ABSTRACT: This article begins with short reviews of four "taboo" books that (some) trans activists consider transphobic. It argues that it is worthwhile to read these books and take seriously the concerns of women's rights scholars and activists. The article then argues that the basic human rights principles of freedom of speech, the right to health, cultural rights, and the right to human dignity are all aspects of the debate between trans activists and women's rights scholars and activists. It draws on some examples from Canada to illustrate the possibility of human rights compromises, when the rights of disparate groups or various principles appear to clash. Discussion between women's rights and trans activists as to how to accommodate the legitimate demands of both groups might yield fruitful compromises, instead of talking past each other, or in some cases, even threatening violence.
ABSTRACT: The advisory function of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, though extensively established, remains largely underutilized. Few actors, whether public or private, have sought advisory opinions, relegating this competence to a secondary role compared to the Court's contentious function. While the Court has delivered numerous judgments in contentious matters, its advisory opinions remain scarce, exposing a structural imbalance in its activities. This situation raises questions about the extent to which African actors have embraced this mechanism and its strategic potential for preventing human rights violations and fostering normative harmonization. In the face of political, legal, and institutional challenges to African multilateralism, the advisory function could emerge as a tool for innovation. It offers the possibility of a proactive legal advisory role, enabling the anticipation of crises and conflicts through preventive interpretation of legal instruments. By serving as a normative laboratory, this competence could strengthen national and regional human rights protection systems. To maximize its impact, it is imperative that African actors and the Court adopt a proactive and innovative approach, transforming this function into a driving force for legal and institutional progress across the African continent.
ABSTRACT: The protection of intangible cultural heritage in China involves a complex interplay of legal and ethical principles aimed at preserving the country's rich and diverse cultural traditions. This study aims to comprehensively analyze current legislation in addition to the legal and ethical principles surrounding the protection of Chinese intangible culture and heritage. The study determines that the adaptation of legislation governing the protection of intangible cultural heritage to modern challenges is critical to ensuring the effective protection of cultural heritage. An analysis of the Law on the Protection of Chinese Cultural Heritage has shown that not all registered intangible cultural heritage objects have adequate legal protection. The study determined that fifteen key articles of the law need to be improved concerning the responsibilities of state bodies, procedures for identifying and registering intangible cultural heritage, and protecting the rights of traditional knowledge holders. UNESCO data shows that China has fifty-seven National Security Agency ("NSA") sites, which ranks it first in the world in terms of the number of registered sites. Comparisons with international standards has shown that in many cases national legislation does not meet the requirements of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
ABSTRACT: This article challenges the traditional human rights narrative and proposes a more inclusive global perspective. It highlights human rights values from both Western and non-Western civilizations, as well as the contributions of countries from the Global North and the Global South to the development of today's international human rights system. It debunks the theories of "Asian values" and "cultural relativism," and identifies commonalities across different civilizations and cross-fertilization that has taken place between different civilizations. Establishing connections between civilizations, this study brings to bear an informed and unbiased global human rights narrative to scholarly consciousness by unpacking the complexities alongside rigorous analysis of the competing human rights narratives.
ABSTRACT: How do states adopt international human rights norms when doing so risks provoking domestic political backlash? This article advances a new theory of norm adoption—silent signaling—to explain how governments engage emerging international human rights norms through low-salience, internationally facing venues that minimize domestic political costs. Silent signaling involves symbolic and selective norm adoption designed to appeal to international audiences and enhance a state's human rights reputation without requiring comprehensive domestic policy change. We identify transitional justice mechanisms, particularly truth commissions, as a key institutional site for silent signaling and apply this framework to Ecuador's Comisión de la Verdad para Impedir la Impunidad (2007–2009). Ecuador's truth commission represents a significant deviation from international practice in its explicit inclusion of abuses against LGBTI populations, including rare documentation of gender-based violence against transgender individuals. We show that this inclusion functioned primarily as an international-facing gesture, while the government refrained from promoting LGBTI rights domestically or implementing the commission's recommendations. By foregrounding selective visibility and symbolic engagement, this article expands theories of norm diffusion and challenges assumptions about the domestic orientation of transitional justice.
