Volume 4 No 1

Permanent URI for this collection

https://reponew.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/1551

A contradictory 2019 in the Arab world: The heralds of a second Arab Spring in times of increased vulnerability and upgraded authoritarianism
by Iasmin Ait Youssef, Rana Alsheikh Ali, Elena Comaro, Elise Diana, Solène Lavigne Delville, Nouha Maaninou, Marta Pannunzio and Charlotte van der Werf

Selected regional developments in human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific during 2019: Prospects turned to plights
by Ravi Prakash Vyas, Mike Hayes, Amalinda Savirani & Pranjali Kanel

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Global Campus Human Rights Journal, Volume 4 No 1

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) [...]

This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part, ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’, is the first time the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. In the second part, we publish a single article of a general bearing. In this article, Chofor Che finds the root causes for the ongoing political malaise in Cameroon in the failure of that state to effectively implement the decentralisation framework provided for under the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon. The third part contains a regular feature of the Journal, a discussion of ‘recent developments’ in the fields of human rights and democratisation in four of the regions covered by the Global Campus of Human Rights.
Children’s rights to privacy in times of emergency: The case of Serbia in relation to internet education technologies

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Cendic, Kristina

In the digital era the privacy of children has become an issue of particular importance. With the spread of COVID-19 many schools turned to online education, causing this vulnerable group of internet users to be more and more engaged in the digital sphere. It has thus become questionable whether children are protected enough when education systems increasingly turn to online teaching. When Serbia declared a state of emergency in an attempt to contain the new virus in March 2020, the national educational system also implemented online schooling. Since there have been severe privacy breaches in Serbia even before this pandemic, a basic question arises as to whether the right to privacy of children was adequately respected and protected when the students were required to use a number of programmes, networks and applications in order to attend classes. This article investigates the right to privacy of children during the recent application of online teaching/learning technologies and platforms in Serbia, exploring key emerging issues concerning online schooling and identifying further research on problems pertaining to this right that will inevitably appear in the years to come.
Rohingya children in Bangladesh: Safeguarding their health-related rights in relation to the available healthcare system

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Das Gupta, Sudipta ; Zaman, Maliha Samiha ; Begum, Korima

As at March 2020 Bangladesh hosted approximately 859 160 Rohingya people of which 54 per cent were children. The magnitude of their health problems is undeniable and uncertainty about the consequences of these health issues persists. Although Bangladesh is not a state party to key treaties in international refugee law, several human rights treaties to which Bangladesh is party (and some provisions of its Constitution) entail that the state should safeguard the basic human rights of the Rohingya people in its territory. This includes special protection for Rohingya children, particularly in relation to access to essential services. This article analyses whether the healthcare services and provision in one of the 34 camps set up in the Cox’s Bazar district are sufficient to safeguard the health-related rights of Rohingya children. The article employs a qualitative research methodology, on the basis of field work conducted in September and October 2019. In parallel, the authors look at the healthcare system available for Rohingya children from a human rights-based approach, which should inform possible public health interventions. Their analysis illustrates that for different reasons the existing system struggles to provide adequate protection of the health-related rights of these children. In exposing the critical situation related to the ability of Rohingya children to enjoy their rights on Bangladeshi territory, the article suggests that sustainable solutions to safeguard these rights can be found only if the relief distribution, healthcare services, healthcare procedures and related conditions work concurrently in an effective way as they are all interrelated. If a single component does not function well, the affected rights cannot be secured and children’s unhealthy living conditions in the camps are exacerbated.
Redressing language-based exclusion and punishment in education and the Language Friendly School initiative

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Hurwitz, Deena R. ; Kambel, Ellen-Rose

