The cruelty and scope of the widespread criminality of humans in the world, which was a feature of the past century, was fuelled by scientific progress, egoism and humanity's power of destruction. The criminal consequences of the many imperialistic, hegemonic and barbarous wars in that century were immeasurable in terms of violations of human rights. Notwithstanding the emergence of international criminal justice through the experience of the International Criminal Military Tribunal of Nuremberg and Tokyo and later the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, globally, impunity for egregious crimes continues. The establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the end of the 20th century was saluted as a major step forward in the evolution of international criminal justice. While previous tribunals were ad hoc, the ICC is permanent and has large territorial jurisdiction. This raises hope among the many Congolese victims of the first African World War, who view the ICC as a paradigm change that will put a stop to impunity for crimes against humanity and the crimes of genocide and war. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the past decades have been marked by instability and horrible armed conflicts (1996-97 and 1998-2003) which left several million people dead, and which were marked by gross war crimes. The negative consequences of those atrocities persist until today. While the ICC initiated the prosecution of some war criminals in 2004, most crimes committed before 2002 remain unpunished, because the ICC's jurisdiction is limited to after that time. It is therefore imperative to examine other mechanisms to deal with impunity for various grave crimes, including war crimes, perpetrated between 1996 and 2002. Thus the aim of this research is to contribute to the fight against impunity for crimes in the DRC by examining how other modes of jurisdiction such as the principle of universality can be applied, and to assess the need for the establishment of a specific tribunal for the DRC. Considering the inability and incapacity of the Congolese judicial apparatus, this study concludes by recommending the establishment of a Special Criminal Tribunal which can put an end to impunity for serious crimes committed in the DRC. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

This research paper is an analysis of the case United States v Flick et al which took place in 1947 in Nuremberg, Germany. Friedrich Flick, a powerful German industrialist, and several high ranking officials of his firm were tried by a United States military tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Third Reich. The proceedings and the decision itself are the subject of a critical examination, including an investigation of the factual and legal background. The trial will be regarded in the historical context of prosecutions against German industrialists after World War II. Seen from present-day perspective, the question will be raised whether any conclusions can be drawn from the Flick case in respect of the substance of present-day international criminal law. / Magister Legum - LLM

This thesis examines the depiction of the feral child through the literary study of 18th and 19th century French texts. This body of research isn’t meant to establish historical facts, or to construct a global history of childhood, but rather it’s a work on the representation of humanity, on the issues surrounding the conceptualizations of childhood and animality that emerged parallel to changes in theological and philosophical ideas or mentalities. Reflecting upon the cases of Marie-Angélique le Blanc, Victor de l’Aveyron, and Kaspar Hauser, and supporting narratives as well as on related anthologies of edifying anecdotes of wise, virtuous, obedient children, this study shows patterns of imagery and themes that confirm that the ways of viewing the child in literature and society is linked to path of thought regarding questions of humanity; stories filled with spiritual connotations fade as faith in science moves to the forefront of inquiry. / Graduate

<p>This thesis assessed the effectiveness of the Special Court in relation to the impact is has made in cultivating the rudiments of a human rights culture, dispensing justice, ending a culture of impunity, effecting unity and national reconciliation in post war Sierra Leone.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 384-427).

Univ., Diss.--Bochum, 2002. / Literaturverz. S. 402 - 436.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, YEAR. / Title from screen (viewed on August 26, 2009). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Jane E. Schultz, Jonathan R. Eller, Robert Rebein. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-83).

The Master's Thesis deals with the issue of solitude of seniors. It examines the solitude from theological, psychological and sociological point of view and seeks inspiration in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church. It tries to understand the position of Benedict XVI. who says that the most painful kind of poverty is solitude. The acquired knowledge is then viewed through the optic of social work and possible solutions of the problem of solitude of seniors are suggested.

