Human Rights and Structural Inequality in the Shadow of COVID-19—A New Chapter in the Culture Wars?

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-194
Author(s):  
Matthew Zagor
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Culture Wars ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Structural Racism ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Global Influence

Abstract This article takes as its starting point the convergence of two rights-related grassroots movements given momentum by the pandemic’s manifestly discriminatory impact: the push to recognise and address racism as a public health crisis, and the global influence of the Black Lives Matter (‘BLM’) movement. It considers the relevance of this moment to international human rights law, the adequacy of the response from its key institutions, and the conservative backlash, framed within the rhetoric of rights, that is challenging the very idea of structural racism. In doing so, it argues that we are witnessing a new stage of the culture wars around the language, method and assumptions of human rights law with which the discipline must engage pragmatically and strategically.

scholarly journals Emergencies End Eventually: How to Better Analyze Human Rights Restrictions Sparked by the COVID-19 Pandemic Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

2021 ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Eric Richardson ◽  
Colleen Devine
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Rigorous Analysis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
Emergency Measures

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, states have been quick to adopt emergency measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. However, poorly constructed restrictions threaten to undermine hard won human rights protections and may in fact erode important elements of international human rights law as a result of overreaching implementation or lack of rigorous analysis in how the restrictions are put, and kept, in place. This article analyzes the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) standards which apply to emergency regulation in times of public health crisis and the tangled morass of legal tests which have been used to balance human rights and emergency restrictions. We argue that in the current pandemic, human rights are best protected when states act under the Article 4 derogation mechanism to put emergency measures in place because it provides opportunities for oversight ensuring the end of emergency restrictions after the crisis subsides and provides certainty as to how states are justifying their emergency measures under the treaty regime. Given that so few states have provided notice of derogation under the ICCPR, this Article also considers what a rigorous analysis would look like when restricting freedom of movement, privacy, and freedom of assembly using the limitation language found in each article, suggesting best practices for better balancing COVID-19-related emergency measures with human rights.

COVID-19, Business, and Human Rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 433-449
Author(s):  
Surya Deva
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Full Range ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Good Starting Point ◽  
International Human

Abstract COVID-19 has affected the full range of human rights, though some rights holders have experienced a disproportionate impact. This has triggered debate about the respective obligations and responsibilities of states and business enterprises under international human rights law. Against this backdrop, this article examines critically whether the “protect, respect and remedy” framework operationalised by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is “fit for the purpose” to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. I argue that while the UNGPs’ framework provides a good starting point, it is inadequate to bring transformative changes to overcome deep-rooted socio-economic problems exposed by this pandemic. Realising human rights fully would not only require harnessing the potential of states’ tripartite obligations, but also move beyond limiting the responsibility of businesses to respect human rights.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lea Raible
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Theoretical Background ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
International Human ◽  
Law Making

The introduction begins by setting out puzzles that any account of extraterritorial human rights obligations would need to address. These puzzles are meant to illustrate that economic and social rights bring to the fore two of the most foundational issues of international human rights law more broadly. These are, namely, what it means for a state to have a human rights obligation towards an individual, and how we justify the specification of the relevant right holder and duty bearer in each case. A clear textual basis or even a starting point is lacking in international law. Making reference to economic and social rights forces us to frame extraterritoriality as a question of identifying right holders and duty bearers. In turn, answering this question allows us to challenge conventional wisdom on extraterritoriality in general. The Introduction sets out the method, theoretical background, and aims of this book, outlining the arguments based on the analysis of legal practice and scholarly literature, and their implications.

Challenges in applying human rights law to armed conflict

2005 ◽  
Vol 87 (860) ◽  
pp. 737-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Lubell
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Joint Application ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe debates over the relationship between International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, have often focused on the question of whether human rights law continues to apply during armed conflict, and if so, on how these two bodies of law can complement each other. This article takes the continuing applicability of human rights law as an accepted and welcome starting point, and proceeds to lay out some of the challenges and obstacles encountered during the joint application of IHL and Human Rights Law, that still need to be addressed. These include extra-territorial applicability of human rights law; the mandate and expertise of human rights bodies; terminological and conceptual differences between the bodies of law; particular difficulties raised in non-international armed conflicts; and the question of economic, social and cultural rights during armed conflict.

Armed Groups and Crimes against Humanity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Crimes Against Humanity ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
Civil Responsibility ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Individual

The chapter considers the relevance of the law on crimes against humanity to explanations of how armed groups are bound by international human rights law. Exploring the two-tiered nature of crimes against humanity, it shows that responsibility for crimes against humanity exists at two levels: the level of the individual perpetrator (individual criminal responsibility) and the level of the entity behind the perpetrator (a civil responsibility). From this starting point, the chapter analyses what the case law on crimes against humanity can tell us about whether and when armed groups can commit crimes against humanity. The chapter ends by exploring the connection between crimes against humanity and human rights law in a normative sense, examining what a conclusion that armed groups can commit crimes against humanity demonstrates about their obligations under human rights law.

Human Rights and Development: Some Institutional Perspectives

2007 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 459-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhán McInerney-Lankford
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Critical Comment ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Specific Nature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Academic Debate

The relationship between human rights and development endures as a subject of lively academic debate and critical comment. In this piece, the author offers some institutionally based perspectives on the nature of that relationship, which take as their starting point the principles and obligations of international human rights law. The article begins by examining the intersection of human rights and development at three distinct but interrelated levels: factual or substantive overlap, principles and obligations, and goes on to argue that aspects of each have been neglected in contemporary analyses. The article argues for clarity about the specific nature of the overlap and the emerging convergence between the two areas, and the particular need to revisit the issue human rights obligations. Following from this theoretic framework, the article proceeds to a discussion of the challenges faced by development actors in attempts to integrate human rights into developments policy and practice. The article argues that the significance of these challenges has not been fully appreciated, nor the potential of existing human rights obligations and frameworks to address them fully harnessed.

Conceptualizing Work Integration Social Enterprises under International Human Rights Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Sarah HOFMAYER
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Right ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
International Human ◽  
Work Integration ◽  
Human Rights Standards

Abstract This article outlines one form Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs) can take under international human rights law. It builds on the conviction that social enterprises, and WISEs more specifically, are compatible with the foundations and principles human rights are built on. However, there is a lack of engagement with social enterprises generally, in international human rights law. Building on the characteristics of WISEs and substantive equality theories, it is suggested that they can be conceptualized under the heading of affirmative measures. It is expected that this conceptualization can provide a starting point for increasing the visibility of the sector, while simultaneously ensuring its compliance with human rights standards, most notably under the human right to work. The article further points out WISEs and social enterprises’ potential more generally, illustrating how businesses can position themselves as active agents contributing to the realization of human rights.

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