Part 2 Asylum, 8 The Concept of Asylum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodwin-Gill Guy S ◽  
McAdam Jane ◽  
Dunlop Emma
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
Migration Control ◽  
Admission Policies ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Asylum Procedure

This chapter focuses on the concept of asylum. The meaning of the word ‘asylum’ tends to be assumed by those who use it, but its content is rarely explained. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers to ‘asylum from persecution’, the UN General Assembly urges the grant of asylum and observance of the principle of asylum, and many States’ constitutions and laws offer the promise of asylum, yet nowhere is this act of States defined. A distinction may be made between the clear, discretionary, sovereign right of States to grant asylum without it being considered a hostile act, which other States are bound to respect; and the individual right to asylum, which thus far has only been explicitly recognized in some regional human rights instruments and national constitutions, but not in any treaty applying universally. While individuals may not be able to claim a right to be granted asylum, States have a duty under international law not to obstruct the individual’s right to seek asylum. This includes the obligation to provide access to an asylum procedure (refugee status determination), which necessarily calls into question the legality of non-arrival and non-admission policies increasingly employed by States as tools of migration control.

Non-discrimination, Accommodation, and Intersectionality under the CRPD: New Trends and Challenges for the UN Human Rights System

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-130
Author(s):  
Wiebke Ringel
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
National Level ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
Treaty Body ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
And Gender

On 3 May 2008, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) entered into force. The CRPD is the first human rights treaty adopted by the UN General Assembly in the 21st century. It is also the first binding international law instrument that specifically and comprehensively addresses disability from a human rights perspective. Building on existing UN human rights treaties, the CRPD aims to strengthen the effective enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities. Specifically, the new convention seeks to remedy the neglect and marginalization of the rights of persons with disabilities not just at the national level but also at the international level, most notably within the UN treaty system. In this regard, the new convention endorses innovative and new approaches relating to, inter alia, the notions of disability, nondiscrimination, and intersectionality. This article analyses selected emerging key issues, including the principle of reasonable accommodation and the intersectionality of disability and gender. A specific focus will be on the emerging jurisprudence of the responsible treaty body, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. While some of the aspects discussed may appear to primarily arise under a disability-specific perspective, it is suggested that they could potentially provide an impetus to advance the UN human rights system in general, beyond the context of disability.

2. Historical development and contemporary concerns

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Clapham
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Second World War ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
World War ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
Second World

The content of human rights is usually understood by reference to the legal catalogue of human rights we find developed through international texts. ‘Historical development and contemporary concerns’ examines the key text for human rights today—The Universal Declaration of Human Rights—adopted in 1948 by the UN General Assembly. Since that time many treaties and intergovernmental Declarations have supplemented this proclamation of rights. The treaties are best viewed as providing a framework against which we can legitimately judge the performance of governments. How did this human rights catalogue come about? What roles did the League of Nations and Second World War play?

Part 1 Refugees, 4 Loss and Denial of Refugee Status and Its Benefits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodwin-Gill Guy S ◽  
McAdam Jane ◽  
Dunlop Emma
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
Refugee Status ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
International Instruments

This chapter examines the loss and denial of refugee status and its benefits. Most international instruments not only define refugees, but also provide for the termination or denial of refugee status and the withdrawal of protection. The International Refugee Organization (IRO) Constitution, for example, described the circumstances in which refugees and the displaced would ‘cease to be the concern’ of the organization, and excluded various others, including ‘war criminals, quislings and traitors’, and ‘ordinary criminals extraditable by treaty’. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits invocation of the right to seek asylum ‘in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations’. These categories have been expanded in other instruments and in State practice so that, in general, refugee status may be lost or denied because of voluntary acts of the individual; a change of circumstances; where protection is accorded by other States or international agencies; and in the case of criminals or other ‘undeserving’ cases.

Closing Ports of Safety: A Legitimate Strategy of Migration Control?

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-127
Author(s):  
Lena Riemer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
European Convention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Public Power ◽  
The Past ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
European Court ◽  
Migration Control ◽  
The Individual

In the past decades, the European Union and its member states have increasingly relied on externalization and non-arrival strategies for migration control. One of the latest developments is the decision by Malta and Italy to unilaterally close their ports to vessels carrying migrants rescued at sea. The article examines the conformity of such practices with the international law of the sea and focuses especially on the customary port of safety principle. It also addresses the applicability of the European Convention on Human Rights in cases where the rejected vessels have not entered the territory of a member state. The paper provides a novel approach for the establishment of the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisdiction in such cases of extraterritorial migration control, arguing that the jurisdiction could be founded on the imputable-public-power-test. Based on the analysis of potential violations of rights guaranteed by the Convention and its Protocols, the respective practices may, depending on the individual cases, violate the non-refoulement principle and/or the prohibition of collective expulsion.

scholarly journals International Law and the Death Penalty: A Toothless Tiger, or a Meaningful Force for Change

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. Babcock
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
International Law ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
The World

Over the last several decades, the world has made great strides towards universal abolition of the death penalty. Since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights was adopted in 1948, nearly 100 countries have abolished the death penalty as a matter of law. European and Latin American nations have been on the forefront of abolitionist efforts, but anti-death-penalty sentiment is not limited to those regions; support for the death penalty is waning in Africa and Southeast Asia as well. All but one or two nations claim to no longer execute minors, and many of the world's leading executioners have greatly reduced the number of crimes for which the death penalty can be applied. The General Assembly of the United Nations has now passed four resolutions in favor of a universal moratorium on capital punishment, and each has been supported by a greater number of countries-even those that were previously considered staunch supporters of the death penalty.

scholarly journals Foreword by Daniel Thürer

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (324) ◽  
pp. 406-407
Author(s):  
Daniel Thürer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Constitutional History ◽  
International Legal System ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Point Of Reference ◽  
Individual Human

Fifty years ago … on 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations solemnly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This event was a turning point in the development of international law. The individual human being, whose rights had been established over the long evolution of constitutional history, was now recognized as a central point of reference within the international legal system.

John Peters Humphrey: Canadian Nationalist and World Government Advocate

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 305-346
Author(s):  
Erin C. Roth
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Government Structure ◽  
World Government ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Individual

SummaryJohn Peters Humphrey is best known for drafting the United NationsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, a role that, while significant, comprised only a brief period in Humphrey’s life. Prior to his time at the UN, Humphrey was an adamant Canadian nationalist who argued for a strong, united Canada. At the same time, he was highly critical of international organization and argued for a federal, world government. This apparent contrariness was also seen in his choice of employment. Supportive of world government, Humphrey viewed the UN as little more than a “defensive alliance.” Humphrey’s paradoxical views and actions are far more coherent than they first appear. It is possible to see in them a single, unifying trend: federalism. Federalism’s layered government structure has the ability to preserve regional differences and also to connect the individual to each layer of law. At the UN, Humphrey was able to make great strides in this direction, and today several international bodies receive complaints directly from individual complainants. In this way, Humphrey helped connect the individual with international law.

International Year for Human Rights

1968 ◽  
Vol 8 (84) ◽  
pp. 115-117
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Universal Declaration ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Review ◽  
Un General Assembly ◽  
Twentieth Anniversary

1968 has been chosen International Year for Human Rights and the UN General Assembly has invited states and institutions to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Red Cross too is associated in this commemoration by publishing in the International Review the following article on Red Cross and Human Rights; this will be followed in other issues with contributions on the same theme.

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