scholarly journals The Uglier Side of Bonnie Scotland: the Tinker Housing Experiments

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-208
Author(s):  
Shamus McFee
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
State Party ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Scottish Government

The aim of this paper is to illumine the insidious and covert nature of the racially motivated programme of measures, implemented by the State Party and other key stakeholders in Scottish society, ostensibly designed to crush and eradicate age-old Scottish Gypsy Traveller culture. To best rationalise those actions committed necessitates exploration of various themes: the treatment meted out, the mindset underpinning those actions, the attitudinal context, the intersectionality of the human rights violations and the long term effects of the damage sustained, both at an individual and collective level, by those subjected nationally to such assimilatory schemes, culminating in an inquisition of the reasons furnished by the Scottish Government for its subsequent refusal to grant an apology to the victims – despite repeated appeals to that end. The methodology will include personal photographs, reference to historical papers, relevant newspaper articles, and files from both national and local authority archives. The corollary of these investigations will conclude that the human rights of Scottish Gypsy Travellers have been irrefutably violated under international law; this has been executed with impunity by the authorities and, inarguably, constitutes a crime against humanity.

scholarly journals Disparity in Human Rights Violations: A Political and International Law Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 349
Author(s):  
Aidir Amin Daud
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Rational Solution ◽  
Double Series ◽  
Mass Murder ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Natural Right ◽  
International Court ◽  
Political Interests

Right to life is non-derogable rights. A natural right that should not be revoked arbitrarily by anyone, including the state. A mass murder in events 1 October 1965 and Timor-Timor is a double series of states’ failure in protecting the rights of Indonesian peoples. Moreover, these two events get different treatment in its handling. The disparity in treatment between two cases is a big question related to the consistency of human rights enforcement in Indonesia. This study is a descriptive-qualitative research. While, to prove the truth, this study will use a comparative study. The findings show that the attitude of the United Nations that treat serious human rights violations in Timor-Timor and the events of 1965 in Indonesia, cannot be answered differently in the perspective of international law. Since it has a weakness where the political interests of ruling is very strong in influencing the decisions of the UN. The disparity in law enforcement in the event of serious human rights violations in 1965 and Timor-Timor due to the dynamics of international politics when it does not allow for the demands of human rights violations to the UNs’ International Court due to advantage for a certain state after the event. In order to reduce disparities in human rights violations, reconciliation is the most rational solution at this time compared remains demand the state for the violations. Besides, many human rights violations in certain countries that have successfully resolved through reconciliation approach.

An Analysis of the Cooperation Regime of the International Criminal Court and its Effectiveness in the Court’s Objective in Securing Suspects in its Ongoing Investigations and Prosecutions

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 937-962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Mutyaba
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The State ◽  
State Party ◽  
Enforcement Mechanism ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has to rely on the cooperation of State Parties and non-party States in the arrest and surrender of accused persons who commit crimes within the court’s jurisdiction because it lacks an enforcement mechanism to apprehend those individuals. However, a State can refuse to cooperate with the Court based on competing requests for extradition of an accused, incompatibility of the cooperation request with international law, when the execution of the cooperation request is prohibited by national law, concern that the suspect’s human rights will be violated, the cooperation request has problems that may impede or prevent the State Party from executing the request; sovereignty claims. Notwithstanding these reasons, the cases before the Court show that the ICC has been largely successful in securing the arrest and surrender of accused persons. However, alternative enforcement mechanisms of cooperation requests should be considered as a means of apprehending suspects.

