The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was born out of international security concerns triggered by rebel groups that were using the proceeds of rough diamonds to fund conflict. Rebel groups used rough diamonds, acquired through gross human rights abuses, to fund conflicts aimed at overthrowing legitimate governments. The situation was particularly calamitous and ruinous in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In response to this situation a unique coalition of governments, civil society groups and stakeholders in the diamond industry, came together with the support of the United Nations and established a scheme to separate illicitly acquired diamonds from legally traded diamonds. The historical situation at the time allowed the KPCS to define conflict diamonds as "rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments". However, the exploitation of Marange diamonds in Zimbabwe shows that the use of the proceeds of so-called conflict in diamonds is not limited to rebel movements aiming to wield power but such conflict can be political, economic and military in nature. In Zimbabwe, there was a link between human rights abuses and the ZANU PF led government. ZANU PF financed terror using Marange diamonds. There was international dissatisfaction with the way the KPCS scheme certified Marange diamonds. The USA maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe and Global Witness withdrew from the scheme in protest over the refusal of the scheme to evolve. On the other hand, some participant countries applauded the scheme for its work in certifying Marange diamonds. This study evaluates the efficacy of the scheme in curbing conflict diamonds brought into legal trade by legitimate governments. The study concludes that there is need for reform in the KPCS to successfully separate conflict diamonds from clean diamonds in the face of changing forms of conflict. In meeting its objective, the KPCS applies an exclusion mechanism where participants of the scheme do not trade with non-participants. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules prohibit discrimination amongst participants and the KPCS clearly violated this rule. Scholars have debated human rights exceptions in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). There is strong legal support for the idea that the KPCS is justified under GATT article XX and XI. The KPCS is presently operating under a waiver granted from by the WTO under article IX (3) and (4). Another challenge the scheme faces is the legal nature of the scheme. Scholars do not agree on whether to classify the scheme as hard law or soft law. There is a need for clarity on the legal nature of the scheme. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme was born out of international security concerns triggered by rebel groups that were using the proceeds of rough diamonds to fund conflict. Rebel groups used rough diamonds, acquired through gross human rights abuses, to fund conflicts aimed at overthrowing legitimate governments. The situation was particularly calamitous and ruinous in Angola, Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In response to this situation a unique coalition of governments, civil society groups and stakeholders in the diamond industry, came together with the support of the United Nations and established a scheme to separate illicitly acquired diamonds from legally traded diamonds. The historical situation at the time allowed the KPCS to define conflict diamonds as "rough diamonds used by rebel movements or their allies to finance conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments". However, the exploitation of Marange diamonds in Zimbabwe shows that the use of the proceeds of so-called conflict in diamonds is not limited to rebel movements aiming to wield power but such conflict can be political, economic and military in nature. In Zimbabwe, there was a link between human rights abuses and the ZANU PF led government. ZANU PF financed terror using Marange diamonds. There was international dissatisfaction with the way the KPCS scheme certified Marange diamonds. The USA maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe and Global Witness withdrew from the scheme in protest over the refusal of the scheme to evolve. On the other hand, some participant countries applauded the scheme for its work in certifying Marange diamonds. This study evaluates the efficacy of the scheme in curbing conflict diamonds brought into legal trade by legitimate governments. The study concludes that there is need for reform in the KPCS to successfully separate conflict diamonds from clean diamonds in the face of changing forms of conflict. In meeting its objective, the KPCS applies an exclusion mechanism where participants of the scheme do not trade with non-participants. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules prohibit discrimination amongst participants and the KPCS clearly violated this rule. Scholars have debated human rights exceptions in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). There is strong legal support for the idea that the KPCS is justified under GATT article XX and XI. The KPCS is presently operating under a waiver granted from by the WTO under article IX (3) and (4). Another challenge the scheme faces is the legal nature of the scheme. Scholars do not agree on whether to classify the scheme as hard law or soft law. There is a need for clarity on the legal nature of the scheme. / LLM (Import and Export Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The idea that there are universal human rights that can, and should, be enforced has been an increasingly wide-spread and popular belief, as well as a controversial one. Concerns of cultural relativism contrasted with stances of universalism spark an impassioned debate that permeates the dialogue of human rights today in all spheres: social, academic, and even those professional spheres that are tasked with creating and enforcing the laws regarding these issues. What does psychology have to say about this? After all, if it is a universal phenomenon, it must span across time, culture, and difference, and there must be trends in our human nature or similarities in our psychology that allow us to claim universality. One psychological theory, the Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) can help shed light on this issue. MFT holds that universally, as human beings, we share five grounds of moral foundations on which we make our judgments and take action: Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Authority/Submissiveness, Sanctity/Degradation, and Loyalty/Betrayal. While we are all born with the capability to act and reason on these, our cultures shape us to emphasize different foundations and it is in that shift that conflict arises. What one group sees as right, and based in moral justification, another sees as wrong and as a violation of human rights. This paper attempts to use MFT to understand the moral foundations underlying three case studies of practices internationally seen as human rights abuses, female genital modification, child marriage, and male guardianship in Saudi Arabia, and provides suggestions for methods of effective intervention based in MFT.

