This study focuses on the right of access to justice and the factors that limit the realisation of the right. It also examines the concept of legal aid, its importance and then discusses the legal aid schemes that have been developed in Tanzania and Ghana and how they promote the right of access to justice. The author also compares the legal aid schemes of Tanzania and Ghana and how the legal aid schemes could be improved to further promote the right of access to justice / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The study examines SA‟s human rights diplomacy in Africa and the selected countries, namely Libya, Nigeria, the Sudan and Zimbabwe during the presidencies of Presidents Mandela and Mbeki. When SA decided to follow an ethics based foreign policy, especially in the area of human rights, it joined a number of countries who had adopted a similar approach such the United States of America, the Netherlands and Australia. These countries have an established history of human rights diplomacy which is supported by institutional and policy frameworks. The study argues that although both presidents were committed to a human rights oriented foreign policy, due to constraints that they faced in the continent human rights issues were not consistently and concertedly pursued by them, especially following SA‟s 1995 engagement with Nigeria during the term of the Sani Abacha government. These constraints led to a major shift in SA‟s human rights diplomacy. This shift entailed a move away from unilateral action to reliance on multilateral forums to deal with human rights challenges; the development of continental norms and standards, as well as strengthening continental structures; and conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction and development in Africa. This shift became evident in the content of Departmental strategic plans, and reporting both internally and externally to oversight structures such as Parliament. Hardly any proactive plans were developed to address human rights issues in any of the individual countries. Reporting to Parliament also focused on developments at a multilateral level both at the UN and AU with little coverage of human rights issues in individual countries. The use of multilateral bodies such as the SADC to address human rights issues became more pronounced, the Zimbabwean crisis being the case in point. Despite the merits of the collective approach, its value is diminished if it is undertaken to the exclusion of bilateral engagements by South African diplomats in specific countries or if gross human rights violations are not raised in multilateral bodies. Similarly, the significance of the normative framework and requisite structures cannot be doubted, but because the results of these initiatives are only realisable in the medium to long term, this approach needs to be buttressed by bilateral diplomatic engagements. During the period from 1994 to 2008, SA also engaged in a number of conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction and development initiatives. These interventions averted human rights violations by securing peace as well as facilitating the development of constitutional and related frameworks to ensure the protection of human rights in the affected states. In conclusion, with the exception of Nigeria, SA hardly intervened on its own to intercede on behalf of victims of civil and political rights violations in any of the four states covered by the study. Its approach undermined its commitment to promote and protect human rights in the African continent. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2015 / Political Sciences / MA / Unrestricted

Should same sex couples have a right to marriage? This question has been debated frequently during the last two decades. The legislation across Europe shows a divide between countries that have legalised same-sex marriage and countries that have introduced constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. Using a theory that emphasises the moral dimension of human rights, I examine the right to marriage in the European Convention of Human Rights from an ethical perspective. The purpose of this thesis is threefold. The first aim is to investigate how the right to marriage is regulated in The European Convention on Human Rights and how its interpreted by The European Court of Human Rights. The second aim is to identify and assess central arguments in the debate about same sex marriage from a human rights perspective. The third and final aim is to perform a critical examination of the right to marriage in the European Convention of Human rights from an ethical perspective.   This study shows that The European Court of Human Rights is cautious in its interpretation of the right to marriage and has chosen to await a European consensus before including same-sex couples in the right to marriage. By looking closer at the evolutionary interpretation of the convention, as discussed by George Letsas & Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, I conclude that this interpretation should be based on certain moral principles. Through the examination of central arguments in the same-sex marriage debate I draw the conclusion that same sex couples have a moral right to marriage. Thus, this thesis suggests that there is a contradiction between the moral dimension of human rights and The European Court of Human Rights interpretation of the right to marriage for same-sex couples. I therefore argue that there should be an ethical demand to include same sex-couples in the right to marriage.

