Showing papers in "Journal of Human Rights Practice in 2014"

The Dominant Discourse of Human Rights Education: A Critique

Abstract: Human rights education (HRE) is commonly viewed as imparting knowledge of human rights. This is problematic, because both human rights and education are multifaceted and the way that human rights are conceptualized will determine the types of educational practice and processes engaged in as a result. Using critical discourse analysis, this article unpicks the historical formation of human rights education, exploring how it has evolved and come to prominence; it examines the way that power relations shape the conceptions and practices of educators, which fail to capture diversity and complexity of knowledge. It shows how a dominant discourse of human rights education has been controlled through the global human rights framework and how this shapes a human rights education practice concerned with finding methods which make global human rights principles relevant and resonant in different communities. This is problematic because it ignores the way that power shapes and controls the formation of human rights education discourse and how practitioners and educators respond to that. Given this, the conclusion suggests how we should rethink human rights education discourse.

Emotions, Encounters and Expectations: The Uncertain Ethics of ‘The Field’

Abstract: Entering ‘the field’ can be a daunting, demanding and at times bewildering experience, with researchers negotiating a myriad of assumptions, expectations and motivations. Whilst early career researchers and doctoral students may be trained in theories of research practice, research design and ethical conduct, the realities of actually doing research often test the limits of such formal training and knowledge. In this practice note, I draw upon my experience of fieldwork in the UK working with dispersed asylum seekers and refugees in order to discuss the challenges faced in encountering ‘the field’. The note discusses how ethnographic research with asylum seekers and refugees produced a series of entanglements of emotional connection and expectation, as research in practice demanded the dissolution of fixed categories of the researcher, the volunteer, the advocate and the friend. In tracing a path through the messy realities of working with asylum seekers in this way, I argue that encountering ‘the field’ cannot be parcelled off into distinct chunks of time, but demands a constant attentiveness to context and constant work to develop skills of listening, observing, questioning and perseverance. The note concludes by asserting the need to take seriously the ways in which fieldwork produces more than simply ‘data’. Rather, fieldwork produces sensibilities and dispositions, it alters researchers and those they encounter in often unpredictable ways.

Facilitating an Equal Right to Vote for Persons with Disabilities

Abstract: Historically and contemporaneously, persons with disabilities have been excluded from exercising their human rights, including the right to political participation. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities responds to this circum­ stance and provides a holistic solution. Article 29 addresses the design and imple­ mentation of an electoral process that is non-discriminatory, while also requiring states to provide voters with disability-related accommodations and other facilitative measures to enable their equal right to vote. Yet to date, what little attention has been paid to the voting rights of disabled persons has focused on the validity and scope of exclusions, and neither courts nor legislators have turned to the positive side of the ledger, namely, how to enable individuals with disabilities to exercise their franchise. Emerging practices around the globe nonetheless bear out that persons with disabilities can be successfully incorporated in all phases of an electoral process. Further, they can perform a variety of roles beyond exercising the franchise—as voter educators, election commissioners, observers, monitors and committee members, and as candidates. The article reflects evolving state policies and practices by disabled people’s organizations, and draws on our experience working in this field to provide guidance for disability inclusion throughout the ongoing process of pre­ electoral, electoral and post-electoral phases that comprise the electoral cycle.

Finding Your Feet in the Field: Critical Reflections of Early Career Researchers on Field Research in Transitional Societies

