Elite School Students’ Perceptions of Human Rights: An Interview Study

Author(s):  
Arjumand Rauf ◽  
Dr. Yaar Muhammad ◽  
Dr. Ayesha Saleem

Since independence, Pakistan has been struggling to deal with its two focal phenomena. One is the culture of elite governance whereby precious chosen few can influence all societal and administrative segments of the country, and the second related to the issues in the realization of human rights. The realization of fundamental, social, cultural, and political rights depends upon how the ruling elites perceive it. Keeping in view the scenario, this qualitative study was set to explore the perceptions of elite students regarding status and issues in the realization of human rights in Pakistan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five purposely selected students from elite schools. Thematic analysis revealed that most students have a superficial understanding of human rights. Though they believed that hierarchies, corruption, religious extremism, and nepotism should come to an end for the beginning of a just society, their discourse held class interest. Transparency, accountability, and good governance were not stressed. A society with equal human rights requires participation by elites which is characterized by a greater sense of social justice, humanity, responsibility, and accountability.

Politics ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 026339572094734
Author(s):  
Marta Iñiguez de Heredia

This article explores how European Union (EU) peacebuilding is being reconfigured. Whereas the EU was once a bulwark of liberal peacebuilding, promoting a rule of law–based international order, it is now downplaying the goal of good governance and placing military capacity as central for international peace and security. Several works have analysed these changes but have not theorised militarism, despite war-waging and war-preparation have marked EU peacebuilding’s direction. The article argues that EU peacebuilding continues to expose elements of liberal militarism since its origins but is now changing from what Mabee and Vucetic call a nation-statist to an exceptionalist militarism. This shift implies that peace has ceased to be served by the intervention of sovereignty with a discourse based on the link between order, good governance, and human rights and is now premised on the upholding of sovereignty, even if that means the suspension of rights. The research draws on thematic analysis of EU documents and interviews undertaken with EU and G5 Sahel officials and managers of EU-funded peacebuilding programmes. It also briefly analyses the case of the Sahel as an example of how the build-up of states’ military capacity is strengthening states’ capacity to override human rights and repressing dissent.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah K. Tenai

The recent case of the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag of Sudan has drawn attention to the place of Islamic sharia law in contemporary, diverse and multireligious communities and nation states. Islamic sharia law was used to charge Mariam of apostasy; she was subsequently sentenced to 100 lashes followed by hanging. Religious extremism and one of its resultant effects, namely persecution, particularly of women and other minorities, is a persistent hindrance to ongoing efforts against poverty responses. Religious extremism goes against the spirit of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, of which many nation states are signatories. The Catholic vows of consecration � poverty, chastity and obedience � are very helpful perspectives that can assist in pursuing responses to religious extremism and the resultant intolerance, persecution and dispossession.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Drawing from the Roman Catholic Church�s vows of consecration, the article argues for a stance that communities can take in situations that call for solidarity with people in vulnerable situations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-148
Author(s):  
Hamida Bibi ◽  
Surat Khan

This study was conducted to critique and asses the institution of Jirga and its practice of Swara. The data was collected through vis-à-vis semi-structured interviews from the Jirgees and Swaras, the two most proximate stakeholders of the institution of Jirga. For the analysis of data, the tool of Thematic Analysis, developed by Braun and Clarke (2015), was used. The findings of the study show that Jirga — besides being unconstitutional — is involved in multifarious inhumane practices and its members are mostly uneducated. Its decisions are completely void of the canon international law and human rights. Jirga is involved in the felonious practice of Swara. Swaras — women atoned by Jirga in reprisal for an offence — are living wretched lives facing multifarious forms of violence, discrimination, humiliation and other forms of inhumane behaviors. Besides, they are suffering from depression, inferiority complexes, suicidal attempts, malnutrition, verbal abuse, etc. The findings also imply that illiteracy, passivity and condonement of the judiciary and law enforcing agencies, and the higher rate of crimes in the area are the factors contributing to the practice of Swara. In the light of the findings, the researcher recommends that the practice of reprisal reiterated by Jirga should be completely extirpated. Education should be disseminated and the government and law enforcing agencies should work in proximity to mitigate the rate of crimes in the area. The government should frame inclusive economic policies in order to promote peace and prosperity in the area.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-248
Author(s):  
Heather Tolland ◽  
Heather Laithwaite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore patient and staff views of a new intervention “Talking Groups” within a medium secure setting. Design/methodology/approach Seven patients and eight members of staff who had attended Talking Groups in the medium secure wards participated in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The analysis revealed four key themes related to the aims, content and perceived benefits of Talking Groups: information; relationship building; engagement and patient involvement in developing activities/interventions. Practical implications If Talking Groups are extended to other wards in the medium secure unit, information sessions should continue as part of the groups, as these were valued by patients and provided useful information about transition, human rights and medication. Originality/value The findings suggest that Talking Groups have benefits for patients and staff within this medium secure setting. Findings from this evaluation can be used to inform the development of Talking Groups across different wards in this unit.


