Global Campus Arab World: DEMA --->ARMA

Permanent URI for this collection

https://reponew.gchumanrights.org/handle/20.500.11825/564
Arab Master in Democracy and Human Rights Theses / Internship Reports written in partial fulfilment of master's degree

Browse

Browsing Global Campus Arab World: DEMA --->ARMA by Issue Date

Jump to a point in the index:
  • Item
    Regionalization of human rights: towards an Arab human rights system? : the Charter, the Bodies, and the Court saga
    ( 2015) Amghar, Hassnaa ; el-Ahmadi, Mohsine
    The evolution of the International system for the protection and promotion of human rights, or the United Nation System, has led to the regionalization of human rights with the growing of regional human rights protection systems in importance steadily over the past few decades. The MENA Region does not have a regional human rights system of its own, but most of its States are covered by at least one of the five above-mentioned regional systems, namely the African Human Rights System, the Arab Human Rights System and the European Human Rights System, notably the case of Turkey. This paper is to examine the emerging Arab Human Rights System championed by the League of Arab States, which is the newest regional systems. Studying the Arab Human Rights System is important mainly because of the size of the population that it is meant to cover and the current turmoil in the Region it is meant to cover. A well functioning human rights system can provide answers to many of the causes of the turmoil and hence improve the lives of the population of the region; however, as things stand presently, a lot of changes need to take place before establishing such a system and achieving these ends.
  • Item
  • Item
    Freedom of expression and opinion : case study Palestine, Morocco
    ( 2015) Namari, Razan ; el-Ahmadi, Mohsine
  • Item
  • Item
  • Item
  • Item
    The EU and the Palestinian minority in Israel
    ( 2015) Cardarelli, Cristina ; Azarov, Valentina
    The EU is a major actor on the global scene. In foreign policy, it has a predisposition to act normatively, by exporting norms and making states comply with them. However, this is not always the case as the EU-Israeli relations demonstrate. In particular, an analysis of the EU approach towards the Palestinian minority in Israel will question the true potential of EU normative power to bring about concrete change – and discover the genuine human rights concerns that drive EU external actions. Despite the fact that the EU has not been totally insensitive towards the minority, no consistent polices have been developed so far. This is mostly due to two reasons: the existence of weak legal framework on minority rights and the close interconnection between the status of the minority and the Jewish character of Israel. Because of that, EU actions have been mostly driven by cost-benefit calculations, rather than norms. However, a reconceptualization of the minority is needed. On one hand, a deeper engagement with it will close the gap between EU declarations and actions. On the other hand, by implementing the status of the minority there is possibility to re-discuss the Jewish character of Israel from within.
  • Item
    Protection of labour rights of Undocumented Migrant Workers against severe labour exploitation in the EU: a case for supporting clandestine workers in Belgium
    ( 2015) Taha, Suhail ; Knockaeret, Jan
    Today in democratic Europe, hundreds of thousands of migrants are deprived of basic social rights, and are exposed to various forms of severe labour exploitation; which has become a phenomenon in the European Union member-states. Difficult economic and social circumstances are the driving forces that cause migrants to work in conditions that do not adhere to the minimum legal and employment standard. The employers are taking advantage of the vulnerable situation of these migrants, many of whom live in constant fear due to their illegal status. In Belgium, ironically, serious violations against undocumented migrants often take place in Brussels, the city where most of the EU legislations are adopted and enacted. The professor of migration at Oxford University, Bridget Anderson, refused to frame the tragedy only as an immigrant issue, stating that the issue of illegal immigration is rooted in deeper problems such as global inequality, injustice, neo-liberal capitalism, and wars in countries neighboring Europe. While Bridget Anderson criticized the current policy mind-set by introducing the concept of ‘violent humanitarianism’ referring to EU responses and policy on migration that rhetorically aims to implement humanitarian objectives, while in terms of practice it contributes to the suffering of victims by choosing ‘violence’ or military response to this tragedy. Most illegal immigrants are often at the bottom of the Belgian labour market, forced to take up menial jobs that locals are not interested in, as stated by Reynieri. OR.C.A refers to