02. Research and Projects Outputs

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This collection includes high-quality, informal series of publications representing various project developed by Global Campus of Human Rights.

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Browsing 02. Research and Projects Outputs by Title

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    A model for independent oversight of Secure Care Centres in South Africa: National Preventive Mechanism
    (South African National Preventive Mechanism, 2022) South African National Preventive Mechanism ; Centre for Child
    This document sets out a model for the oversight of Secure Care Centres in South Africa, to strengthen child rights consistent practice. These centres accommodate children who have been referred by orders of the Child Justice Court, who are awaiting trial, undergoing residential diversion or serving a sentence.
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    A Step Closer or a Step Further from Corporate Social Responsibility: Building Hydropower Plants in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022) Bellaadem, Imane
    The policy paper examines how can corporate social responsibility be applied within the landscape of Western Balkans, having a focus on Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). This paper analyses the environmental aspect of corporate social responsibility in these two respective countries, more specifically, it will evaluate existing regulations and practices in building hydropower plants and small hydropower plants in local communities. It will tackle the effects of developing hydropower plants on the right to life, right to clean and healthy environment, water rights and what role can companies play in respecting these rights. The sustainable development perspective will also be included in the policy analyses. It will particularly address disputed cases of building and developing hydropower plants in Albania and BiH and provide an overview of protective mechanisms in similar cases. The paper will end with policy recommendations towards both the states and companies.
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    Access Guide to Human Rights Information
    (FRAME, 2015-12) Erken, Elif ; Kähler, Lena ; Marslev, Kristoffer ; Meier, Isabella ; Sano, Hans-Otto ; Sax, Helmut ; Sosa, Lorena ; Vivona, Maddalena ; Möstl, Markus ; Starl, Klaus
    The Access Guide to Human Rights Information is based substantially on the information gathered through interviews with EU officials from the Commission, the Parliament and the Fundamental Rights Agency, reflected in the Baseline Study on Human Rights Indicators in the Context of the European Union, and on the other hand on the workshop results with international experts, held in Graz in April 2015. The common findings were that firstly, EU officials require genuine human rights information for their manifold tasks. Secondly, it was found that the methodology by the OHCHR of indicating the human rights commitments, implementation and situation on the ground is appropriate to satisfy the information needs. Thirdly, it was shown that there is a broad spectrum of existing data and information relevant to human rights. However, the information is not easily accessible for two reasons. One the one hand it requires expertise on human rights and skills for assessment. On the other hand, information resources are scattered and often, while relevant to human rights, not genuinely collected and offered as human rights information. The Access Guide to Human Rights Information therefore aims to provide EU officials with easy-to-access information on existing human rights indicators, human rights related data, as well as human rights compliance information provided by international and regional human rights bodies. For this purpose, the guide briefly discusses the pros and cons of these sources, shows exemplarily how to understand existing information and how to relate it to the normative content of the respective human rights provisions. The Access Guide to Human Rights Information provides the available human rights specific information based on the example of the prohibition of torture, the freedom of expression, the rights of the child, as well as on social indicators. Information sources are structured along a typology derived from the purpose they were processed for. Accordingly, a differentiation is made between the application of the OHCHR- model, compliance information provided by human rights bodies, as well as indicator-based human rights- related information. The Access Guide provides step-by-step guidance on the most effective retrieval and utilisation of existing human rights information based on exemplary research requests.
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    Addressing the Digital Divide among Students at Risk of School Dropout in Latin America
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2024-07) Camacho Gutiérrez, Lucía
    Digitalisation in Latin American (LATAM) education is vital but faces challenges like high dropout rates and a significant digital divide. The region lacks thorough evaluations on how these issues impact virtual education, leaving vulnerable students at risk. Existing policies on connectivity and digital skills are superficial and not well integrated with education agendas, necessitating a more holistic approach to ensure equitable access to education through digital transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the digital divide's impact on secondary and primary school dropout rates in the LATAM public education system. Students struggled with internet access, inadequate devices and loss of teacher contact, leading to higher dropout rates, especially among low-income and rural students. Countries like Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Honduras saw significant increases in dropout rates, although the situation was not as dire as initially feared. Dropout rates in LATAM are influenced by multiple factors, perpetuating social and economic inequalities. The digital divide, particularly in rural areas, exacerbates educational exclusion, with gender disparities further disadvantaging girls and women. Despite efforts to improve internet access and education quality in countries like Colombia, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico, these initiatives often lack integration with strategies to reduce dropout rates. A human rights-based approach (HRBA) to digitalisation emphasises equity, inclusion and pragmatic use of digital tools to enhance education. Public policies should focus on meaningful internet access, addressing affordability, connectivity and social environment aspects. Comprehensive data collection on the digital divide's impact on dropout rates is essential for informed policymaking. The 'My Education, Our Future' agenda promoted by different stakeholders and organisations aims to bridge the digital gap in education and support school reintegration, opening a valuable opportunity for action on this policy area.