Since the end of the Cold War, the United Nations Security Council ("UNSC") has demonstrated a troubling inconsistency in its response to genocide. Its actions have been selective and uneven. This disparity raises a critical question: what national interests drive the Permanent Five ("P5") members to intervene in cases of genocide? The methodology employed in this article integrates interdisciplinary approaches drawn from political science, international relations, and law. It combines qualitative and quantitative analysis, utilizing a range of specific methods. These include theoretical, comparative, and empirical approaches, as well as configurational analysis, to examine the relationships between elements within a system. The goal is to understand how these issues affect certain behaviors. Theoretically, the article provides a configurational analysis of the P5's selective interventionism, incorporating explanatory variables from three theories of third-party military intervention. These theories are assessed using a comparative approach that examines twenty different cases where P5 members faced instances of genocide. The methodology employed is fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. This method is commonly used to identify and analyze patterns in cases with small to moderate sample sizes. The analysis reveals that the economic interests of P5 states are the decisive factor in determining when the UNSC intervenes militarily in instances of genocide. These results are highly consistent, accounting for 97 percent of the cases examined. The findings indicate that the UN's response to the "ultimate crime" is not random but follows distinct patterns.
The right to access sport is connected to the rights to culture, education, and leisure in, amongst others, two United Nations core international human rights instruments and the Council of Europe's non-binding Sports for All Charter (1975). Yet this article demonstrates that the right to access sport is increasingly coupled with the right to health too. Notably, the Council of Europe's revised European Sports Charter (2021) stresses that a "stand-alone" right to access sport for all is instrumental for health. While requiring considerable resources, investing in this right is ultimately more beneficial than not doing so in Europe.
This article examines the recognition of girls as distinct human rights holders by two UN treaty bodies-the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. It investigates how far the Committees promote girls' autonomy in response to their vulnerability-focusing on gender-based violence, sexual and reproductive health, education and anti-stereotyping, and public participation. The findings show that while both bodies increasingly acknowledge girls' vulnerability, protection often outweighs empowerment. This article argues for a more balanced approach, supporting girls as active agents of change and strengthening their resilience.
What does it mean to call something a historical injustice? How can countries confront historical injustices and by what methods? And why are some national efforts to reckon with the legacies of historical injustices more successful than others? This essay explores these questions from the vantage point of the movement for "gay reparations," a new and provocative front in the struggle for LGBTQ equality and human rights that seeks redress for the centuries-old history of anti-gay discrimination and violence. It contends that gay reparations hinge upon a favorable political environment for confronting historical injustices. But just as important is a compelling framing strategy, one that frames reparations as a moral issue rather than as a legal matter.
This article traces the Colombian state's constructions of indigeneity and territory to highlight their enduring inter-relation. In this inter-relation, "territory" is conflated with rural areas, and territorial rights are confined to Indigenous resguardos (reserves). Three political implications arise from this inter-relation. First, Indigenous collectives in urban areas face continued obstacles to recognition. Second, while resguardos have been critiqued for enclosing communities, attention should also be paid to Indigenous political struggles to exceed their boundaries. Third, some transitional justice measures that grant victimhood to Indigenous territories have reproduced essentialist notions of "territory" and culture, undermining their decolonial potential.
ABSTRACT: Human rights are meant to control states, but states control human rights. This article aims to liberate human rights from this paradox. Inspired by Third World Approaches to International Law, it highlights the links between Western imperialism and human rights and introduces a conceptual human rights framework consisting of a state-centered sphere, people-centered sphere (communities, peoples, and social movements), and a relational space between the two. The state-centered sphere is dominant while the people-centered sphere is neglected but emergent. The article argues that it is time for the global human rights movement to become more bold, imaginative, structural, and attune to history. It provides three illustrative initiatives to strengthen the people-centered sphere: accountability “from below,” Freirean human rights and praxis, and challenging conversations on a range of issues, including colonization and reparative justice. The article argues for a paradigm shift that empowers human rights and rights-holders and places them on the threshold of revolutionary change. The author is primarily speaking to human rights commentators from the Global North.
