Global Campus Awarded Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Every year the regional master’s programmes of Global Campus of human rights select the best master theses of the previous academic year. The selected seven GC master theses cover a range of different international human rights topics and challenges.
Browse
Recent Submissions
1 - 5 of 70
-
ItemForms of sumud in the Jordan Valley(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022)This paper focuses on the daily practices of Palestinians to resist the advancement of the Zionist settler colonial project of elimination in the Jordan Valley, Palestine. The analysis attempts to unfold the continuities and transformations of sumud throughout generations by examining the role of internal and external dynamics in shaping the modes of local everyday resistance. Placing Jordan Valley Palestinian youth, farmers, shepherds and activists interviewed at the core of the production of knowledge, this dissertation underlines the role of the multiform resistance of peasants in countering the advancement of colonisation in rural Palestine.
-
ItemGrowing Up in a World on Fire. Children Take Centre-Stage in the Strategic Climate Litigation Movement(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022)The climate crisis is an existential threat to humanity, the greatest human rights issue of our time, and a glaring intergenerational injustice. Faced with the urgent need to take action, political leaders around the world have largely fallen short. Strategic litigation has thus gained prominence as a valuable tool for realising human rights and inciting governmental action in the fight against climate change. Children in particular have proven to be powerful actors in advocating for climate justice in the streets and, increasingly, in the courtroom. Children and youth are especially motivated to address climate change, as it is a phenomenon that disproportionately impacts them and will continue to have grave and long-lasting consequences for their futures. Consequently, a new trend has emerged wherein strategic litigation is being used to protect and uphold the rights of children in the climate crisis. However, this occurs in a context where children experience important obstacles in accessing justice and obtaining effective remedies for human rights violations. This work therefore aims to understand how strategic litigation at different levels, aimed at protecting the rights of children in the context of the climate crisis, can uphold equality rights and ensure access to justice. By analysing case studies at the international (United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child), regional (European Court of Human Rights), and domestic (Canada) levels, this piece identifies and critically examines some of the challenges and opportunities faced by young climate litigants. Key words: children’s rights; climate change; strategic litigation; access to justice.
-
ItemLegal Mobilisation by Indonesian Women with Disabilities in Pursuing Empowerment(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022)Women with disabilities have experienced double marginalisation. As women, they remain marginalised in terms of gender, such as patriarchal culture and religious conservatism, and as a person with disability, their participation in the social, political, economic and cultural lives has been constrained by the state and society’s barriers. One example can be seen from the lack of reliable statistics/data about women with disabilities in Indonesia. They remain treated as a separate entity by the state policies. This treatment, in turn, could not understand their experience of marginalisation as a unified human subject. Even though Indonesia has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) through Law No 7 of 1984 and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) through Law No 19 of 2011, it has not changed much and the marginalisation continues to remain. Based on that, the problems addressed in this thesis are: first, the intersectional forms of social construction that are a serious problem for women with disabilities in which sexual and gender identity escalate the condition of women with disabilities; second, the legal and institutional settings in Indonesia positioning within different government institutions. By applying qualitative research methods through documentary research and semi-structured interviews, this research discusses the legal mobilisation by women with disabilities in Indonesia in order to pursue empowerment as well as their limitations. I divide their process of mobilising legal and institutional resources through three different strategies: advocacy from above, advocacy from within and advocacy from below. They achieved such meaningful goals in the normative context and empowering other women with disabilities; however, the challenges for further empowerment remain in place. Implication of thesis: This research has two implications: firstly, the method will be useful for understanding how women with disabilities in Indonesia exercise their agency to mobilise legal and institutional resources in achieving empowerment. Secondly, it enriches the literature review of women with disabilities from gender and human rights approach. Key words: Women with disabilities, legal mobilisation, empowerment, Indonesia
-
ItemLouder than Words: Art Activism in the Context of Belarusian Protest Movement(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022)The world’s reality of massive information, visual content and unexpected obstacles demands constant ongoing development of human rights-related tools and instruments as well as an interdisciplinary approach. Connecting artistic expression and activism creates a more understandable and effective language for speaking about sociopolitical processes and human rights than the official language of institutions worldwide. In the context of the protest movements in Belarus art activism became an instrument that influences the functioning and development of sociopolitical processes. The study aims to explore the phenomena of art activism in order to define the contribution of art activism to the sphere of human rights and democratic processes in the context of Belarusian protests. Using the methods of qualitative analysis of literature sources, evidence of art practices during protests and seven interviews with experts, artists and activists, the study defines art activism and its interconnection with human rights and also covers strengths and threats within the legal framework. On the basis of the study the main mechanisms of the impact of artistic expression on the democratic processes are defined. The current reality in the world reveals that artistic expression has a huge potential as an instrument in the sphere of human rights. The conceptualisation of current art activism experience and its contribution to the growth of the human rights dimension in Belarus in the context of the autocratic regime’s protest movement generates significant methodological support for the application of artistic means.
-
ItemThe Right to Inclusive Education for Children with Learning Disabilities in Africa: Lessons from Kenya and Uganda(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022)Ensuring that children, including those with learning disabilities, have access to quality education is essential, and accessing inclusive education is a critical aspect of achieving this goal. Inclusive education strives to foster the participation, engagement and achievement of every learner in the classroom, regardless of their background or ability. It recognises that diversity is an asset and aims to create a supportive environment for all students. African state parties to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) have an obligation under articles 11(3) of the ACRWC and 24 of the CRPD to ensure the full realisation of inclusive education for children with learning disabilities. The study examines general trends in legislation and policy development across the continent. It draws lessons from the experience of Kenya and Uganda by interrogating the national legislation and policy, jurisprudence and field research to assess the extent to which inclusive education is being implemented. The study identifies barriers that children with learning disabilities face in accessing education, including institutional, informational, environmental and sociocultural barriers. The study proposes recommendations to strengthen the domestication of inclusive education; this includes the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the provision of adequate resources and infrastructure, developing flexible curriculums and disaggregated data collection.