Volume 4 (No 1-2)

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    The 17 October 2019 protests in Lebanon: Perceptions of Lebanese and non-Lebanese residents of Tripoli and surroundings
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Dahrouge, Elias ; Nammour, Jihad ; Lotf, Ahmed Samy ; Abualroos, Karim ; Ait Youssef, Iasmin ; Al-Burbar, Eman ; Al-Salafi, Azal ; Alsheikh Ali, Rana ; Arbi, Chiraz ; Benyahya, Khawla ; Bhatti, Sarah ; Cavalluzzo, Francesco ; Comaro, Elena ; Daniaud, Elise ; El-Zein, Jamal ; Fares, Asmaa ; Hosta Cuy, Elena ; Lavigne Delville, Solene ; Maaninou, Nouha ; Olea Corral, Andrea ; Pannunzio, Marta ; Ramdani, Adel ; Salloum, Hazar ; Werf, Charlotte : van der ; Yousef, Nedaa
    Starting from 17 October 2019, Lebanon had witnessed an unprecedented wave of mass protests and mobilisation across its territory. This so-called Thawra came to question the state’s social contract, which is built on a peculiar political system: sectarian con-sociationalism. Characterised by institutionalised clientelism and systemic corruption, coupled with an unprecedented economic crisis, the system recently showed its limits. Tripoli is Lebanon’s second-largest and most deprived city. Yet, it hosted the largest protests across the country, aptly referred to as the ‘bride of the revolution’. To better understand the city’s dynamics in this respect, field research was conducted there in January 2020. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study reflects on Tripoli’s residents’ perceptions about the protests. Beyond focusing exclusively on the city’s Lebanese residents, it gives some important insights into its vulnerable Syrian and Palestinian refugee inhabitants. The study also demonstrates that, surprisingly, Tripoli’s citizens have nuanced perceptions about these protests. It reveals through charts how divergence in some of these perceptions depends on conditions such as employment, sex, age and nationality. Finally, it gives some tangible insights into Tripoli’s level of mobilisation, engagement, and inclusion of women in the wave of protests. Key words: Middle East; Lebanon; mobilisation; protests; refugees
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    Armed conflict and national security depriving children of liberty in the MENA region: Case studies and good practices
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Jambi, Reham ; Arbi, Chiraz ; Werf, Charlotte : van der ; Lotf, Ahmed Samy
    The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty outlines various pathways to detention in the contexts of armed conflicts and national security. A particular focus of this article falls on a comparative study between three case studies in the Arab region – notably Iraq & Syria (ISIS regions), Libya, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). This comparative study is used in order to identify common problems as well as common good practices towards reaching a preliminary regional approach. With the defeat of ISIS, approximately 29 000 children have been detained in the northeast of Syria and in Iraq. Of those, only a limited number of children have been repatriated to their or their parents’ countries of origin, highlighting the overall reluctance of states to repatriate jihadist fighters for alleged security concerns. Detained children associated with ISIS are susceptible to radicalisation, aggravated socio-psychological harm and deprivation of the right to a normal childhood. The changing nature of armed conflict from ‘traditional’ wars to conflicts between non-state armed groups corresponds with an increase in the treatment of children as perpetrators rather than victims (especially in Libya). Children affiliated with terrorist groups are put to trial in circumstances that are contrary to international child justice standards. In the OPT, a high number of arrested children are mistreated, while they are also subjected to military courts and law. While states have the primary duty to prevent any potential security threats (including terrorism), protecting children from all types of violence is an obligation under international human rights law. Recognising the pressing need to liberate children from their precarious situation within detention camps, this article calls for concerted efforts to bring adequate solutions in accordance with international standards of justice for children in a way that promotes their rehabilitation and reintegration. Key words: children’s rights; armed conflict; national security; deprivation of liberty; children deprived of liberty; children in Palestine; children of ISIS; children in Libya; UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty; deprivation of liberty on grounds of armed conflict; deprivation of liberty on grounds of national security
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    Children’s deprivation of liberty as a tool of immigration and national security control in Europe? Unlocking captured childhoods by means of child-centred strategies and non-custodial solutions
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Altafin, Chiara ; Storbeck, Majsa ; Ninnin, Noémie ; Balnaves, Hugo ; Voziki, Vassia
    This article explores children’s detention on immigration or national security grounds as affected by European states’ contemporary security rationale neglecting children’s rights. Attention is given to how non-custodial solutions and child-centred strategies could avoid the systemic deprivation of liberty for these reasons. In acknowledging the range of contemporary threats against the right to liberty and security of children, it is crucial to investigate the link between detention and security narratives, as children – a particularly vulnerable group – are affected disproportionately. The focus is placed on the situations in The Netherlands, France, Greece, Ireland and Cyprus. Concluding remarks are based on the case studies and the regional perspective taken beyond these cases, to draw arguments for law and policy changes at both levels. Key words: children’s rights; migration; national security; repatriation; detention; security rationale
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    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
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    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) Ćendić, 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.