Despite decades of scientific literature showing the benefits of multilingual programmes that allow children to learn through their mother tongue, millions of children around the world continue to be denied the right to be educated through a language they understand. Not only are home languages largely excluded from the official curriculum, but children belonging to ethnolinguistic minorities often are also prohibited and sometimes even punished for speaking their mother tongue on the school grounds. Contrary to what is generally believed by educators, preventing children from using their home language does not improve their educational performance, but rather has harmful social and emotional effects. After presenting examples of these practices in various countries, this article examines the human rights implications when students are banned from using their home language at school, by referring to the international instruments in force regarding children’s rights in education, with a focus on the European context and its relevant framework. We find that such practices violate the right to education, freedom of speech, and the right to be protected against direct and indirect racial and language-based discrimination. The Language Friendly School is introduced as a new initiative with the explicit aim of ending language-based punishment in education by 2030, the ‘deadline’ of the Sustainable Development Goals. While schools are the primary location where these practices take place, tackling the deep inequalities in education cannot be left to schools alone. We end our analysis with a call to action on governments to redress these violations of children’s rights, and to human rights educators, advocates and lawyers to hold them accountable. Key words: right to education; language-based exclusion and punishment; ethnolinguistic minorities; racial discrimination; mother tongue education; multilingual education
Procedural precarity: An examination of Canadian immigration policy and practice in relation to immigrant youth

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Weizman, Aviva

All newcomers, regardless of age, face a compounded variety of barriers, risks and challenges that are exacerbated by their immigrant status. However, newcomer youths face some of these same issues with heightened vulnerability, often with a lower level of visibility or opportunity to reap the benefits bestowed by immigration policies or federally-funded programming. The Centre for Newcomers, an immigrant-serving organisation that has for more than 30 years been providing services to Calgarian newcomers, has identified several substantial gaps within these parameters. This article explores some of the most pressing gaps in Canadian immigration policy in relation to the following inter-connected and fundamental issues facing newcomer youth in Canada: protracted and ongoing status issues; educational barriers; and poverty. The article then contextualises these policy gaps with reference to CFN’s Real Me programme, which has recently been recognised as a best practice by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to provide evidence- and practice-based policy recommendations.
Children’s rights budgeting and social accountability: Children’s views on its purposes, processes and their participation

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Lundy, Laura ; Orr, Karen ; Marshall, Chelsea

Children’s rights budgeting is an international human rights priority and the focus of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s 2016 General Comment on Public Budgeting for the Realisation of Children’s Rights. General Comment 19 was informed by a consultation that gathered the views of 2 693 children in 71 varied national contexts across all five UN regions. The article describes the process and findings of this consultation, setting out the views of children across the world as to how their governments should make spending decisions that are sufficient, equitable, efficient, transparent and participatory. The consultation provides unique insights into how children in very different contexts think about the ways in which their governments can and do allocate public funds for children and their families in ways that support or undermine the realisation of their rights. The article identifies some of the barriers to including children in decision making on public spending, but challenges assumptions that they are not able to be or interested in being involved. It suggests that if participatory budgeting is to be effective for children, it will require bespoke forms of social accountability. Key words: children’s rights; participation; budgeting; social accountability
The Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Preliminary case law assessment for the effective promotion and protection of children’s rights

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Carletti, Cristiana

On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the locus standi of the child could be considered among its key elements. CRC has also been strengthened by the adoption of the Third Optional Protocol (Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure) introducing the communication mechanism under the mandate of the CRC Committee. The decisions released by this monitoring body interestingly exemplify how the mechanism functions. The reasoning the Committee takes on in cases related to the best protection of the rights of claimants is examined in this contribution. In order to understand the operational relevance of the mechanism, different categories of cases so far handled by the CRC Committee will be explored: for instance, communications that have either been declared inadmissible, discontinuous or examined and decided on in order to take measures against the states directly concerned. The investigation will be supplemented by referencing pending cases, as described by the CRC Committee in its latest published report about the communications still under examination. Starting from the rights under examination and the recognition of the locus standi in favour of the child, the ultimate aim of the contribution is to assess how the communication mechanism is relevant in terms of advanced guarantees. Additionally, the article will explore whether, although different from judicial reasoning, it remains a relevant mechanism for the promotion and protection of children’s rights at the maximum level. Key words: Convention on the Rights of the Child; Third Optional Protocol; communication procedure; best interests of the child; children’s rights
Editorial of special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Altafin, Chiara

The thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) represented an occasion for many in the field to take stock, reflecting on achievements and challenges of children’s rights advocacy and engagement with the CRC Committee. It also presented an opportunity to critically reflect on the extent to which the Convention has impacted on children’s rights research, including in terms of empirical and conceptual approaches, methodological innovations and gaps. We chose to contribute to the debate generated by the anniversary celebration with this edition of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal, which provides insight into selected developments in the area of children’s rights in different regions covered by the Global Campus of Human Rights.
Editorial

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) [...]

This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part, ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’, is the first time the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. In the second part, we publish a single article of a general bearing. In this article, Chofor Che finds the root causes for the ongoing political malaise in Cameroon in the failure of that state to effectively implement the decentralisation framework provided for under the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon. The third part contains a regular feature of the Journal, a discussion of ‘recent developments’ in the fields of human rights and democratisation in four of the regions covered by the Global Campus of Human Rights.
Rethinking the façade of decentralisation under the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Aime, Chofor Che Christian

The 1996 Constitution of Cameroon tried to put in place a decentraliased system of government in order to accommodate Cameroon’s diverse communities. The constitutional and political evolution from the colonial era up to the present has a role to play in decentralisation efforts. The country today faces a number of serious challenges to governance which the decentralisation project in the 1996 Constitution was supposed to address. Some of these challenges that were discussed during the national dialogue that took place in the country from 30 September to 4 October 2019 include difficulties in dealing with the country’s dual colonial heritage, particularly the perception of marginalisation by the Anglophone community. Other challenges include embracing constitutionalism; tackling minority concerns such as the rights of women and indigenous people; curbing ethnic tensions; and managing the transition from authoritarian to democratic governance. An examination of the constitutional and legal framework of decentralisation under the 1996 Constitution shows that these issues have not been adequately addressed under the current dispensation. There thus is a need for a fundamental constitutional overhaul that would provide a more effective decentralised framework for administrative, political and fiscal decentralisation. The new framework should equally entrench the basic elements of constitutionalism such as upholding human rights, fostering the separation of powers, the amendment of the Constitution and judicial independence. There equally is a need for legal safeguards, such as a constitutional court, to guard against the usurpation and the centralisation of powers by the central government. Only such elements can facilitate Cameroon’s decentralisation efforts and thus ease the accommodation of diversity, enhance development, democracy and manage conflict. Key words: decentralisation; federalism; constitutionalism; democracy; human rights; diversity management
European populism in the European Union: Results and human rights impacts of the 2019 parliamentary elections

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Balnaves, Hugo ; Burkle, Eduardo : Monteiro ; Erkan, Jasmine ; Fischer, David

Populism is a problem neither unique nor new to Europe. However, a number of crises within the European Union, such as the ongoing Brexit crisis, the migration crisis, the climate crisis and the rise of illiberal regimes in Eastern Europe, all are adding pressure on EU institutions. The European parliamentary elections of 2019 saw a significant shift in campaigning, results and policy outcomes that were all affected by, inter alia, the aforementioned crises. This article examines the theoretical framework behind right-wing populism and its rise in Europe, and the role European populism has subversively played in the 2019 elections. It examines the outcomes and human rights impacts of the election analysing the effect of right-wing populists on key EU policy areas such as migration and climate change. Key Words: European parliamentary elections; populism; EU institutions; human rights
Selected regional developments in human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific during 2019: Prospects turned into plights

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Vyas, Ravi Prakash ; Hayes, Mike ; Savirani, Amalinda ; Kanel, Pranjali

