Human rights based approaches to developmen t: concepts, evidence, and policy

This paper assesses the benefits, risks, and limitations of human rights based approaches to development, which can be catalogued on the basis of the institutional mechanisms they rely on: global compliance based on international and regional treaties; the policies and programming of donors and executive agencies; rights talk; and legal mobilization. The paper briefly reviews the politics of the first three kinds of human rights based approaches before examining constitutionally based legal mobilization for social and economic rights in greater detail. Litigation for social and economic rights is increasing in frequency and scope in several countries, and exhibits appealing attributes, such as inclusiveness and deliberative quality. Still, there are potential problems with this form of human rights based mobilization, including middle class capture, the potential counter-majoritarianism of courts, and difficulties in compliance. The conclusion summarizes what is known, and what remains to be studied, regarding human rights based approaches to development.Human Rights,Gender and Law,Health Law,Parliamentary Government,Population Policies

Conceituação de "Abortion Lawfare"

Women's sexual and reproductive rights are politicized worldwide, with the most contentious right being the right to safe, legal abortion. In Latin America, where one stands on the issue of abortion has become a central identity marker; a salient issue in electoral mobilization, and a matter of coalition building and high politics. As a consequence, legalized contestation over abortion is raging across Latin America, and indeed much of the world. This article conceptualizes this as “abortion lawfare” and develops a framework for analyzing the complex dynamics and long-term, multi-sited strategies at play in the wars over abortion. The concept of lawfare – despite and, to some extent, because of its ideological uses and connotations – serves as a useful heuristic tool for grasping these dynamics, and the lawfare typology brings out the different facets of the phenomenon in terms of actors, strategies, and arenas and provides the basis for analyzing how, in any given context, actors face multiple and shifting opportunity structures. This, in turn, influences the strategies they pursue and what is achieved.publishedVersio

Legal Enforcement of Social Rights: Enabling Conditions and Impact Assessment

This article commends the concise and useful analysis of courts and the legal enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights given in Christian Courtis’ book, Courts and the Legal Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Comparative Experiences of Justiciability. Yet, in order to complete the picture, a broader analysis of the enabling conditions for litigation and of the social and political impact of judicial activity in this field is required. There are a number of reasons why attempts to litigate economic, social and cultural rights may not result in judicial enforcement and why, even if enforcement is achieved in formal terms, this may not necessarily protect or fulfill the right in practice. Even when compliance is secured in terms of individuals, this may be insignificant or even detrimental to the realisation of the right from a societal perspective. While not dismissing a constructive role for courts in the enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights, it is crucial to investigate carefully who benefits from court enforcement and under what circumstances judicial enforcement is likely to advance the broader realisation of the rights and benefit those whose rights are most at risk. Assessing empirically the impact of social rights litigation is challenging and has rarely been done in a systematic fashion, but this article suggests ways in which this can be pursued

Conceptualizing abortion lawfare = Conceituação de "abortion lawfare"

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-6172202143Trata sobre o conceito de “abortion lawfare” e desenvolve uma abordagem para analisar a dinâmica complexa e as estratégias multilocalizadas de longo prazo em jogo nas guerras pelo aborto

Formal recognition of adult relationships and legal gender in a comparative perspective

This innovative and thought-provoking Research Handbook explores not only current debates in the area of gender, sexuality and the law but also points the way for future socio-legal research and scholarship. It presents wide-ranging insights and debates from across the globe, including Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia, with contributions from leading scholars and activists alongside exciting emergent voice

The Institutional Context of the 2004 General Elections in Malawi

This report summarises the findings of a joint research project undertaken by the Centre for Social Research, Chr. Michelsen Institute and the Universities of Malawi and Bergen. Ensuring that elected political leaders play by the rules of the political game and act in accordance with their mandates without violating citizens’ rights is a challenge for new democracies in sub-Saharan Africa. Electoral processes essentially begin long before elections actually take place. The analysis of electoral processes, therefore, requires a long time horizon. Central political institutions of accountability are analysed to determine the extent to which they have managed to stem executive dominance when put to the test of the parliamentary and presidential elections held on 20 May 2004. Attention is drawn to four key institutions of democratic governance: (a) those responsible for electoral administration; (b) the party system; (c) parliament; and (d) the judiciary. The electoral cycle – comprising the entire time period from one election to the next – is analysed in six phases: (i) registration of voters and compilation of voters’ roll; (ii) nomination of candidates; (iii) civic and voter education; (iv) the electoral campaign; (v) the polling exercise, including counting of ballots and announcement of results; (vi) conversion of electoral mandate into political positions. The 2004 general elections were judged to be ‘free but not fair’ due to inadequacies in the administration of the electoral process. Civil society organisations as well as domestic and international election observers have emphasised the need to restructure the Malawi Electoral Commission to improve its performance and ensure the legitimacy of the election results

Difficult Trade-Offs in Response to COVID-19: The Case for Open and Inclusive Decision-Making

We argue that deliberative decision-making that is inclusive, transparent and accountable can contribute to more trustworthy and legitimate decisions on difficult ethical questions and political trade-offs during the pandemic and beyond

A call for an immediate ceasefire and peaceful end to the Russian aggression against Ukraine

The Lancet–SIGHT Commission condemns the Russian Government's aggression against Ukraine and its attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health workers and hospitals. We support the March 2, 2022 UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution ES-11/1 that “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation”. The indiscriminate use of weaponry violates international humanitarian law and has caused catastrophic health impacts, especially on children, older people, and disabled persons, and social and economic disruptions that will be long lasting. There are nuclear risks, both from Russian attacks on Ukrainian nuclear facilities and the potential for nuclear weapons use. There is a further risk that Russia might use chemical or biological weapons. We call for an immediate ceasefire and the appointment of a mediator to facilitate negotiations for a sustainable and peaceful settlement on the basis of international law to end the conflict. We urge the global health community to deliver humanitarian assistance impartially to all those affected by and fleeing the war; document atrocities committed against civilians and the devastating impacts of the war; counter disinformation about the conflict; and advocate for a peaceful settlement. We also call for an end to the repression of those in Russia protesting the war.http://www.thelancet.comhj2023Economic