Human Rights

Rebuilding the Law in Kosovo

by paula gerber

(2002) 76(1) Law Institute Journal 72

A decade of Serbian repression led to the decimation of the legal system and legal education in Kosovo. The author was... more A decade of Serbian repression led to the decimation of the legal system and legal education in Kosovo. The author was able to play a small part in the rebuilding of a law school curriculum in this war-torn country. This article recounts her experience of teaching Human Rights Law at the University of Prishtina in 2001.

Prevention is Better than Cure: The UN and Human Rights Education

by paula gerber

A research project undertaken pursuant to a grant fromthe Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights to commenorate the 60th anniversary of the UDHR.

For over 60 years, human rights education (HRE) has been a focal point of the UN’s efforts to promote respect for... more For over 60 years, human rights education (HRE) has been a focal point of the UN’s efforts to promote respect for human rights. It seems that the UN recognises the potential for HRE to play a significant role in the prevention of human rights abuses. This paper examines the methods adopted by two UN
bodies to monitor and promote HRE. In particular, the approach of a treaty committee (the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), is contrasted with the approach of an inter-governmental body (the new Human Rights Council), to determine whether the tactics of these different UN organs
are consistent or conflicting. The paper concludes with some
recommendations about how the UN might reform its practices regarding the promotion of HRE in order to more effectively use HRE as a preventive tool.

BLACK RIGHTS/WHITE CURRICULUM: HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION FOR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

by paula gerber

(2004) 9(1) Deakin Law Review 61

In December 1994 the United Nations proclaimed both the Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and the Decade... more In December 1994 the United Nations proclaimed both the Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004) and the Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995-2004). Despite the fact that these two initiatives are running in tandem, very few people have drawn any correlation between the two. There is a growing body of academic work relating to human rights education, and many scholars have published work dealing with indigenous issues, yet scant attention has been paid to HRE for indigenous people. The two subjects have been treated as if they run in parallel lines, with little thought being given to how the two intersect or relate to each other.

This socio-legal research seeks to redress this oversight, at least in part, by answering the question - how appropriate is the international movement for HRE for indigenous people? In other words, do indigenous people require different HRE from that which is intended for the dominant culture?

The conclusion reached is that, not only are there very few Human rights education programs for indigenous people, but many of the ones that do exist, while well intentioned, are not appropriate for an indigenous audience.

The suitability of the curricula used to teach HRE to indigenous people, and the manner in which the curricula are delivered, are critically analysed.

The paper concludes with an evaluation of the HRE programs being offered to indigenous people and some criticisms of the models, curricula and methodology being employed.

Human Rights Reform in the United Nations: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

by paula gerber

(2006) 31(2) Alternative Law Journal 88

Recently there has been extensive criticism of the effectiveness of United Nations (UN) human rights bodies. In... more Recently there has been extensive criticism of the effectiveness of United Nations (UN) human rights bodies. In particular the Commission on Human Rights has been described as 'irrelevant' and 'positively destructive' because it has failed to act decisively when governments suppress human rights which they are legally bound to uphold. These kinds of accusations prompted Secretary General Kofi Annan to initiate a program of reform, a flagship of which, was to abolish the Commission and replace it with a new body to be known as the Human Rights Council. The author reviews the work of the old Commission on Human Rights and looks at the newly established Human Rights Council.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the New United Nations Human Rights Council

by paula gerber

(2007) 10 Flinders Journal of Law Refrm 241

The United Nations established the Commission on Human Rights in 1946, to protect and promote human rights but, the... more The United Nations established the Commission on Human Rights in 1946, to protect and promote human rights but, the history of the last 60 years, demonstrates all too clearly that this body has failed in its aims. Words like 'Rwanda', 'Darfur', 'Srebrenica', 'Abu Ghraib', and 'Pinochet' immediatelty evoke images of grave human rights abuses that the Commission failed to respond to. It was the Commission's failures which motivated the UN General Assembly to pass a historic resolution on 15 March 2006, dismantling the Commission and replacing it with a new body - the Human Rights Council. This abolition of the Commission and creation of the Council is, without doubt, one of the most significant reforms regarding the way in which human rights are promoted and protected, within the history of the UN.

This article considers why there was a need for such dramatic change and, the exact nature and extent of the change. It provides an overview of the reforms by examining five specific aspects of the Commission that were widely criticised, namely: its membership and size; the complaint processes; the abuse of the no-action procedure; the role of non-governmental organisations; and the operation of special procedures.

Making Visible the Problem of Invisibility

by paula gerber

(2009) 83(10) Law Institute Journal 52

There are a number of aborigines who are unable to prove their identity; either because their birth was never... more There are a number of aborigines who are unable to prove their identity; either because their birth was never registered, or because they cannot satisfy the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages’ prerequisites for obtaining a birth certificate. This article explores how the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 addresses this problem.

A Human Right to Groundwater?

by Maria Gavouneli

(v) Civic and Human Rights Education for Nigerian Students, Kaduna; League of Democratic Women, LEADS-Nigeria (with E.E. Alemika and Nimi-Walson Jack, 2001

by Victor Adetula

This book educates the youth both in and out of school on their civic and human rights as well as campaign for... more This book educates the youth both in and out of school on their civic and human rights as well as campaign for peaceful co-existence. The book was published as part of a program funded by NED to provide civic and human rights education in secondary schools in Kaduna State. A Civic and human rights education/ campaign was done to schools (public and private) after which the book was distributed. A quiz competition was later organized among schools in Kaduna and Zaria to assess the students on what had been disseminated. Prizes were awarded to the schools.

Can a Violent Husband Violate Human Rights?

by Serena Parekh

Reframing violence against women as a human rights violation: Evan Stark's coercive control

by Serena Parekh

AN OPEN LETTER TO CAMERON COUNTY COMMISSION

by MARGO TAMEZ

Published in The Crit Legal Studies Journal, Vol. 2, Issue 1, Winter 2009

SPACE, POSITION AND IMPERIALISM IN SOUTH TEXAS

by MARGO TAMEZ

In, Chicana/Latina Studies, 7:2, Spring 2008

'Our Way of Life is Our Resistance': Indigenous Women and Anti-Imperialist Challeges to Militarization along the U.S.-Mexico Border Wall

by MARGO TAMEZ

Restoring Lipan Apache Womens Laws, Lands, and Strength in El Calaboz Rancheria at the Texas-Mexico Border

by MARGO TAMEZ

Power, C (2007) Showmen's Guild Northwest Accommodation Report (revised)

by Colm Power

Power, C. (2004) Room to Roam: England's Irish Travellers (Report)

by Colm Power

Power, C. (1999) Our Histories, Our Futures (Homelessness Report)

by Colm Power

Power, C. (2003) ‘”TELLING IT LIKE IT IS”? Power, prejudice, politics and people in the qualitative process’, in S. Tombs and D. Whyte (Eds.) Unmasking the Crimes of the Powerful, London and New York: Peter Lang.

by Colm Power

Power, C. (2003) Irish Travellers: Ethnicity, Racism and pre-Sentence Reports (PJ)

by Colm Power

Power, C., O’Donnell, D. and ÓhAodha, M. (Eds.) (2007) The Stranger in Ourselves: Otherness and Irish Society, Dublin: A & A Farmar Press.

by Colm Power