9,582 research outputs found
Human rights through the backdoor: the contribution of special procedures to the normative coherence and contradictions of International Human Rights Law
This chapter explores the contribution of mandate-holders of special procedures to the development of international human rights standards, using as a paradigm their diverse interpretation of the legal framework, which serves as the basis of their operations. It evaluates the extent to which the human rights norms developed by the special procedures are consonant with other international efforts to regulate the same matters
The Universal Periodic Review - is there life beyond naming and shaming in human rights implementation?
This article examines the traditional manner in which human rights implementation has been focused on confrontational approaches, in particular on the practice of ânaming and shamingâ, while more cooperative models have been traditionally overlooked. Through the prism of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) it tests the effectiveness of non-confrontational approaches to human rights implementation. The article challenges the conventional wisdom among human rights advocates that non-confrontational mechanisms are synonymous with lack of efficiency and impact, and suggests that some of the commitments made by states during the UPR process could be interpreted as potential sources of obligations under international law
History of the special procedures: a âlearning-by-doingâ approach to human rights implementation
The existence of UN Special Procedures is the unintended result of the competence accorded to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in the 1967 Economic and Social Council Resolution 1235 (XLII). The Resolution authorised both bodies âto examine information relevant to gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedomsâ. The lack of foresight in the creation of such mechanisms, now known as âspecial proceduresâ, is a fundamental factor in explaining the evolution of methods of work developed by different mandate holders. The âsoftâ legal basis and geo-political factors surrounding the creation and renewal of mandates explains the freedom and flexibility they have enjoyed in establishing innovative monitoring activities that are more intrusive upon state sovereignty than any other UN human rights mechanism. As the significance of the Special Proceduresâ work has grown, attempts to curtail their autonomy and impact have increased accordingly, facilitated precisely by what has been seen as, until recently, their major strength: the lack of a strong institutional and coherent legal framework regulating their activities. This chapter analyses this evolution and outlines the major challenges mandate holders face in maintaining their relevance
Universalism or fragmentation: United Nations treaty-bodies and affirmative actions in Latin-America, the United Kingdom, South Africa, China and India
The absence of uniform terminology or criteria to decide whether specific groups should receive different treatment with the aim of achieving greater equality, hinders the attempt to frame the issue beyond the boundaries of individual States in a coherent manner, especially from a legal perspective, because their implementation becomes particularly unpopular when States enforce them by law. This chapter addresses whether the international human rights regime contributes to harmonize regulatory frameworks and principles concerning affirmative actions or, conversely, whether it merely reflects on the diversity of State practices in this area. For this purpose, this chapter explains and updates the arguments and conclusions drawn from previous research analysing the relevant activity of UN human rights monitoring mechanisms and treaty provisions in this field. It then focuses specifically on the recommendation on affirmative actions issued by the United Nations treaty-bodies to the States covered by this book. It evaluates the different engagement of committees with relevant State parties and identifies common trends and inconsistencies of the UN human rights mechanisms in their treatment of special measures
Integral relations and the adiabatic expansion method for 1+2 reactions above the breakup threshold: Helium trimers with soft-core potentials
The integral relations formalism introduced in \cite{bar09,rom11}, and
designed to describe 1+ reactions, is extended here to collision energies
above the threshold for the target breakup. These two relations are completely
general, and in this work they are used together with the adiabatic expansion
method for the description of 1+2 reactions. The neutron-deuteron breakup, for
which benchmark calculations are available, is taken as a test of the method.
The s-wave collision between the He atom and He dimer above the
breakup threshold and the possibility of using soft-core two-body potentials
plus a short-range three-body force will be investigated. Comparisons to
previous calculations for the three-body recombination and collision
dissociation rates will be shown.Comment: To be published in Physical Review
General integral relations for the description of scattering states using the hyperspherical adiabatic basis
In this work we investigate 1+2 reactions within the framework of the
hyperspherical adiabatic expansion method. To this aim two integral relations,
derived from the Kohn variational principle, are used. A detailed derivation of
these relations is shown. The expressions derived are general, not restricted
to relative partial waves, and with applicability in multichannel
reactions. The convergence of the -matrix in terms of the adiabatic
potentials is investigated. Together with a simple model case used as a test
for the method, we show results for the collision of a He atom on a \dimer
dimer (only the elastic channel open), and for collisions involving a Li
and two He atoms (two channels open).Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Variational description of continuum states in terms of integral relations
Two integral relations derived from the Kohn Variational Principle (KVP) are
used for describing scattering states. In usual applications the KVP requires
the explicit form of the asymptotic behavior of the scattering wave function.
This is not the case when the integral relations are applied since, due to
their short range nature, the only condition for the scattering wave function
is that it be the solution of in the internal region.
Several examples are analyzed for the computation of phase-shifts from bound
state type wave functions or, in the case of the scattering of charged
particles, it is possible to obtain phase-shifts using free asymptotic
conditions. As a final example we discuss the use of the integral relations in
the case of the Hyperspherical Adiabatic method.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev.
Contextualizing the Cassese Report: the dictatorship that changed the United Nations human rights system and its legacy in monitoring economic, social and cultural rights
This chapter explains the key reasons underpinning the low impact of the Cassese Report on foreign aid and its relationship with human rights violations in Chile during Pinochet's dictatorship.
Through the lenses of the intergovernmental decisions establishing the mandates and scope of competences of special procedures, the analysis demonstrates the absence of political will to equate the importance granted to civil and political rights with that granted to economic, social and cultural rights. The progress to mitigate this imbalance since the time of publication of the Cassese Report has been quantitative rather than qualitative. While economic, social and cultural rights have gained prominence over the years, most advances remain insufficient, especially regarding the role of business in human rights abuses. As long as the political decisions adopted within the human rights monitoring system do not implement the indivisibility of all rights, it will be very difficult to achieve substantial progress in this field
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