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    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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    Deinstitutionalisation of children with disabilities: Process, progress and challenges in South-East Europe
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Fazlić, Muamer ; Kalem, Melina ; Latić, Esma ; Rasiti, Gresa ; Milić, Nikolina
    More than a decade since Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia made a commitment to gradually close their institutions for children with disabilities, the process of exchanging institutional with family-based care seems to be stalling. These countries have an immediate Socialist/Communist past where, as some authors argue, there is a legacy of heavy institutionalisation of persons with disabilities that creates one of the key challenges related to ending disability-based deprivation of liberty of children in South-East Europe. Although some progress has been made, children with disabilities are still overrepresented in institutions, sometimes due solely to poverty and limited community-based support to families who would otherwise be able to take care of their children. This article seeks to explore the root causes of heavy institutionalisation of children with disabilities in South-East Europe while discussing the key challenges in the process of managing the transition from institutional care to community living in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia. Key words: deprivation of liberty; children; children with disabilities; institutions; deinstitutionalisation; South-East Europe
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    Editorial
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Viljoen, Frans
    This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part is a ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’. This is the second occasion on which the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. The special focus is a product of this collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. In 2019 a cooperation agreement was signed between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. Its purpose is to ‘promote the acknowledgment and observance of human and child rights and to strengthen the participation of children in all matters affecting their lives in the present and in the future’. The Right Livelihood Foundation is a Swedish charity organisation, the mission of which is to honour and support courageous people solving global problems. The Foundation is a politically-independent and nonideological platform for the voices of its Laureates to be heard. The articles in this part are linked to the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019). In 2020 the ‘Global Classroom 2020’, which was presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty and the implementation of its recommendations. These Global Classrooms, a feature of the Global Campus since 2013, brings together students and professors from all regional hubs for a week-long conference where a topic of common interest is studied, analysed and discussed. The Global Classroom facilitates interaction among students from the different regional programmes by ii (2020) 4 Global Campus Human Rights Journal organising dedicated activities and providing a forum for discussion and networking. The articles in this part of the Journal are all products of collaboration between students and staff working with each of the regional Master’s programmes within the framework of the collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation.
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    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.
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    Editorial of special focus: Selected developments in the area of children deprived of liberty
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Steimann, Imke ; Loader, Reina-Marie ; Krishan, Manu
    The UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019) unequivocally regards the detention of children as a form of structural violence. It not only leaves children stigmatised and marginalised for life, but also entirely forgotten by those adults who, in fact, should be protecting them. Despite irrefutable evidence of the harm detention inflicts on the physical and mental well-being of children, they continue to be detained in conditions that often leave them vulnerable to abuse and other severe human rights violations. This in turn has a severely negative impact on their development, stability and future prospects. Childhood encompasses the formative years of a human being and constitutes a period during which the personality of children is moulded and their ability to form emotional relationships defined. Depriving children of liberty during these crucially important years constitutes an enormous injustice. Yet, it remains one of the most overlooked violations of children’s rights.