This paper examines the Taliban's governance since their return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, exploring its historical roots and ideological foundations. It analyzes the systematic oppression of women, particularly through their restricted access to education, employment, and fundamental rights, as well as the dismantling of legal protections by the Taliban authority. Additionally, the paper investigates the marginalization of minorities, including ethnic and religious discrimination, and targeted persecution. It also assesses the broader global implications of Taliban rule, such as shifts in international relations, heightened security risks, and the worsening refugee crisis. By highlighting these critical issues, this study provides insight into the far-reaching consequences of the Taliban's governance, both within Afghanistan and on the global stage.
Young refugees often lack knowledge or proof of their chronological age. To determine eligibility for child-specific rights, countries use various age assessment methods, criticized for inaccuracy, harm, lack of consent, and ethical violations. However, the core practice of distinguishing refugees by age remains unquestioned. We argue this distinction is ageist, essentialist, and violent, relying on socially constructed stereotypes that reduce refugees to their age while disregarding their diverse experiences, needs, and abilities. Similar issues arise in asylum claims based on sexuality or gender identity, reinforcing national borders and restricting global movement.
The Joint General Comment on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child adopts a holistic approach by addressing FGM as both a child rights and women's rights issue. It strengthens State Parties' obligations beyond criminalization, urging policies that challenge gender norms, promote equality, and dismantle power dynamics that perpetuate FGM. This intersectional framework engages diverse sectors, including education and healthcare, to combat the practice. Moving beyond a narrow focus on legal prohibitions, the General Comment encompasses legislative, institutional, medical, psychosocial, cross-border, and humanitarian dimensions. It emphasizes prevention, protection, victim support, accountability, and international cooperation, offering a comprehensive strategy to eradicate FGM while advancing gender equality and human rights.
This paper compares John Locke's conception of natural rights with that of Mencius. Although Mencius did not use the modern language of natural rights, he stressed rulers' political duties to their subjects. The paper argues that there are important similarities between the two conceptions, despite notable differences. This resemblance lies in the fact that both Locke and Mencius derived their conceptions of natural rights from two sources: The first is their religiously inspired theories of human nature, or the divine origin of human nature. The second is their religiously inspired theories of political ethics, or the divine origin of political duties. It is through these two sources that both Locke and Mencius deduced their conceptions of natural rights.
Despite their benevolent appearance, transnational discourses of human rights have played a substantial role in fueling the deployment of coercive power. Yet, their impact on domestic systems, particularly in the Global South, remains largely unexplored. This article examines the interaction of these discourses with local practices, processes, and narratives in the Colombian context. I argue that, rather than being merely imposed or imported, notions of victims' rights, anti-impunity, and security have forged unique coercive pathways in domestic penal policy and constitutional law that transcend transnational obligations. On the one hand, they have played a key role in the justification of increased coercion throughout the criminal law as a whole, rather than being restricted to serious human rights violations. On the other hand, although the language of human rights has been instrumental in denouncing rights violations in prisons, it has also played a crucial role in legitimizing the imposition of punishment under conditions recognized as unconstitutional.
Human rights due diligence (HRDD) laws have emerged as a vehicle for extending oversight within global supply chains, encumbering corporations with the responsibility for "knowing the chain" of business partners, regardless of where in the world production takes place. But there is comparably little analysis of the role that local level actors and communities play in the implementation of related obligations by businesses. Laws at the national level and the regional level lock in corporate responsibility with the aim of protecting individual and community stakeholders and their natural environment from harm, including the European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). But stakeholders at the grassroots level are typically ignored or tokenized in the process, despite the centrality of their knowledge to HRDD. This article analyzes primary documents produced at the national level in multiple sites where HRDD is unfolding to reveal minimal specification of stakeholder engagement in laws and corporate compliance practices. This lack of clarity results in unequal bargaining power in the design and execution of remedies for harm. The power imbalance between corporations and stakeholders is thus not disrupted, despite the laudable aims of HRDD law. Addressing this imbalance is critical to improving the legitimacy and effectiveness of HRDD.