them as “The hidden face of our neoliberal economic system”, while PICUM says that Migrant workers take up the ‘3-D’ jobs, namely dirty, degrading and dangerous. The first part of the report presents the EU legal framework for combating forms of labour exploitation. The report also sheds a light on the EU policy on migration, while examining its objectives, and assessing the current debate whether the policy in place focuses more on criminalizing or decriminalizing the undocumented migrants. The second part of the report highlights the situation in Belgium, where exploitation of undocumented migrants prevalent. Finally, the report presents reflections based on research work conducted in collaboration with OR.C.A organization for Rights of Undocumented Migrant Workers, of which it includes an interview with an undocumented victimized worker. This report aims to highlight the gap between the EU legal frameworks for protecting labour rights of undocumented migrants against exploitation, and the vulnerable living conditions and exploitation of the undocumented. As for now, the EU has put into legislation many directives that address the rights of the undocumented migrant workers, namely the Employers Sanctions Directive, the Anti-Trafficking Directive and the Seasonal Worker Directive. However, civil society organisations have called upon the EU to call upon member states to transpose the provisions of the directives into their national law, and to create new mechanisms that will ensure implementation of the laws that will guarantee the protection of the undocumented community against prevalent forms of severe labour exploitation in the EU, such as slavery, servitude and forced labour.
  • Item
  • Item
    Evaluating and suggesting an adjusted shape of DE.MA program
    ( 2015) Saoud, Mohamad Alhussein ; Benoît-Rohmer, Florence
  • Item
  • Item
    The role of NGOs in women’s empowerment: the case of Tunisia
    ( 2015) Bennis, Hafsa ; Bouraoui, Soukaïna
    CAWTAR is an international NGO based in Tunis that implements projects and programs in the Arab world, in cooperation with local NGOs. The main goal of CAWTAR is to eradicate discrimination against Arab women and to reduce inequalities through the promotion of research, education and training. During this internship, I became aware of the crucial role NGOs play in women’s empowerment, especially in countries where the States fail to guarantee gender equality and a decent life to all citizens. In fact, women’s empowerment became very popular in the last decade and NGOs proved being an efficient actor in this field, helping States to eradicate poverty and guarantee gender equality. In this report, an attempt has been made to define empowerment in the general context, and to present it in the Tunisian one through examples of programs that have been carried out by three NGOs: CAWTAR, LET and TAHADI.
  • Item
  • Item
  • Item
    Civil society in exile, reconciliation and the future of Syria: the role of the emerging Syrian civil society in Lebanon
    ( 2015) Welander, Marta ; Itani, Hala
    As the polarised violent conflict in Syria continues without end in sight, Syrians continue to flee into neighbouring countries in search of safety and security. The displacement of Syrians en masse into Lebanon over the past few years means that there are now Syrians from a wide variety of socioeconomic, sectarian and ethnic backgrounds, together forming a microcosm of Syrian society in Lebanon. Within this exiled population, many Syrians with strong entrepreneurial abilities from different political projects have taken the opportunity presented by the relatively enabling civil society environment in Lebanon to set up different forms of civil society groups. While no official register of these organisations exists, field research in Akkar, Beirut, Bekaa Valley, Shatila, and Tripoli, managed to identify a total of 34 Syrian-led civil society actors across Lebanon. Fourteen of these groups were examined more closely, through interviews and direct observations. The majority of the researched Syrian actors work in response to the suffering of fellow Syrian refugees, while some focus on easing the tension between Syrians and their Lebanese host communities, and others yet again conduct and disseminate research. The research suggests that Syrian civil society in Lebanon ought not to be misunderstood as merely a form of charitable service provision or temporary pastime activities of exiled Syrians. Rather, the analysis of the research findings suggests that the emergence of a Syrian civil society in exile presents a unique phenomenon. Instead of waiting passively for a ceasefire and a political settlement to be reached, these Syrian groups are seizing the opportunity to develop and grow as civil society actors in exile, hoping to play a role in rebuilding Syria at a later stage. However, the emerging civil society will require international support in order to sustain its work and develop organically. While the international community can play an important role in this context, it needs to recognise the specific and fragile circumstances in which the Syrian civil society actors are operating. A number of concrete recommendations are derived from the research findings, proposing ways in which the international community could support the emerging Syrian civil society in exile.