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    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.
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    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
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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.
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    Global Campus Human Rights Journal, Volume 4 No 2
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) [...]
    This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part is a ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’. This is the second occasion on which the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. The special focus is a product of this collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. In 2019 a cooperation agreement was signed between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation. Its purpose is to ‘promote the acknowledgment and observance of human and child rights and to strengthen the participation of children in all matters affecting their lives in the present and in the future’. The Right Livelihood Foundation is a Swedish charity organisation, the mission of which is to honour and support courageous people solving global problems. The Foundation is a politically-independent and nonideological platform for the voices of its Laureates to be heard. The articles in this part are linked to the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty (2019). In 2020 the ‘Global Classroom 2020’, which was presented virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focused on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty and the implementation of its recommendations. These Global Classrooms, a feature of the Global Campus since 2013, brings together students and professors from all regional hubs for a week-long conference where a topic of common interest is studied, analysed and discussed. The Global Classroom facilitates interaction among students from the different regional programmes by ii (2020) 4 Global Campus Human Rights Journal organising dedicated activities and providing a forum for discussion and networking. The articles in this part of the Journal are all products of collaboration between students and staff working with each of the regional Master’s programmes within the framework of the collaboration between the Global Campus of Human Rights and the Right Livelihood Foundation.
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    Human rights and democratisation during 2019: The case of Armenia, Georgia and Moldova
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Rakopyan, Marina
    The three countries discussed in the article, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, have all witnessed developments and experienced weaknesses as far as human rights and democracy are concerned, particularly during 2019. From elections to emigration, the three countries have had different obstacles to overcome. All post-Soviet Union countries are making efforts to improve their record in respect of human rights and as they forge closer ties with the European Union (EU). Over the course of 2019, the three countries were moving forward slowly but steadily towards improved protection and promotion of human rights. All three countries had an issue with arbitrary detention, and the independence of the judiciary, while the majority of them had issues with torture and inhuman treatment and unlawful interference with privacy by government. Despite some differences in the areas, women’s rights were not fully respected in the three countries. Minorities had fewer opportunities to participate in governmental structures. Protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ persons remained an issue in all three countries, despite the considerable effort that countries made toward greater tolerance. Children’s rights were not fully respected in the countries, especially as far as child labour and child trafficking are concerned. Key words: Armenia; Georgia; Moldova; human rights; democracy; arbitrary detention; torture and inhuman treatment; women’s rights; minorities; rights of LGBTQ+ persons
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    Migrant children and adolescents from North Central America towards Mexico and their deprivation of liberty
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Comas, Rocío ; Morales, Natalia ; Bottazzi, Florencia ; Agredo, Valentina ; Orué, María José
    A growing number of migrant children and adolescents, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, embark on a perilous journey to Mexico. This article intends to provide detailed information on and an analysis of Mexico as the receiving, issuing, transiting and returning country. The intention, in turn, is to analyse the countries of North Central America, as the main countries of issuance, transit and return of migrants to and from Mexico. The situation of migrant children and adolescents reveals the violation of international and regional legislation on the protection of children’s human rights. The migration process itself involves multiple risks to the security and integrity of migrant children, whose rights are affected at each stage of the process. In this regard, the data collected reflects the deprivation of the freedom of migrant children and adolescents in Mexico, while noting that this situation proves to be the focal point of all other rights violations that occur in the migration context. The analysis includes the perspectives gathered from international and regional standards for the protection of their rights. The article also examines conceptual definitions used in connection with migrant children in light of their vulnerability and the countries’ national context. To address the specific situation of children, the article reviews each country’s legislation, as well as outlines the migration flows taking place, in light of the causes identified as a general framework for the migration phenomenon. The article is informed by information gathered through the analysis of conventions, judgments, laws, theoretical documents, thematic reports as well as statistical analysis gathered from reports and surveys by human rights organisations. Finally, the conclusion considers this information alongside existing legal provisions so as to make recommendations aimed at better protecting migrant children and to prevent the violation of their fundamental rights. Key words: children and adolescents; migration; North Central American countries; Mexico; deprivation of liberty; international human rights law
