The political and cultural climate of the 1930s ignited an ecumenical movement of mainline Protestant churches across England, North America, and Europe. War and its accompanying chaos prompted Christian leaders to define a new global order, one based on a "just and durable" peace and centralized around human rights. Churches, missionary societies, and new Christian communities came together under the guidance of political and religious leaders to form the basis of a post-war world organization. This organization, strengthened by the United States commitment to a new global order, secured the establishment of a Commission on Human Rights, which later aided the passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The question of realizing human rights in South Africa is intrinsically linked to the question of how the society deals with the realities of continuing structural oppression, racism, poverty and disadvantage, that are still endemic. It will be argued that what is required is a large scale redistribution of economic resources, a transformation of the way in which ,race' is constructed, and the development of critical consciousness about social realities, structural oppression, human rights and liberation. The role that social work practice with its ideals of empowerment, within a developmental social welfare context and drawing on the critical pedagogical approach of Paulo Freire (1973) is considered as one of the ways in which the realization of human rights may be facilitated in South Africa. (DIPF/Orig.) ; Die Autorin zeigt, dass obwohl die Verfassung des südafrikanischen Post-Apartheid-Staates auf die Prinzipien der Förderung, des Schutzes und der Realisierung von Menschenrechten aufhaut (promote, protect and fulfill human rights), auch zehn Jahre nach dem Ende der Apartheid diese Werte und Rechte durch extreme Armut und die Ungleichverteilung der Machtverhältnisse konterkariert werden. Sie argumentiert, dass die Entwicklung Südafrikas als ,Regenbogennation' - einem von Nelson Mandela geprägten Begriff - von der Neu- und Umverteilung der Ressourcen und vor allem von der Dekonstruktion sozialer und ethnischer (racial) Bevölkerungsgruppen abhängt. Menschenrechtsbezogene Bildungs- und Sozialarbeit kann aus Sicht der Autorin dazu beitragen, die kritische Reflexion über die sozialen Beziehungen, strukturelle Unterdrückung, Menschenrechte und Befreiung anzuregen und zu befördern. An den Beginn ihrer Ausführung stellt die Autorin ein Beispiel aus der Praxis Sozialer Arbeit, das die konkrete Gefährdung und Missachtung vor allem der sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Menschenrechte in Südafrika - und somit auch die Anforderungen an die Soziale Arbeit – illustriert. (DIPF/Orig.)
The recent backlash against homosexuality in Uganda, culminating in the introduction of the 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, has focused tremendous attention on the role religious activists have played in shaping Ugandan attitudes about sexuality. Drawing on long-term fieldwork among the Ugandan born-again Christians at the center of this controversy, I argue that anti-homosexual rhetoric is animated by something more than a parroting of American homophobia. Rather, it reflects a tension between two divergent frameworks for ethical personhood in Uganda, one related to the Ganda value of ekitiibwa or "respect/honor," and the other based in a discourse of rights, autonomy, and "freedom." The born-again rejection of a rights-based discourse is analyzed in relation to broader anxieties generated by a neoliberal emphasis on the autonomous, "empowered" individual during a period of growing inequality and economic and political dissatisfaction in Uganda.
Colombia is a country rich in natural assets and human capital and enjoys a generally favorable economic outlook. It is also a country that faces significant social and economic challenges, many of which are made more severe by ongoing armed conflict. This report focuses on the role business can play to help mitigate the impact of conflict on the vulnerable and socially excluded, as well as how companies can organize and align core operations, corporate citizenship and engagement in public policy to promote human rights, peace and development. (IBLF/GIGA)
Discusses the ongoing denial of human rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender people around the world, which has implications for their health. While the United Nations offer some support for LGBT human rights, it is not a perfect forum for claiming those rights because of the threat of opposition from various sectors, including the Vatican &, recently, the US. References. Adapted from the source document.
