scholarly journals U.S. Multinationals and Human Rights: A Theoretical and Empirical Assessment of Extractive Versus Nonextractive Sectors

2020 ◽  
pp. 000765032092897
Author(s):  
Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati ◽  
Nicole Janz ◽  
Indra de Soysa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Status Quo Bias ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Host Countries ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Human Rights Abuse ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact

The consequences of foreign direct investment (FDI) for human rights protection are poorly understood. We propose that the impact of FDI varies across industries. In particular, extractive firms in the oil and mining industries go where the resources are located and are bound to such investment, which creates a status quo bias among them when it comes to supporting repressive rulers (“ location-bound effect”). The same is not true for nonextractive multinational corporations (MNCs) in manufacturing or services, which can, in comparison, exit problematic countries more easily. We also propose that strong democratic institutions can alleviate negative impacts of extractive FDI on human rights (“ democratic safeguard effect”). Using U.S. FDI broken up into extractive and nonextractive industries in 157 host countries (1999–2015), we find support for these propositions.1 Extractive FDI is associated with more human rights abuse, but nonextractive FDI is associated with less abuse, after controlling for other factors, including concerns about endogeneity. We find also that the negative human rights impact of extractive FDI vanishes in countries where democratic institutions are stronger. Our results are robust to a range of alternative estimation techniques.

Australian Bills of Rights and the ‘New Commonwealth Model of Constitutionalism’

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Evans ◽  
Julia Watson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
High Court ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Human Rights Act ◽  
Human Rights Act 1998 ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The Uk ◽  
High Court Of Australia ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the influence of the new Commonwealth model of human rights protection (exemplified by the UK Human Rights Act 1998) on the form of the two Australian statutory Bills of Rights, and then considers the impact of Australia's distinctive legal culture and constitutional structure on the operation of these instruments. In particular, it examines the impact of culture and structure in the decision of the High Court of Australia in R. v Momcilovic [2011] HCA 34; (2011) 280 A.L.R. As a result of that case, key features of the Australian Bills of Rights now diverge from the dominant UK approach, a divergence so striking that it may no longer be possible to identify the Australian Bills of Rights as exemplars of the new Commonwealth model.

scholarly journals State Capture through Corruption: Can Human Rights Help?

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 113 ◽  
pp. 331-335
Author(s):  
Jimena Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Regional Systems ◽  
State Capture ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Negative Impacts

Until recently, the United Nations and regional systems of human rights protection had shown considerable reluctance to address human rights violations resulting from corruption. Instead, these actors would underline the negative impacts of corruption on human rights without identifying corruption itself as a violation of human rights. Since 2017, however, this has begun to shift. The UN, regional human rights institutions, and civil society have begun to devise concrete ways for human rights institutions and instruments to better contribute to the fight against corruption. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (“the Court”), in particular, has taken preliminary steps to establish a legal link between corruption and human rights violations.

scholarly journals Evaluating Competing “Democratic” Discourses: The Impact on Human Rights Protection in Southeast Asia

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Gomez ◽  
Robin Ramcharan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Human Rights Regime ◽  
Global And Local ◽  
The Impact

This paper evaluates the impact of competing “democratic” discourses on human rights protection in Southeast Asia. The authors identify three key discourses emanating from a set of national governmental policies, advocacy positions promoted by both global and local civil society and international standards and procedures adopted by members of inter-governmental organisations. These discourses, the authors argue, are collectively shaping the emerging ASEAN inter-governmental human rights regime. The political impact of these competing “democratic” discourses and their complex interactions bring a cultural dimension to regional human rights. The authors argue that observers seeking to understand the emergence of norms, the establishment of institutions and their capacity to collectively protect regional human rights, need to understand these competing discourses.

The EU’s engagement with business on human rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 312-342
Author(s):  
Mary E Footer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Business And Human Rights ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
European Business ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact

Since the turn of the millennium, the European Union (EU) has sought to advance its policies on business and human rights with the aim of achieving specific outcomes on human rights protection, core labour standards, and a better alignment of European and global approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). At the heart of this endeavour lies the European Commission’s renewed strategy for CSR in its 2011 Communication. This chapter critically analyses the impact of the EU’s re-calibration of its CSR policy to allow for the fuller engagement of European business with human rights on the internal and external plane. The EU has sought to develop a ‘smart mix’ of voluntary policy measures and complementary regulatory initiatives to achieve its aims. Consequently, it has made considerable progress towards embedding business and human rights in European law and policy. However, it continues to face challenges due to its lack of competence along the whole spectrum of business-related human rights, and the transversal character of EU policy, which elicits a multidimensional response to implementation, involving a plethora of actors from government, business, and civil society.

9. Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
African Union ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
Monitoring And Enforcement ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the role of the African Union, formerly the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in the development of African jurisprudence on human rights. It provides a brief historical background on the African Union and the Charter provisions. The chapter traces the development of human rights protection in Africa; describes the monitoring and enforcement of human rights law; highlights the impact of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on human rights in Africa; and explains how States may be held accountable for infringements of rights and freedoms.

scholarly journals Fundamental Rights Seen Through the “Pluralistic Interpretive Box”

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-79
Author(s):  
Tanja Karakamisheva-Jovanovska
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Judicial Discretion ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Legal Interpretation ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Interpretive Method ◽  
The Impact

Interpretation, or the judicial understanding of the legal acts in the process of protection of the human rights, is becoming increasingly interesting and controversial, both from an aspect of the applied interpretation technique (which interpretation method is applied by the judge in a specific case and why), as well as from an aspect of the legal opportunism/legitimacy of the interpretation. It is a fact that so far, neither the European, nor the national legal theories and practice have offered coordinated systematic approach regarding the application of the legal interpretation methods, which often leads to different interpretation of the legal norms by the national and the European courts when applied in similar or identical legal situations for protection of the human rights. It is considered that the different interpretation of the legal documents by the judges endangers the protection of the human rights, but also the legal security of the citizens. Judicial discretion in choosing an interpretive method in a particular case by the national, or by the courts in Luxembourg and Strasbourg further complicates the already complex procedure of protection of human rights, which directly creates new problems instead of solving the existing ones. The "pluralistic interpretive box" is continuously filled with new and new cases from different approaches by different courts in the process of protection of human rights, which leads to increased scientific interest for a more detailed consideration of this issue. The growing scientific interest in the impact of the legal interpretation on the (non) equality of the human rights protection is the main reason for writing this paper, in which I will try to explain the connection between the three different, but still related issues encountered in the multilevel system of human rights protection in Europe. The first issue addressed in the paper concerns the most common methods of legal interpretation applied in the national and European court proceedings. The second issue concerns the search for a consistent answer to whether and how much legitimacy and legality the court decisions made by applying judicial discretion have when the interpretive method in judicial decision-making is chosen, and the third issue refers to finding an answer to the impact of such court decisions on the functionality and efficiency of the multi-level system of protection of human rights, that is, to what extent such court decisions have a positive or negative effect on the human rights protection. Given that each national court has its own instruments and techniques of interpretation by which the judges make their decisions, the need to study their causality and effectiveness is more than evident.

scholarly journals INTERNATIONAL LEGAL INSTRUMENTS IN THE FIELD OF BIOETHICS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 1554-1560
Author(s):  
Viktor V. Horodovenko ◽  
Vitalii M. Pashkov ◽  
Larysa G. Udovyka
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Legal Standards ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
Biomedical Technologies ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: A rapid development of biomedicine, genetics, pharmacology, transplantation and biotechnology has posed a number of problems to humanity, in particular, with regard to human rights protection in healthcare. These problems solution requires considering the achievements and propositions of biology, medicine, ethics and law. International legal standards in the field of bioethics are of significance in development of national states regulations on bioethics and biotic legislation. Aim: To investigate the impact of international legal instruments in the field of bioethics on protection of human rights. Materials and methods: In the research the international legal instruments and documents in the field of healthcare and bioethics were used. Civilizational, axiological, dialectical, systemic and comparative legal methods as well as systematization, analysis and synthesis were decisive in the research process. Conclusions: Legal instruments in the field of biomedical technologies (directives and regulations) are mainly advisory by nature. In many cases, the problems arising in biotechnology are resolved through establishment and involvement of national supervision bodies: councils (commissions, committees) in bioethics as well as courts. An important role in protection of human rights in the field of biotechnology is played by the ECHR the decisions of which are dynamic, based on the Convention and consideration of national legislations. At the same time, a number of problems remain unresolved because of constant development of biomedical technologies, necessity to take into account the latest achievements and discoveries as well as all types and methods of applying of genetic engineering to humans. In general, insufficient attention is paid to the problems of medical biotechnologies application both at the international and national levels.

8. Africa

2019 ◽  
pp. 126-143
Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
African Union ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
Monitoring And Enforcement ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the role of the African Union, formerly the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in the development of African jurisprudence on human rights. It provides a brief historical background on the African Union and the Charter provisions. The chapter traces the development of human rights protection in Africa; describes the monitoring and enforcement of human rights law; highlights the impact of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on human rights in Africa; and explains how States may be held accountable for infringements of rights and freedoms.

The impact of EU conditionality policy on human rights and rule of law in the western Balkans: An attempt at a methodology

SEER ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102
Author(s):  
Qerim Qerimi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Aid Conditionality ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
The Impact

This article seeks to explore the underlying methodological dimension of measuring the impact or effects of the EU’s policy of conditionality in western Balkans states in the arena of human rights protection and respect for the rule of law. These are critical issues in which aid conditionality has global dimensions, while the EU itself remains a valid international actor. The article also focuses on the adequacy of the measurement instruments used to measure the impact of this policy, based on the existing trends as well as past experience with enlargement to central and eastern Europe. The author identifies the major research questions that need to be confronted and suggests an appropriate methodological approach to resolve these, including an important gender dimension. In the process, he identifies the deficiencies concerning the measurement of conditionality which have come to haunt the application of the policy. The central aim kept in mind throughout is to seek improvements in the application of the policy itself and with a view to the wider lessons regarding the role that conditionality has come to play.

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