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    Advancing Child Rights-Consistent Strategic Litigation Practice
    (Advancing Child Rights Strategic Litigation (ACRiSL), 2022) Nolan, Aoife ; Skelton, Ann ; Ozah, Karabo
    By clarifying what child rights-consistent Child Rights Strategic Litigation (CRSL) practice looks like and identifying examples of good practice and areas for development, the report aims to support litigators and others involved in CRSL in putting children’s rights at the heart of their practice. The report draws on in-depth interviews with CRSL practitioners and people with lived experience of CRSL as children across a wide range of global regions. It is also informed by the work of the project’s Child and Youth Advisory Group.
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    AI Integration in Education in the MENA Region: Will it Be a Driver of Social Inequality?
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2024-07) Traidi, Aida
    This policy brief aims to open a regional discussion on the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, focusing on AI integration in education and related implications. The introductory section provides a comprehensive overview of the AI landscape in the region, exploring the state of AI education and the main AI government policies or strategies. The second section highlights existing challenges to the integration of AI in education in the region. Far from polarising positions, the next section reflects on the ways in which AI is causing disruption in education, arguing that this disruption can have both positive and negative impacts on various human rights, depending on the existence and enforcement of appropriate governance and regulatory frameworks. It then presents two different policy scenarios. Finally, concrete policy recommendations are provided for different actors to address and mitigate the identified risks to the right to education.
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    Ami nia Direitus Umanus, Ami nia Futuru! Introdusaun ba Direitus Umanus iha Sudeste Aziátiku
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022) [...] ; Remiddi, Adriano ; Hayes, Mike ; Vukobrat, Jelena
    Manual ida ne’e hanesan produsaun ida husi projetu dezenvolvimentu kapasitasaun ba integrasaun edukasaun direitus umanus iha Universidade Nasional Timor Lorosa’e (UNTL), implementa iha 2019-22 husi Kampus Global ba Direitus Umanus ho apoiu husi Uniaun Europeia. Disponível iha lian Inglés, Portugués no Tetun, manual ida ne’e nia objetivu atu apóiu dosente no estudante sira iha estabelesimentu ba kurríkulu kursu foun "Introdusaun ba Direitus Umanus iha Sudeste Aziátiku", hanesan mós inisiativa seluk husi ensinu superior iha Timor Lorosa’e no mos fatin seluk.
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    Analysing the findings of the research of the other work packages on policy tools
    (FRAME, 2016-01) Podstawa, Karolina ; Haász, Veronika ; Vita, Viorica
    The purpose of this FRAME Report is to map the EU internal fundamental and external human rights toolbox on the basis of the findings of other FRAME reports. This task involved answering two research questions. The first one is about identifying the categories according to which the tools need to be presented. The second question is about describing the concrete tools which compose the toolbox. The question of categories was addressed on the basis on past and current FRAME research. This report considers the categories identified by previous FRAME reports which seemed to be useful as organising principles for the presentation of the toolbox. The following categories were identified by other FRAME reports and briefly described in this report: - internal v. external policy tools; - paradigmatic instruments; - soft v. hard law tools; - tools displaying soft and hard power; - tools that serve conceptualisation, operationalisation, and evaluation of policies. It became clear from the outset that the first distinction was so radical in EU policies that it had to underpin any further categorization. Yet beyond this initial distinction, the remaining categories identifying by FRAME reports did not allow to identify a systematic sorting key which would allow to make sense of the toolbox. This report therefore adopts an approach which, while taking into account the above categories, reorganizes them by focusing rather on the functions of specific categories of tools. Addressing the second research question involved discussing each concrete tool in every category. Discussion focused on (1) the general positioning of each tool within the EU legal system, (2) human- or fundamental rights specific considerations regarding each tool and (3) challenges that have been pointed to in other FRAME deliverables in relation to each tool. The findings that emerge from the mapping of EU fundamental and human rights tools are the following: The European Union has at its disposal a wide range of instruments that can be used to reach EU internal fundamental rights and external human rights objectives. The freedom of the EU to adopt specific measures is limited by the exigencies of the EU and international legal systems on the one hand and political will on the other. Yet, in the current state of affairs – possibly with the exception of monitoring and evaluation tools – everything seems to be in place. This raises the question of how to ensure coherence among all the tools in the whole policy field, but also whether and to what extent tools can push the boundaries of the legal system. A question which this report was not able to answer relates to the effectiveness of policy instruments. On the one hand, the generalized lack of monitoring mechanisms makes it difficult to understand whether a specific instrument had a positive impact on human rights. It was also difficult to assess what in a given context would amount to effective implementation. Finally, the net results of the interaction or parallel functioning of instruments remain difficult to evaluate. The report closes with the identification of a number of points which should be taken into consideration for the purposes of the future reports to be produced within the WP 14.