This master's thesis deals with the identification and the analysis of the changes in society which lead to questioning the basic principles of human rights from the point of view of Czech non-profit organisations. In this study, it is important to divide the definition of human rights into their legal aspect, i.e. as rights of people, and their institutional aspect, i.e. as the moral imperative of equality and liberty. The latter is the main objective of this study, and is in this thesis labelled as the human rights. While the legal aspect of human rights is hard to change and to challenge, the institution of human rights is confronted by both the politics and the public. Because of their unique position between the political and the public spheres, non-profit organisations who advocate the human rights were chosen as the research sample. The dimensions of the researched phenomenon are divided into decreasing political influence of countries promoting the human rights, and increasing distrust in the legitimacy of the human rights. Findings from the research uncover the unequal intensity of the potential reasons of the changing attitudes towards the institution of human rights, and we can identify the political sphere as the creator of the boundaries in which the public reacts. As a result, this...

Arbitration has previously been a dispute resolution method for commercial and investment disputes mostly concerning businesses and states. The recently launched Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration (The Hague Rules) are a universal set of rules for business-related human rights disputes in international arbitration, which offer an additional legal remedy for victims of human rights abuse linked to business activities. This thesis discusses if the legal remedies have been improved and reflects on previous legal remedies in order to analyse a potential improvement provided by the Hague Rules. The history of business-related human rights disputes has been strongly affected by the concept of corporate social responsibility which have contributed to a development of several soft law regulations. At the same time, businesses, states and arbitral tribunals have contributed to gradually include human rights aspects in arbitration. Despite this, the development before the Hague Rules was fragmentary and victims of the business-related human rights abuse were not provided a stable access to legal remedy. Corrupted and impartial domestic courts could in turn lead to the result of victims being completely excluded from access to justice. Through the Hague Rules, victims are provided with an opportunity to raise claims in arbitration, a development that have included human rights aspects in arbitration such as public interest, imbalance of power, expert arbitrators and witness protection. Even if the Hague Rules offer an effective legal remedy for the victims of business-related human rights abuse in many regards, imbalance of power between a well-funded corporation and the victims cannot be solved solely by a soft law instrument. Furthermore, domestic laws and domestic courts might raise issues for the Hague Rules which could also potentially decrease important features of the national adjudication process. Even if the Hague Rules could be improved further, they are still an improvement of legal remedies for victims of human rights abuse linked to business activities and have increased the access to justice.

Title: “Holy” War on Human Rights - A hermeneutic study of the complex situation of human rights activists in Afghanistan Author: Zandra Bergman Supervisor: Maud Eriksen Examiner: Johanna Romare Department of TheologyMaster program of Religion in Peace and ConflictMaster’s thesis, 15 credits  In September 2020, the latest attempt to bring peace to Afghanistan, the intra-Afghan peace talks formally began. The opening of the peace negotiations failed to produce the long-desired ceasefire. Instead, it marked an increase of violence: a sharp number of deliberate killings of human rights defenders. The purpose of this study is to examine lived experiences of human rights activists in Afghanistan and the complex situation in which they are operating and to gain a deeper understanding of why they have increasingly been subject to violence. Furthermore, it is an attempt to explore the meaning of violence against Afghan human rights activists promoting women's rights. This is a hermeneutic study primarily based on data collected through interviews with two Afghan human rights activists. Rather than touch every topic and present data about an objective reality or truth, the aim is to shed light on the shared experiences of the respondents, providing snapshots of the current situation of Afghan human rights defenders, and to discuss their stories in the light of selected theories. The following research questions have been used to guide the study: (1) How can we understand the complex situation of human rights activists in Afghanistan, and (2) What are the underlying reasons they are being targeted? By adopting mainly, the concepts of hegemony: to decode underlying dimensions of power struggles, and a critical feminist approach: to grasp the gender dimensions of the conflict, I have exposed how my respondents in their positions of human rights defenders bring new life to a historical conflict of interests impinging on the future nature of Afghanistan. Moreover, they expose a recurrent clash between opposing hegemonic aspirations: a struggle over the maintenance of social order in the Afghan society, in which they are being placed at the center.

