Les rapports entre le droit international des droits de l’homme et le droit interne sont devenus, à travers le temps, chaque fois plus complexes, en grande mesure dû aux conflits et antinomies qui naissent entre les règles des ces deux ordonnements quand de l’application, dans le plan du droit interne, d’un traité international de droits de l’homme. La doctrinne traditionnelle, acompagnée par la jurisprudence des tribunaux internes, ont résolu le problème par l’a application de méthodes aussi traditionnelles de solution d’antinomies, qui sont, le hierarchique, le chrolonogique et celui de la spécialité. Seulement quelque peu d’auteurs pensent que l’application de ces critères classiques ne suffisent plus aux besoins que l’ordre juridique pos-moderne exige, comme la coordination des règles de protection à fin de se trouver le “meilleur droit” dans le cas concret. Cette étude defend ce dernier point de vue, et l’auteur comprend que la solution pour les antinomies entre le droit international des droits de l’homme et le droit interne doit être atteint en cherchant la coexistence des sources de protection, plutôt de l’exclusion d’une pour l’autre dans un système intransigeant. Cette coexistence passe à être possible quand se comprend que le système international de protection des droits de l’homme “dialogue” avec le droit interne, toujours dans le sens de mieux proteger à la personne humaine sujet de droits. On propose la construction d’un système que non “choisit” une régle en exclusion de l’autre, mais que les coordonne et les unit en faveur de la protection du être humain, en consacration pleine au principe international pro homine. / Le relazioni tra il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e il diritto interno sono divenute, col passare del tempo, sempre più complesse, principalmente a causa dei conflitti e le antinomie che sorgono tra le regole di questi due ordinamenti, in particolare, con riferimento all’applicazione, nel piano del diritto interno, di un trattato internazionale sui diritti umani. La dottrina tradizionale, seguita dalla giurisprudenza dei tribunali locali, ha risolto il problema attraverso l’applicazione di criteri tradizionali di soluzione di antinomie, quali siano, attraverso il criterio gerarchico, quello cronologico e della specialità. Appena pochi autori intendono che l’applicazione di questi criteri classici non soddisfa più le necessità che l’ordine giuridico post moderno esige, come quella della coordinazione delle regole di protezione al fine di applicare il “miglior diritto” al caso concreto. Questo studio difende questo ultimo punto di vista, intendendo l’Autore che la soluzione per le antinomie tra il diritto internazionale dei diritti umani e il diritto interno deve essere incontrata nella ricerca della coesistenza delle fonti di protezione, invece della esclusione di una per l’altra all’interno di un sistema intransigente. Questa coesistenza passa ad essere possibile quando si intende che il sistema internazionale di protezione dei diritti umani “dialoga” con il diritto interno, sempre nel senso di cercare la migliore protezione della persona umana, soggetto di diritti. Si difende la costruzione di un sistema che non “sceglie” una regola di esclusione per un’altra, ma che le coordina e le unisce a vantaggio della protezione dell’essere umano, consacrando il principio internazionale pro homine. / As relações entre o direito internacional dos direitos humanos e o direito interno têm se tornado, através dos tempos, cada vez mais complexas, em grande parte devido aos conflitos e antinomias que surgem entre as regras desses dois ordenamentos quando da aplicação, no plano do direito interno, de um tratado internacional de direitos humanos. A doutrina tradicional, acompanhada pela jurisprudência dos tribunais locais, tem resolvido o problema pela aplicação de critérios também tradicionais de solução de antinomias, quais sejam, o hierárquico, o cronológico e o da especialidade. Apenas alguns poucos autores entendem que a aplicação desses critérios clássicos não mais satisfaz às necessidades que a ordem jurídica pósmoderna está a exigir, como a coordenação das regras de proteção a fim de alcançarse o “melhor direito” no caso concreto. Este estudo defende este último ponto de vista, entendendo o Autor que a solução para as antinomias entre o direito internacional dos direitos humanos e o direito interno deve ser alcançada buscandose a coexistência das fontes de proteção, ao invés da exclusão de uma pela outra num sistema intransigente. Esta coexistência passa a ser possível quando se entende que o sistema internacional de proteção dos direitos humanos “dialoga” com o direito interno, sempre no sentido de melhor proteger a pessoa humana sujeito de direitos. Propugna-se pela construção de um sistema que não “escolhe” uma regra em exclusão de outra, mas que as coordena e as une em prol da proteção do ser humano, em franca consagração ao princípio internacional pro homine. / The relationship between international