Human Trafficking is an epidemic around the world, but if you ask the average person, they know little more than what is shown in media. To try to understand this, we asked the questions of whether college students also have a lack of awareness around trafficking, and if so, is education the best way to fix this? Our literature review found many professions, such as healthcare and K-12 education, are pushing for human trafficking curriculums to be implemented in their fields. To determine if this method would be effective on a college campus, five college students were interviewed to determine what their baseline knowledge is. Most of the questions they were asked were left unanswered due to lack of knowledge; this answered question one. Two out of five students were randomly selected to participate in a human trafficking 101 presentation. Four weeks later, those two individuals were given the same interview, with no contact with the data during those four weeks, to see what they retained. On interview two, both participants showed a drastic increase in knowledge, comprehension, and the ability to discuss the topic more fluidly. This shows that, when done by a licensed professional, a social worker or someone from a trafficking nonprofit, human trafficking education has proved very effective in creating awareness. We found this answered question two in the way we hoped.

The relevance of sanitation and sustainability is manifested in the promotion of public health, improvement of quality of life, and ensuring access to basic services as essential human rights. The comparative analysis between the cities of Caçador, Videira, and Concórdia, in Santa Catarina, in Brasil, and Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, North Bay, Chatham-Kent, Woodstock, and Kenora, in Ontário, in Canadá, allows for the identification of differences and similarities in sanitation systems, understanding of challenges and opportunities, and consequently, the foundation for effective public policies aimed at improving access to sanitation. The present study aims to analyze the situation of Brazilian municipalities concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6 and 11, in comparison with Canadian municipalities. The methodology employed in the research encompasses a qualitative and descriptive approach, grounded in literature review, analysis of scientific publications, legal documents, and quantitative data. The comparison focused on access to household sanitation, specifically on the provision of potable water and sewage disposal, due to the availability of information. The work mentions the main challenges faced by both countries in rural and indigenous areas. The study emphasizes the importance for Brazil to invest in infrastructure, implement effective public policies, and promote international cooperation to ensure sustainable development, as well as improving the health and quality of life of its population. Given the current regulatory context, the perpetuation of concessions in the sanitation sector in the country could be an effective strategy to accelerate the expansion and modernization of networks for potable water supply, sewage treatment, urban cleaning, solid waste management, and drainage.

Few topics of discussion within international human rights law are as riddled with confusion as that concerning the legal status or normative significance of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies and their work. The treaty bodies, in its work, generate a form of jurisprudence – a body of norms and directives about how state parties ought to act in order to comply fully with the treaties. The prevailing issue within the legal practice and academic debate is often presented as a dilemma: are the norms generated by the treaty bodies binding or not? This paper takes a somewhat different approach, arguing that the treaty bodies’ normative output, all the while legal in nature, is best understood as non-binding, yet maintain the function of giving the states parties to the respective treaties reasons for action. Thus, discarding with the binary ‘grammar’ defended by some of the leading international law scholars, where law equals binding and obligatory, and non-binding and non-obligatory equals non-law. Instead, this paper suggest a third option which better fits the actual function that treaty body output serves within the practice of international human rights law. Also, since the resulting norms do not have binding force, the requirement of state consent should be proportionally weakened, giving rise to the possibility that the state may be subject to legal norms without its consent.

The Alien Tort Statute is a short, thirty-two word section of the United States Code enacted in 1789 as part of the Judiciary Act. The Alien Tort Statute, or ATS, has an uncertain and controversial beginning and remains controversial in current jurisprudence. The ATS reads as follows: “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." It is my intent for this thesis to be an academic discussion of the mysterious history, intent, and court cases that have evolved the ATS; and the way in which the evolution took place. Having lain dormant for almost two decades, it is important to understand how the ATS was finally utilized and how this affected the statutes ability to become a tool for human rights persecution abroad; until the decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. Examining the language of two opinions by the District Court of the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court in Kiobel we will be able to understand, but reject, the arguments of both these courts.

