"The objectives of the study are as follows: 1. To critically examine the efficacy of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA) with particular emphasis on the new legal framework created by the Protocol. 2. To investigate the operation of some universal and regional organs with comparable mandate, and their possible relevance to the improvement of the SRRWA. 3. To put forward recommendations for the improvement of the mandate of the SRRWA that will enhance its impact on the promotion and protection of women's rights in Africa. ... Following this introduction, the study is divided into three chapters. The first chapter traces the envolvement of the SRRWA in the Commission, provides its current operations and briefly expounds on the other mechanisms in the Commission targeting women. The second chapter evaluates both the terms of the mandate (within the context of the Protocol), and its successes and shortcomings. The third chapter explores comparative international and regional protection mechanisms and their possible relevance to the SRRWA. The fourth chapter contains recommendations on improving the mandate and concluding remarks." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Public International Law / LL.M. (Public International Law)

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The current situation regarding the accountabilty of transnational corporations, using the lawsuit of the Herero community of Namibia against two German corporations that were involved in the German colonial enterprise that killed approximately 80% of the Herero tribe was explored.

<p>Although the concept of human rights is very much accepted as part of human existence throughout the world today, there is still much controversy surrounding the idea of rights for children. The Constitution, however, not only recognises the fact that like all other members of society, children are capable of being bearers of human rights but emphasises also the special position of children in society by granting them specific rights in the Constitution. Health rights are particularly important for children as the entitlements and obligations created by such rights are necessary for children to realise their full potential. In this thesis the entitlements and obligations attached to children'shealth service rights in the COnstitution are explored.</p>

Research on children's rights very often deals with the legal aspects of their rights, based on perceived protection and provisioning needs, and focussed on deficiencies in children's lives. There is obviously a place for such considerations. It is rare however for writers on children's rights to deal with the personal, ontological and moral rights of children in a principled way. This study aims to address this deficit and reveal the axiomatic and essential rights of children in their home setting. The standing of children's rights in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) is reviewed. Although the primary focus will be on the South African situation, it will be illuminated by references to cogent international experience and positions, apposite to the prosecution and theme of this study. This is appropriate, as South Africa is integral to the international initiatives and imperatives in human rights, especially as they apply to children. In terms of the South African state, children's rights have been given formal recognition in the Constitution, as well as in laws and policies flowing there from. It is noted that there may be deficiencies in the implementation and realisation of these rights in practice, however. Only a fraction of children's rights apply in the public sector. Children live their lives predominantly in the home and so the realisation of their rights very often comes down to the attitudes and actions of their parents, in a horizontal application of the Bill of Rights. This study explores what rights children should be bestowed by their parents in their home and according to what values and criteria. The traditional and emerging roles of parents are considered, as they relate to the realisation of rights by their children. The evolution of the concept of childhood is explicated, including social change advocacy and social movements designed to assist children to realise their rights optimally. This study is not based on legal rights per se, but is predicated on an ontological vision of personhood, as it applies to children. Instead of natural rights, the fundamental and universal values that underlie human rights are considered. These values include respect for person, dignity , equality, autonomy, freedom and justice for children in their relationships with their parents. In order to generate the debate on children's rights in the home, two exemplars are considered, based on first principles and fundamental, axiological values. The first exemplar is the child's right not to receive corporal punishment from parents. The second exemplar considers the child's right to realise freedom of religion in the home, including the right to hold different religious beliefs from his or her parents, and to act on these beliefs, in contradistinction to the religion espoused by his or her parents. The thesis contained in this study is that children's rights can only be realised and assured if parents treat their children as persons of worth and dignity, and raise them to become fully functioning adults. The concept of an 'enlightened parent' is critical, if children are to realise their rights. Enlightened parenting involves a lifetime of support and education by parents in order to assist their children to achieve their own special ends as persons. The concept of an 'enlightened parent' is proposed as the portal through which children's rights will be realised. An 'enlightened parent', as the ideal type of parent, should form the basis on which an advocacy campaign should be mounted to enhance the realisation of children's rights in the private domain. The values implicit in an 'enlightened parent' are briefly sketched, incorporating critical values such as tolerance, good will, respect, care, concern and unconditional positive regard. These are the relational values between parents and children that will deliver the human rights values, and therefore ensure, in effect, the accomplishment of children's rights. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2006.

In 1996, socio-economic rights were included in the Constitution of South Africa as fundamental human rights. The state is thus compelled to give attention to the protection of people's socioeconomic rights. The question is: Is it the duty of the state alone, or does the church also have a calling with regard to socio-economic rights? In this study, the calling of the church with regard to the protection of socio-economic rights in South Africa is researched. Firstly, socio-economic rights as ethical principle are evaluated in the light of the Scripture. The conclusion is that socio-economic rights are important human rights that can be grounded as fundamental human rights. Thereafter, the history of the origin of socio-economic rights is researched and evaluated. In the history of socio-economic rights, it is grounded in the natural dignity of a human being. However, the Bible teaches that God gave people dignity. The history of socio-economic rights in South Africa is also researched and evaluated. South Africa has a long history of colonialism, segregation and apartheid, and the church has not always been an effective advocate for socio-economic rights. To understand the calling of the church with regard to socio-economic rights, the calling of the church in society is researched. Views of different church and theological traditions are researched and evaluated. The reformed view focuses on the kingdom of God, and the calling of the church with regard to socio-economic rights is described as worship, fellowship, testimony and service. In conclusion, concrete guidelines of how to be an advocate for socio-economic rights are given to the church. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Ethics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007

The central aim of this study is to explore rural attitudes concerning subsistence customary practices, such as gleaning from the harvested fields, catching wild rabbits, birds or fish; gathering wild foods; and collecting wood, furze and gorse. It focuses on the period between 1860 and 1920, when social, economic, political and cultural, changes and transformations, were taking place in rural England. It is a comparative regional study of the Cambridge Fens in Cambridgeshire, the Nene River Valley in Northamptonshire and parts of the Chilterns, mostly situated in Buckinghamshire. Tensions and conflicts concerning customary practices were often expressed through petty and social crime, and these can be viewed in the weekly petty session reports published in local and regional newspapers. These are a reliable and continuous historical source regarding the business of the local courts, which along with school log books, memoirs and diaries, provide insights into the attitudes and opinions of rural populations. The particular significance of this study is that it extends the current historiography and aids our understanding of rural conflict associated with popular culture during this period. The continuation and perpetuation of customary beliefs relied on memory, repetition, negotiation and community tenacity. But ultimately the continuation of asserting such rights, and the shape and form this took, depended on the availability of resources in each region, and individual’s and community’s changing needs and requirements.

The aim of this research is to investigate the extent to which human rights in Islam corresponds with the international schemes of human rights despite its "cultural particularities". This thesis investigates the right to freedom of faith in light of the main textual sources in Islamic Shariah focusing on the concept of apostasy. To put the study in context, the research traces the history of human rights in both the Islamic and Western perspectives.

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