Legal Opinion: The Right to Property from a Human Rights Perspective

The concept of property rights is often associated with commercial rights protecting corporate ownership of goods, land, or scientific innovation. However this narrow reading obscures the importance of the right to property as a human right and the social function of property as a dimension of other human rights including the human rights to food, housing and social security. The legal opinion was commissioned by Rights & Democracy and written by Dr. Christophe Golay and Ms. Ioana Cismas at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. It compiles and comments upon existing instruments and jurisprudence at the international, regional and national levels. The authors conclude that the human right to property has two main components: on one hand it is essential for the protection of human life and dignity, and on the other hand it may be limited in order to resolve social injustices and advance the human rights of specific disadvantaged individuals or groups. The legal opinion will be of interest to academics and human rights activists working on questions related to access to land, the right to food and the right to housing as well as foreign investment and the activities of transnational corporations

The Impact of UN Special Procedures on the Development and Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

This article analyses the impact that some of the United Nations special procedures, namely those focusing on economic social and cultural rights (ESC rights), have upon the development of international human rights law, in particular through clarifying the normative content of the rights and the development of soft-law instruments. It also examines the impact of the ESC rights mandate-holders in implementing ESC rights through promotion activities, protection work and country missions and explores modalities for improvement

9. Menschliche Entwicklung und Menschenrechte

Der Menschenrechtsrat, das Nachfolgegremium der Menschenrechtskommission, beendete im Juni 2007 sein erstes Tätigkeitsjahr und schloss seine institutionelle Reform ab. Zur Überraschung der Beobachter gelang es dem Rat knapp vor Ablauf der Frist, seine neue institutionelle Struktur zu verabschieden. Der Rat legte zum einen die Modalitäten der allgemeinen regelmässigen Überprüfung seines neuen Arbeitsinstruments fest, in dessen Rahmen die Menschenrechtssituation jedes UNO-Mitgliedslandes einer Peer-Review unterzogen wird, und überarbeitete zum anderen die Mandate der früheren Kommission, darunter namentlich das Verfahren der Einzelbeschwerde.Trotz diesen Fortschritten und der verbesserten Reaktionsfähigkeit – davon zeugt die Sondertagung über Myanmar, die im Anschluss an die Repression von Kundgebungen durch die Regierung einberufen wurde – zweifeln gewisse UNO-Mitgliedsländer die Glaubwürdigkeit des Rates an, insbesondere die USA und Israel, aber auch einige Nichtregierungsorganisationen.Im Bereich der Förderung der wirtschaftlichen, gesellschaftlichen und kulturellen Rechte war das Jahr 2007 gekennzeichnet durch einen bemerkenswerten Fortschritt, aber auch durch ernsthafte Probleme. Einerseits wurde dem Recht auf Nahrung grosse öffentliche Aufmerksamkeit zuteil, denn erstmals hat die Organisation der Vereinten Nationen für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (FAO) den Welternährungstag diesem Recht gewidmet. Andererseits erörterte die Arbeitsgruppe des Menschenrechtsrates, die mit der Ausarbeitung des Fakultativprotokolls zum Internationalen Pakt über wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Rechte beauftragt worden ist, mit aktiver Unterstützung der Schweiz einen A-la-carte-Ansatz für die Kontrolle und Beobachtung der wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und kulturellen Rechte. Dieser Ansatz ist mit dem Prinzip der Unteilbarkeit der Menschenrechte unvereinbar und birgt die Gefahr, dass ein wirksames Verfahren für die Kontrolle der Anwendung dieser Rechte verunmöglicht wird. Ausserdem hat ein Rückblick auf das 20-jährige Bestehen der Erklärung über das Recht auf Entwicklung aus dem Jahr 1986 gezeigt, dass diese in weiten Teilen in Vergessenheit geraten oder ihres ursprünglichen Sinns beraubt worden ist. Indem die Industrieländer – darunter auch die Schweiz – einen nicht zwingenden Ansatz bei der Realisierung des Rechts auf Entwicklung bevorzugen, tragen sie dazu bei, dessen Tragweite zur schmälern. Dies gilt insbesondere für das Recht auf Selbstbestimmung.Im schweizerischen Kontext sind für 2007 mit Blick auf die Internationale Arbeitsorganisation (IAO) die parlamentarischen Debatten über die Nichtratifizierung wichtiger Übereinkommen zu nennen, namentlich des Übereinkommens über eingeborene Völker, das 1991 in Kraft getreten ist. Entgegen den Empfehlungen des Bundesrates rollte der Nationalrat mit der Annahme eines Postulats, das die Ratifizierung dieses Übereinkommens fordert, die Diskussion neu auf. Anlässlich ihrer 60. Tagung führte die Weltgesundheitsversammlung eine lebhafte Debatte über eine Entschliessung zum Abkommen über handelsbezogene Aspekte der Rechte am geistigen Eigentum (TRIPS). Die Entschliessung wurde knapp angenommen. Darin wird die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) verpflichtet, jene Länder zu unterstützen, die die im TRIPS-Abkommen vorgesehenen Flexibilitäten nutzen wollen