The aim of this master thesis is to discus the argument that in the favor of legalizing torture in the case of terror suspects and detainees. My research question here is: if we will put torture against terror suspects in a legal framework will that help us to fight terrorism or it will creates more instability in the world and result in more terror acts ? I will view the history of torture and the development towards torture prevention. I used the moral theory and also the writings of Dr.Norman Finkelstein to argue against legalizing torture. I will use the Abu Ghraib prison case in Iraq as a study case. The thesis will be in three chapters. In the conclusions I will demonstrate and prove that the use of torture under any circumstances is against morality and against international human rights law. The use of torture as a tool to fight terrorism is not the solution but it will lead to more chaos and hate in the world, innocent torture victims can be easily used after their release by terror and radical groups, authorizing a law that allows torture will make normal citizens afraid all the time because any person can accused of being a terrorist until the government proves he is not.

Yes / The emergence of globalisation has promoted human rights education, the media and scholarly works have drawn attention to the issue of the rule of law and mob justice activities constantly recurring in developing countries. The paper examines the effects of mob justice on the rule of law and democratisation in Africa using Ghana as a case study. The paper is of the view that mob justice has both negative and positive effects on the rule of law and democratisation in Ghana. This is because the legal and criminal justice systems in some societies are seen by citizens as illegitimate as they fail to punish suspected criminals appropriately; thus, negatively destroying democracy and the image of the State. Positively, mob justice serves as a wake-up call for the State to take its responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens seriously. The paper draws on international human rights law in the light of international legal instruments, such as the UDHR, ICCPR, and African Charter, as well as the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and employs mainly the Tylerian procedural justice perspective, as well as Liberal democratic theory. It uses theoretical, critically analytical and qualitative empirical evidence (based on semi-structured interviews from purposive sampling of 15 expert opinions and relevant organisations with a keen interest in the subject matter) for the analysis. / Ghana Scholarship Board funded the research on the Rule of Law & Mob Justice in Ghana.

A presente dissertação tem como tema o direito à água e objetiva compreender como se dá sua inserção no Direito Internacional. Para tanto, pretende-se analisar o tratamento dado pelo Direito Internacional do Meio Ambiente e especialmente pelo Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos às questões relativas ao acesso à água, assim como à prioridade na alocação dos recursos hídricos para a satisfação das necessidades humanas. Inicialmente, procede-se a uma investigação analítica das principais discussões a respeito do acesso e da preservação da água, notadamente aquelas realizadas em conferências internacionais de cunho ambiental e explicitadas nas diversas declarações da comunidade internacional. Dedica-se, ainda de forma analítica, a refazer o caminho que levou ao reconhecimento do direito à água no âmbito dos direitos humanos, com o intuito de definir as suas bases normativas e jurisprudenciais. Finalmente, visando fornecer parâmetros doutrinários, normativos e jurisprudenciais para a ampla compreensão da presença e dos contornos do direito à água no Direito Internacional, procede-se à análise de seu conteúdo em termos de direitos e obrigações, das implicações de sua afirmação como um direito humano, assim como dos diversos aspectos de sua natureza jurídica. / The subject of this academic work is the right to water and it aims to understand the insertion of this human right in International Law. With that in mind, the present study intends to analyze the ways which International Environmental Law and mainly International Human Rights Law deal with issues of water access, as well as with priorities in the allocation of water resources to supply the human needs. It initially proceeds to an analytical investigation of the main discussions with regards to water access and water conservation, mostly carried out at international conferences and announced in a number of declarations on environmental issues made by the international community. This study also commits to revise the path that led to the recognition of the right to water in the human rights field, aiming to determine its normative and jurisprudential basis. Finally, in order to provide doctrinal, normative and jurisprudential parameters for a better understanding of the presence and configuration of the right to water in International Law, this work subsequently focuses on the analysis of its content in terms of rights and obligations, on the implications of its formulation as a human right, as well as on the varied aspects of its legal nature.

