Global Campus Human Rights Journal, Volume 1 No 1

(Global Campus, 2017-01) Guest editor for special focus: Vahan Bourhazian, Yerevan State University

Global Campus Human Rights Journal (Human Rights Journal) is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal, published under the auspices of the Global Campus of Human Rights as an open-access on-line journal.
Editorial

(Global Campus, 2017-01) Viljoen, Frans ; Mullen, Matthew ; Bournazian, Vahan ; Wheadon, Georgina

This is the inaugural issue of Global Campus Human Rights Journal (GCHRJ). GCHRJ is an open-access journal, established and published under the auspices of the Global Campus of Master’s Programmes and Diplomas in Human Rights and Democratisation (Global Campus of Human Rights). The Global Campus of Human Rights is a framework of collaboration between seven Regional Master’s programmes in Human Rights and Democratisation, taking place on each of the five continents. It is a unique network of more than 100 universities with the overall aim of educating human rights defenders committed to upholding the universal values of human rights and democracy. The seven programmes are the European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation; the Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa; the European Regional Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in South Eastern Europe; the Master’s in Human Rights and Democratisation in Latin America and the Caribbean; the Master’s of Human Rights and Democratisation in Asia and Pacific Regional Programme; the Regional Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in the Caucasus; and the Master’s Programme in Democratic Governance, Human Rights and Democratisation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. For more information, see http://www.eiuc.org/ education/global-campus-regional-masters.html. The European Union Commission supports this network financially.
Sovereign debt restructuring and the right to development: Challenges from an incomplete framework

(Global Campus, 2017-01) Kampel, Daniel

The article reviews the link between human rights and foreign debt, by highlighting the validity of the right to development, as stated and confirmed by different declarations made by international organisations in the last three decades. The right to development is understood as a human right. The lack of proper institutions to deal with debt problems and crises has in the past been hard on emerging countries, halting growth and retarding development in the affected countries and societies, as clearly exemplified by the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s. It is contended that creating proper institutions to deal with debt issues at the international level will help resolve these crises and will contribute to the continued realisation of human rights.
The impact of the global financial crisis on the realisation of socio-economic rights in sub-Saharan Africa: An analysis based on the Millennium Development Goals framework and processes

(Global Campus, 2017-01) Orago, Nicholas Wasonga

The global financial crisis, which affected global trade and investment, did not leave sub-Saharan Africa untouched. The region registered a decline in economic growth in the period after the crisis and experienced ongoing impacts. The article looks at these impacts, focusing on the realisation of socio- economic rights in sub-Saharan Africa using the mechanism of the Millennium Development Goals. It begins by describing the major actors that have played a leading role in economic growth in the region, and the realisation of socio- economic rights. It then focuses on the pre-crisis growth period of 2000 to 2007, examining the drivers of growth in sub-Saharan Africa and how this growth impacted the realisation of socio-economic rights. The article uses the mechanism of the Millenium Development Goals framework and process to measure the achievement of each goal within a high growth period. It finds that while this growth created more resources for the realisation of socio-economic rights, little progress was made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals within that period: The socio-economic conditions of poor, vulnerable and marginalised individuals and groups remained the same. The article then looks at the effects of the global financial crisis on sub-Saharan African economies after 2007, indicating that the crisis had an adverse impact on economic growth, with growth declining to 5.5 per cent in 2008, 3.5 per cent in 2009 and then rebounding slightly to 5.1 per cent between 2013 and 2014 and further to 5.8 per cent in 2015. It says that, although the reduction in economic growth had a great impact on the availability of resources for the realisation of socio- economic rights, an analysis of the MDG progress after the crisis does not show a marked difference from the MDG progress prior to the crisis. The article concludes that, even though the crisis had some impact on the realisation of socio-economic rights, its impact would have been greatly lessened if these sub- Saharan African countries had shown political commitment and developed proper mechanisms for the realisation of these rights.
Market might in Factory Asia: The struggle to protect labour

(Global Campus, 2017-01) Mullen, Matthew ; Santoso, Purwo ; Tapiheru, Joash ; Valiente-Riedl, Elisabeth

‘Factory Asia’ pejoratively frames a situation of oversupply in low- skilled and underpaid wage labour, where people work in immiserating conditions, deprived of essential opportunities for political organising and the right to freedom of association. The context is such, in part, because the market enjoys considerable leverage and might over states and labour in the region. A range of factors, including capital mobility, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and global neo-liberal pressures, combine to dislocate the state from its role as protectorate and provider, and foreclose on conventional channels that offer protection for workers. This article frames and illustrates these dynamics, and argues that labour encounters a myriad of challenges, but also new opportunities for re-articulation, mobilisation and protection around labour rights. Two case studies, those of Indonesia and Thailand, provide empirical grounding for this thesis and convey both commonalities and contrasts in local labour struggles. In Indonesia, the increasing dislocation of the state needs to be understood in the context of the manifestation of a dual labour market. This has produced contrasting experiences of informal and formal workers. Accordingly, the resilience of traditional models of labour mobilisation (such as unions) diminishes compared to the growing relevance of informal and collective social protection systems. In Thailand, union advocates remain adamant about the need to realise international labour rights norms precisely because of deepening union restrictions and the state’s reluctance to fulfil its duties. Meanwhile, other labour rights groups have sought space, protection and action from duty bearers through non-traditional methods. Relations between these networks can be tense, but they combine into a formidable, even if uncertain, force. In both case studies, the dislocation of the state has led to new and thickening vulnerabilities for labour working in the shadow of the market, but also to unconventional opportunities for protection and mobility.

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