This study aimed to examine the implementation of the Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) in the project “Improved WASH Services in WAU and WAR Districts”, focusing on sustainable water and sanitation in Sierra Leone. Through a content analysis of the project evaluation report, the integration of HRBA principles in planning, implementation and results was examined. The results showed that HRBA was applied to some extent in the project, in particular by involving local people in decision-making and emphasizing their rights to water and sanitation. This inclusive methodology increased participation and ownership among the communities. However, it also identified challenges, such as a lack of resources and training, which hindered a more complete integration of HRBA. The analysis highlighted the importance of continuing to work on strengthening HRBA in development projects and addressing the challenges that hinder its effective application. Despite progress in promoting human rights through HRBA, there is still a need to overcome obstacles that can undermine its effectiveness. The conclusion highlighted that HRBA has the potential to be a powerful method for advancing human rights in development, but that its success depends on careful mainstreaming and monitoring. / Denna studie syftade till att undersöka implementeringen av Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) i projektet "Improved WASH Services in WAU and WAR Districts", med fokus på hållbar vatten och sanitet i Sierra Leone. Genom en innehållsanalys av utvärderingsrapporten för projektet granskades integrationen av HRBA-principer i planering, genomförande och resultat. Resultaten visade att HRBA tillämpades i viss utsträckning i projektet, särskilt genom att involvera lokalbefolkningen i beslutsfattandet och betona deras rättigheter till vatten och sanitet. Denna inkluderande metodik ökade deltagandet och äganderätten bland gemenskaperna. Dock identifierades också utmaningar, såsom bristande resurser och utbildning, som hindrade en mer fullständig integration av HRBA. Analysen betonade vikten av att fortsätta arbeta med att stärka HRBA i utvecklingsprojekt och adressera de utmaningar som hindrar dess effektiva tillämpning. Trots framsteg i att främja mänskliga rättigheter genom HRBA, finns det fortfarande behov av att övervinna hinder som kan underminera dess effektivitet. Slutsatsen framhävde att HRBA har potential att vara en kraftfull metod för att främja mänskliga rättigheter i utvecklingsarbetet, men att dess framgång är beroende av en noggrann integrering och övervakning.

This bachelor thesis has been conducted after having personally observed and becoming interested in the HIV response in Kenya. The aim of the study is to assess the capability of Kenya’s AIDS Strategic Framework (KASF) based on Susan James perspective on rights as enforceable claims. It will do so by answering the question; ”what understanding of humans right to highest attainable standard of health is expressed in KASF? In order to do so, James’ conditions and circumstances have served as the foundation to an abductive study which seek to assess KASF from a different perspective. ! The study is primarily based on Kenya’s AIDS Strategic Framework (KASF) and Susan James’ (2003) article “Rights as enforceable claims”. The results and conclusions are reinforced by the use of other supporting documents to KASF and official reports and surveys. ! The results presented in this qualitative study of KASF concludes that some community groups are portrayed as stronger claim-holders than others, with some groups almost being excluded. Furthermore, this thesis establishes that the access to the highest attainable health is hindered by obligation-holders own emotional dispositions as well as institutional limitations.

Published Article / This article examines how South African newspapers report on the activities of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) regarding human rights violations in South African schools over a five-year period (1 January 2005 to 31 December 2009). The overarching research question that guided this study is: Can the media play a role in cultivating and creating a particular view of human rights violations in schools and advocate policy change through their framing of the activities of the SAHRC? McManus and Dorfman's guidelines were used to analyse the structural and content frames of 161 articles that were retrieved from the SAMedia database. These news stories provide a glimpse on the wide variety of human rights violations the SAHRC investigated during the five-year period. The interrogation of the two dominant content frames, namely school violence and infringements on learners' rights to basic education, reveals newspapers' superficial and sensationalised coverage of human rights violations. The analysis exposes the media's lack of policy advocacy.

This study focuses on the role of the South African judiciary under an entrenched and justiciable Bill of Rights. The lack of an established human rights culture in South Africa results in uncertainty regarding the permissible extent to which judges are empowered, under the Bill of Rights, to employ judicial activism and creativity in order to protect the fundamental rights of citizens. Judicial activism is used in the sense that judges can and should, whenever expressly or impliedly sanctioned to do so by the Bill of Rights, ensure that the fundamental rights of the individual are protected to the extent of granting actual constitutional relief, where this is justified, instead of merely declaring the existence of a right. The essential aim of this study is to outline the parameters of, and the legal basis upon which judicial activism can be justified and accepted into a South African human rights culture. / Jurisprudence / LL. M.