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    Anti-Corruption to Fight Human Trafficking Labour Exploitation in the Spanish Agricultural Sector
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022) Serrano Puig, Clàudia
    While human trafficking for labour exploitation represents one of the major challenges currently faced by Europe, it appears that corruption issues are still the central cause at the origins of this violation of human rights. Spain represents a concrete example of this scheme: considering its complex legal framework in the matter and the levels of perceived corruption, labour exploitation in the country, and particularly in the agricultural sector, demonstrates the interconnection between labour exploitation, human trafficking and corruption. It is true that, because of the ‘transnational culture of corruption’ (IOM 2017: 1), as well as of the complexity of the systems of global supply chain, impunity prevails and finding legal or political tools to fight it remains particularly complex. Yet, there is an ongoing interest and discussion from businesses and civil society related to mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (especially with the recent proposal of the European Union Commission for adopting a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence). Increased attention to corporate’s responsibility in this crime, but also to corruption issues as such, was given. However, more efforts need to be done as responsibilities remain solely on states, business sectors also must be held to account. And more importantly, the corruption prism must be taken into account in the fight against human trafficking for labour exploitation. By analysing the case of Spain, this paper aims at stressing the interrelatedness between human trafficking and corruption, in revealing the extent to which adopting an anti-corruption perspective by states and private companies can be a critical factor to prevent and fight labour exploitation. This research finally proposes recommendations to improve the overall domestic system and make the fight into human trafficking more efficient.
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    Applicable regulatory frameworks regarding human rights violations in conflicts
    (FRAME, 2015-09) Márquez Carrasco, Carmen ; Abrisketa, Joana ; Salmón, Elizabeth ; Nagore Casas, María ; Marinelli, Chiara ; Zafra, Rita ; Alamillos Sánchez, Rocío ; García Martín, Laura ; Íñigo Álvarez, Laura
    Work Package 10 (WP 10) ‘Human Rights Violations in Conflicts’, part of the FP7 research project ‘Fostering Human Rights Among European (External and Internal) Policies’ (FRAME) aims at providing a comprehensive assessment of the EU external policies in response to conflicts and crisis situations, exploring ways to prevent and overcome violence through the critical assessment of the instruments available to the EU to integrate human rights, humanitarian law and democracy/rule of law principles in these policies. The ultimate purpose of this Work Package is to contribute to the fostering of human rights in EU conflict-related policies. Departing from the idea that the legal framework of EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) integrates EU law and international law, this report will examine the concurrent application of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, and their interaction with other bodies of law that offer a framework for protection in situations of conflict and violent crisis. Hence the main goal of this report is to present and analyse the different international regulatory frameworks applicable to human rights violations with particular attention to vulnerabilities in conflict situations of inter- and intra-State violence. In FRAME Report D10.1 ‘Survey study on human rights violations in conflict-settings’ a comprehensive survey of the various patterns of human rights violations related to conflict and violent crisis situations was conducted, with a specific focus on the rights of vulnerable groups, as well as on the role of non-state actors as key players in the context of new forms of violence and war. As indicated in that study, human rights violations in conflict-settings represent clear evidence of the erosion of respect for humanitarian and human rights norms, which has aggravated the protection and assistance needs of refugees and other groups in conflict situations, and complicated the task of providing humanitarian assistance and increased the risks faced by humanitarian personnel. Confronted to this scenario this report studies and examines the relationship between the regulatory frameworks applicable in conflict situations: international human rights law (IHRL), humanitarian law (IHL) and the legal regime for humanitarian assistance, as well as international refugee law (IRL) and international criminal law (ICL). In many contemporary conflict settings key issues arise regarding the relationship between those legal frameworks. They mainly concern: a) the convergence and complementarity between IHRL and IHL; b) the interpretation of key rules for the protection of civilians like the civilian-combatant distinction or civilian and military objectives; c) the concept of protection from a IHL, IHRL and humanitarian assistance perspective. Specific analysis is developed on these questions, with a focus on vulnerable groups in society, which are particularly affected by armed conflict and violent crises (children, women, internally displaced persons, refugees). This report also focuses on the interplay of the international regulatory frameworks with ICL, that arises especially when violence takes a systematic and widespread dimension, amounting possibly to war crimes, crimes against humanity or even genocide. In particular, this study considers the cooperation with and support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the EU as part of a broader analysis of the relationship between the protection of human rights and promoting democracy and ICL and the extent to which the application of ICL contributes to the promotion of democracy in post-conflict scenarios. The role of truth, justice and reparation as integral components of any process of transition are also addressed.