Abstract: Fieldwork that takes place in conflict or transitional regions is becoming increasingly popular amongst early-career and more seasoned researchers, but is an area that retains an air of mystery and remains an exotic form of knowledge gathering. There exists a paucity of personal reflection on the challenges associated with conducting fieldwork in conflicted or transitional regions and a limited amount of insight into the practical steps taken in advance of and when immersed in the field. Such reticence to share honest fieldwork experiences, particularly the more challenging research that takes place in conflict or transitional settings, plays a part in creating a culture of silence. This paper attempts to counteract this silence by drawing on the challenges experienced by two early career researchers conducting fieldwork in Uganda and Palestine, focusing on the practical steps taken in advance of entering the field, and the challenges faced whilst engaged in fieldwork. Specific challenges are highlighted throughout, including physical access to areas in conflict, engaging with reluctant research participants, the emotional impact of fieldwork on the researcher, maintaining confidentiality, researching with vulnerable victims, and ensuring appropriate knowledge exchange between researchers and participants. The paper concludes by emphasising the requirement for greater reflection on the inherently personal challenges associated with conducting fieldwork in conflicted or transitional settings and highlights the view that fieldwork is a privileged position that carries great responsibilities which must be upheld to ensure the sustainability of future research. This paper hopes to contribute to the wider debate on conducting fieldwork and the challenges associated with working in conflicted or transitional regions.

Reconciliation and human rights in Northern Ireland: A false dichotomy?

Abstract: Peace building interventions in Northern Ireland have attracted at least two approaches—those which advocate from a human rights-based perspective, and others which promote community relations and reconciliation as a methodology to build and consolidate peace. These interventions have been seen by many practitioners as competing and mutually exclusive. Broadly expressed, human rights practitioners described their work as primarily about challenging governments; it focuses on issues of accountability; it relies on the law and legally imposed frameworks; it is a mixture of ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ law; it has, for some human rights practitioners, a confused stance regarding the overlap between civil and political rights on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other; and it relies greatly on international concepts, standards, and campaigning. Exponents of reconciliation, on the other hand, argued that their work is primarily about bottom-up human dynamics and relationship-building; the creation of trust as a prerequisite to working together and breaking down barriers; and, the importance of processes as much or more than the eventual product (on the ‘how’ as much as, or at least before, the ‘what’). Drawing on primary qualitative data from activists in both ‘camps’, this article will evaluate if these approaches represent a false dichotomy which fails to acknowledge potential synergies.

Using the Human Rights Based Approach to Tackle Housing Deprivation in an Irish Urban Housing Estate

Abstract: Housing rights are becoming significant as a tool for highlighting needs and raising housing standards across the world. These rights are now an integral part of economic, social, and cultural rights within international human rights instruments, while the right to adequate housing is recognized legally at national and international levels. Among the methods of implementing these rights the human rights based approach (HRBA) is used by NGOs, community organizations and rights advocates. Many housing rights issues arise in relation to standards in social housing, urban regeneration and social housing policy development. This article examines a case study where the HRBA has been applied by local authority tenants in partnership with community development organizations and supported by human rights expertise to campaign for improvements to substandard housing conditions and deprivation within a Dublin inner city social housing estate. It appraises the adoption of the HRBA as a response to inadequate housing conditions and delayed regeneration programmes. The impact of poor housing on the health of tenants was an integral element of the arguments used. The outcomes of using the HRBA for the rights holders (the tenants) are assessed. Overall, this campaign led to significant improvements in conditions. The factors underlying the success centred on the way in which the HRBA framework, with its focus on measurable indicators of human rights violations, enabled community development organizations to create a human rights based public campaign that exerted considerable political pressure through the empowerment of tenants, leveraging of human rights experts, and considerable media publicity. The development of solutions in parallel with the local authority was also important. This approach transcended many established NGO and state approaches to addressing poverty.

