Reflections on human rights and contemporary challenges raised by national security discourse

Author(s):  
Kasey McCall-Smith ◽  
Andrea Birdsall ◽  
Elisenda Casanas Adam
Refuge ◽  
2002 ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reg Whitaker

Conventional wisdom holds that the terrorist attacks of September 11 have “changed everything.” In the case of refugee policy, it would appear the salience of security and enforcement aspects has increased at the expense of human rights and humanitarian concerns. In the light of actual practices in the immigration and refugee security field in recent years, there is actually more continuity than discontinuity resulting from the current crisis. Existing standards and procedures are confirmed, rather than altered, by new legislation and practices. Refugee policies have increasingly been understood within a national security discourse, well before September 11.


Author(s):  
Juan E Falconi Puig

This chapter addresses some of the controversial issues relating to the inviolability of mission premises. The Yvonne Fletcher incident of 1984 led to debates about the need to upgrade or reform the VCDR in that regard; and the United Kingdom, as a direct consequence of the incident, adopted the ‘Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987’ to be able to adopt unilateral measures to remove premises immunity where threats to national security, to public integrity and/or the need of urban planning exist. Domestic legislation of this kind, however, also provides ground for conflicts with the VCDR. This chapter explores conflicts between property immunity and issues such as access to justice, human rights, and terrorism and examines ways of overcoming such difficulties through mechanisms which safeguard diplomatic privileges and immunity to allow the pursuit of diplomatic functions.


Author(s):  
Kent Roach

This chapter examines the distinct operational and ethical challenges that prosecutors face in national security and especially terrorism cases. The second part of this chapter focuses on the operational challenges that prosecutors face. These include demands for specialization that may be difficult to fulfill given the relative rarity of national security prosecutions; the availability of special investigative powers not normally available in other criminal cases; exceptionally broad and complex offenses; and the demands of federalism and international cooperation. The third part examines ethical and normative challenges that run throughout the many operational aspects of the prosecutorial role in national security cases. These include the challenges of ensuring that often exceptional national security laws are enforced in a manner consistent with the rule of law and human rights. There are also challenges of maintaining an appropriate balance between legitimate claims of secrecy and legitimate demands for disclosure and between maintaining prosecutorial independence and discretion while recognizing the whole of government and whole of society effects of the many difficult decisions that prosecutors must make in national security cases.


Author(s):  
Stepan Burda ◽  

The article describes the criminal liability for rape in the context of amendments to Art. 152 of the Criminal code of Ukraine. It is noted that sexual freedom and sexual integrity are among the most important personal human rights. It is regulated by the Basic Law of our state and no wonder the legislator placed this object of encroachment in the first sections of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after such as the basics of national security, life and health, will, honor and dignity of the person. Violation of these rights is reflected in the mental state of the victim, has a direct impact on the health, normal life of the person. It is established that the separation of Section IV "Criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a person" in the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine means increasing the state's attention to the state of sexual relations in Ukraine. Sexual freedom and inviolability are among the most important personal human rights. It is regulated by the Basic Law of our state and not without reason the legislator placed this object of encroachment in the first sections of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after such as the basics of national security, life and health, will, honor and dignity of the person. Violation of these rights is reflected in the mental state of the victim, has a direct impact on the health, normal life of the person. It should be noted that criminal offenses against the life and health of a person, criminal offenses against the honor of freedom and dignity of a person, criminal offenses against sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a person are the most serious and terrible of all existing in the modern Criminal Code of Ukraine. these crimes, in addition to severe physical trauma, leave in the minds of the victim, his relatives and friends great and horrible memories that last a lifetime, traumatize the psyche and often lead to suicide of victims who can not be rehabilitated. The opinion is expressed that in the disposition of Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine there is a certain uncertainty in the question of which


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