This thesis examines the relationships between various groups of human rights, and the effect of globalization and the state on human rights protection. Two hypotheses are examined in path analysis of fifty-two African counties. The first hypothesis considers the proposition that economic, social, and cultural rights implemented prior to civil and political rights in Africa meet the needs of the population better than primary implementation of civil and political rights. The second hypothesis is that globalization has a negative effect on protection of all human rights and that its impact on rights is generally larger than the impact of the state. Within the context of a multivariate model, my analysis does not support the hypotheses. These findings are discussed with regard to the existing literature and several suggestions are proposed for future research.

In 2001, Amnesty International, the worlds largest international human rights non-governmental organization, made the decision to change its narrow mandate into a much broader mission statement that called for the protection and promotion of both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Although the organization had added to its original mandate core concerning the release of prisoners of conscience before, the addition of economic, social, and cultural rights represented a major shift away from Amnesty Internationals classic focus on civil and political rights. Amnesty Internationals decision to promote all of the human rights listed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and become a full spectrum human rights defender was a controversial one within the organization. The debate by the Amnesty membership over whether to accept an expanded form of mandate took place within the organization over a period of a decade before any changes were made. Concerns and fears over accepting economic, social and cultural rights into the mandate ranged from the practical to the theoretical.<p> This thesis will look at the decision made by Amnesty International to begin actively promoting and defending economic, social and cultural rights. It will examine why a leading human rights organization decided to modify its focus considerably and what the challenges were in doing this. In exploring the issues of contention brought up during the debates by the organizations membership, the larger questions surrounding international political acceptance of economic, social, and cultural rights will be examined.

In the context of Canadas Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and given the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there is a growing body of jurisprudence which reflects ongoing debates about who should ultimately maintain control of the formal and informal curriculum in our schools. In these cases, debates about curricular battles play out through rights conflicts, which our courts are required to resolve. These conflicts typically involve claims relating, directly or indirectly, to fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion and freedom of expression as well as claims associated with the right to equality.<p>In this thesis, I aim to offer a critical assessment of the relevant body of jurisprudence. My critique draws on the theoretical work of Rob Reich and Jeremy Waldron. Reich suggests that our best hope of understanding and resolving the curricular struggles related to the control of childrens education requires a balanced approach whereby we attempt to reconcile the educational interests of three primary actors: parents, the state and children. Building on Reichs conceptualization of the different interest holders, I identify a fourth stakeholder, namely, teachers, who have interests which are germane to our analysis because these interests raise issues connected to curricular control and childrens education. In my analysis, I apply Reichs matrix of interests to the extant body of jurisprudence to ascertain whether or not our courts are alive to the different interest holders in its treatment of cases involving conflicts of constitutional rights. I also want to know whether the interests of the four stakeholders overlap or conflict with another. Finally, I want to know how these interests are conceptualized by the court and whether this conceptualization is consistent with, or differs from, the one offered by Reich. <p>Waldrons work offers analytical clarity for how we might better understand and resolve conflicts of rights, including conflicts involving constitutional rights claims. He maintains that rights conflicts are fundamentally about conflicts of duties and that we are likely to have more success reconciling conflicts of rights when we conceive of these conflicts in this manner. Applying Waldrons strategy for reconciling rights conflicts to the cases in my study, I posit that we can make sense of the reconciliation process by examining the duties associated with the rights in question. Although our courts do not explicitly draw on Waldrons theoretical framework in their legal analysis, I maintain that, generally speaking, what our courts do is consistent with a Waldronian analysis of conflicts of rights. <p>In my conclusion, I note that the jurisprudence considered initially seems to focus exclusively on two key guiding values: liberty and equality. Yet, a closer examination of the case law reveals a concern for two other important meta values, namely, efficiency and community. Furthermore, the notion of children as rights bearers poses special challenges. We might treat older children as rights claimants, on their own terms, because of their capacity to advance certain projects and to engage in certain commitments. Yet, the exact moral and legal status, for example, of a six- or seven-year old is still uncertain. Finally, I recognize that a rights only version of what happens in our schools provides only a partial account of educational reality. Other values such as duty, love, friendship and compassion are needed to furnish a richer and more nuanced account of morality for our school communities.

This thesis examines the relationships between various groups of human rights, and the effect of globalization and the state on human rights protection. Two hypotheses are examined in path analysis of fifty-two African counties. The first hypothesis considers the proposition that economic, social, and cultural rights implemented prior to civil and political rights in Africa meet the needs of the population better than primary implementation of civil and political rights. The second hypothesis is that globalization has a negative effect on protection of all human rights and that its impact on rights is generally larger than the impact of the state. Within the context of a multivariate model, my analysis does not support the hypotheses. These findings are discussed with regard to the existing literature and several suggestions are proposed for future research.

