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101. Negotiation on the Ground: Realizing Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in South Africa, Nigeria and Peru

Author:
Natasha Sawh
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) came into force in 1948, the horrific memory of the Holocaust was fresh in the minds of the drafters. The rise of Nazism in Germany was made possible in large part by the severe economic depression the country suffered. In 1941, President Roosevelt outlined four essential freedoms he believed to be achievable worldwide within a generation, including freedom from want. In his 1944 State of the Union address, he stated a pragmatic rationale for socio-economic rights: “People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made” (cited in Eide 1995, p.29). In the aftermath of WWII, the importance of international standards that could protect all human beings against state oppression was clear. As a result, a group of influential states agreed upon the UDHR, which expressed a bold and comprehensive vision of human rights that included political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. Its preamble envisions the “advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want.”
Topic:
Civil Society and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, Germany, Latin America, Nigeria, and Peru

102. Darfur: In Search of Peace

Author:
George Shepherd and Peter Van Arsdale
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
Abstract:
Darfur is located in the Western part of Sudan and borders Libya to the north, and Chad and CentralAfrican Republic to the West. It had an estimated population of seven million (prior to refugee and IDPdisplacements), representing more than 70 tribes, and is potentially rich in natural resources includingoil, copper, and uranium, as well as reservoirs of subsurface "Pleistocene water."
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil War, Human Rights, Human Welfare, Humanitarian Aid, Poverty, and War
Political Geography:
Africa and Libya

103. Guinea: The Transition Has Only Just Begun

Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The military junta that took control of the country just hours after President Conté's death on 23 December 2008 has tightened its grip on power. The self-proclaimed president, Moussa Dadis Camara, and his group of midranking officers calling itself the National Council for Democracy and Development (Conseil national pour la démocratie et le développement, CNDD), have shown few signs of moving towards elections by the end of 2009 as promised. As Guinea's dire economic prospects erode popular support, the junta, unpracticed in governing, is also in danger of resorting to authoritarian measures. With the risk of a counter-coup from dissatisfied army elements still present, a democratic transition at best faces a long and difficult road. Concerted national and international pressure is urgently needed to produce a return to civilian rule, even before elections if the junta begins to stall on preparations for a vote.
Topic:
Political Violence, Human Rights, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa and Guinea

104. WSC 5: Protecting People, Economies, and Infrastructure

Author:
Christine Lynch, Devon Tucker, Michael Harvey, and Jacqueline McLaren Miller
Publication Date:
02-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Drawing on a diverse array of opinions from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America, the EastWest Institute's Fifth Worldwide Security Conference brought together specialists from the spheres of policy, academia, and civil society. Participants addressed a variety of issues on the contemporary global security landscape. These ranged from specific security threats (whether illicit trade, the targeting of critical infrastructure or cyber crime) to the role of interested actors (such as business, NGOs, and media), as well as a focus on potential strategies to counter terrorism and extremism (either in terms of constructing global cooperative architectures or, more controversially, the possibility of opening dialogue with the terrorists). A variety of policy recommendations emerged from each session—detailed in the main body of the report—but there were several recurring themes binding the debate together and animating the core arguments of proceedings as a whole. These policy recommendations were not necessarily consensus recommendations but reflected a wide range of debated policy prescriptions.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Economics, Education, Globalization, Human Rights, International Security, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America

105. Dusk or Dawn for the Human Rights Movement?

Author:
Sarah E. Mendelson
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Washington Quarterly
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
About a month before the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the United States elected its first African-American president, Barack Obama. This historic event, a fitting milestone, brings to life that declaration, which human rights activists and legal scholars regard as the sacred text. Obama's election fulfills a dream of the U.S. civil rights movement, a struggle that relied as much on the UDHR as on the courage of the men and women who for decades fought to make the United States a ''more perfect union.'' For human rights defenders around the world, its significance cannot be overstated.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and America

106. Scenarios for Sudan: Avoiding Political Violence Through 2011

Author:
Alan Schwartz
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Absent a change in current trends, further political violence in Sudan will be hard to avoid. Lack of governance capacity in the South and failure to resolve key issues between the North and South are important factors that can lead to political violence surrounding the referendum, slated for 2011, on whether the South secedes or remains part of a united Sudan. The parties need a shared sense of confidence about post-2011 futures. The North should be encouraged to cooperate in the referendum process and accept the outcome. The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) should devote more energy and resources to governance and service delivery rather than building military capability. The international community needs an assistance strategy focused on enhancing the GOSS's capacity to deliver services through local governments. The United States and the international community should pressure and assist the parties to promptly pass referendum legislation and address fundamental issues (e.g., oil and boundaries) before the referendum.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Genocide, Human Rights, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, Sudan, and Arabia

107. Guinea: Military Rule Must End

Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The killing of at least 160 participants in a peaceful demonstration, the rape of many women protestors, and the arrest of political leaders by security forces in Conakry on 28 September 2009 showed starkly the dangers that continued military rule poses to Guinea's stability and to a region where three fragile countries are only just recovering from civil wars. The military junta, the National Council for Democracy and Development (Conseil national pour la démocratie et le développement, CNDD), is denying its evident responsibility and playing for time by offering what it calls a “national union government” to opposition parties. But with the mood on the streets hardening against the junta, worse trouble is likely unless combined domestic and international pressure is applied to force the soldiers from power.
Topic:
Political Violence, Democratization, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa and Guinea

108. The Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) and Genocide Prevention in Africa

Author:
Jenna Slotin, Castro Wesamba, and Teemt Bekele
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Within the United Nations, the concept of the responsibility to protect (RtoP) has regained considerable momentum after nearly two years of stasis following the 2005 World Summit. Outside the corridors of the world body, discussions about RtoP and its application to specific regional situations, as well as the mandate of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, one of the crimes specified in the Summit's Outcome Document, are still at a nascent stage. In order to contribute to rectifying this imbalance, the International Peace Institute, the UN Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and the InterAfrica Group convened an expert roundtable on “The Responsibility to Protect and Genocide Prevention in Africa” in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 23 and 24, 2008.
Topic:
Genocide, Human Rights, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Africa, United Nations, and Ethiopia

109. What is the case for a security and justice focus in development assistance programming? An assessment of existing literature and evidence

Author:
Dylan Hendrickson and Olawake Ismail
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This literature review on security and justice was commissioned by DFID and is intended to support the preparation of the new DFID White Paper on 'Securing our Common Future'. The purpose of the literature review is to find evidence to support the 'case for security and justice'. The key question it asks is why DFID (and other development agencies) should see security and justice as core business?
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Law
Political Geography:
Africa

110. The Africa Union: Pitfalls and Prospects for Uniting Africa

Author:
Wafula Okumu
Publication Date:
06-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
As the African Union (AU) moves toward its tenth anniversary in 2012, it is drawing a great deal of attention to its handling of mounting crises on the continent. Across the continent, the AU is faced w ith crises that test its commitment and capability to fulfill the ambitious agenda it adopted at its formation in July 2002. This agenda includes the promotion of peace, stability, human rights, democracy, good governance and sustainable development. Among the motivating factors for the formation of the Union was to provide Africa with a platform and voice to survive and benefit from the wave of globalization. The AU, as stated in its Constitutive Act, was Africa's response to “the multifaceted challenges that confront our continent and peoples in the light of the social, economic and political changes taking place in the world.” It was concocted as a vehicle for accelerating “political and socio-economic integration of the continent” and for establishing “the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations.”
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
Africa