Conception d'un Système d'Information Géographique (SIG) pour la gestion d'un domaine expérimental

La station fédérale de recherche en production végétale (RAC) section viticulture et oenologie de Caudoz (RVC) réalise des expérimentations à tous niveaux sur la vigne mais aussi sur le vin: elle étudie l'influence de certains paramètres déterminants sur le vignoble. Une multitude d'essais, de tests, et d'expériences sont menés chaque année et suivis pour une partie d'entre elles dans le temps. Des conclusions peuvent ainsi être apportées sur la base d'analyses statistiques issues de traitements des données

Field Testing of the Overflow Erosion of Rhone River Levees

It is important to quantify the soil resistance against erosion caused by the overflow of dikes and levees. Small-scale tests are not recommended, as they do not provide a correct representation of the actual soil in place and do not take into account the geometry of the structure. For this reason, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) developed an on-site overflow device in 2015. The procedure followed is based on ASTM-D6460 standard. Two tests were performed in May 2022 on a Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) dike near Avignon (France). The dike is 6.2 m high; the core is mainly made of sandy silts. The toe is covered by a gravel shoulder which forms a berm. The first test was carried out on the intact soil: the core covered by a natural grass on the upper part, and the gravel fill without grass in the lower part of the slope. The test consisted of carrying out a flow in a channel of 1 m wide and 25 m long, in 12 steps of 30 min (6 hours of flow in total). The second test was carried out on the soil stripped of the vegetation cover in order to study the soil of the upper part of the embankment, made up of compacted sandy silt and sandy gravel. The test consisted of carrying out a flow in a 60 cm wide and 20 m long channel, in 9 steps of 30 min (4.5 hours of flow in total). The test campaigns were carried out with flows ranging from 12 to 140 l/s per linear meter, corresponding to a crest water depth ranging from 4 to 18 cm. On test 1, no significant erosion of the natural grass cover was observed. A small erosion pit 20 cm deep was observed on the compacted gravel berm surface. A scour hole of approximately 1.10 m in depth for a volume of 4.2 m3 was observed in the downstream gravel fill that cover the lower part of the embankment. On test 2, the compacted sandy silt layer was eroded a few centimeters by the surface flow. The sandy gravel layer was eroded from the first flow (5.7 cm of water height at the crest), which led to the beginning of a breach (deepening) over 10 m long, of 1.30 m maximum depth, 1.80 m maximum width and 9 m3 of eroded soil. The first result of these in situ overflow tests is that not all of these observations were predictable from the erosion tests previously performed in the laboratory and in situ (Jet and Het erosion tests). The second result is the remarkable resistance of the natural grass cover

Computed tomography myocardial perfusion vs (15)O-water positron emission tomography and fractional flow reserve

Objectives: Computed tomography (CT) can perform comprehensive cardiac imaging. We compared CT coronary angiography (CTCA) and CT myocardial perfusion (CTP) with ¹⁵O-water positron emission tomography (PET) and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) with fractional flow reserve (FFR). Methods: 51 patients (63 (61–65) years, 80 % male) with known/suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent 320-multidetector CTCA followed by “snapshot” adenosine stress CTP. Of these 22 underwent PET and 47 ICA/FFR. Obstructive CAD was defined as CTCA stenosis >50 % and CTP hypoperfusion, ICA stenosis >70 % or FFR <0.80. Results: PET hyperaemic myocardial blood flow (MBF) was lower in obstructive than non-obstructive territories defined by ICA/FFR (1.76 (1.32–2.20) vs 3.11 (2.44–3.79) mL/(g/min), P < 0.001) and CTCA/CTP (1.76 (1.32–2.20) vs 3.12 (2.44–3.79) mL/(g/min), P < 0.001). Baseline and hyperaemic CT attenuation density was lower in obstructive than non-obstructive territories (73 (71–76) vs 86 (84–88) HU, P < 0.001 and 101 (96–106) vs 111 (107–114) HU, P 0.001). PET hyperaemic MBF corrected for rate pressure product correlated with CT attenuation density (r = 0.579, P < 0.001). There was excellent per-patient sensitivity (96 %), specificity (85 %), negative predictive value (90 %) and positive predictive value (94 %) for CTCA/CTP vs ICA/FFR. Conclusion: CT myocardial attenuation density correlates with ¹⁵O-water PET MBF. CTCA and CTP can accurately identify obstructive CAD. Key Points: •CT myocardial perfusion can aid the assessment of suspected coronary artery disease. • CT attenuation density from “snapshot” imaging is a marker of myocardial perfusion. • CT myocardial attenuation density correlates with ¹⁵O-water PET myocardial blood flow. • CT attenuation density is lower in obstructive territories defined by invasive angiography. • Diagnostic accuracy of CTCA+CTP is comparable to invasive angiography + fractional flow reserve