In October 1998 the former military dictator of Chile, General Augusto Pinochet, was arrested in London and forced to face extradition proceedings to Spain, where a Spanish judge threatened to put him on trial for human rights violations. Pinochet's arrest outraged the armed forces and conservative sectors in Chile, while it elated human rights defenders and Chileans on the left. For both groups Pinochet's arrest opened up the possibility that the retired general would be forced to answer to accusations about the conduct of his regime. This article analyzes the impact of Pinochet's arrest and argues that the subsequent reinvigoration of human rights policy in Chile was as much the result of domestic changes within Chile as it was a consequence of actions taken by international actors. The article analyzes the evolution of human rights policy in Chile before, during, and after Pinochet's arrest and demonstrates that government policy reflected the changing interplay among competing interests. Even prior to Pinochet's arrest, the government took advantage of growing pragmatism on the right and opportunities for institutional reform in order to transform the legal climate and open the door for a new jurisprudence that reinterpreted how and when amnesty should be applied. While the government went on to protest Pinochet's detention, it used the fact of international judicial intervention to move even further toward creating conditions in Chile that would allow Pinochet to be tried at home rather than abroad. All in all, the article offers insights into the confluence of domestic and international influences in human rights policy.
This essay investigates the adequacy of the constitutional provisions in Kenya that guarantee judges' security of tenure. The author argues that the inadequacy of the tenure provisions explain, to some extent, why the Kenyan judiciary has failed to be at the forefront of the implementation of the Bill of Rights. He suggests that the judiciary has been too fearful of the government to fulfil this task given to it by the constitution. He concludes by proposing a new agenda that would facilitate the realisation of judges' security of tenure through, inter alia, the creation of safeguards against executive encroachment on judges' security of tenure. (DÜI-Hff)
During the 1970s and the 1980s, Latin America witnessed widespread violations of human rights. However, from the early 1980s, the beginning of democratic transition in the region led to an intense debate on impunity and the controversial "right to truth": the right to learn about what had occurred under past repressive rule. The research on impunity and the right to truth in Latin America has mostly been focused on national approaches or the efforts of the UN. Hitherto, the general role of the inter-American human rights system has barely been analysed, despite its remarkable role during the repressive period of the 1970s and early 1980s. Hence, this article will supplement existing research efforts by shedding some light on the performance of the Organisation of American States (OAS) regarding impunity and the right to truth. Whether there was a general strategy in the OAS to address the problem and what perspectives for the inter-American system exist in this regard are some of the main questions addressed by this article.
During the 1970s and the 1980s, Latin America witnessed widespread violations of human rights. However, from the early 1980s, the beginning of democratic transition in the region led to an intense debate on impunity and the controversial "right to truth": the right to learn about what had occurred under past repressive rule. The research on impunity and the right to truth in Latin America has mostly been focused on national approaches or the efforts of the UN. Hitherto, the general role of the inter-American human rights system has barely been analysed, despite its remarkable role during the repressive period of the 1970s and early 1980s. Hence, this article will supplement existing research efforts by shedding some light on the performance of the Organisation of American States (OAS) regarding impunity and the right to truth. Whether there was a general strategy in the OAS to address the problem and what perspectives for the inter-American system exist in this regard are some of the main questions addressed by this article.
This paper focuses on the key human rights consequences of the HIV screening policy that applies to all permanent and some temporary resident applicants to Canada. This mandatory policy was introduced in early 2002 by Citizenship and Immigration Canada after consultation with Health Canada. The policy has yet to be evaluated and, until recently, the actualities of the medical encounters where testing occurs in domestic and international settings have not been researched. There is no systematic documentation of the policy's implications on either the lives of persons who submit to mandatory testing or on health systems. This article argues that there are sound options for responding to the human rights challenges posed by the screening policy. Data were obtained from secondary literature and findings from empirical fieldwork and research among immigrants living with HIV/AIDS in Canada. This paper adds to theoretical and applied health services and interventions work by focusing attention on avenues for addressing key human rights concerns posed by the policy. These are identified and critically explored through the framework that Lawrence Gostin and the late Jonathan Mann developed in 1999, which was later extended by Barry Hoffmaster and Ted Schrecker in 2000. The article concludes with four recommendations for addressing the central human rights consequences of the policy. Adapted from the source document.