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    Assessing factors influencing human rights around the world: three case studies
    (FRAME, 2016-03) Burra, Srinivas ; Killander, Magnus ; Nkrumah, Bright ; Chavez, Carmela ; Uchuypoma, Diego ; Constantino, Renato ; Castañeda, Bruno ; Lassen, Eva Maria
    This report contains three studies on the dynamics and interactions of factors hindering or enabling the protection of human rights in selected third countries. The following countries, from three different continents, have been selected: India, South Africa and Peru. From this country-based contextualisation of factors a case study was chosen for each country highlighting the influences of factors in a particular human rights area. Chapter II focuses on India and evidences that various factors impede the realization of human rights in the country. The study zooms in on economic, social and political factors, which are often structural in nature and which prevent individuals and groups from accessing institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of human rights. The chapter includes a case study on ‘encounter killings’, which in India are generally referred to as those incidents in which there is a loss of life of individuals in the hands of police and security forces when they resort to use of force for the purpose of maintaining law and order. Chapter III assesses the current human rights situation in South Africa by setting out the historical, political, legal, economic, social, cultural, religious, ethnical and technological factors that both enhance and militate against the promotion of human rights. Against the backdrop of the legacy of apartheid and the country’s socioeconomic challenges, the chapter provides an evaluation and literature review of the various constraints that impede against the promotion of basic rights in South Africa. The chapter proceeds to a case study of factors that impede the realisation of socioeconomic rights and the role of NGOs and social movements to remedy the situation through protest, advocacy and litigation. Chapter IV analyses factors facilitating and hindering human rights protection in Peru. The chapter provides an overview of historical, legal, political, economic, ethnic, religious, and technological factors facilitating or hindering the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. The chapter then focuses on identifying the social and institutional factors that explain the weak participation of civil society directly involved in human rights policies. Three cases of national councils involved in promoting and protecting human rights are object of analysis: the national human rights council, the national health council, and the national education council. The results emerging from the case studies feed into the overarching theme of the Work package 2, namely factors that facilitate or hinder human rights protection in the EU, and among its internal and external policies. The report affirms the need for a holistic and contextualised approach to factors hindering and enabling human rights in third countries. The factors explored in each selected case study are in many respects intertwined and inter-related in contextualized dynamics. This complex intersection requires that the EU in its external actions pay careful attention to the factors that come into play in each country and their societal contextualisation. The report also illustrates the complex role played by civil society in third countries, and demonstrates that the EU in its endeavours to support the human rights agenda of civil society in third countries, would have to pay careful attention to the diversity of factors which in each country puts limitations to or offer possibilities for civil society.