A presente dissertação tem como tema o direito à água e objetiva compreender como se dá sua inserção no Direito Internacional. Para tanto, pretende-se analisar o tratamento dado pelo Direito Internacional do Meio Ambiente e especialmente pelo Direito Internacional dos Direitos Humanos às questões relativas ao acesso à água, assim como à prioridade na alocação dos recursos hídricos para a satisfação das necessidades humanas. Inicialmente, procede-se a uma investigação analítica das principais discussões a respeito do acesso e da preservação da água, notadamente aquelas realizadas em conferências internacionais de cunho ambiental e explicitadas nas diversas declarações da comunidade internacional. Dedica-se, ainda de forma analítica, a refazer o caminho que levou ao reconhecimento do direito à água no âmbito dos direitos humanos, com o intuito de definir as suas bases normativas e jurisprudenciais. Finalmente, visando fornecer parâmetros doutrinários, normativos e jurisprudenciais para a ampla compreensão da presença e dos contornos do direito à água no Direito Internacional, procede-se à análise de seu conteúdo em termos de direitos e obrigações, das implicações de sua afirmação como um direito humano, assim como dos diversos aspectos de sua natureza jurídica. / The subject of this academic work is the right to water and it aims to understand the insertion of this human right in International Law. With that in mind, the present study intends to analyze the ways which International Environmental Law and mainly International Human Rights Law deal with issues of water access, as well as with priorities in the allocation of water resources to supply the human needs. It initially proceeds to an analytical investigation of the main discussions with regards to water access and water conservation, mostly carried out at international conferences and announced in a number of declarations on environmental issues made by the international community. This study also commits to revise the path that led to the recognition of the right to water in the human rights field, aiming to determine its normative and jurisprudential basis. Finally, in order to provide doctrinal, normative and jurisprudential parameters for a better understanding of the presence and configuration of the right to water in International Law, this work subsequently focuses on the analysis of its content in terms of rights and obligations, on the implications of its formulation as a human right, as well as on the varied aspects of its legal nature.

The significance of the margin of appreciation doctrine has been underscored recently with the adoption of Protocol No 15 which calls for the inclusion of the terms 'margin of appreciation' and 'subsidiarity' in the Preamble of the European Convention on Human Rights. This development reflects the disquiet amongst member States to the Convention that the doctrine is not being given enough weight by the European Court of Human Rights in the determination of cases before it. One of the interpretive tools that is perceived to be having a negative effect on the margin of appreciation is the living instrument doctrine which has been blamed for narrowing the margin of appreciation afforded to States. This thesis brings an original contribution to the literature in this area by considering the interaction between the margin of appreciation and living instrument doctrines in the case law of the Court. The contribution is achieved in two ways: (a) methodologically: through the methodology adopted which is a combination of the quantitative method of descriptive statistics and the qualitative method of doctrinal textual analysis; (b) substantively: through the systematic examination of the case law of the Court from January 1979 to December 2016 in which both the margin of appreciation and living instrument doctrines are present. The lens of the relationship between rights and duties is applied to the case analysis. The case analysis is used to draw conclusions on the nature of the relationship and whether living instrument arguments are superseding the margin of appreciation doctrine where there is conflict. The results of the case analysis also shows distinctions in the interpretive approaches of the Court at the admissibility and compliance stages. The overall results of the study show that there are a variety of ways in which interaction takes place between both doctrines and the nature of both doctrines will continue to require a close interaction between the Court and the State parties in their compliance with obligations under the Convention.

Since 1945, there has been a proliferation of armed groups in conflict theatres across the globe. Although these groups exist outside of the regular forces of States, they are in most instances supported and controlled by States. Despite this, the complicit support of States in the commission of international crimes by armed groups is not recognised under international law and the tests of control through which the conduct of individuals could be attributed to States are almost impossible to meet. This allows States to maintain compelling roles in international crimes committed by armed groups with impunity. Despite this, the role played by States in modern international conflict has received only intermittent attention in the literature. This thesis seeks to address this disparity by addressing the critical role of State support of armed groups in the commission of international crimes by challenging the existing tests of attribution of conduct to States under the present rules of international responsibility. Therefore this thesis asks whether there can be variation to the current tests for attribution of conduct of individuals who are members of non-State armed groups to States which provide support to them, by approaching the interpretation of "control" in a purposive, less literal manner. It argues this by analysing the limitations of the current law through selected case studies. It further examines alternative approaches in the fields of international human rights law and international criminal law, again through selected case studies with a view to determining whether they can assist in crafting more purposive approaches towards the determination of State control over armed groups. This will augment the current corpus of literature by suggesting improvements that can, hopefully, pass into the lex lata and stymie continued State impunity in this area.