Policies on Social Minorities and Human Rights Discourse : Focusing on Migrant Workers and Sexual Minorities

The Gulf region has emerged as one of the largest hubs of international migration and more recently has also become a site of contestation for debates over the treatment of international labour migrants. This paper reviews the labour migration system in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, studies the unfolding human rights discourse on Gulf migration, and examines how Islamic principles might be applied to the labour reforms taking place in these countries. The paper suggests that there is a fragmented landscape around the human rights discourse of migrant workers globally. There are also tensions around the adoption of international human rights norms as a framework for addressing the vulnerabilities of Gulf migrants. In conclusion, the paper argues that the category of current Gulf labour migrant is best served if placed within the Islamic view of how an ethical economy ought to function. Islamic precepts on the ‘humane’ economy can serve to provide guidance on how to balance the interests of workers and employers, and elevate the standards for migrant workers’ rights in this region.

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‘No longer exiled, but protagonists’. The FILEF (Italian Federation of Migrant Workers and Families) and European human rights discourse in the 1970s

Modern Italy ◽

10.1017/mit.2021.27 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

Francesco Vizzarri

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Civil Rights ◽

Migrant Workers ◽

European Parliament ◽

European Countries ◽

Free Movement ◽

Community Regulation ◽

Transnational Network ◽

Rights Discourse ◽

Human Rights Discourse

This article examines the contribution of the FILEF (Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Migranti e Famiglie) to the European debate on the human, social and civil rights of migrant workers during the 1970s. Through the project of an ‘International Statute of Migrant Workers’ Rights’, presented to the European Parliament in 1971, FILEF submitted a proposal for the reform of the 1968 Community Regulation on the Free Movement of Migrant Workers in Europe in order to extend to workers from non-European countries the same rights and protections accorded to those from the EEC area. The analysis is focused on the discussion around the proposal in the committees of the European Parliament as well as on the debate that developed within the transnational network of the FILEF during the international conferences organised by the Federation from the mid-1970s until the early 1980s.

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Housing as a Basic Human Right: A Reflection on South Africa

SOUTHERN AFRICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ◽

10.25159/2415-5829/4177 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mziwandile Sobantu ◽

Nqobile Zulu ◽

Ntandoyenkosi Maphosa

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Human Rights ◽

Social Development ◽

Urban Poor ◽

Active Role ◽

Human Right ◽

Economic Rights ◽

Development Agenda ◽

Rights Discourse ◽

Human Rights Discourse

This paper reflects on human rights in the post-apartheid South Africa housing context from a social development lens. The Constitution guarantees access to adequate housing as a basic human right, a prerequisite for the optimum development of individuals, families and communities. Without the other related socio-economic rights, the provision of access to housing is limited in its service delivery. We argue that housing rights are inseparable from the broader human rights discourse and social development endeavours underway in the country. While government has made much progress through the Reconstruction and Development Programme, the reality of informal settlements and backyard shacks continues to undermine the human rights prospects of the urban poor. Forced evictions undermine some poor citizens’ human rights leading courts to play an active role in enforcing housing and human rights through establishing a jurisprudence that invariably advances a social development agenda. The authors argue that the post-1994 government needs to galvanise the citizenship of the urban poor through development-oriented housing delivery.

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The Internationalization Of Human Rights And The Importance Of Normative Dialogues Between International And National Courts

Revista Jurídica ◽

10.29248/2236-5788.2017v17i2.p137-149 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 137

Author(s):

Mariane Morato Stival ◽

Marcos André Ribeiro ◽

Daniel Gonçalves Mendes da Costa

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

The Other ◽

Human Rights Protection ◽

Rights Protection ◽

National Courts ◽

European Court ◽

Differences Of Opinion ◽

Rights Discourse ◽

Different Characteristics ◽

Human Rights Discourse

This article intends to analyze in the context of the complexity of the process of internationalization of human rights, the definitions and tensions between cultural universalism and relativism, the essence of human rights discourse, its basic norms and an analysis of the normative dialogues in case decisions involving violations of human rights in international tribunals such as the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and national courts. The well-established dialogue between courts can bring convergences closer together and remove differences of opinion on human rights protection. A new dynamic can occur through a complementarity of one court with respect to the other, even with the different characteristics between the legal orders.

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