Publications of the HRC Members
Macroeconomic Policy and Human Rights
by
Prof. Diane Elson/Radhika Balakrishnan (due to December
2011)
Macroeconomic Policy and Human Rights presents a powerful critique of three
decades of neoliberal economic policies, assessed from the perspective of agreed
upon human rights norms. In doing so, it brings together two areas of thought
and action that have hitherto been separate: progressive economics concerned
with promoting economic justice and human development; and human rights analysis
and advocacy. Focussing on in-depth comparative case studies of the USA and
Mexico and looking at issues such as public expenditure, taxation and
international trade, the book shows that heterodox economic analysis benefits
greatly from a deeper understanding of a human rights framework. This is
something progressive economists have often been skeptical of, regarding it as
overly individualistic, not grounded in an understanding of economic issues, or
too deeply entrenched in 'Western' norms, discourses and agendas. While such
criticisms have some validity, the categorical rejection of the human rights
framework is unwarranted. Instead, they can provide an invaluable ethical and
accountability framework, challenging a narrow focus on efficiency and growth.
This is an vital book for anyone interested in human rights and harnessing
economics to create a better world.
Human Rights: Confronting Myths and Misunderstandings
This comprehensive book offers both an introduction and a critical analysis of
enduring themes and issues in the contemporary theory and practice of human
rights. Providing a multi-disciplinary analysis it engages with philosophical,
political and social approaches to the subject of human rights. Andrew Fagan
argues that the moral authority and practical efficacy of human rights are
adversely affected by a range of myths and misunderstandings - from claims
regarding the moral status of human rights as a fully comprehensive moral
doctrine to the view that the possession of rights is antithetical to
recognising the importance of moral duties. The author also examines the claim
made by some that human rights ultimately only exists as legal phenomena and
that nation-states are inherently hostile to the spirit of human rights. This
book will challenge people to reconsider their understanding of human rights as
a global moral outlook. This monograph will become essential reading for both
postgraduate and undergraduate students interested in the field of human rights.
It will also be invaluable to academics, researchers and human rights
practitioners involved in the human rights debate.
The Atlas of Human Rights: Mapping Violations of Freedom Worldwide
Human rights have become synonymous with legal, political, social and even
economic justice - as a means of overcoming oppression and discrimination
irrespective of nationality, class, creed, gender, ethnicity, or even
ideological commitment. As global governments are increasingly using a threat of
terrorism to tighten national security, this critical investigation reveals
inequities within the various interpretations of human rights and their
applications worldwide. It covers a wide range of topics - from unfair detention
and torture to racism, rape and child soldiers - and is divided into seven key
parts: state, identity and citizenship; judicial violations and legal
restrictions; freedom of expression and censorship; conflict and migration;
discrimination; women's rights; and, rights of the child.
Asylum, Welfare and the Cosmopolitan
Asylum, Welfare and the Cosmopolitan Ideal:
A Sociology of Rights
puts forward the argument that rights must be understood as part of a social
process: a terrain for strategies of inclusion and exclusion but also of
contestation and negotiation. Engaging debate about how ‘cosmopolitan’
principles and practices may be transforming national sovereignty, Lydia Morris
explores this premise through a case study of legal activism, civil society
mobilisation, and judicial decision-making. The book documents government
attempts to use destitution as a deterrent to control asylum numbers, and
examines a series of legal challenges to this policy, spanning a period both
before and after the Human Rights Act. Lydia Morris shows how human rights can
be used as a tool for radical change, and in so doing proposes a multi-layered
'model' for understanding rights. This incorporates political strategy, public
policy, civil society mobilisation, judicial decision-making, and their public
impact, and advances a dynamic understanding of rights as part of the recurrent
encounter between principles and politics. Rights are therefore seen as both a
social product and a social force.
Treatment of Prisoners Under International Law
This is the third edition of the pioneering work that has
become the standard text in the field. The first edition was one
of the earliest to establish that the newly-developing
international law of human rights could be set down as any other
branch of international law. It also incorporates the
complementary fields of international humanitarian law and
international criminal law, while addressing the problems
associated with their interaction with human rights law.
The book is more than a descriptive analysis of the field. It
acknowledges areas of unclarity or where developments may be
embryonic. Solutions are offered. Recent developments have
confirmed the value of solutions proposed in this edition and
the previous one.
Central to most of the chapters is the human rights norm of most
salience in the treatment of prisoners, namely, the prohibition
of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment. The early chapters focus on the period of first
detention, when detainees are most at risk of having information
or confessions, however unreliable, extracted by unlawful means.
Voices contemplating the legitimacy of such treatment to combat
terrorism have been heard in the wake of the atrocities of 11
September 2001. The book finds that the evidence clearly
suggests that the absolute prohibition of such treatment remains
firm.
Other chapters deal with problems of poor prison conditions and
of certain extraordinary penalties, notably corporal and capital
punishment. A chapter explores ethical codes for members of
professions capable of inflicting or preventing the prohibited
behavior (police and medical and legal professionals). Chapters
are also devoted to the extreme practice of enforced
disappearance and the contribution of the new convention on this
phenomenon, as well as to extra-legal executions.
Measuring Human Rights
The measurement of human rights has long been
debated within the various academic disciplines that
focus on human rights, as well as within the larger
international community of practitioners working in
the field of human rights.
Written by leading experts in the field, this is the most up-to-date and
comprehensive book on how to measure human rights.
Measuring Human Rights:
-
draws explicitly on the international law of
human rights to derive the content of human
rights that ought to be measured
-
contains a comprehensive methodological
framework for operationalizing this human rights
content into human rights measures
-
includes separate chapters on the methods,
strengths and biases of different human rights
measures, including events-based,
standards-based, survey-based, and
socio-economic and administrative statistics
-
covers measures of civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights
-
includes a complete bibliography, as well as
sources and locations for data sets useful for
the measurement of human rights.