Identifying and Monitoring Human Rights Violations Associated with Large-Scale Land Acquisitions.

This chapter aims to contribute to the debate on contemporary ‘land grabbing’ and its impact on human rights. It describes the role played by United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms in monitoring violations associated with large-scale land acquisitions (LSLAs), with a focus on UN treaty bodies. A typology of human rights violations associated with LSLAs is presented, on the basis of the assessment that UN treaty bodies have made in examining the impact of LSLAs in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam. Three common threads can be extracted from this assessment. The first relates to the actual or potential human rights implications of the internal displacement and forced evictions caused by LSLAs, which often lead to drastic changes in livelihood opportunities. The second involves the impact of LSLAs on the procedural rights of indigenous peoples, in particular their right to free, prior, and informed consent to policies and activities that directly affect their land, territory and livelihoods. The third concerns the disproportionately negative effect that LSLAs have on individuals and groups who are vulnerable to discrimination and marginalisation, including women, children, indigenous peoples, rural communities, and small-scale farmers. The example of Laos, where we conducted research in 2012 and 2013, confirms the assessment made by UN treaty bodies. The overall conclusion is that human rights are well recognised in international law and that national laws seem to be adequate in many countries, including in South-East Asia. Yet, human rights instruments and national lawsare poorly implemented on the ground, or not implemented in favour of local communities

Crise et sécurité alimentaires : vers un nouvel ordre alimentaire mondial ?

En 2007 et 2008 a éclaté la plus importante crise alimentaire depuis 1974. La hausse du prix des denrées alimentaires sur le marché international, en particulier du blé, du riz, du soja et du maïs, a entraîné une augmentation sans précédent du nombre de personnes sous-alimentées. Malgré une diminution relative du prix des denrées alimentaires depuis l’été 2008, le nombre de personnes sous-alimentées a continué à augmenter en 2009. Cette crise alimentaire a remis la lutte contre la faim au cœur des préoccupations internationales. Depuis le mois de mars 2008, les Etats, les agences des Nations unies et une grande partie des mouvements sociaux ont pris position sur les causes de la crise et les moyens d’y remédier. Malheureusement, alors que ces acteurs tentent de coordonner leurs activités et de proposer des solutions nouvelles, ce sont souvent des recettes anciennes, visant à augmenter la production alimentaire, qui sont mises en avant. Les propositions faites sont souvent contradictoires et les réflexions sur les causes profondes de la faim et de la crise alimentaire – les exclusions sociales, économiques et politiques et les discriminations – ne semblent pas avoir été entendues. Le premier Objectif du Millénaire pour le développement, qui vise à réduire de moitié la proportion des personnes souffrant de sous-alimentation et vivant dans l’extrême pauvreté d’ici 2015, est devenu clairement inatteignable. Mais la crise alimentaire pourrait être à l’origine de la création d’un nouvel ordre alimentaire mondial, basé sur les trois piliers que sont l’aide alimentaire, la sécurité alimentaire et le droit à l’alimentation

The Food Crisis and Food Security: Towards a New World Food Order?

The worst food crisis since 1974 broke out in 2007-08. Higher world market prices of food commodities (especially wheat, rice, soya and maize) sparked an unprecedented increase in the number of hungry people. Despite moderately lower prices since the summer of 2008, the number of the hungry continued to rise in 2009. This food crisis has placed the fight against hunger on the international agenda. Since March 2008 governments UN agencies and many social movements have adopted positions on the causes of the crisis and the means to address it. Unfortunately, while these parties are trying to coordinate their activities and suggest new approaches, the old recipes for producing more food are often brought up. Contradictory proposals are made and the thought given to the causes underlying hunger and the food crisis (social, economic and political discrimination and exclusion) has gone largely unheeded. The first Millennium Development Goal, which calls for cutting the percentage of hungry people by half by 2015, is clearly out of reach. But the food crisis might lead to a new world food order based on the three pillars of food assistance, food security and the right to food