A Shift in the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s Jurisprudence on Marriage Equality? An Analysis of Two Recent Communications from Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar I Roos ◽  
Anita Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Marriage Equality ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has not considered whether the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’) encompasses a right to marry a person of the same sex since 2002 in Joslin v New Zealand. In Joslin v New Zealand the Committee determined that the right to marry contained in article 23(2) of the ICCPR referred only to opposite-sex marriage, and it foreclosed any separate claim based on the general right of nondiscrimination contained in article 26 of the ICCPR. This article maintains that two recent communications to the Committee from Australia, C v Australia and G v Australia, prefigure a shift in the Committee’s jurisprudence on marriage equality. Although the Views adopted in 2017 by the Committee in each communication do not expressly disapprove of Joslin v New Zealand, on close analysis they support a re-interpretation of the right to marry which encompasses a right to marry a person of the same sex. In the alternative, in the event that the Committee continues to adhere to the Joslin v New Zealand interpretation of the right to marry, G v Australia and C v Australia support a determination that a State Party which fails to provide for marriage equality violates the article 26 right to non-discrimination.

scholarly journals The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the European Convention on Human Rights: a tale of two halves or a potentially unified vision of human rights?

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Broderick
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

The traditional dichotomy of rights between civil and political rights, on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights, on the other hand, has been increasingly eroded in scholarly and judicial discourse. The interdependence of the two sets of rights is a fundamental tenet of international human rights law. Nowhere is this interdependence more evident than in the context of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD or UN Convention). This article examines the indivisibility and interdependence of rights in the CRPD and, specifically, the positive obligations imposed on States Parties to the UN Convention, in particular the reasonable accommodation duty. The aim of the paper is to analyse, from a disability perspective, the approach adopted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR or ‘Strasbourg Court’) in developing the social dimension of certain civil and political rights in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), namely Articles 2 and 3 (on the right to life and the prohibition on torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, respectively), Article 8 (on the right to private and family life) and Article 14 ECHR (on non-discrimination). Ultimately, this paper examines the influence of the CRPD on the interpretation by the Strasbourg Court of the rights of persons with disabilities under the ECHR. It argues that, while the Court is building some bridges to the CRPD, the incremental and often fragmented approach adopted by the Court could be moulded into a more principled approach, guided by the CRPD.

scholarly journals ASSESSING THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE’S GENERAL COMMENT NO. 37: IS THE INTERPRETATION SUFFICIENT TO PROTECT THE FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY IN TIMES OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY?

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Sonia Widya Febriana
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right ◽  
Scope Of Protection

Implementing the right of peaceful assembly in the midst of a pandemic seems dangerous, especially when the disease is highly infectious. The United Nations Human Rights Committee then adopted General Comment No. 37 which explains the scope of protection of Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966. This writing is normative research on the interpretation made by the Human Rights Committee and assessing the sufficiency of the said interpretation in protecting the freedom of assembly in the midst of public health emergencies. It is found that the Human Rights Committee has conducted a thorough method in interpreting the protective scope of Article 21 of the ICCPR, whereas the General Comment No. 37 provides a vast protective scope, including a thorough guideline on how to conduct the freedom of assembly in times of public health emergency.

Freedom of Language: A Universal Human Right to Be Recognised

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
György Andrássy
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Moral Rights ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

Human rights as legal rights originate from human rights as pre-existing moral rights; however, as pre-existing human rights are unwritten and invisible, it is uncertain whether all of these rights have been recognised and defined properly. This article advances the thought that if there are any human rights at all and if the civil and political rights recognised and defined by the United Nations represent these pre-existing human rights, then there must be at least one more such right, the right of all to freedom of language and, therefore, the United Nations ought to recognise and define this right too.

General Comment No. 36 (2018) on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the Right to Life (H.R. Comm.)