This volume offers a significant and timely addition to this important area
of work in the field of human rights, and will be of interest to academics and
NGOs, INGOs, international governmental organizations, international financial
institutions, and national governments themselves.
Rights: Sociological Perspective
This pioneering book demonstrates how different
traditions of sociological thought can contribute to
an understanding of the theory and practice of
rights. It provides a sociological treatment of a
wide range of substantive issues but never loses
sight of the key theoretical questions.
-
considers some varied cases of public intervention,
including welfare, caring, mental health provisions, pensions,
justice and free speech alongside the rights issues they raise
-
examines the question of rights from the point of view of
distinctive population groups, such as prisoners and victims,
women, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples and lesbians and
gays.
A key strength is its detailed presentation and analysis of different
aspects of rights and its exploration of a variety of analytical perspectives.
Rights are viewed, not in terms of ethical certainty, but as the product of
social processes and part of shifting terrain which is open to negotiation.
Including a theoretical critique of existing perspectives, Rights
offers a diverse and detailed exploration of the contribution sociological
thought can make to this increasingly important aspect of social life and is an
invaluable aid to students studying in this area.
Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach (key concepts)
"Human Rights" is an introductory text that is both innovative and challenging.
It invites students to think conceptually about one of the most important and
influential political concepts of our time. In this unique interdisciplinary
approach, Michael Freeman emphasizes the complex ways in which the experiences
of the victims of human rights violations are related to legal, philosophical
and social-scientific approaches to human rights. By tracing the history of the
concept, the book shows that there is a fundamental tension between the
philosophy of human rights and the way in which it is understood in the social
sciences. This analysis throws light on some of the most controversial issues in
the field: Is the idea of the universality of human rights consistent with
respect for cultural difference? Are there collective human rights? Should
feminists embrace, revise or reject the idea of human rights? Does the idea of
human rights distract our attention from the structural causes of oppression and
exploitation? What are the underlying causes of human rights violations? And why
do some countries have much worse human rights records than others? The book
will appeal to students in the social sciences, as well as students of human
rights law who want an introduction to the non-legal aspects of their subject.
It will also be read by scholars interested in ethics and the social sciences,
as well as the general reader.
Introducing Democracy: 80 Questions
and Answers
What is democracy? Why should we value it? What is the relation between
democracy and individual rights? Is majority rule always democratic? Why do we
have political parties? Are some electoral systems more democratic than others?
What is the relation between nationalism and democracy, or democracy and a
market economy? How can democracy be maintained and improved? What difference
does it make to ordinary people? What is its future?
These are only some of the questions addressed in this important new textbook.
Its authors were specially commissioned by UNESCO to assemble eighty of the most
pressing questions about democracy in the world today, and to provide clear and
authoritative answers to them. The result is a masterpiece of succinct
exposition, which will be of value to all those who want to know more about
democratic theory and practice, of value to students, interested citizens,
political activists or employees in the public service, whether they live in
established or developing democracies.
The questions are systematically arranged in six sections: basic concepts and
principles; free and fair elections; open and accountable government; individual
rights and their defence; democratic or civil society; the future of democracy.
The book forms an outstanding introduction to what is, perhaps, the most
important concept in politics.
Freedom of Religion and Belief: A World Report
by
Kevin Boyle/Juliet Sheen (1997)
This report, the first of its kind yet to be published, provides a detailed and
impartial account of how the individual's right to hold beliefs is understood,
protected or denied throughout the world. Consisting of accessible, short edited
entries based on drafts commissioned from experts living in the countries
surveyed, it exposes persecution and discrimination in virtually all world
regions. The book:
* provides an analysis of United Nations standards of freedom of religion and
belief
* covers over fifty countries, divided into regions and introduced by a regional
overview
* covers themes including: the relationships between belief groups and the
state; freedom to manifest belief in law and practice; religion and schools;
religious minorities; new religious movements; the impact of beliefs on the
status of women; and the extent to which conscientious objection to military
service is recognised by governments
* draws on examples of accommodation and co-operation between different
religions and beliefs and identifies the main challenges to be overcome if the
diversity of human conviction is to be established.
Human Rights and Democracy:
The Role of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt
by Kevin
Boyle/Adel Omar Sherif (1997)
Nationalism and Minorities
by
M Freeman, D Pantic and D Janjic (eds) 1995
Belgrade, Institute of Social Sciences, Forum for Ethnic Relations and Human
Rights Centre.
Report of the Conference on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in
Acute Crisis
The Report of the Conference on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in
Acute Crisis brings together the views and recommendations of the attendees of
the conference in London organised by the UK Department for International
Development and the University of Essex Human Rights Centre. The purpose of the
conference was to examine, in depth, the need for, and the implications of, a
human rights-based response by the international community to situations of
internal conflict and political instability. The general thrust of the
discussion in the conference was to the effect that, while the different
perspectives and operational approaches of the many international actors working
to alleviate or end violent conflict will always be real, a common commitment to
a human rights-based approach should ensure that such dilemmas can be resolved
in a principled way. The purpose of the conference then was to generate ideas as
to how in a practical sense, effective international responses to the new
challenges of internal conflict can be advanced. The recommendations in the
following section were drawn up by the organisers following the conference.
While reflecting the organisers’ sense of the general approach of the
Conference, they are not necessarily subscribed to by each participant. They are
addressed as appropriate to the international community as a whole, the United
Nations agencies, other bodies and to donor countries. The written papers
included with this report offer important and concrete suggestions for action
from the perspectives of the different agencies and institutions called upon to
act in such crises, as well as setting out the international legal framework
drawn from human rights, humanitarian law and refugee law.