Jus CogensafterGermanyv.Italy: Substantive and Procedural Rules Distinguished

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 979-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEFAN TALMON
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Limited Effect ◽  
State Immunity ◽  
The Icj ◽  
Jus Cogens ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractIn the case concerningJurisdictional Immunities of the State, the ICJ held that rules ofjus cogensdid not automatically displace hierarchically lower rules of state immunity. The Court's decision was based on the rationale that there was no conflict between these rules as the former were substantive rules while the latter were procedural in character. The ‘substantive–procedural’ distinction has been heavily criticized in the literature. Much of the criticism seems to be motivated by the unwanted result of the distinction, namely de facto impunity for the most serious human rights violations. This paper takes a step back from the alleged antinomy of human rights and state immunity and broadens the picture by looking at the relationship between substantive and procedural rules more generally. It is shown that substantive rules of ajus cogenscharacter generally leave procedural rules unaffected and, in particular, do not automatically override such rules. Substantive rules may, however, have a limited effect upon the interpretation and application of procedural rules. It is argued that the ‘substantive–procedural’ distinction is well established in international law and makes eminent sense even when substantive rules ofjus cogensand procedural rules of immunity are involved.

scholarly journals The State Duty to Protect against Human Rights Violations through Transnational Business Activities

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 13-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Krajewski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Due Diligence ◽  
Environmental Laws ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
State Practice ◽  
Duty To Protect ◽  
Respective State

Transnational corporations are currently not formally bound by international human rights obligations. Instead, states have a duty to protect individuals against human rights abuses by third parties, including corporations. While it is undisputed that this obligation extends to all individuals living on the territory of the respective state, the extraterritorial scope of the duty to protect remains contested. This is especially the case for human rights violations through transnational business activities. The state on whose territory the violation occurs has a duty to protect human rights by adopting and implementing labour and environmental laws applicable in that state. However, it is less clear if and to what extent the state of the main seat of the mother company or the global ordering company — the ‘home state’ — also has a human rights duty to regulate transnational business activity. This article argues that such a duty can be based on existing human rights doctrine and standards of general international law such as the ‘no harm’ rule and the due diligence principle. It argues that states have a duty to regulate transnational business activities of corporations over which they exercise jurisdiction if human rights violations caused by such activities are predictable and preventable. In its final part, the article assesses various approaches in state practice which could be seen as instruments in the fulfilment of the duty to regulate transnational business activities.

“We’re All Victims”

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Salvi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Derechos Humanos ◽  
The Military ◽  
National Reconciliation

While the call for “national reconciliation” as a way to avoid criminal trials for human rights violations has been a constant refrain in the discourse of the armed forces since the return to democracy in Argentina in 1983, it has been made from different positions and in response to diverse conjunctures. Changes in the rhetoric of national reconciliation have been employed as a political and extrajudicial strategy by both the military and civilians for 30 years. The proposal of national reconciliation has oscillated between the need to forget the long-term effects of an “antisubversive war” and a sort of “duty to remember” in which all Argentines are brothers in the evocation of collective pain. Aunque el llamado a la “reconciliación nacional” como una manera para evitar los juicios penales por violaciones a los derechos humanos ha sido un estribillo constante en el discurso de las fuerzas armadas desde el regreso de la democracia en la Argentina en 1983, éste se ha hecho desde diferentes posiciones y como respuesta a coyunturas diferentes. Los cambios en la retórica de la reconciliación nacional han sido usados como una estrategia política y extrajudicial tanto por los militares como por los civiles desde hace 30 años. La propuesta de reconciliación nacional ha oscilado entre la necesidad de olvidar los efectos a largo plazo de la “guerra antisubversiva” y una especie de “deber de memoria” en el que todos los argentinos están hermanados en la evocación de un dolor colectivo.

Diplomatic Assurances Against Torture – An Effective Strategy? A Review of Jurisprudence and Examination of the Arguments

2008 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 319-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lena Skoglund
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
War On Terror ◽  
The State ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Actual Risk ◽  
Substantial Risk ◽  
International Human ◽  
Controversial Area