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    Assessing the strategic use of the EU fundamental and human rights toolbox
    (FRAME, 2016-07) Altafin, Chiara ; Haász, Veronika ; Podstawa, Karolina
    The report on ‘Assessing the strategic use of the EU fundamental and human rights toolbox’, which includes case studies on Hungary and Poland, Turkey, and Ukraine, evaluates the strategic use of the EU internal fundamental and external human rights toolbox. It builds on the previous report (FRAME Deliverable 14.1, forthcoming) which mapped the EU fundamental and human rights toolbox by identifying the concrete tools and providing different categorisations for them. The present report goes a step further and analyses what it means to use these tools in a strategic way. As objects of analysis, three case studies were chosen focusing on three crisis situations affecting human rights in EU policies: the Polish-Hungarian constitutional crisis, the refugee crisis and the Ukrainian crisis. The report starts with an introductory chapter describing the concept of ‘strategy’ and the related ‘strategic use of tools’ which the guides the analysis of the subsequent three chapters focusing on the three separate case studies. The ‘strategic use of tools’ is the use of policy tools that follows the EU strategic documents affecting human rights. Thus, the analysis of the ‘strategic use’ of the EU’s fundamental and human rights toolbox would involve effectively implementing strategic/programmatic documents. The analysis of the three case studies builds around the concept of crisis understood as an extraordinary change of circumstances. Each analysis starts off with determining the toolbox that accompanies the relevant ‘strategic document’ prior to crisis. This may be referred to as long-term strategies. Then, upon the radical change of circumstances, this long-term toolbox must be adjusted if not completely changed. In the analysis offered by the three case studies, an attempt is made to determine whether the long-term tools have been implemented and what was the impact of the crisis on the use of tools. […] The general conclusions echo the preliminary conclusions drawn by FRAME Deliverable 15.1 (forthcoming) in relation to coherence, implementation, and effectiveness. It is clear that the existence of strategy matters, and could be considered as a guardian of coherence. Yet, its content will be nothing more than declaratory if not duly implemented and its effectiveness evaluated. In this sense, the present report adds to the understanding of what makes a strategy implementable and effective. The EU human and fundamental rights policy would benefit greatly from increased coherence, effectiveness and enhanced implementation of the policy tools. In particular, there exists a gap between the strategies concerning human rights and their implementation by the European Union, and those of the Member States. An important issue with regard to the EU’s commitment to human rights is the lack of clear, visible and accountable leadership at the top of the European Union institutions. It is not surprising that human rights leadership is hardly visible at Member States’ level. This means that no matter how many strategic documents exist, the tools will tend not to be used in strategic terms but rather on an ad hoc basis. The case studies are not good examples of the strategic use of fundamental and human rights tools for preventive purposes. They show that the EU tools deal with consequences more than they prevent fundamental and human rights violations. It is admittedly difficult to foresee crisis situations, nevertheless, this report evidences the EU’s tendency to adopt a reactive attitude even in situations that have been similarly experienced in the past, such as for example the Hungarian and the Polish constitutional crisis. If the strategic use of human rights tools by the EU must be such that it follows the objectives set out in strategic documents, the research included in this report and the conclusions of the workshop on the topic that took place in Venice on 5 and 6 May 2016 point to a rather wide gap between what the strategy sets out to accomplish and the actual results delivered through the use of the tools. It must be recognised that, whilst one can desire strategic use of tools for human rights, the actual delivery is patchy and sometimes involves unpleasant choices. Likewise, it is difficult to have complete knowledge of all the stakes associated with a crisis situation, which makes the recommendations as to strategic use of tools difficult if not impossible to make. This report has evidenced that the EU was not able to fully implement its strategies, at least not without some negative collateral effects. At the same time, it is a positive thing that the strategies and the toolbox are available, even if implemented to a larger or smaller degree.
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    Balancing Between Human Rights and Business Development: What is the Situation with Labour Rights in Ukraine and What are the Chances to Change It?
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2022) Bakhcheva, Iryna
    The topic of business and human rights received a new impetus after the adoption of the United Nations (UN) Guidelines on Business and Human Rights in 2011. This topic is extremely relevant for developing countries such as Ukraine. Over the past 30 years, Ukraine has witnessed dramatic changes in the socio-economic system and a business development boom. Business development, however, was not always contributing to improving the human rights situation. In particular, there is a problem with observance of labour rights in Ukraine with high unregistered employment, inequality in the labour market and labour legislation that does not correspond to the realities of the market. This policy brief outlines the existing legal framework in the field of labour rights and existing loopholes in the system of labour rights protection. The brief offers policy recommendations to the government on how to improve the situation and bring business on board in the promotion of labour and human rights protection. In particular, the article contains recommendations for the development of a national action plan in light of the adoption of the UN General Principles on Business and Human Rights by Ukraine in 2019.
