeks to contribute with new insight into the grey areas of rights issues, where groups within special rights categories share different human rights concerns, by being both women and members of a minority group. Through an investigation of how contemporary human rights law and politics serve to address the concerns of Romani women, it sheds light on the challenges that the Romani women's issue presents to the international human rights framework. These challenges go beyond the Romani issue only and into larger issues of women and minorities. It raises questions as to whether the historical separation between categories of gender and race/ethnicity within the international community in practice has become a gap that isolates Romani women from the human rights attention that they claim. It is argued that in order to strengthen the validity of human rights in the lives of Romani women, as a framework that ensures their full and equal protection, special attention needs to be given to interrelated grounds and forms of discrimination. “Intersectionality” is re-introduced as a concept to frame such new approaches to the human rights of Romani women. The article is a summary version of the thesis “The Human Rights of Minority Women: Challenging International Discourses with the Case of Romani Women”, for which the author was awarded the Martin Alexanderson Research Scholarship, administered by the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Lund, Sweden. This summary version brings forward the main arguments of the thesis which was an awarded EMA thesis 2006–2007 of the European University Institute in Venice. For this reason it does not present any new findings or data after 2007 but merely summarises the main chapters of the thesis. The thesis investigated the complexities surrounding Romani women's human rights at UN and European level. Thus, national systems and the regional systems in the Americas and Africa are excluded. The empirical data comes primarily from the European region.

Human Rights and Refugees: Enhancing Protection through International Human Rights Law

Nordic Journal of International Law ◽

10.1163/15718100020296224 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 69 (2) ◽

pp. 117-177 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

Human Rights Protection ◽

Refugee Protection ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Recent Developments ◽

AbstractThis essay analyses how UN mechanisms of human rights protection – namely the UN Commission and Sub-Commission on Human Rights, the Committee Against Torture, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee – can be used as a practical and analytical tool to enhance the protection of refugees and suggests that they can make a significant contribution to refugee protection. Although UN mechanisms may not provide a framework of protection as expansive and reliable as domestic systems, recent developments in international human rights law have contributed to an increasingly important legal framework that can be invoked in support of both specific cases and more broad-based advocacy on behalf of refugees. This article draws on specific examples to argue that UNHCR and refugee advocates can use these laws and mechanisms to enhance protection principles and give effect to forms of enforcement.