AbstractHuman rights organisations have warned repeatedly that basic human rights are being challenged in the so-called 'War on Terror'. One particularly controversial area is the use of diplomatic assurances against torture. According to international human rights instruments, the state shall not return anyone to countries in which they face a substantial risk of being subjected to torture. In the 'War on Terror', an increasing number of non-citizens are being deemed 'security threats', rendering them exempt from protection in many Western states. To be able to deport such 'threats' without compromising their duties under international law, states are increasingly willing to accept a diplomatic assurance against torture – that is, a promise from the state of return that it will not subject the returnee to torture. There is wide disagreement as to whether and/or when diplomatic assurances can render sufficient protection to satisfy the obligations of non-refoulement to risk of torture. Whereas the human rights society label such assurances as 'empty promises', others view them as effective, allowing states to retain their right to remove non-citizens without violating international law. This article reviews international and selected national jurisprudence on the topic of diplomatic assurances against torture and examines if and/or when such assurances might render sufficient protection against torture to enable removals in accordance with international law. The courts and committees that have reviewed the use of diplomatic assurances against torture have identified essential problems of using them, thus rejecting reliance on simple promises not to torture. However, they have often implied that sufficient protection might be rendered by developing the assurances. I argue that this approach risks leading the governments into trying to perfect a system that is inherently flawed – whilst, incidentally, deportations to actual risk of torture continue. Even carefully modelled assurances render only unreliable protection against torture. For this, and reasons connected to undesirable side-effects of their use, I argue that the practice should be rejected.

Remarks by Sean D. Murphy

2020 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 193-199
Author(s):  
Sean D. Murphy ◽  
Claudio Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Human Rights Movement ◽  
Interstate System ◽  
International Human ◽  
The Individual

Our conversation might begin by looking backward a bit. The human rights movement from 1945 onward has been one of the signature accomplishments of the field of international law, one that refocused our attention from a largely interstate system to a system where the individual moved in from the periphery to the center. Human rights champions point to numerous landmark treaties, numerous institutions, and the rise of NGOs as a critical vehicle for developing and monitoring human rights rules. Yet others look at the international human right system and still see the state as overly central, tolerating and paying lip service to human rights, but too easily discarding them when they prove to be inconvenient. The persistence of racism comes to mind. As a general matter, how would you assess the strengths and weaknesses of the system that was built essentially during your lifetime?

An International Relations Perspective on the Reform Needs of the Human Rights Council

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-80
Author(s):  
Wolfgang S. Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Human Rights Council ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
The Subject

Abstract: This article approaches the matter of institutional reform of the United Nations Human Rights Council from an international relations perspective. A well-known tension exists between State representatives acting for their governments in international organisations, but whose decisions are presented as UN policies. The latter should be guided primarily by the UN Charter and public international law. However, in reality, different worldviews and foreign policy considerations play a more significant role. In a comprehensive stock-take, the article looks at four major dimensions of the Council, starting with structure and dynamics and major trends, followed by its country and thematic activities, and the role of key actors. Council reform proposals from both States and civil society are explored. Whilst the intergovernmental body remains the most important authority responsible for the protection of human rights in the international sphere, it has also been the subject of considerable criticism. Although it has made considerable progress towards enlarging its coverage and taking on more challenging human rights crises, among some of its major weaknesses are the election of human rights-unfriendly countries into its ranks, the failure to apply stronger sanctions on large, politically influential countries in the South and North, and lack of influence on human rights crises and chronic human rights problems in certain countries. Whilst various reform proposals have emerged from States and NGOs, other more far reaching propositions are under sometimes difficult negotiations. In the mid- to long-term, the UN human rights machinery can only have a stronger and more lasting impact if support from national/local actors and coalitions in politics and society can be strengthened.

The Security Council on women in war: between peacebuilding and humanitarian protection

2010 ◽  
Vol 92 (877) ◽  
pp. 197-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain-Guy Tachou-Sipowo
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Security Council ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Women In War

AbstractHaving established that massive human rights violations in armed conflict constitute a threat to peace and that women are the most severely affected by the scourge of war, the Security Council has since 1999 adopted a number of resolutions intended specifically for this group. These instruments contribute to the development of humanitarian law applicable to women and acknowledge the value of active participation by women in peace efforts. The following article first analyses the foundations on which the Council has been able to assume responsibility for protecting women in situations of armed conflict, and then considers the actual protection it provides. It concludes that the Council has had varying success in this role, pointing out that the thematic and declaratory resolutions on which it is largely based are not binding and therefore, they are relatively effective only as regards their provisions committing United Nations bodies. The author proposes that the Council's role could be better accomplished through situational resolutions than through resolutions declaratory of international law.

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