Book review: the Rohingyas: inside Myanmar's genocide by Azeem Ibrahim

This updated edition of The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Genocide, authored by Azeem Ibrahim, aims to draw further attention to the ongoing atrocities being committed against the Rohingyas in Myanmar and to challenge some of the overarching myths that lie behind the persecutions. While she would have welcomed a deeper engagement with the legal components of the situation from the perspective of international law, Ebru Demir recommends this as a welcome contribution to the literature that will give readers insight into the historical roots of the crisis

The right to internal self-determination in peacebuilding processes: a reinterpretation of the concept of local ownership from a legal perspective

The right to internal self-determination offers a legal ‘checklist’ for the UN to provide both legitimacy and sustainability to peacebuilding processes. The right both clarifies the actors of postconflict reconstruction and also concretises to what extent these actors should be incorporated into peacebuilding processes. Although the concept of local ownership has become an often-cited concept in peacebuilding literature, the legal ground of the concept (i.e. the right to internal self-determination) has been disregarded. This paper aims to reveal the legal aspect of the concept of local ownership and thus, attaches the right to internal self-determination with local ownership

Book review: injustice and the reproduction of history: structural inequalities, gender and redress by Alasia Nuti

In Injustice and the Reproduction of History: Structural Inequalities, Gender and Redress, Alasia Nuti explores the relationship between history and the provision of justice by focusing on women as a historical-structural group subject to historical injustices that continue to impact the present. This is a very welcome contribution to the literature, writes Ebru Demir, providing both deep and rigorous analyses of its case studies and proposing thought-provoking new terminology. Injustice and the Reproduction of History: Structural Inequalities, Gender and Redress. Alasia Nuti. Cambridge University Press. 2019

The European Court of Human Rights’ Engagement with International Human Rights Instruments: Looking at the Cases of Domestic Violence

In its recent jurisprudence on domestic violence, the European Court of Human Rights started to examine the domestic violence cases in the light of relevant international human rights law developed in this specific area. This article examines the engagement of the European Court of Human Rights with other international and regional human rights instruments in domestic violence cases. Upon examination, the article concludes that by integrating its case law into international human rights law the European Court of Human Rights broadens the scope of protection for domestic violence victims and maintains the unity of international law

Low Reynolds number swimming of helical structures and rigid spheres

Micro swimmers have a great potential to realize minimally invasive medical procedures to detect and treat diseases. They are promising candidates for achieving targeted drug delivery, which can reduce the side effects of potent drugs and minimize the secondary complications of dangerous treatments. However, swimming at low Reynolds number environments such as bodily fluids requires breaking the time reversal symmetry to achieve propulsion, therefore swimming of micro structures in viscous environments presents a challenge. In this thesis, swimming characteristics and performance of both chiral and magnetically actuated axisymmetric structures swimming inside cylindrical v conduits at low Reynolds numbers are investigated using computational and numerical models, as well as experimental studies. Computational tools that predict the swimming performance of both chiral and axisymmetric swimmers are presented to provide a comprehensive analysis that considers both types of swimmers used in this research field. Effects of geometric parameters on the swimming performance of chiral structures are analyzed and guidelines for designing helical tails for optimized velocity or efficiency are established using a computational fluid dynamics model. Symmetry breaking with axisymmetric particles is achieved by exploiting their hydrodynamic interactions with confining boundaries. A numerical model based on the resistive force theory that can predict their trajectories with high accuracy is reported. Non-inertial focusing and controlled motion of rigid spheres inside cylindrical channels are experimentally demonstrated. The findings presented contribute to our understanding of the swimming characteristics of both symmetric and asymmetric micro swimmers and pave the way for new applications

Theory and practice of gender transformative justice: the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

This thesis critically evaluates the extent to which the transitional justice process in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been gender transformative. Drawing upon conflict transformation and nascent transformative justice theories, the thesis suggests certain principles which should be used in order to remould the transitional justice mechanisms (trials, truth initiatives, reparations, and institutional reforms) for a gender transformative justice. The thesis offers two hypotheses. First, the thesis underlines the necessity of a gender transformative justice agenda in post-conflict reconstruction periods by claiming that only such an approach can challenge the reinforcement of patriarchal norms and traditional gender stereotypes in post- conflict societies. Second, the thesis suggests that the gender-neutral transitional justice process in Bosnia and Herzegovina still causes women’s human rights violations today. The thesis finds that the transitional justice process has neglected many forms of gender-based violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina; these unaddressed and neglected acts of violence still continue today in different forms and to different extents. Gender transformative justice aims to address gender inequalities during post-conflict reconstruction periods and to address the continuum of violence against women. The thesis evaluates whether both international and domestic legal frameworks in Bosnia and Herzegovina comply with this aim. Alongside legal and doctrinal analysis, I conducted interviews with both elites (representatives of local and international NGOs, lawyers, legal scholars, politicians, psycho-therapists, and human rights activists) and survivors of wartime violence (genocide survivors and war-trauma survivors). The research finds that the transition period in Bosnia and Herzegovina has failed to provide gender justice. By illustrating the ways in which peace and justice are defined and conceptualised by the interviewees in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the thesis illustrates the disparity between women’s own understandings of justice and ‘the understanding of justice’ provided under international and domestic law. Synthesizing John Paul Lederach’s conflict transformation theory with transformative justice theory through a gendered lens, this research argues that transformative justice theory needs to be further developed to address gender and to challenge the exclusion of women and of women’s understandings of peace and justice from the scope of international la

Polymorphisms of Glutathione S- transferase genes (GSTM1, GSTP1, and GSTT1) and breast cancer susceptibility in the Turkish population

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The potential association between the Glutathione S- transferase genes GSTM1, GSTT1, GSTP1 and breast cancer susceptibility was investigated in a case control study of 264 female patients and 233 age-matched controls in the Turkish population. The combined GSTP1 105 Ile/Val or Val/Val genotypes was significantly associated with breast cancer risk in all women (odds ratio OR=1.64, 95% confidence interval CI=1.09-2.47 and in premenopausal women is OR= 2.01, 95% CI=1.06-3.83). Neither GSTM1 nor GSTT1 was found to be associated with breast cancer. Distribution of GSTP1 genotypes was stratified according to body mass index (BMI), age, age at menarche, age at full-term pregnancy, number of fullterm pregnancies, and family history of breast cancer. The association of the combined GSTP1 105 Ile/Val or Val/Val genotypes with breast cancer risk was further exacerbated in women with high BMI (OR=2.12, 95% CI=1.35-3.62), but not with a low BMI (OR=0.78, 95% CI=0.45-1.34). These findings support the role for the combined GSTP1 105 Ile/Val or Val/Val genotypes in the development of breast cancer, particularly with a high BMI.Demir, EbruM.S

Book review: the justice facade: trials of transition in Cambodia by Alexander Laban Hinton

In The Justice Facade: Trials of Transition in Cambodia, Alexander Laban Hinton examines the extent to which transitional justice and international law respond to local understandings of ‘justice’ through an analysis of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). This is a welcome and highly useful contribution to the field, finds Ebru Demir, that invites readers to critically unpack their own assumptions and consider how the neglect of power and the complexities of everyday life can serve to offer little more than a ‘justice facade’