Queering Truth Commissions

Abstract: Violence against sexual and gender minorities in periods of conflict and social unrest has received increased attention by the international media. While much has been written on anti-queer violence and oppression of sexual and gender minorities around the world, there has been very little written in regard to addressing historical and current acts of violence in transitional justice literature. In light of ongoing violence, what would the incorporation of sexual and gender minority experiences in transitional justice mechanisms, such as truth and reconciliation commissions, mean for sexual and gender minorities? Can truth commissions be a viable structure for addressing historical and continuing anti-queer violence and discrimination? In trying to construct a truthful account of anti-queer violence and the subjugation of sexual and gender minorities, how would a national truth commission address the diversity of locations, times, and fluid sexual and gender subject positions and narratives? I seek to address these questions by examining the challenges that truth commissions face in including the experiences of sexual and gender minorities. First I will review how previous truth and reconciliation commissions have addressed heterosexism, homophobia, and anti-queer violence. From there I will explore the underlying heteronormativity inherently found in truth and reconciliation commissions and ways in which truth commissions would benefit from incorporating queer theory and queer legal theory. Lastly, I will outline key steps that need to be taken for future truth commissions to better incorporate sexual and gender minorities in order to open up truth commissions to non-heteronormative and queer identities, histories, and experiences.

Examining the Practice of Developing Human Rights Indicators to Facilitate Accountability for the Human Right to Water and Sanitation

Abstract: Flowing from the evolution of international legal obligations for water and sanitation, human rights practice has shifted to address state accountability for a human right to water and sanitation through the development of human rights indicators. This policy note focuses on efforts to develop indicators for state reporting to human rights treaty bodies, with human rights norms framing national reports and treaty bodies employing indicators to monitor the progressive realization of the human right to water and sanitation. In supporting evidence-based treaty monitoring through the United Nations (UN), both the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation have sought to develop indicators. This process of developing indicators for the human right to water and sanitation seeks to draw on previous indicator development practices, looking to these practices in framing, identifying and reviewing indicators. As part of a larger drive to facilitate rights-based accountability, there arises an imperative to study the political process of developing indicators, looking to past models in structuring future processes to assess the realization of the right to water and sanitation. Exploring the development of indicators for the human rights to health and education, this policy note analyses the indicator development process, proposing an indicator development process model as a basis for developing indicators that reflect the attributes of the right to water and sanitation, enlist key stakeholders in the policymaking process and have political relevance for state reporting to treaty bodies.

Between Insurrectional Discourse and Operational Guidance: Challenges and Dilemmas in Implementing Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health

Abstract: Whether the future ‘sustainable development’ framework advances the rights of the immiserated around the globe will depend not just on the language in the global documents. It will crucially depend upon how meaningfully human rights-based approaches (HRBAs) are implemented in practice. We argue here that dilemmas arise from two principal contradictions inherent in HRBAs: HRBAs to health require subversion of power relations which lead systematically to patterns of ill-health among certain populations, yet also require working with and buy-in from those who have power—in governments, donor institutions and agencies. Second, human rights are set out as universal, deontological principles; yet in operationalizing them through HRBAs, trade-offs and deeply contextualized political realities necessarily enter the equation. In the context of sexual and reproductive health (SRH), we explore how these contradictions lead to challenges and dilemmas that arise in relation to: (1) conceptually defining HRBAs; (2) addressing gaps in legal and policy frameworks; (3) meaningfully engaging in priority-setting in health, and sexual and reproductive health in particular; (4) devising transformative approaches to monitoring and accountability; and, finally, (5) dilemmas faced in situating HRBAs beyond the state, both by donors and in relation to holding donors and other non-state actors accountable. We argue throughout that if they are to live up to their transformative potential, HRBAs must not be reduced to technical formulas, but rather must ensure that in their conceptualization, strategy, implementation and measurement they foster meaningful voice and accountability for the people they purport to benefit.

First Contact with the Field: Experiences of an Early Career Researcher in the Context of National and International Politics in Kenya

Abstract: Fieldwork is arguably the most exciting phase of a doctoral research degree. As a first timer in the ‘field’, fieldwork can be a daunting task due to the dilemmas faced. In my practice note, I have focused on the various identity dilemmas and challenges I face during fieldwork within the context of the ongoing international human rightsrelated trial and investigation process of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Kenya. The presence of an international process can shape research and create dilemmas for an individual researcher. These dilemmas were based on my various identities as an insider and outsider female, Kenyan Mugikuyu researching on Kenyan politics. In the note I have discussed how creativity is important in addition to prior training in methods and ethics, and the need for experienced researchers to share with first-time researchers subtle experiences which are mostly learnt in the field. This practice note discusses how I ensure my safety and negotiate access in the field especially in the context of the ICC trial which has shaped human rights-related research in the counties where I am researching.