2019 ◽  
pp. 171-182
Author(s):  
Henk Addink

The term ‘human rights’ has different meanings and is used in many academic subjects. It is used by lawyers and politicians, by philosophers and theologians, and, more generally, by the public. The term is used to denote a broad spectrum of very diverse rights, ranging from the right to life to the right to a cultural identity. They involve all elementary preconditions for an existence worthy of human dignity. These rights are ordered and specified in different ways. Often a distinction is made between civil and political rights on the one hand and economic, social, and cultural rights on the other. Some also add collective rights as a third group. The first group is related to restricting the powers of the state in respect of the individual. The second group often requires governments to intervene actively to create good conditions for human development, such as employment, education, and healthcare. When we speak about the right to good governance we must distinguish between the right as such and the underlying norms which are part of the principles of good governance: properness, transparency, participation, effectiveness, and accountability. This means that the underlying norms of the right to good governance are also related to these five principles. The inclusion of human rights as one of these principles here is to make it more explicit that this is not only a subjective right for the citizens but also an obligation for the government. The right and the obligation are two sides of the same coin.


2004 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17

Considering that the Constitutive Act of the African Union recognizes that freedom, equality, justice, peace and dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspiration of the African peoples; Further Considering that Article 3 of the said Constitutive Act enjoins Member States to coordinate and intensify their cooperation, unity, cohesion and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa; Cognizant of the fact that the Constitutive Act of the African Union, inter alia, calls for the need to promote and protect human and peoples' rights, consolidate democratic institutions and foster a culture of democracy and ensure good governance and the rule of law; Aware of the need to respect human dignity and to foster the promotion of economic, social, and political rights in conformity with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights and other relevant human rights instruments; Bearing in mind the 1990 Declaration on the Fundamental Changes Taking Place in the World and their Implications for Africa; the 1994 Cairo Agenda for Action Relaunching Africa's Socio-economic Transformation; and the Plan of Action Against Impunity adopted by the Nineteenth Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights in 1996 as subsequently endorsed by the Sixty fourth Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers held in Yaounde, Cameroon in 1996 which, among others, underlined the need to observe principles of good governance, the primacy of law, human rights, democratization and popular participation by the African peoples in the processes of governance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tonia Crawford ◽  
Peter Roger ◽  
Sally Candlin

Effective communication skills are important in the health care setting in order to develop rapport and trust with patients, provide reassurance, assess patients effectively and provide education in a way that patients easily understand (Candlin and Candlin, 2003). However with many nurses from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds being recruited to fill the workforce shortfall in Australia, communication across cultures with the potential for miscommunication and ensuing risks to patient safety has gained increasing focus in recent years (Shakya and Horsefall, 2000; Chiang and Crickmore, 2009). This paper reports on the first phase of a study that examines intercultural nurse patient communication from the perspective of four Registered Nurses from CALD backgrounds working in Australia. Five interrelating themes that were derived from thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews are discussed. The central theme of ‘adjustment’ was identified as fundamental to the experiences of the RNs and this theme interrelated with each of the other themes that emerged: professional experiences with communication, ways of showing respect, displaying empathy, and vulnerability.


2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-105
Author(s):  
Robert Dickson Crane

The vaunted clash of civilizations has grown into a Fourth World War of demonization against Islam. The newest strategy is to single out Islam’s essential values, deny that they exist, and assert that their absence constitutes the Islamic threat. This article shows the common identity of classical American and classical Islamic thought so that Muslims, Christians, and Jews can unite against religious extremism. Muslim jurisprudents developed the world’s most sophisticated code of human responsibilities and rights. This is now being revived as the common heritage of western civilization based on the premise that justice reflects a truth higher than man-made positivist law and on the corollary that the task of religion is to translate transcendent truth into the transcendent law of compassionate justice.


Author(s):  
Kiyoteru Tsutsui

This chapter examines the complicated history of Zainichi, Korean residents in Japan, who came to Japan during the colonial era. After 1945, Zainichi lost all citizenship rights and had to fight for many rights, but the division in the Korean peninsula cast a shadow over Zainichi communities, hampering effective activism for more rights in Japan. Focusing on the issue of fingerprinting—the most salient example of rights violations against Zainichi—the chapter demonstrates how, since the late 1970s, global human rights principles have enabled Zainichi to recast their movement as claims for universal rights regardless of citizenship and to use international forums to pressure the Japanese government, leading to the abolition of the fingerprinting practice. Zainichi achieved similar successes in other areas of rights except for political rights, where international norms do not clearly support suffrage for noncitizens. Zainichi also contributed to global human rights by advancing rights for noncitizen minorities.


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