  • Item
  • Item
    Internship at the regional office for the Middle East and North Africa of the United Nations Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR Beirut)
    ( 2016) Bouhya, Adil ; Monin, Pascal
    I contacted my internship at the Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) during the period of May and June. This report tackles mainly how I contributed to the work of the office, focusing on my participation on the daily activities Through five main tasks: communication, treaty bodies monitoring, gender, rule of law, Human rights defenders, the Syria monitoring. In carrying out these tasks, My legal background was particularly of an imminent help in conducting legal researches related to the Human Rights situation in the MENA region. This situation is analyzed through a deep study of human rights defendant’s trials and to what extent they comply with international standards of fair trial. The report also includes a study about the laws of violence against women in Arab countries and their compliance with international standards. One more task that the report is mentioning is my contribution to preparing a curricula for judges in the framework of trainings aiming to promote Human Rights and democracy. Last but not least, I also include a paper on Democracy, Rule of law and the right to a fair trial. I based my analysis on Lebanon as a case study. My motivation behind this paper, is to be able to shed some light on the repercussions of the governance system on the judiciary branch. Therefore, explaining how it affects human rights, and especially the right to a fair trial. This paper is an attempt to materialize the knowledge acquainted during the first semester, in the topic of consociational democracy in Lebanon.
  • Item
    Beyond occupation. A NGO perspective : apartheid, settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing in the OPT.
    ( 2016) Muston, Carlotta ; Al - Botmeh, Reem
    This report is the outcome of the period spent as an intern at the Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign. Based on the activities undertaken throughout the internship, this report shows evidence of how the policies implemented by Israel in the OPTs urgently need to be internationally recognised as enforcement of Apartheid, Settler Colonialism and Ethnic Cleansing. The analysis provided will insist that the framework of Occupation is not enough to understand the reality of the OPTs. The focus on the cluster of policies implemented by Israel, shall describe the systematic institutionalisation of an oppressive regime aimed to seize the land, while pushing Palestinians in Ghettos and Bantustans. International Law provides notions that suite and can be applied to the case of the OPT. The failure by the International Community to recognise and embrace such framework undermines the strength of the International Community, favouring political reasons over Human Rights’ ones. If the International Community, will not take a stand against Israel’s conduct, Area C of the OPTs will soon be annexed by Israel, while confining Palestinians in Area A and B of the OPTs.
  • Item
    The right to rehabilitation : the implementation within a transitional justice process
    ( 2016) Natsheh, Reem ; Mzoughi, Chaker
    This report examined the right to rehabilitation, and its implementation within a transitional justice process. The report looked into Tunisia as a case study, in which it examined the enacted laws and their coincidence with international treaties and conventions. The report looked into the practical implementation of the right to rehabilitation through studying and analyzing the work of the Tunisian institute for rehabilitation-Nebras, the first and only rehabilitation center in Tunisia. Through the development of the report, many challenges emerged facing the implementation of the right to rehabilitation; some are international, such as the lack of a clear definition of rehabilitation. Other challenges, on the national level, are the most problematic ones as the level of implementation in this report was on a national level, as shown by this report most of these challenges were created due to the lack of the government responsibilities towards its obligations, for example in terms of enacting laws and providing different types of support, such as financial support and other means of practices. To sum up, the report emphasized on the importance of the right to rehabilitation and its implementation, moreover it concluded to a number of recommendations that emerged as a solution for the challenges.
  • Item