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    Bilateral relations with China, India and South Africa
    (FRAME, 2016-09) Kopper, Ákos ; Jain, Rajendra K. ; Killander, Magnus ; Mkhabela, Justice ; Nkrumah, Bright ; Pillay, Kevashinee ; Zhou, Zirong ; Yin, Lingying ; He, Fei ; Li, Lifan
    This report presents a study of the EU’s efforts in promoting human rights towards three partner countries: India, South Africa and China. These three countries were chosen for three reasons. First, they are major global actors, second they are culturally different from the west and finally they all share a level of resentment against Europe promoting its values given their historical legacies (although in greatly different ways). The question this report aims to answer is how are EU’s efforts for human rights promotion received in these three countries. To answer this question four major issue areas were identified as angles of study: 1. Human Rights dialogues and consultations; 2. EU influencing and empowering local actors (such as NGOs or CSOs); 3. the link between Human Rights and economic/trade relations; and finally, 4. criticism formulated by these countries against the EU. In order to meaningfully answer these questions this report took the approach of introducing these issues from the perspective of the EU’s partner countries themselves. Thus, one FRAME partner from each country studied was offered a general framework to work with including specific questions and was asked to draft a case study accordingly. This approach has some obvious merits, but it also has some potential weaknesses. Benefits include that readers get the opportunity to learn about how the EU is seen from the outside, i.e. what aspects of its human rights policies are praised and what aspects of it are criticised. Furthermore, they can also read suggestions on how local experts advise the EU to improve its policies in helping their country to improve human rights conditions. The possible weakness is that this approach emphasises these issues from the partner countries’ perspectives, thus, for example, issues which are sensitive to discuss in the partner country may receive less attention in the study. […] Following the case studies, the report concludes with a brief summary of the study and a section that highlight the main issues and recommendation raised in the case studies.
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    ‘Burned by the Sun, Drowned by the Rain’: Enhancing Children’s Legal Protection Against Climate Change
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2021) Daniaud, Elise
    The objective of this policy brief is to make a case for addressing the pressing issue of child environmental rights in international law. There are 2.2 billion children on this planet, 90 per cent of whom are living in low and lower-middle income countries. While they constitute the human group with the biggest expecting growth over the next 30 years, they yet remain the most underrepresented one. Children also struggle making their voices heard, being taken seriously and simply catching the attention of the adult generation. Their fears, hopes, dreams, expectations but also innovative ideas for potential solutions and mitigation strategies regarding climate change are constantly underestimated. Up to this date, despite their will to be part of decision-making processes and legal initiatives, no right to environment applied to children is explicitly codified, recognised as such and endorsed per se as a legal international instrument. The policy brief highlights five reasons justifying concrete change in policy making in order to safeguard children’s future. The environmental issue should be apprehended as an ethical duty for the adult generation: the risks faced by poor children and children in poor environments threatens their quality of life as well as their health and their chances to survive, the threats faced by indigenous communities involve serious risks altering their culture and their lifestyle, and the positive role of child activism should be valorised. In order to address children’s concerns regarding climate change, the policy brief suggests a set of measures and initiatives which could lead to social and environmental change regarding local and national policy making, child participation, social group actions and international organisations’ capability.
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    Case Study on Holding Private Military and Security Companies Accountable for Human Rights Violations
    (FRAME, 2016-04) Wallace, Stuart
    This case study examines how to hold private military and security companies (PSCs) accountable for human rights violations. It follows on from previous reports in this work package which identified PSCs as perpetrators of some of the most egregious human rights violations perpetrated by any businesses. The regulation of PSCs has also been identified as a specific gap in the EU’s business and human rights policy as the EU has not yet established a legal framework for effective regulation of PSC activities. The current legal framework at both national and supra-national levels is widely seen as inadequate and the need for greater regulation has been explicitly recognised by the European Parliament. In this project, PSCs will act as a lens through which the effectiveness of various remedial mechanisms in the field of business and human rights are analysed. The case study identifies the key factors or criteria underpinning the effectiveness of grievance mechanisms. These include: the ability to investigate and determine the facts of a given case; the accessibility of the remedy to the victims of a human rights abuse; the speed of the remedy; the transparency of the overall process; and the redress offered by the remedy to successful claimants. The case study then proceeds to analyse a number of grievance mechanisms at operational/company level, national level and international level to see whether they meet these criteria for effective grievance mechanisms. In particular it looks at five judicial and non-judicial remedies: the grievance mechanism operated by the Private Security Company Aegis; the National Contact Points system operated under the auspices of the OECD; the UK judicial system; the Association established by the International Code of Conduct for private security providers; and the European Court of Human Rights.
