International Dispositive of Human Rights and the Narrative of Tragedy: Focusing on a Case study of North Korean Refugees in Germany

The implementation of international human rights law in federal States is an underexplored process. Subnational entities regularly enjoy a degree of sovereignty, which raises questions such as whether they implement obligations of international law and how the federal level may ensure that implementation takes place at the subnational level. This article aims to answer these questions, using the implementation of the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Convention) in Switzerland as a case study. To implement the Convention at the cantonal level, federal actors decided to use networks of civil servants in charge of domestic violence issues, who act as governmental human rights focal points (GHRFPs). This article is based on original empirical data, on 25 interviews with State officials who participate in this implementation. The findings show how complex GHRFPs networks work in practice to implement the Convention and highlight the role played by numerous non-legal State actors in this process. As a result, the article argues that international human rights law implementation becomes more diversified both within and across federal States.

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Criminogenic Policy Antithetical to Peace Policy: A Case Study of NAFTA as a Violation of International Law

Humanity & Society ◽

10.1177/0160597620932893 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 016059762093289

Author(s):

Daniel Patten

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

International Law ◽

Free Trade Agreement ◽

Trade Agreement ◽

Negotiation Process ◽

Study Analysis ◽

Business Investment ◽

Written Text ◽

Case Study Analysis

Successful peace policy that enshrines human rights allows individuals to thrive economically, politically, and socially with minimal conflict. Building from literature on crimes of globalization, genocide, and human rights, the current research investigates the concept of a criminogenic policy that at its core is antithetical to peace policy. Using case study analysis, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is found to be both criminal and criminogenic in violation of international law for two primary reasons. First, the NAFTA negotiation process was criminal and criminogenic for three interrelated reasons: (1) powerful elites heavily influenced the outcome, (2) it was undemocratic, and (3) the opposition was often repressed. Second, the NAFTA policy itself was criminal and criminogenic for two reasons: (1) NAFTA as a policy ignored all of the critical voices that predicted negative outcomes and (2) the written text of NAFTA is criminal for failing to include human rights protections while offering a litany of rights to protect business investment.

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A Qualitative Case Study on Influencing Factors of Parents’ Child Abuse of North Korean Refugees in South Korea

Healthcare ◽

10.3390/healthcare9010049 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 49

Author(s):

Wonjung Ryu ◽

Hyerin Yang

Keyword(s):

Child Abuse ◽

South Korea ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Acculturative Stress ◽

North Korean Refugees ◽

Korean Parents ◽

Before And After ◽

Maternal Parenting Stress ◽

Past Experiences

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influencing factors of parental child abuse by North Korean refugees who are living in South Korea. In-depth interviews were conducted with five parents who escaped from North Korea. The study identified three categories of factors impacting child abuse: the weakening of family functions from past experiences before and after defection, the stress of adapting to the culture of an unfamiliar society, and low parenting self-efficacy. North Korean parents suffered from emotional and functional crises from past traumatic events and, at the same time, experienced additional acculturative stress as a “minority” after entering South Korea, even as they continued to deal with Maternal Parenting Stress. These complex factors have been shown to lead to child abuse in migrant societies. This study contemplated the context of child abuse through specific examples. The results could provide thoughtful insights into child abuse among migrants and refugee parents, and provide evidence-based intervention plans for its prevention.

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SADC Mediation in Zimbabwe's Global Political Agreement (GPA): A Reflection on Opportunities and Complexities

Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review ◽

10.4102/apsdpr.v2i2.51 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 21

Author(s):

Modeni M. Sibanda

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Coming Out ◽

Democratic Institutions ◽

Member States ◽

Peace And Security ◽

Universal Human Rights ◽

Regional Organisation ◽

Power And Authority

This article analyses the opportunities and complexities of the SADC mediation in Zimbabwe’s Global Political Agreement (GPA) in facilitating and operationalising theprinciples and values of peace, security, human rights and democracy as set out in Article 4 of the SADC treaty. It attempts to interrogate the extent to which the regional grouping’s mechanisms for enforcing its principles and values have been successful. The article argues that despite SADC’s noble commitment to promoting the development of democratic institutions and practices, as well as encouraging the observance of universal human rights, peace and security, the resolution of the Zimbabwe crisis shows that, in practice, the operationalisation of SADC protocol principles and values have been a sorry saga of delays, secrecy, purported agreements and nothing concrete coming out of it. Using the Zimbabwe case study, this article further argues that SADC either lacks appropriate power and authority or is reluctant to hold member states accountable. This seems so, given that as a regional body, it has allowed itself to be utterly inadequate to the task envisioned by the organ in resolving the Zimbabwe crisis. The paper concludes that the sum of all this has had the effect of exposing SADC and it being perceived as a weak regional organisation.

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The Politics of Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Law

Asia Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law ◽

10.1163/15718158-01601006 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (1-2) ◽

pp. 104-149 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Deepika Udagama

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Political Violence ◽

Social Indicators ◽

Interesting Case ◽

International Human Rights Law ◽

Human Rights Law ◽

International Human Rights ◽

Political Factors ◽

International Human

Domestic application of international human rights law may encounter more serious obstacles than purely doctrinal constraints due to political factors. Sri Lanka offers an interesting case study in that regard. Once a committed democracy with high social indicators, it descended into authoritarianism and political violence a few decades after independence. This article examines the interplay between Sri Lanka’s dualist legal system and its international human rights obligations and points to how the relationship is increasingly being defined by political factors than doctrinal complexities. It argues that in such circumstances remedial action may lie more within the political arena than before legal forums.

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