Growing threats to environmental human rights defenders: The latest SLAPP suit developments in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 5-38
Author(s):  
Lisa Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Environmental Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Infringement ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Strategic Litigation

Human rights defenders’ lives, activism, and livelihoods are under threat globally. This is a particular reality for those working to protect land and natural resources. This article examines one of the forms in which environmental activists are being targeted in South Africa, namely the abuse of litigation processes to silence dissent, referred to as Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP suits). This article examines the development of SLAPP suits in South Africa and the impact that they have on the environmental sector and environmental rights. It then discusses some of the latest developments in SLAPP suits locally, including how in recent years, in addition to the more traditional defamation-style SLAPP suit, SLAPP suits have started to take new forms such as costs proceedings and allegations of intellectual property infringement. Lastly, this article explores possible responses to SLAPP suits, concluding that serious consideration needs to be given to anti-SLAPP legislation, the use of the special plea mechanism, and the opportunities for enhanced advocacy and solidarity action that SLAPP suits provide.

scholarly journals Increasing resource efficiency in the industrial complex ensuring environmental human rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-139
Author(s):  
Liudmyla Deineko ◽  
Mykola Sychevskiy ◽  
Olena Tsyplitska ◽  
Nadiia Grebeniuk ◽  
Oleksandr Deineko
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Business Models ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Environmental Human Rights ◽  
The Impact

The close relationship between industrial development and environmental pollution is considered the main problem of negative climate changes and the deterioration of life quality leading to an increase in mortality. In this regard, the protection of environmental human rights is of great importance. The paper aims to assess the trends of industrial influence on the human environment and the level of protection of environmental human rights in different countries through reviewing and analysis of the set of relevant studies. The paper brings novelty exploring an array of objectives for protecting human environmental rights in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, implementation of a circular and resource-efficient economy, together with the Industry 4.0 technologies for industrialized countries, including Ukraine. Most studies consider contradictions between the economic and environmental goals of both businesses and the state the main obstacle for the ecologization of industrial production. The economic feasibility of introducing more resource-efficient business models has been proved. The impact of Ukrainian industrial companies on the environment and the state of human environmental rights protection is studied. The results of the study allow stating that the resource and energy inefficiency of industrial technology in the country, as well as the weakness of state institutions in the implementation of reforms for sustainable development, is a fundamental threat to human rights and a healthy life.

A Call for Public Participation in the Treaty-making Process in South Africa: What can South Africa Learn from the Kingdom of Thailand?

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Retselisitsoe Phooko
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Future Situation ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Government ◽  
Personal Jurisdiction

On 2 August 2002 South Africa signed the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Tribunal and the Rules of Procedure Thereof, thus effectively recognising and accepting the jurisdiction of the SADC Tribunal. Among the cases received by the SADC Tribunal was a complaint involving allegations of human rights violations by the government of Zimbabwe. It ruled that the government of Zimbabwe had violated human rights. Consequently, Zimbabwe mounted a politico-legal challenge against the existence of the Tribunal. This resulted in the review of the role and functions of the Tribunal in 2011 which resulted in the Tribunal being barred from receiving new cases or proceeding with the cases that were already before it. Furthermore, on 18 August 2014, the SADC Summit adopted and signed the 2014 Protocol on the Tribunal in the SADC which disturbingly limits personal jurisdiction by denying individual access to the envisaged Tribunal, thus reducing it to an inter-state judicial forum. This article critically looks at the decision of 18 August 2014, specifically the legal implications of the Republic of South Africa’s signing of the 2014 Protocol outside the permissible procedure contained in article 37 of the SADC Protocol on the Tribunal. It proposes that South Africa should correct this democratic deficit by introducing public participation in treaty-making processes in order to prevent a future situation where the executive unilaterally withdraws from an international treaty that is meant to protect human rights at a regional level. To achieve this, this article makes a comparative study between South Africa and the Kingdom of Thailand to learn of any best practices from the latter.

The concept of human dignity in the case-law of the Supreme Court of Canada on Charter Equality Rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 118-137
Author(s):  
Tatiana Vasilieva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Equality Rights ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Additional Burden ◽  
The Impact

This article explores the evolution of the Supreme Court of Canada’s approach to the application of the concept of human dignity in constitutional equality cases. Traditionally, in human rights cases, this concept serves only to strengthen the argument, to show that the violation affects the person’s intrinsic worth. It is only in Canada and in South Africa that there is experience in applying the concept as a criterion for identifying discrimination. In 1999, in Law v. Canada, the Supreme Court recognized the purpose of Article 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982 to be the protection of human dignity and stated that discrimination must be established based on assessment of the impact of a program or law on human dignity. However, in 2008, in R. v. Kapp, the Court noted that the application of the concept of human dignity creates difficulties and places an additional burden of prove on the plaintiff. It is no coincidence that victims of discrimination have preferred to seek protection before human rights tribunals and commissions, where the dignity-based test is not used. Subsequently, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the use of the concept of human dignity as a criterion for identifying discrimination. The unsuccessful experience of applying the concept of human dignity as legal test has demonstrated that not every theoretically correct legal construction is effective in adjudication.

Vulnerable in Nature

2021 ◽  
pp. 29-52
Author(s):  
Richard P. Hiskes
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Adult Human ◽  
Environmental Human Rights ◽  
Special Priority

This chapter conceptually links children’s human rights with environmental human rights. Environmental rights initially belong to future generations because they are uniquely vulnerable to environmental harms perpetuated by those living today, and consequently belong to living generations through “reflexive reciprocity.” Children in fact represent the first, “living” future generation. Therefore they share environmental rights with future generations. Those rights are uniquely “emergent” in nature for both children and future persons; they emerge at the group level. They are also rights that take special priority over adult human rights, based on the vulnerability of both children and future groups.