Conflict has been rife in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for many decades, in a war over minerals. The economic incentive for this conflict lies in the multimillion dollar trade in conflict minerals, and the results are human rights abuses, violent conflict and corruption. International industries from resource-rich countries play a role in business and human rights violations in other countries where governance is weak, such as the DRC. The focus of this study is minerals extracted from the eastern DRC – the ores that produce tin, tantalum, tungsten (the 3Ts) and gold. These minerals are essential to the electronics industry, where various companies, primarily publicly listed companies, use these minerals in their production processes. This study examines the way in which companies at the top of the minerals supply chain use their buying power to influence their suppliers, exerting pressure down the supply chain. There have been dramatic changes in this arena recently, including the passing of conflict minerals legislation in the United States of America (USA) and an evolving multilateral architecture for supply chain due diligence emanating from the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This study explores a variety of efforts initiated by a number of companies, governments and non-governmental organisations (both in the DRC and internationally) committed to combating conflict minerals. These efforts are aimed at formulating a regulatory framework on the security exchanges in Africa. Such a system should be conceptualised to regulate the due diligence process relating to minerals to enable end-users to trace supply chains from companies who use these minerals back to the sources of origin, by using independent audit chains of custody in a certification scheme similar to the Kimberley Process for conflict diamonds. This system is intended to be a means to strengthen the global transparency and accountability of electronics companies, together with industry initiatives, the OECD’s guidelines and extractive industry transparency initiatives principles, targeting publicly listed companies. This study, which consisted of a desktop review of books, journals, reports and internet sources, analyses elements of the USA‘s Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) and South Africa’s King Code Report III on Corporate Governance of 2009 to determine whether these instruments are appropriate to be applied to African exchanges. It examines whether these instruments can be used to create a system requiring companies trading in or using conflict minerals in their production to compile an annual report that is to be made publicly available, disclosing the source and chain of custody of conflict minerals which originate from conflict zones, notably the DRC and other African countries. Due to the globalised markets, companies are gaining greater power than some governments. Companies are regulated by the legislation of the host country in which they are incorporated. The countries in which these companies operate and publicly trade are usually developing countries, which are characterised by impoverished communities and unstable or emerging democracies. The recent passing of the conflict minerals provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act requires that publicly traded companies in electronics industries report annually to the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on whether conflict minerals are part of their supply chains, and if so, what the steps have been taken to ensure that the companies do not contribute to the ongoing conflict. The practical/managerial implications of the African system is that the inconsistencies and instability in these emerging markets legislation and their relaxed rule of law create loopholes in the systems of industry which would normally require adherence to human rights principles and industry’s assistance in developing global standards and/or incorporating such standards into legislation. Industry is still largely unaware of whether products are conflict-free and has no way of determining the status of products. Responsible supply chain co-operation is therefore needed by companies to take steps to trace supply chains, and ensure independent auditing and certification. This study looks at how industry and governments can formulate international standards and regulations that require publicly listed companies using the 3Ts and gold in the production of their goods to put human rights at the heart of their enterprises. The findings of the study highlight the urgent need for due diligence, transparency and an accountability agenda for resource sectors. The study argues that more African states need to buy into these initiatives. Greater transparency must be part of broader governance schemes. The study recognises the important role of stock exchanges and the importance of regulating companies which trade and source minerals from the DRC and other countries in Africa. The study recommends a reform of securities exchanges and the implementation of corporate governance codes. The study argues that Africa can incorporate elements of the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC Act, King III and the JSE Listing Requirements into national legislation in the individual states to impose important legal duties on companies to promote fairness, accountability, responsibility and transparency. Passing legislation to regulate the international minerals trade is crucial for the promotion of a legal mineral trade. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Since West Papua’s integration into Indonesia in 1969, the Free West Papua Movement has been engaged in a struggle for independence from Indonesia. The indigenous people of the territory have endured murder, rape, and many other abuses. This thesis provides an account of Indonesia’s control over West Papua through a settler-colonial lens. It aims to shed light on the paradox of the extensive involvement by the international community during the handover period in contrast to the limited intervention in addressing the human rights abuses that followed, by employing the concept of sovereignty as symbolic form. The thesis concludes that sovereignty has evolved beyond a mere attribute of modern states. It now serves as a strategic tool for upholding international peace. Interference and intervention are therefore normalized, and utilized arbitrarily, as demonstrated in the case of West Papua. This offers insight into the ongoing human rights abuses that persist with impunity.