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    Case study: Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)
    (FRAME, 2016-05) Márquez Carrasco, Carmen ; Churruca Muguruza, Cristina ; Alamillos Sánchez, Rocío
    The present Report entitled ‘Case study: Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)’ was written as part of Work Package 10 (WP 10) ‘Human Rights Violations in Conflicts’ of the FP7 project ‘Fostering Human Rights Among European (External and Internal) Policies’ (FRAME).1 This report is aimed at providing an analysis of the the integration of human rights, humanitarian law and democracy/rule of law principles and tools into the European Union (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), with a focus on the protection of vulnerable groups. The report further assesses the complementarity of CSDP action with other EU external policies embedded in the EU's comprehensive approach to external conflicts and crises. Attention is also given to the cooperation and complementarity of EU action in the area of crisis management, with the relevant security actions of other multilateral actors on various policy levels. The report is divided into seven parts. Chapter I outlines the scope and aim and explains the methodology used to conduct the research. Chapter II provides an overview of all CSDP missions and operations to date and places it within the framework of the EU’s foreign policy and the EU comprehensive approach to external conflicts and crises. Chapter II places particular emphasis on the concept of ‘human security’ as a tool for a comprehensive approach for human rights and security linkages in EU foreign policy. As part of the EU comprehensive responses to crisis and conflict, the study covers the interaction between the EU with other international and regional institutions in the area of crisis management. Chapter III analyses the CSDP legal and policy framework on the protection and respect for human rights and IHL and support to democracy and the rule of law with a focus on the protection of vulnerable groups and gender mainstreaming. Notably, the integration of the human rights and gender component in CSDP has been progressively materialised through the adoption of a set of guidelines on several human rights priority issues, as well as by the setting-up of different mechanisms aiming at strengthening respect for international standards in third countries. Despite all of this progress, the study unveils existing areas for improvement in terms of policy. Chapter IV covers the integration of human rights and IHL in the CSDP decision-making and planning phases by providing a detailed analysis of the role of key actors and bodies involved. The protection of human rights should play a strategic role in this decision-making, whether as triggers for initiating or for discontinuing EU action. Once the Council decides to establish a CSDP mission or operation, the planning bodies play a key role in the effective operationalisation of the protection of human rights and the principles of democracy and the rule of law as part of the mandate (objectives and tasks), and in the prevention of human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law at the implementation stage. Chapter V evaluates how human rights, IHL and support to democracy and the rule of law are to be integrated in the different types of mandate of CSDP, although each mission or operation has its own particularities that should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Chapter V also covers the responsibility of the EU and its member states in the conduct of operations, and the difficulties that the procurement of services from Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) poses in this regard. Chapter V reflects on the possible ways of enduring accountability, particularly in the event of wrongful acts committed by mission personnel. Chapter VI includes three case studies, namely: EUTM Mali and EUCAP Niger in the framework of the EU Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel and the military EUNAVFOR MED, renamed Operation Sophia as one component of the comprehensive approach towards both the refugee crisis and restoring stability in Libya. These case studies serve to examine issues such as the coherence and complementarity of the various policies and instruments of the EU in the framework of a comprehensive approach, the limits to the use of force and the applicability of IHL and the protection vulnerable groups in the course of operations. The report concludes in Chapter VII with a summary of the main findings that serve to provide an understanding of the importance and the need to respect and integrate human rights, humanitarian law and democracy/rule of law principles and tools into the CSDP. The EU is strongly committed to promote and protect human rights and to support democracy worldwide but in the area of crisis management it also determines the success of the mission or operation and its long-lasting results. Overall, the report provides a broad foundation for the next stage of research in WP10, which will consist of the formulation of policy recommendations on how to foster coherence and efficiency of EU external policy related to all phases of crisis and conflict, in order to prevent and overcome violence through the integration of human rights, humanitarian law and democracy/rule of law principles, and meet the challenges of protecting and promoting human rights in EU external policies.