In 2001, Amnesty International, the worlds largest international human rights non-governmental organization, made the decision to change its narrow mandate into a much broader mission statement that called for the protection and promotion of both civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights. Although the organization had added to its original mandate core concerning the release of prisoners of conscience before, the addition of economic, social, and cultural rights represented a major shift away from Amnesty Internationals classic focus on civil and political rights. Amnesty Internationals decision to promote all of the human rights listed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and become a full spectrum human rights defender was a controversial one within the organization. The debate by the Amnesty membership over whether to accept an expanded form of mandate took place within the organization over a period of a decade before any changes were made. Concerns and fears over accepting economic, social and cultural rights into the mandate ranged from the practical to the theoretical.<p> This thesis will look at the decision made by Amnesty International to begin actively promoting and defending economic, social and cultural rights. It will examine why a leading human rights organization decided to modify its focus considerably and what the challenges were in doing this. In exploring the issues of contention brought up during the debates by the organizations membership, the larger questions surrounding international political acceptance of economic, social, and cultural rights will be examined.

In the context of Canadas Kindergarten to Grade 12 education system and given the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there is a growing body of jurisprudence which reflects ongoing debates about who should ultimately maintain control of the formal and informal curriculum in our schools. In these cases, debates about curricular battles play out through rights conflicts, which our courts are required to resolve. These conflicts typically involve claims relating, directly or indirectly, to fundamental freedoms such as freedom of religion and freedom of expression as well as claims associated with the right to equality.<p>In this thesis, I aim to offer a critical assessment of the relevant body of jurisprudence. My critique draws on the theoretical work of Rob Reich and Jeremy Waldron. Reich suggests that our best hope of understanding and resolving the curricular struggles related to the control of childrens education requires a balanced approach whereby we attempt to reconcile the educational interests of three primary actors: parents, the state and children. Building on Reichs conceptualization of the different interest holders, I identify a fourth stakeholder, namely, teachers, who have interests which are germane to our analysis because these interests raise issues connected to curricular control and childrens education. In my analysis, I apply Reichs matrix of interests to the extant body of jurisprudence to ascertain whether or not our courts are alive to the different interest holders in its treatment of cases involving conflicts of constitutional rights. I also want to know whether the interests of the four stakeholders overlap or conflict with another. Finally, I want to know how these interests are conceptualized by the court and whether this conceptualization is consistent with, or differs from, the one offered by Reich. <p>Waldrons work offers analytical clarity for how we might better understand and resolve conflicts of rights, including conflicts involving constitutional rights claims. He maintains that rights conflicts are fundamentally about conflicts of duties and that we are likely to have more success reconciling conflicts of rights when we conceive of these conflicts in this manner. Applying Waldrons strategy for reconciling rights conflicts to the cases in my study, I posit that we can make sense of the reconciliation process by examining the duties associated with the rights in question. Although our courts do not explicitly draw on Waldrons theoretical framework in their legal analysis, I maintain that, generally speaking, what our courts do is consistent with a Waldronian analysis of conflicts of rights. <p>In my conclusion, I note that the jurisprudence considered initially seems to focus exclusively on two key guiding values: liberty and equality. Yet, a closer examination of the case law reveals a concern for two other important meta values, namely, efficiency and community. Furthermore, the notion of children as rights bearers poses special challenges. We might treat older children as rights claimants, on their own terms, because of their capacity to advance certain projects and to engage in certain commitments. Yet, the exact moral and legal status, for example, of a six- or seven-year old is still uncertain. Finally, I recognize that a rights only version of what happens in our schools provides only a partial account of educational reality. Other values such as duty, love, friendship and compassion are needed to furnish a richer and more nuanced account of morality for our school communities.

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Diss. Karlstad : Karlstads universitet, 2009.

Doctoral dissertation. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Much research has been done within the field of Education on how to integrate Human Rights in education, both as a class subject and as a value system. Similarly, the research field of Education also contains many discussions of how “critical thinking” is taught and what its role in education is and should be. This thesis instead approaches the topic from “the other way round” so to speak, by using a “human rights lens” to explore ethical and political views on the goals of education generally and the role of critical thinking in education particularly, as they appear within a particular educational context – Rwanda’s education system. The philosophy of education of utilitarianism and that of Martha Nussbaum’s Capability Approach are here compared and contrasted with each other and act as a theoretical framework for understanding the Rwandan education system as it appears through the reading of policy documents and through the experience of a selected group of Rwandan primary and secondary school students. The thesis argues that an ethically acceptable and stable philosophy of education should spring from a conception of human beings as ends and not means. Starting with such a conception of human beings, the goal of education becomes that of developing each individual’s capabilities to their fullest potential. Additionally, the thesis argues that the role of critical thinking in education should be regarded as central, as the capability for critical thinking enhances the flourishing of other human capabilities.