Since the inception of the modern state, civil-military relationships have been an important and critical factor of stability for the state. The nature and quality of the relationship between the civilian and military leaders can assist a state with bringing forth a peaceful environment or plaguing the citizens of that state with endless suffering which is synonymous with armed conflicts. As we can witness in our world, in Africa, Europe, Latin America or the Middle East armed conflicts have been an integral part of politics and international relations between states    In this thesis, I shall examine the civil-military relationship within the Eritrean armed forces. I will use the state of Eritrea as my case study. The fundamental rationale for me selecting Eritrea as my case for this study is based upon the miniscule amount of academic research regarding the civil-military relationship within the Eritrean armed forces. This thesis will strive to generate a broader understanding of the relationship between the civilian leaders and military leaders of the state of Eritrea and how that relationship affects the Eritrean armed forces on the battlefield. The theoretical framework I shall apply to inquire into the civil-military relationship within the Eritrean armed forces, will be the theories of Objective civilian control and Subjective civilian control. While applying a qualitative case study method for this thesis. The thesis finds that the civil-military relationship structure within the Eritrean armed forces have been revolving around the president, Isaias Afwerki. Afwerki routinely micromanages the affairs of the military.

<p>Since the 1980&rsquo / s, many dictatorships around the world have been replaced by new democracies. These old dictatorships were notorious for their human rights abuses. Many people were killed and tortured / and many others were disappeared. When the new governments came into power, they had to confront these injustices that were perpetrated under the predecessor regime. This was necessary to create a culture of human rights / promote a respect for the law and access to justice. Many confronted these injustices in different ways, some granted amnesty, some prosecuted and others instituted truth commissions. This research paper focuses on truth commissions. The research focuses particularly on the study of the South African Truth Commission. The mandate of the South African Truth Commission is analysed and the investigation into whether the commission served the purpose for which it had been established is discussed.</p>

<p>Since the 1980&rsquo / s, many dictatorships around the world have been replaced by new democracies. These old dictatorships were notorious for their human rights abuses. Many people were killed and tortured / and many others were disappeared. When the new governments came into power, they had to confront these injustices that were perpetrated under the predecessor regime. This was necessary to create a culture of human rights / promote a respect for the law and access to justice. Many confronted these injustices in different ways, some granted amnesty, some prosecuted and others instituted truth commissions. This research paper focuses on truth commissions. The research focuses particularly on the study of the South African Truth Commission. The mandate of the South African Truth Commission is analysed and the investigation into whether the commission served the purpose for which it had been established is discussed.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D. in Nursing) -- University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-174). Free to UCDHSC affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;

Magister Legum - LLM / Since the 1980's, many dictatorships around the world have been replaced by new democracies. These old dictatorships were notorious for their human rights abuses. Many people were killed and tortured; and many others were disappeared. When the new governments came into power, they had to confront these injustices that were perpetrated under the predecessor regime. This was necessary to create a culture of human rights; promote a respect for the law and access to justice. Many confronted these injustices in different ways, some granted amnesty, some prosecuted and others instituted truth commissions. This research paper focuses on truth commissions. The research focuses particularly on the study of the South African Truth Commission. The mandate of the South African Truth Commission is analysed and the investigation into whether the commission served the purpose for which it had been established is discussed. / South Africa