Political Parties and Public Participation in Constitution Making: Legitimation, Distraction, or Real Influence?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Hudson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Participatory Methods ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Party Strength ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Constitution Making

Over the past three decades, participatory methods of constitution making have gained increasing acceptance and are now an indispensable part of any constitution-making process. Despite this, we know little about how much public participation actually affects the constitution. This article investigates the impact of participation in two groundbreaking cases: Brazil (1988) and South Africa (1996). This analysis demonstrates that public participation has relatively small effects on the text, but that it varies in systematic ways. The theory advanced here posits that party strength (especially in terms of discipline and programmatic commitments) is the key determinant of the effectiveness of public participation. Strong parties may be more effective in many ways, but they are less likely to act on input from the public in constitution-making processes.

scholarly journals The Interdependence of Labour and Environmental Rights in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-151
Author(s):  
J. Hall ◽  
M. Van Staden
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Potential Relationship ◽  
Biophysical Environment ◽  
Societal Problems

Labour and environmental rights in South Africa both originated in reaction to particular and important societal problems. Labour law has traditionally been concerned with inequalities of bargaining powers, whilst environmental law was historically concerned with protection of the biophysical environment. At first glance the two rights therefore appear to be unrelated. In view of arguments that fundamental human rights cannot be achieved in isolation. This article explores the potential relationship between the two rights. It begins by providing an overview of the intersection between labour and environmentalists during the struggle against Apartheid as a basis for identifying the priorities of both sectors in advocating for the two rights and how the divide between the two narrowed. That overview provides a backdrop for the discussion which follows regarding how the intersection between the rights has played out both within the traditional and expanded conceptualisations of labour law. The study finds that the two rights do have a dependence and that the environmental arena has provided the basis for the continuation of the fight to ensure social justice for both the traditional and extended reconceptualized approach to labour law.

Community Participation in Mahikeng Local Municipality: Power Relations Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-456
Author(s):  
Mandla Mfundo Masuku ◽  
Mokgadi Patience Molope
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Local Municipality ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Impact

In South Africa, community members have the constitutional right to partake in local governance and the local municipal council has the constitutional mandate to facilitate community participation. Qualitative research was used to assess the impact of power relations on community participation in the Mahikeng Local Municipality. The study findings indicate that power differentials contributed to the abandonment of the legislative provisions in the Mahikeng Local Municipality in the North-West Province of South Africa. Among other things, this paper recommends finalisation of the draft public participation framework. The framework should clearly identify and define the roles of the community, elected councillors and traditional authorities. The paper recommends the development of a strategy that includes clear and comprehensive public participation guidelines, protocols and processes to facilitate implementation of the framework. In consultation with the community, a detailed community participation schedule must be developed, implemented and continuously monitored and evaluated.

23. The Environment

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Barry ◽  
Kerri Woods
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Environmental Refugees ◽  
Environmental Campaigns ◽  
Environmental Human Rights ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Rights Issues

This chapter examines the ways that environmental issues affect human rights and the relevance of human rights to environmental campaigns. It also evaluates proposals for extending human rights to cover environmental rights, rights for future generations, and rights for some non-human animals. The chapter begins with a discussion of the relationship between human rights and the environment, along with the notion that all persons have ‘environmental human rights’. It then analyses the impact of the environment on human security and its implications for human rights issues before considering case studies that illustrate how environmental issues directly impact on the human rights of the so-called environmental refugees, who are displaced from lands by the threat of climate change and also by development projects. Finally, the chapter describes the link between human rights and environmental sustainability.

scholarly journals Women's Right to Land Between Collective and Individual Dimensions. Some Insights From Sub-Saharan Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Errico
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Collective Rights ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The Impact

Women represent a large part of the 2.5 billion people who depend on lands managed through customary, community-based tenure systems and are especially reliant on commons for their lives and livelihoods. They have very often limited and unsecured access to land and natural resources and tend to be excluded from decisions concerning them. Far from representing a homogenous group, they face varying challenges that are the result of multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, whereby gender dynamics intersect with other characteristics, such as age, disability, ethnic origin, or socioeconomic status. Peasant and indigenous women, in many instances, face the compounded impact of the lack of recognition and violation of the collective rights of their communities, which is often the legacy of histories of colonization, conquest, dispossession and discrimination, and patriarchal norms, exacerbated by neoliberalism and the commodification of land and natural resources. The nexus between individual and collective rights is one of particular importance, but has received limited attention, including as regards the gendered effects of human rights violations of collective rights. In the present article, the nexus between collective and individual rights of peasant and indigenous women is illustrated by considering the experience surrounding the recognition and implementation of collective rights to land in Sub-Saharan Africa and the impact on women's right to land. The article argues that peasant and indigenous women's right to land is best protected through interventions aimed at guaranteeing both their collective and individual rights. There is a need to take into account and address simultaneously the barriers that indigenous and peasant women face with regard to their collective as well as their individual rights. These barriers include those ascribed to the discrimination and social, economic and political marginalization suffered by their peoples and communities, as well as those related to patriarchal power structures within and outside them. Addressing these barriers requires the respect, protection and fulfillment of both collective and individual human rights of women and a careful analysis of the interaction between these rights.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document