The purpose of this study is to analyze whether heteronormativity conditions human rights for LGBT persons in Burma, and how “normalization processes” affect and control whose lives, according to Judith Butlers theories, possesses human value. This is done through interpreting the framework of theories by Butler with methods of idea analysis and empirical interviews and research from Burma. Specially highlighted is how the compelling heteronormative social structure affects LGBT persons in Burma, and how the system, according to Butler, is based on the notion that bodies that are “abnormal” are not recognized, and therefore seen as less human and less worthy of human rights. The thesis critically reflects on how Butlers more theoretical reasoning is challenged by the research material. The three research questions are interrelated, in such a way that they all explore how we can understand the human rights situation in Burma for persons that identify as LGBT, based on Butler and queer theory ́s criticism of heteronormativity. The conclusion shows that widespread homo- and transphobia, laws about illegality, the police as frequent perpetrators of violence, (especially against transgender women and gay men) and lack of judicial authority to turn to, makes LGBT people into "anti-citizens" that are reduced to a body without "the right to have rights". Butler's theories have considerable relevance for the context, in her analyzes of who are recognized as human and what the consequences are for human dignity to be outside the heteronormative system. However, they are lacking both legal perspective and problematization of the patriarchal power system, perspectives which has a decisive impact on LGBT persons in Burma. / Syftet med studien är att analysera huruvida heteronormativitet villkorar hbtq-personers mänskliga rättigheter i Burma, samt hur ”normaliseringsprocesser” påverkar och styr vems liv som, enligt Butlers teorier, har mänskligt värde. Studien genomförs genom att med innehållslig idéanalys tolka ett teoretiskt ramverk av Judith Butler texter, samt med empiriska intervjuer och forskning från Burma. Speciellt framhävs hur den tvingande sociala strukturen påverkar situationen för hbtq- personer i Burma, och hur det heteronormativa systemet, enligt Butler, bygger på att kroppar som är "onormala" och obegripliga inte erkänns och därmed ses som mindre mänskliga och mindre värdiga mänskliga rättigheter. Studien reflekterar kritiskt över hur Butlers mer teoretiska resonemang utman- as av resultatet från undersökningsmaterialet. De tre forskarfrågorna kan förstås som inbördes bero- ende av varandra på så sätt att de tillsammans utforskar hur vi kan förstå Butler och qeerteorins kritik av heteronormativet, utifrån situationen för hbtq-personer i Burma. Resultatet visar att en utbredd homo- och transfobi, lagar om illegalitet, polisen som frekventa förövare särskilt mot trangender- kvinnor och gay-män, och utan rättsinstans att vända sig till, gör hbtq-personer till “anti-medborgare” som kan reduceras till en kropp utan “rätten att ha rättigheter”. Butlers teorier har god bäring i analyserna om vem som erkänns som mänsklig, och vilka konsekvenser det får för människovärdet att vara utanför systemet, men saknar däremot rättsperspektivet och problematiserandet av det patriarkala maktsystemet, vilka har avgörande inverkan på livssituationen för hbtq-personer i Burma.

Humanitarian interventions tend to be justified by claims to the existence of an obligation upon ‘us' (the benevolent saviours) to intervene militarily when a state is responsible for large-scale atrocity crimes against its own population. However, this justification is paradoxical, given that there is rarely held to exist a commensurate obligation to address structural violence (even when ‘we' may be partly responsible for, or complicit within, structures that are violent). The paradox arises because structural violence can be harmful – even evil – in its own right, and can also lead to – or exacerbate – direct violence. Hence, intervening militarily, and inevitably causing further harm in the act of intervening, results in a moral shortfall. This shortfall is indicative of a prevailing understanding of harm that is blind to the potential for structures to be violent. In responding to the paradox, I adopt a critical cosmopolitan perspective to argue that because structural violence can be harmful on a great scale, and because it is co-constitutive of direct violence, we ought not to countenance intervening with the use of military force (with what this brings in the form of inevitable intended and unintended harm) to stop direct violence without also considering and addressing violent structures, especially if they are violent structures that we are, ourselves, embedded within. Therefore, it is morally imperative to engage in an ongoing process of illumination and addressing of evil structures to rectify the harms they cause, alongside any efforts to stem direct violence, if any sort of intervention is to be legitimate and just. This requires us to a) expand our understanding of harm and evil at the global level, and b) engage in consistent and sustained deliberative processes that bring to the forefront structural violence and structural underpinnings of direct violence.