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Human Rights Commission (human + right_commission)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	33%

Selected Abstracts

(ANTI)SOCIAL CAPITAL IN THE PRODUCTION OF AN (UN)CIVIL SOCIETY IN PAKISTAN,

GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2005
DAANISH MUSTAFA
ABSTRACT. Pakistan is home to some of the most widely admired examples of civil-society-based service-delivery and advocacy groups. Pakistan has also spawned some much-maligned nongovernmental actors with violent agendas. This article uses the social capital / civil society conceptual lens to view the modes of (anti)social capital mobilization that contribute to the civil and uncivil spaces of Pakistani society. The case examples of Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamic revivalist organization, and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan are used to understand the geography of social and antisocial forces in Pakistan. It is argued that the processes that mobilize social capital-whether positive or perverse-are multiscalar and that, in the Pakistani context, no compelling cultural or religious reason exists for the ascendance of one type of social capital over the other. Positive social capital can be mobilized to contribute to a more civil social discourse in Pakistan, given the right policy choices. [source]

Disability Rights Commission: From Civil Rights to Social Rights

JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008
Agnes Fletcher
This paper argues that, although originally conceived as part of the ,civil rights' agenda, the development of disability rights in Britain by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is better seen as a movement towards the realization of social, economic, and cultural rights, and so as reaffirmation of the indissolubility of human rights in the round. As such, that process of development represents a concrete exercise in the implementation of social rights by a statutory equality body and a significant step towards the conception of disability rights as universal participation, not just individual or minority group entitlement. The paper considers the distinctive features of that regulatory activity. It asks what sort of equality the DRC set out to achieve for disabled people and where, as a result, its work positioned it on the regulatory spectrum. From the particular experience of the DRC, the paper looks forward to considerations of general relevance to other such bodies, including the new Equality and Human Rights Commission. [source]

The Dilemma of Double Standards in U.S. Human Rights Policy

PEACE & CHANGE, Issue 4 2003
Scott Turner
In May 2000 the United States was voted off of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. This reflected the frustration of much of the international community with the United States' increasingly obstructionist approach to international institutionalism. The United States' opposition to the proposed International Criminal Court (ICC) reflects its pursuit of double standards in human rights policy. Double standards are manifest in U.S. support for Israel and Turkey with their records of gross human rights violations. They likewise are discernable in the strategic motives behind the 1999 Kosovo intervention. The proposed ICC challenges the United States' use of human rights rhetoric to pursue unilateral objectives by forging a more neutral means of prosecuting international justice. If the United States is to recover its status as the world's human rights leader, it must renew its commitment to multilateral institutionalism and must avoid double standards that undermine the legitimacy of human rights discourse. [source]

Human rights commissions and public policy: The role of the Canadian Human Rights Commission in advancing sexual orientation equality rights in Canada

CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 2 2008
Annette Nierobisz
The case study is informed by commission annual reports, speeches by past chief commissioners, presentations by the commission to parliamentary committees, and an examination of 442 sexual orientation complaints closed by the commission by 2005. The study shows that, from its inception, the commission had a simple and consistent message: sexual orientation should not be the basis for denying individuals employment, services or benefits. Using a variety of strategies, the CHRC facilitated the incorporation of this message into the Canadian Human Rights Act by promoting the designation of sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination. Subsequently, the commission became actively involved in securing equal access to employment-related benefits in the federal sphere for same-sex couples and also added its voice in support of legal recognition of same-sex marriage. The authors conclude by discussing how the unique position of human rights commissions gives them the potential to play an important role in public policy development, even when there may be a lack of political will or public support. Sommaire: Le présent article examine l'aptitude des commissions des droits de la personne à encourager les changements dans la politique publique en mettant l'accent sur la Commission canadienne des droits de la personne (CCDP) et son rôle dans la promotion des droits à l'égalité en matière d'orientation sexuelle au Canada. L' étude de cas tire ses informations des rapports annuels de la commission, des allocutions prononcées par d'anciens présidents de la commission, des présentations faites par la commission aux comités parlementaires, et d'un examen de 442 plaintes relatives à l'orientation sexuelle traitées par la commission jusqu'en 2005. L' étude indique que, depuis sa création, la commission avait un message simple et unanime : l'orientation sexuelle ne devrait pas être un motif invoqué pour refuser de l'emploi, des services ou des avantages sociaux à des particuliers. Grâce à diverses stratégies, la CCDP a facilité l'intégration de ce message à la Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne en faisant en sorte que l'orientation sexuelle soit désignée comme un motif de discrimination interdit. Par la suite, la commission a été active sur la scène fédérale pour assurer que les conjoints de même sexe bénéficient de l' égalité d'accès aux avantages liés à l'emploi, et elle a également soutenu la reconnaissance légale du mariage des conjoints de même sexe. En conclusion, les auteurs discutent la position unique des commissions des droits de la personne qui leur offre le potentiel de jouer un rôle important dans l' élaboration des politiques gouvernementales, même avec un manque de volonté politique ou de soutien public. [source]