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    Challenges to the Effectiveness of EU Human Rights and Democratisation Policies
    (FRAME, 2016-05) Gómez Isa, Felipe ; Muñoz Nogal, Ester ; Nagore Casas, María ; Szoszkiewicz, Łukasz ; Wladasch, Katrin ; Dai, Wenhai ; Lv, Si ; Nie, Xiaojing ; Zhou, Zirong ; Uchuypoma, Diego ; Marinelli, Chiara ; Constantino, Renato
    This report is aimed at exploring the effectiveness of EU policies in the field of human rights and democracy promotion against the background of a number of selected case studies. Since the end of the Cold War, the EU has projected itself as a normative power, placing human rights and democratic principles as essential pillars of EU’s identity at both internal and external level. The Lisbon Treaty represents the culmination of a process in which the EU has tried to legally ground human rights and democracy as core goals of its foreign policy. The Lisbon Treaty also made a significant change in the institutional architecture to deal with its foreign policy, namely the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS). It has generated great expectations, but it is still in a process of institutional consolidation. A strong EEAS is a precondition for an effective EU’s human rights and democratization policy. In spite of these significant legal and institutional developments, there are serious concerns about the capacity of the EU to have a significant impact on the democratization processes taking place in different regions of the world. The EU suffers from a delivery gap, an enormous distance between the rhetoric proclamations in Brussels and the impact on the ground of its policies and programmes. This Deliverable is aimed at exploring the effectiveness of EU policies in the field of human rights and democracy promotion against the background of a number of selected case studies. Cases from different regions of the world have been chosen, including Ukraine, Serbia and Albania from Europe, Peru and Bolivia from Latin America, Egypt and Tunisia from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region), and China from Asia. The goal is to compare the policies of the EU across the countries and regions to identify best practices and challenges for the EU. There are inherent methodological difficulties associated with the attempt to measure the effectiveness and impact of human rights and democratization policies and programmes. While in the field of development cooperation the EU has developed a long tradition and well-established methodologies to assess the impact and effectiveness of its interventions, that is not the case in the area of human rights and democratization support. The main methodological constraints are the conceptual indeterminacy of the concept of democracy; the problem of attribution; the multidimensional and multi-level character of democratization processes; and the so-called counterfactual, given that one cannot know what would have happened in a given process of democratization without the external support. Taking into account these difficulties, this report has used both quantitative tools (especially the funds allocated to the different countries and programmes) and qualitative methods. The report is primarily based on a desk review of primary (agreements, norms and EU documents) and secondary sources. While academic literature was of utmost importance, the report has also relied on previous evaluations of EU policies and programmes in the field of human rights and democracy promotion. The information was also complemented with semi-structured interviews to EU officials, academics and other stake-holders such as relevant members of both international and local human rights NGOs.
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    Characterising Migrations in Latin America: Analysis and Media Coverage Proposals of the Argentine Case
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2019) Fernández Bravo, Ezequiel
    The objective of this policy brief is to provide guidelines and tools for self-regulation of journalism in Argentina, based on pluralism and differences in reporting and media coverage of migration, as main principles. Latin America has been and still is a continent defined by a dynamic and continuous migratory flow, both in inter-regional and intra-regional terms. In the last few years, several states from the region have been affected by setbacks in public policies, administrative practices and regulatory provisions. These dynamics have been replicated and encouraged by mass media. By stereotyping migrants in negative terms, mass media has justified human rights violations, highlighting and furthering xenophobic expressions within civil society. Mass media play an essential role in this process, as actors with the agency to shape a public agenda, enable or constrain imaginaries within society and characterise and portray vulnerable groups, in this case, the migrant population. Even though the phenomenon has extended throughout the region, analysing the Argentinian case is of special interest due to the approach to migration from a human rights and securitisation perspective. The growing criminalisation, following regressive policies and multiple discourses by first-line government officials, has been accompanied by media discourse in tune with editorial lines about the subject from the 1990s. Although it was nuanced at the beginning of this century, it has re-emerged strongly in the last five years. The present policy brief seeks to propose guidelines aimed at prevent xenophobia and eradicate the use of stereotypes. It also suggests more appropriate conditions to think about professional journalism and the interaction with migrant groups and audiences that actively participate in the shaping news. Among these mechanisms, the strengthening of the Public Defender’s Office for Audiovisual Communication Services is central. Finally, it suggests guidelines to strengthen and increase support mechanisms for the self-regulation of independent journalism, without interference.
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    ChatGPT in Classrooms: A Double-Edged Sword
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2024-07) Dushi, Desara
    This policy brief analyses the promising benefits and negative impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on higher education, with a focus on ChatGPT. It revolves around questions such as: To what extent should digitalisation become part of education? What are the threats to the right to education and data protection in times of digital technologies? How can digitalisation in education be regulated, and by whom? What should higher education do to address the increasing dependence on technology while safeguarding data autonomy and public values? Can current legislative and regulatory frameworks deliver enough appropriate and desirable guidance? The policy brief starts with an analysis of the initiatives at the European Union (EU) and Council of Europe (CoE) level. Focusing on the European higher education landscape, initiatives from several EU countries are considered. These analyses underscore the importance of inclusive decision-making processes that involve educators, students and other relevant stakeholders. This provides for a better understanding of the implications of GenAI and ensures that its integration into education systems aligns with human rights principles and standards. To make the tool serve educational purposes, the providers of ChatGPT and other similar technologies must collaborate with educational institutions. The objective should be maximising the potential of GenAI while remaining aware of the possibilities for foreseeable misuse.