Antonella Attardo, VIU

Human rights and human rights discourse affect directly or indirectly daily events and the lives of citizens throughout the world. Issues inextricably related to human rights, such as democracy, rule of law, development, also have an impact at every level of society. While world scale cases, such as the genocide in Rwanda, and the trial of former President S. Milosevic for war crimes, and issues raised by the current international terrorist phenomena (and anti-terrorism initiatives) have gone a long way in raising awareness about large scale human rights situations, they have also brought about how certain situations may affect lives and rights of individuals and groups.

Little specific knowledge however exists, even amongst informed citizens, about what rights are internationally recognized to individuals and groups: what legal texts enshrine these rights; who has taken decisions on which rights should be recognized; what mechanisms exist to ensure that such rights are respected in practice.

This course aims at giving some basic introductory knowledge to non-specialist students about the key standards within international law on which human rights are recognized to individuals and groups: how such standards have been born, what their key provisions are, and what monitoring and implementation mechanisms exist. It also aims at exploring key issues which are currently at the forefront of international debate on human rights: for instance, implementation of international standards at local level, transnational justice. Specific attention will be devoted to issues relating to terrorism, security and human rights; human rights and situations of armed conflict; migration, refugee flows and human rights; discrimination issues in the context of rapidly changing societies where multiculturalism is increasingly becoming a common scenario.

The course will also focus on issues relating to universality o human rights values and standards and cultural diversity. While an overview of different regional situations in relation to standards and thei implementation will be given, the course will have a more detailed geographic focus on Europe.

The course will be a mix of lecture and individual work. Students will be asked to work individually and in groups, for instance in preparing case studies and exploring specific situations. Students will be encouraged to embark upon individual reflection and research on how legal standards and mechanisms can affect specific situations at local level as well as the lives of individuals and groups.
Students will be provided with indications about basic reference texts and other reading (articles from academic journals, international organizations’ reports, materials from the media, etc.)

Students will be assessed on the following basis: 35% final exam; 35% research paper and essay; 30% class participation.

The class size will be of no more than 20 students in order to enable full participation in the seminars.

The outlines of the seminars below are intended as a guide for students and may change slightly during the course according to the needs and interests which may emerge.

Week 1
International standards and implementation at national/local level: an introduction

International law-national law
International human rights law: what is it and what is it for?
Global and regional standards

Week 2
The United Nations system

The UN system
Historical background
UN Declaration on Human Rights
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and International Convention on Economic Social and Cultural Rights

Week 3
Other relevant UN instruments

Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention Against Torture
Other instruments

Week 4
Implementation mechanisms at UN level

Monitoring and implementation: opportunities and problems
Treaty Bodies and Charter Bodies
UN Commission on Human Rights

Week 5
Human rights and Humanitarian law

What is humanitarian law
Geneva Conventions
Other instruments
Borderline and Problem areas

Week 6
Refugee law and instruments relating to migration and trafficking

UN Refugee Convention 1951
Regional standards and implementation of the Refugee Convention
Migration
Trafficking

Week 7
Groups rights and individual rights: an introduction

Conceptual issues relating to group rights and historical background
Minorities and indigenous peoples
Relevant international standards
Problem areas

Week 8
Regional instruments

Relevance and importance of regional instruments
Europe

Week 9
Regional instruments and mechanisms-continued
Europe
Americas- Africa

Week 10
More about monitoring/implementation systems

Translating international law into implementation at local level: the new frontier
Regional monitoring mechanisms
Transnational justice
National justice and international human rights law

Week 11
New areas and challenges
Further in-depth debate on:

Terrorism and human rights
Conflict and human rights
Discrimination and anti-discrimination measures

Week 12
Challenges

How can human rights standards affect peoples’ lives
Geopolitcal change and evolution of the human rights system
Civil society and ways to affect implementation at local level of international standards

Week 13
exam week

Readings

Reference readings:

Main texts (students are advised to buy their own individual copy; two copies available in VIU’s library):

Thomas Buergenthal, et al, International Human Rights in a Nutshell (3rd Edition), West Law School, 2002

Paul Gordon Lauren, The Evolution of International Human Rights: Visions Seen (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights), University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998

Other suggested texts (one copy is available in VIU’s library)

P. Alston, H.J. Steiner, International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals, Oxford University Press, 2000

Dinah Shelton, Remedies in International Human Rights Law, Oxford University Press, 2001

Simon Chesterman, Just War or Just Peace?: Humanitarian Intervention and International Law Oxford Monographs in International Law, Oxford University Press, 2001

K.K. Cuomo, E. Adams (eds.), Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are changing Our World, Crown, 2001

Geoffrey Robertson, Kenneth Roth (Introduction), Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice, New Press, 2003

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'Im (Editor) Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus (Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights), University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995

Further information about readings will be specified for each course week prior to the beginning of the course.

Biography
Laurea in Political Sciences (Milan), M.A. in African Studies (Soas, London), PhD in African History (Siena and Soas). Secretary General at VIU. Taught in the Undergraduate Program in Fall 2002. Was advisor for The British Refugee Council, researcher and campaigner for Africa in the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, Head of Communications for Minority Rights Group International. Recently taught in the European Master in Mediterranean Intermediation at Ca’ Foscari. Doctoral thesis focused on women’s ownership and inheritance rights in the Fanti coastal areas of Ghana from the mid 1800s to the 1920s. Published, with M. De Ponte and E. Noli, Rights without peace. Human Rights and armed conflict, Florence, CEP, 1999 (in Italian). Forthcoming articles: ‘Is this British Justice?’ Perceptions of colonial justice in African newspapers published in the Gold Coast, 1874-1926, “Canadian Journal of African Studies” and Violations of fundamental rights against women and post-conflict settlements: the Liberian case in F. Declich (ed.), Women’s rights five years after the Beijing Conference and the International Criminal Court.