This thesis will investigate The Norwegian state and state-owned businesses positive obligations to fulfill the protection of equality and non-discrimination under international and regional jurisdiction. Particularly, women rights in general and women of ethnic minority’s rights. A positive critical legal method, based on a feminist theory, will be used to analyze the United Nation, European and Norwegian regulations. To illustrate the laws in practice the thesis will look at court decisions from both European Court Justice (ECJ), Norwegian Gender Equality Tribunal and The Norwegian Supreme Court. Even though the regulations exist, there is still a problem with respecting women’s rights in Norwegian society in general and in labour market. What is interesting to investigate is therefore the reason behind the disrespect, and to look for sustainable opportunities to include women’s experiences in the traditional jurisdiction. The conclusion is that there is space for implementation of women’s rights in human rights, and a transformation of the existing traditional legal system to “engender” the “mainstream” legal system is in place.

Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN) poses a significant threat to soybean production in North America and the world at large. Early and accurate detection of SCN infestations is crucial for implementing effective management strategies and minimizing yield losses. The conventional method of SCN detection involves uprooting plants to examine the roots and collecting soil samples. Drone-based multispectral imaging has been used as a viable alternative for crop monitoring due to its detailed spatial and spectral information and scheduling flexibility. This thesis aims to examine the potential of using multispectral drone images for SCN detection in a soybean production field and develop a non-destructive approach to support improved precision agricultural management practices. Using the DJI Matrice 210 drone and a MicaSense Altum sensor, at a height of 50 meters above ground level and top speed of 6 meters/second, a total of 2,550 multispectral images per flight were collected for a total of fourteen flights beginning in June 2022 up to September 2022 from a production field with variable SCN infestation levels located in Carmi, IL. These images were postprocessed with geometric and radiometric correction to produce orthomosaic photos.   Ten vegetation indices namely, NDRE, NDVI, EVI, GNDVI, BNDVI, SIPI, R-EDGE/G, NIR/G, R-EDGE/R and MSR, were computed for each flight date and study plot. The count of SCN eggs was appended to each study plot to find the correlation between the vegetation indices and the field parameters. The VIs having the highest correlation with the eggs and also having the highest number of correlation coefficients significantly different from zero were NDRE, NDVI and GNDVI. I computed the mean values of these VIs for each study plot and flight date which resulted into a time-series trend analysis. To identify study plots with similar trends, an agglomerative hierarchical clustering was performed which resulted into two clusters for each VI. After conducting the ANOVA test, NDVI returned statistically significant results for all the field parameters, GNDVI returned one while NDRE returned three outcomes that were not statistically significant. The study plots belonging to Cluster 1 had a higher mean of SCN count while those in Cluster 2 portrayed little or no SCN. I found NDVI to be the optimal VI because the results from statistical tests and modeling techniques conducted were significant for all SCN parameters, such as cyst and egg count for the plots clustered based on the NDVI trend. Therefore, I used the plots clustered based on the NDVI trend to train and test six ML classification models (Support Vector Classifier, Naïve Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors, Linear Discriminant Analysis, MLP-Neural Network and Gradient Boost) such that when presented with information in a format like that used in training, it becomes possible to identify plots with high or no SCN. Gradient Boost, MLP-NN and LDA performed with 89%, 82% and 80% accuracy respectively.

This thesis aims to investigate the process of consulting businesses on human rights through the concept of rationalisation. Corporations have struggled to act in accordance with what is considered responsible business conduct and this has put their legitimacy at risk. To align with the international standards on human rights, corporations have increasingly sought consulting on the topic. Previous research has criticised to what degree human rights can be reconciled with the corporate format and interests. Carrying out a qualitative case study on Human Rights Consulting, this thesis unpacks the process of introducing human rights in the corporation. We find that human rights become rationalised in corporations through referring to the UNGP, concretisation of human rights training and; management tools. At the same time, mapping the corporations serves as a precondition for rationalising human rights in the corporation. This thesis contributes to the theory of rationalisation by displaying how the social actions of consulting on human rights can be understood as expressions of rationalisation.

In this thesis, I investigate to what extent and how the normative changes in UN peace operations have left an imprint on Swedish foreign policy tradition. Departing from a constructivist point of view, this thesis explores to what extent the changing international norms on UN peace operations translate to the national level. By way of this, the thesis aims to contribute to the theoretical discussion on how international norms and ideas imprint on a national level. The analysis focuses on the heightened threat level, the increased authorisation of the use of force, the inclusion of new military domains and humanitarian and civilian aspects. The Swedish approach is analysed through parliamentary debates and government propositions on MINUSMA between 2021-2022, where MINUSMA represents the normative changes UN peace operations have undergone. The material is analysed through qualitative content analysis. The results of the analysis indicate that Sweden aligns regarding the acceptance of increased military influence over MINUSMA and also accepts the heightened threat level. At the same time, the mission’s own use of force is played down by the government and parliamentarians, instead choosing to emphasise civilian and humanitarian factors. As a result, the alignment regarding the aspect of the use of force is more difficult to draw firm conclusions around.

Yes

Vor dem Hintergrund der Allgemeinen Menschenrechte, der Kinderrechte und der UN-Behindertenrechtskonvention analysiert der Band Herausforderungen und Handlungsmöglichkeiten dieser normativen Ansprüche aus unterschiedlichen Disziplinen. Es werden ferner differente Erscheinungsformen von Ausgrenzung und Diskriminierung mit dem Blick auf unvollendete Menschenrechte und damit verbundene Vulnerabilitäten reflektiert. Schließlich zeigt ein Blick in unterschiedliche pädagogische Handlungsfelder und konkrete Praxisbeispiele verstärkte menschenrechtsbasierte Partizipationsmöglichkeiten auf.

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The purpose of the United Nations (UN) peace operations is to help states navigate a path towards stability and sustainable peace, yet sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by the peacekeepers and other personnel is often an unintended consequence of the missions. Though the UN has employed several victim-centred measures to address the issue, peacebuilding practices often employ a simplistic discourse about the victims that recognizes only certain type of ‘ideal’ victims. It risks disregarding the different conceptualisations of justice that victims have, along with their individual wants and needs. Leaning on van Dijk’s view on social power that deems institutions as locations producing dominant discourses and influencing people’s minds, it is crucial to study which discourses the UN engages with. Thus, through a methodological combination of critical discourse analysis and policy analysis, this study scrutinizes the discourses about the victims present in the resolutions and training materials that specifically apply a victim-centred approach. The findings indicate that the discourses entail characteristics of both ideal and complex political victim discourses, and that above all, the UN positions itself as the saviour of the victims. As this discourse is likely to continue reproducing power imbalances that place victims into a dependant position, this study emphasises a serious need for re-evaluation of the UN’s own discursive positioning.