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    Migration related detention of children in Southern Africa: Developments in Angola, Malawi and South Africa
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Rono, Carolyne ; Vries, Kelvin ; Sibanda, Opal ; Gadisa, Girma
    This article examines the laws and practices in Angola, Malawi and South Africa regarding the migration-related detention of children in light of international human rights standards. Detaining a migrant child is in conflict with article 37(b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely, that detention of a child should be used as a the measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time, the principle of the best interests of the child and the right to development. At the African Union level, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child serves as the primary human rights instrument that comprehensively guarantees children’s rights. The countries in the case study have ratified both CRC and the African Children’s Charter. Nevertheless, children are deprived of liberty in Southern Africa, with Malawi serving as a transit country and South Africa and Angola mostly as destination countries. While Angola and Malawi lack adequate legal and effective protection of migrant children, South Africa has put in place robust legal guarantees, but in practice migrant children are nevertheless detained. Thus, the article suggests that these countries need to adopt and implement comprehensive child protection policies including alternatives to detention with a view to ensuring improved respect for children’s rights. Furthermore, it emphasises the need for enhancing regional cooperation to curb the problems that children are facing in relation to migration and beyond. Most importantly, states must show the political will not only to adopt protective laws but also to effectively implement these laws in order to create a safer world for children. Key words: children; migration; detention; liberty; Southern Africa
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    Overview of measures applied to children in conflict with law in post-Soviet countries: non-custodial measures and diversion programmes
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Abuladze, Salome ; Koltsova, Maria ; Arushanyan, Anna ; Askarbekov, Aibek ; Muradyan, Mariam
    This article seeks to identify where non-custodial measures are applied in the post-Soviet space and where, in particular, diversion is used as a non-custodial measure in child justice systems. To this end, the article reviews the legal contexts and practices of 12 post-Soviet countries based on existing theoretical frameworks. As such, the article first defines the goals and needs of applying non-custodial measures to children in conflict with the law. Second, it addresses definitions, principles and the types of diversion directing children away from criminal justice proceedings. An analysis of the best practices in the region revealed that only two of the countries reviewed (Georgia and Kyrgyzstan) apply diversion programmes. Consequently, the article specifically considers these diversion programmes according to their general principles, criteria and the type of diversion applied. Given the fact that children in the regions are often detained in various types of facilities, mostly for rehabilitation purposes, the article highlights the serious need for post-Soviet states to urgently develop non-custodial measures in order to divert children away from the criminal justice system. Key words: children; non-custodial; diversion; deprivation; justice
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    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.
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    Recent regional developments in human rights and democratisation in South-East Europe during 2019
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Icoski, Marjan ; Salihović-Gušić, Aida ; Ceku, Mariola ; Mušanović, Meris ; Ivanović, Marija
    The region of South-East Europe (SEE) continues to be marked by competitive authoritarian regimes. This article employs a dynamic understanding of competitive authoritarianism that places the emphasis on a movement of a regime towards or away from either ends of the imagined consolidated democracy-authoritarian regime spectrum. More precisely, the article highlights strategies used by the parties in power to increase the control in society and thus consolidate political power, while also paying attention to contestations that arise against these negative trends in four countries of the region: Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia. The general findings reveal that the region is experiencing a continued trend of democratic backsliding in 2019. Two main structural reasons behind this seem to be (i) weak democratic institutions; and (ii) autocratic-minded political leaders, who tend to increase their power. As the contributions demonstrated, in 2019 ruling parties (or coalitions) in the region tended to increase control over media, continued to show disregard for the human rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, while also taking advantage of the ill-functioning judiciary unable to prosecute high-level cases of corruption. These negative trends resulted in a rather bleak democratisation impulse in the region, despite the larger scale citizen mobilisations against increased authoritarianism present in several countries. Key words: competitive authoritarianism; political control; protests; democracy; human rights