The international community marking the anniversaries of international organisations and treaty bodies, along with the realisation of human rights bolstered by technology, opened windows for upholding human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific. However, despite these prospects, the use of technology as a pretext of national security and impeding freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as increasing mob violence and lynching, suggest that the development of human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific continued its downward trend in the year 2019. With elections in some parts of the Asia Pacific, concerns about upholding human rights in the present and future were raised. States that have ratified human rights treaties, and are part of regional mechanisms that advocate upholding human rights, remain reluctant to fulfil their duties. Although the steps taken by regional mechanisms along the UN are positive in upholding and advocating human rights, the consequences of those steps remain unsatisfactory. Key words: human rights; democratisation, Asia Pacific; technology; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly; workers’ rights; elections; regional bodies
Selected developments in human rights and democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa during 2019

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Nyawa, Joshua ; Nyemba, Chisomo ; Nyokabi, Deborah ; Mathenge, Ian ; White, Thomas Kagiso

This article reviews selected developments in human rights and democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa during 2019. It contextualises the withdrawal of Tanzania from the optional declaration under article 34(6) of the African Court allowing individuals and non-governmental organisations to submit cases directly to the African Court. It notes that while the withdrawal is a painful blow, it is not fatal as the African Commission remains a viable access channel. The authors further commend developments in women’s rights in the areas of child marriage, the protection of pregnant school girls, sexual and reproductive health rights and democratisation, but notes that they are piecemeal in nature and more still needs to be done. The article discusses the monumental judgment nullifying presidential elections in Malawi and its implications for democracy, particularly in asserting the independence of the judiciary in Africa. The article also analyses the killings and persecutions of persons with albinism in Malawi and the need for urgent redress. The authors evaluate the mixed developments in LGBTIQ rights juxtaposing the parliamentary successes in Angola, the judicial victory in Botswana, on the one hand, with the judicial setback in Kenya, on the other. The article highlights the fall of Al Bashir’s regime in Sudan as a remarkable step towards democratisation in Africa. Finally, the authors screen the drawbacks of violence on human rights and democratisation through the case studies of xenophobia in South Africa, the Anglophone Cameroon crisis, violent extremism in West Africa, and civil strife in Ethiopia, urging for an end to bloodshed in line with the African Union’s vision of silencing the guns by 2020. Key words: courts; African Court; Tanzania; democratisation; elections; human rights; same-sex relationships; sub-Saharan Africa; violence; women’s rights
A contradictory 2019 in the Arab world: The heralds of a second Arab Spring in times of increased vulnerability and upgraded authoritarianism

(Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Ait Youssef, Iasmin ; Alsheikh Ali, Rana ; Comaro, Elena ; Diana, Elise ; Lavigne Delville, Solène ; Maaninou, Nouha ; Pannunzio, Marta ; Werf, Charlotte : van der

During the year 2019 mass mobilisations broke out throughout the Arab region, with protestors calling for regime change and denouncing mismanagement, corruption and the lack of basic services and human rights in countries as diverse as Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. In some cases they were violently opposed and quelled; in others they brought about a transitional process. These democratic processes and authoritarian reactions were accompanied by an important case of democratic consolidation in Tunisia and peaceful transfer of power in Mauritania. Some observers saw in these movements the sparks of a second Arab Spring, while others noted an upgrading of authoritarianism, through different repression techniques against protesters, activists and civil society organisations. Security forces and tribunals have been used for repression, but so have new constitutional and legislative texts that have shifted the balance of power in favour of the executive and the military. The repression of cyberspace was extended through new technological tools that allow for the monitoring, tracking and silencing of dissenting voices. Beyond these two opposing dynamics, the socio-economic situation in many countries across the region deteriorated, increasing the vulnerability of groups such as women, children, stateless persons and refugees. The socio-economic situation has also provided several local, national, regional and international actors with a means to exercise economic violence that typically impact on the most vulnerable, depriving them of their most basic human rights or allowing them only conditional access to these rights. Key words: democratisation; authoritarianism; cyber control; socio-economic violence; refugees; protests, human rights; Arab Spring; oppression; arrests

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