Human rights violations by war crimes: Theory and practice

Author(s):  
Volodymyr P. Pylypenko ◽  
Khrystyna T. Sliusarchuk ◽  
Pavlo B. Pylypyshyn ◽  
Svitlana V. Boichenko

This paper provides a comprehensive study of theoretical and practical issues of violation of human rights by war crimes, protection of legitimate interests of individuals in national and international law as a result of such violation. The purpose of this study is a comprehensive analysis of theoretical and applied issues related to the protection of violated rights and legitimate interests of individuals in public international law as a result of the commission of war crimes, and the formulation of scientifically sound proposals for improving the current legislation of Ukraine and the practice of its application in this area. The paper analyses the current scientific opinions and legislation on the regulation of illegal acts and liability for damage caused to victims as a result of violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms by war crimes. Furthermore, the existing forms, methods, and means of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of such persons in Ukraine and in the international arena were determined. The paper also provides a comprehensive study of the existing concept, legal nature and main features of war crimes and their legal regulation in Ukrainian legislation. Legislative amendments to the regulations governing this issue are proposed and the study justifies the position regarding the existence of an exclusively judicial procedure for resolving issues of human rights violations by war crimes, the result of which should be the adoption of a court decision. As a result of the study, the current scientific statements and achievements are clearly identified, as well as those that have emerged due to the constant development of public relations and substantial changes in international relations of various states, which causes armed conflicts and war crimes. One of the achievements of the scientific study is the proof of the importance of the problem of violated human rights in modern society and the extreme need for its research. After all, modern legislation requires substantial changes and improvement of the existing provisions with the subsequent possibility of their practical application

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofia Galani

Hostage-taking has increased in recent years and has become a problem of worldwide concern. Terrorists and pirates have used hostages in a rising number of incidents and the violence used has escalated alarmingly. Sofia Galani examines the taking of hostages from a victim's perspective, arguing that the international community has failed to protect them. By evaluating various international law concepts and frameworks, including jurisdiction in international law, state responsibility and international human rights law, Galani explains why we are still far from recognizing hostages as victims of human rights violations. She then addresses the question of what can be done to safeguard the human rights of hostages both in theory and practice. Being the first comprehensive study of the human rights of hostages, this book fills a critical gap in the literature for human rights lawyers and researchers in the field.


Author(s):  
Gisela Hirschmann

How can international organizations (IOs) like the United Nations (UN) and their implementing partners be held accountable if their actions and policies violate fundamental human rights? Political scientists and legal scholars have shed a much-needed light on the limits of traditional accountability when it comes to complex global governance. However, conventional studies on IO accountability fail to systematically analyze a related, puzzling empirical trend: human rights violations that occur in the context of global governance do not go unnoticed altogether; they are investigated and sanctioned by independent third parties. This book puts forward the concept of pluralist accountability, whereby third parties hold IOs and their implementing partners accountable for human rights violations. We can expect pluralist accountability to evolve if a competitive environment stimulates third parties to enact accountability and if the implementing actors are vulnerable to human rights demands. Based on a comprehensive study of UN-mandated operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo, the European Union Troika’s austerity policy, and global public–private health partnerships in India, this book demonstrates how competition and human rights vulnerability shape the evolution of pluralist accountability in response to diverse human rights violations, such as human trafficking, the violation of the rights of detainees, economic rights, and the right to consent in clinical trials. While highlighting the importance of studying alternative accountability mechanisms, this book also argues that pluralist accountability should not be regarded as a panacea for IOs’ legitimacy problems, as it is often less legalized and might cause multiple accountability disorder.


Author(s):  
Viktoriia V. Haltsova ◽  
Sergiy O. Kharytonov ◽  
Oleksandr M. Khramtsov ◽  
Oleksandr O. Zhytnyi ◽  
Andrii A. Vasyliev

This paper is a comprehensive study of the problems of criminal law as a remedy for human rights and freedoms in the modern world. The relevance of this subject lies in the systematic violations of constitutional human rights and freedoms and the inaction of the criminal law in such cases. Nowadays, the criminal law as a remedy for human rights and freedoms in national and international law is described by imperfection in its adaptation to rapidly changing social relations, which, accordingly, leads to problems in their legal protection. There are various reasons for this in the legal sphere, such as gaps in the legal provisions, conflicts of legal regulation and inconsistency of the rules of legislation with existing public relations in the state. All of the above determines the relevance of the subject matter of this study. Thus, the purpose of this study was a comprehensive analysis of theoretical and applied issues relating to the remedies for human rights and legitimate interests against socially dangerous encroachments, and the formulation of scientifically sound proposals for improving the current legislation of Ukraine and the practice of its application in this area. Ultimately, this study identified the legal characteristics of human rights and freedoms at both the national and international levels. The remedies for rights were demonstrated through the lens of criminal law. In addition, the study analysed the forms of implementation of international practice in the national legislation of Ukraine as a remedy for human rights and freedoms in the modern world. The significance of the results of this study was expressed in the further research of related subjects concerning this issue, namely the history of the development of EU criminal law standards and the historical establishment of the concept of human and citizen rights and legitimate interests. Furthermore, the materials of this study can be used in the preparation of educational materials, methodological recommendations, as well as training in various fields of legal science. This, in turn, will allow properly using the criminal law protection of human rights and freedoms without violations on the part of criminal justice bodies


2010 ◽  
Vol 92 (877) ◽  
pp. 197-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain-Guy Tachou-Sipowo

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.


Author(s):  
Jeremy Sarkin

This article explores the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) in the post-Libya era to determinewhether it is now an accepted norm of international law. It examines what RtoP means intoday`s world and whether the norm now means that steps will be taken against states thatare committing serious human rights violations. The building blocks of RtoP are examined tosee how to make the doctrine more relevant and more applicable. It is contended that theresponsibility to react should be viewed through a much wider lens and that it needs to bemore widely interpreted to allow it to gain greater support. It is argued that there is a need tofocus far more on the responsibility to rebuild and that it ought to focus on the transitionallegal architecture as well as transitional justice. It is contended that these processes ought notto be one-dimensional, but ought to have a variety of constituent parts. It is further arguedthat the international and donor community ought to be far more engaged and far moredirective in these projects.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 349
Author(s):  
Aidir Amin Daud

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.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Klinkner

In the aftermath of conflict and gross human rights violations, victims have a right to know what happened to their loved ones. Such a right is compromised if mass graves are not adequately protected to preserve evidence, facilitate identification and repatriation of the dead and enable a full and effective investigation to be conducted. Despite guidelines for investigations of the missing, and legal obligations under international law, it is not expressly clear how these mass graves are best legally protected and by whom. This article asks why, to date, there are no unified mass-grave protection guidelines that could serve as a model for states, authorities or international bodies when faced with gross human rights violations or armed conflicts resulting in mass graves. The paper suggests a practical agenda for working towards a more comprehensive set of legal guidelines to protect mass graves.


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