From Discretion to Necessity: Third State Responsibility for Israel's Control of Stay and Entry into Palestinian Territory

Abstract: Since 1967, Israel has controlled freedom of movement, immigration, residency and nationality in the occupied Palestinian territory through the establishment and administration of the Palestinian population registry in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Over the years, the registry has been the basis for Israeli policies that have barred people from entering the territory or traveling within it, and trapped others inside, resulting in the separation of families, loss of employment and opportunities for obtaining an education abroad. Various non-governmental rights groups have documented Israel’s control of Palestinian residency status and entry into Palestinian territory through arbitrary and draconian criteria, resulting in the exclusion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the territory. Their advocacy strategies have however brought about little or no impact on Israel’s policy and practice. An alternative advocacy paradigm, that seeks to operationalise third state responsibility with regards to Israel’s control of Palestinian residency and movement, has been identified by a Palestinian volunteer group, the ‘Right to Enter’ Campaign. By invoking the state practice of the United States and European countries on the protection of their nationals abroad, the group has in several cases compelled such third party states to inquire, contest and seek satisfaction for apparent Israeli violations of their nationals’ rights. This article discusses Israel’s violations of international human rights and humanitarian law resulting from its institutional practice on Palestinian residency and entry into Palestinian territory, and proposes an operational framework for invoking the rights and obligations of third party states to leverage Israel’s internationally unlawful conduct and demand its compliance with international law.

On the Goodness of Despair

Abstract: This practice note draws on experience working for Ta’ayush, Arab –Jewish Partnership to explore the dilemma of despair in human rights work. How do activists deal with the nagging feeling of futility that often accompanies action? Victories may be small and precarious, activities invisible, and the adversary seemingly invincible. The note argues that activists act because it is the right thing to do, the only thing that can be done, and not for utilitarian considerations about results and impact. Acting ethically, in solidarity with others, generates an inner freedom that can be in stark contrast to the lack of external freedom. The note concludes by reclaiming a good despair as the ground and inspiration for action, and by arguing that the moral act leaves its own trace or echo in the world.

First Encounters: Early Career Researchers and Fieldwork

Abstract: This section of practice notes is written by early career researchers, reflecting on their first experiences of fieldwork in human rights-related settings. It has two sources of inspiration, the submission to JHRP of a practice note on this subject (Browne and Moffett’s piece) and the subsequent realization by the journal editors that although there is a growing literature on challenging fieldwork, there is little that directly addresses the challenges facing first time researchers. In the practice notes, authors address questions such as: † What knowledge and skills should researchers have before first conducting human rights-related fieldwork? † Are these requirements met by the training that NGOs, universities and others provide? † Are there attributes and sensibilities that can only be acquired by doing fieldwork (‘through research’—Darling, p. 201), and how should the divide between the class or training room and the field be addressed? The authors are from the global North working in the North, from the North working in the South, and from the South working in the South. They come from a range of academic disciplines, and reflect the fact that engagement with the practice and ethics of field research differs not only between academia and practice, but also between academic disciplines. The selection of notes presented here is by no means comprehensive. For example, none of the researchers conducted research on perpetrators, with the particular challenges that such research brings. All are currently located in academia rather than NGOs or civil society groups, although each of the contributions reflects on the links between human rights-related research and pressure for social and political change. The section also does not investigate what is specific about human rights research—and uses the term ‘human rights-related research’ deliberately, to designate a broader category of research on violence, conflict, vulnerable groups, and so on. As such, a gap remains on questions such as what is distinctive about human rights research (subject matter? normative reference points?) and how this label itself shapes research—for