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-871
Author(s):  
Sarah Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Right To Life ◽  
Civil And Political Rights ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

In October 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) adopted General Comment 36 on Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the guarantee of the right to life.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian MacNaughton ◽  
Mariah McGill
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Limited Capacity ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

For over two decades, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has taken a leading role in promoting human rights globally by building the capacity of people to claim their rights and governments to fulfill their obligations. This chapter examines the extent to which the right to health has evolved in the work of the OHCHR since 1994, drawing on archival records of OHCHR publications and initiatives, as well as interviews with OHCHR staff and external experts on the right to health. Analyzing this history, the chapter then points to factors that have facilitated or inhibited the mainstreaming of the right to health within the OHCHR, including (1) an increasing acceptance of economic and social rights as real human rights, (2) right-to-health champions among the leadership, (3) limited capacity and resources, and (4) challenges in moving beyond conceptualization to implementation of the right to health.

scholarly journals The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Palmer ◽  
Damien Short ◽  
Walter Auch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

Access to water, in sufficient quantities and of sufficient quality is vital for human health. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in General Comment 15, drafted 2002) argued that access to water was a condition for the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and thus a human right. On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This paper charts the international legal development of the right to water and its relevance to discussions surrounding the growth of unconventional energy and its heavy reliance on water. We consider key data from the country with arguably the most mature and extensive industry, the USA, and highlight the implications for water usage and water rights. We conclude that, given the weight of testimony of local people from our research, along with data from scientific literature, non-governmental organization (NGO) and other policy reports, that the right to water for residents living near fracking sites is likely to be severely curtailed. Even so, from the data presented here, we argue that the major issue regarding water use is the shifting of the resource from society to industry and the demonstrable lack of supply-side price signal that would demand that the industry reduce or stabilize its water demand per unit of energy produced. Thus, in the US context alone, there is considerable evidence that the human right to water will be seriously undermined by the growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry, and given its spread around the globe this could soon become a global human rights issue.

scholarly journals Designing Work with People Living with Dementia: Reflecting on a Decade of Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (22) ◽  
pp. 11742
Author(s):  
Paul A. Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Right To Work ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is widely acknowledged as a landmark document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives from all over the world, the declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard for all peoples and all nations. The declaration sets out a series of articles that articulate a number of fundamental human rights to be universally protected. Article 23 of the declaration relates to the right to work and states that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so. The right to work is enshrined in international human rights law through its inclusion in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, where the right to work emphasizes economic, social and cultural development. This paper presents ongoing research that highlights how a disruptive co-design approach contributes to upholding UN Article 23 through the creation of a series of innovative working practices developed with people living with dementia. The research, undertaken in collaboration with several voluntary and third sector organizations in the UK, looks to break the cycle of prevailing opinions, traditional mindsets, and ways-of-doing that tend to remain uncontested in the health and social care of people living with dementia. As a result, this research has produced a series of innovative work opportunities for people living with dementia and their formal and informal carers that change the perception of dementia by showing that people living with dementia are capable of designing and making desirable products and offering much to UK society after diagnosis. In this ongoing research, the right to continue to work for people living with dementia post-diagnosis in creative and innovative ways has clearly helped to reconnect them to other people, helped build their self-esteem, identity and dignity and helped keep the person with dementia connected to their community, thus delaying the need for crisis interventions. This paper reports on a series of future work initiatives for people living with dementia where we have used design as a disruptive force for good to ensure that anyone diagnosed with dementia can exercise their right to work and engage in productive and rewarding employment.

scholarly journals COOPERATION BETWEEN UKRAINE AND THE UN AT THE PRESENT STAGE

2020 ◽  
pp. 34-40
Author(s):  
K. S. Loboda
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
International Convention ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The United Nations

The article is devoted to the United Nations Organization, which turns 75 this year. The article reveals the cooperation between Ukraine and the UN. Despite the ongoing aggression by the Russian Federation, Ukraine pays special attention to the UN's efforts to maintain international peace and security, considering participation in it as an important factor in its foreign policy. Ukraine is an active participant in the activities of the UN system in the field of human rights, a party to all major UN human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Optional Protocols and the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination. Since March 2014, at the invitation of our state, the UN Monitoring Mission in the field of human rights has been operating in Ukraine, recording the human rights consequences of Russian aggression. Our country receives significant technical, advisory and financial assistance from UN specialized agencies, its funds and programs, in particular, in the areas of democratic governance, poverty alleviation, achieving the National Sustainable Development Goals, supporting public administration, combating HIV / AIDS and other serious diseases, environment. In connection with the above, it should be emphasized that Ukraine, as a founding member of the United Nations, does not stand aside, but actively cooperates with this respected international organization in all areas of its activities. Ukraine remains a supporter of strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of the UN and adapting to modern challenges in the world. Keywords: United Nations Organization, Ukraine, Security Council, human rights, peacekeeping.

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