human rights law and national law has, over time, become ever more complex, in large measure due to the conflicts and antinomies that arise between the rules of these two systems regarding the application, in national law, of an international human rights treaty. The traditional doctrine, accompanied by the jurisprudence of local courts, has resolved the problem by the application of traditional criteria for solving antinomies, which are the hierarchical, the chronological and the specialization. Only a few authors understand that the application of these classical criteria no longer satisfies the necessities of the post-modern judicial order, such as the coordination of the protection rules in order to achieve the “best law” in a concrete case. This study defends this latter point of view, based on the principle that the antinomies between international human rights law and internal law should be solved through the coexistence of the protection sources, instead of excluding one by the other in an irreconcilable system. This coexistence becomes possible when one understands that the international system of protection for human rights “dialogues” with internal law, always in the sense of better protecting the human being who is the subject of rights. I argue for the construction of a system that does not “choose” one rule over another, but that coordinates and unites different rules in favor of the protection of the human being, in clear support of the international pro homine principle.

La réparation des dommages causés aux particuliers est une thématique ancienne en droit international. Toutefois, elle a été longuement appréhendée au seul prisme des relations interétatiques, l’individu n’étant perçu que comme un objet du droit international. Le bouleversement introduit par la protection internationale des droits de l’homme quant au statut de l’individu dans cet ordre juridique invite donc à une relecture de cette question. Les obligations substantielles contractées par les Etats en matière de protection internationale des droits de l’homme devraient logiquement trouver un prolongement dans l’existence d’une obligation de ces derniers de réparer les dommages causés aux particuliers. Or, l’identification d’une telle obligation s’avère délicate, tant au regard de ses créanciers que de son étendue. Sa réalisation est quant à elle laissée en grande partie aux mains du juge. Il s’avère donc malaisé de dégager un véritable régime juridique de la réparation des dommages causés par la violation des droits de l’homme. / The reparation of damage caused to individuals is a former thematic issue of international law. However, its development has been studied only from the point of view of interstate relations as soon as the individual was conceived and treated as an object, not as a subject of international law. The change, brought by the international protection of human rights relating to the status of individual, in this legal order, suggests to re-open the debate on this matter. As a result, the compelling obligations undertaken by member states regarding international protection of human rights, should logically lead to the existence of an obligation for the latter to repair the damage caused to the private individuals. But identifying such an obligation remains delicate both with regard to his creditors and with regard to its scope. Its implementation is left largely with the hands of the judge. It is therefore difficult to find a genuine legal regime for the reparation of damages caused by the violation of human rights.

Les conventions internationales de protection des droits de l’Homme ont été élaborées au début de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle. Or, le champ matériel de ces traités est étroitement connecté aux réalités humaines, elles-mêmes en constante évolution, et les développements technologiques, sociaux, économiques ou scientifiques peuvent avoir des implications directes sur l’exercice des droits et libertés fondamentaux. L’interprétation évolutive des ces instruments, consistant à les envisager « à la lumière des conditions actuelles », est alors devenue courante dans la pratique des juridictions spécialisées, bien qu’elle soit parfois envisagée avec méfiance. Absente des règles d’interprétation du droit international formulées dans la Convention de Vienne sur le droit des traités, cette modalité interprétative intrigue dans la mesure où elle conduit le juge à s’écarter parfois explicitement du texte de l’accord et donc de la volonté des parties. L’interprétation évolutive invite par conséquent à une réévaluation de la fonction interprétative du juge international, entre son encadrement théorique traditionnellement strict et les exigences empiriques du droit international contemporain / Human rights treaties have been adopted at the end of the first half of the XXth century, in a technological, social and economic context which has since then deeply evolved. To maintain the effectiveness and relevance of those treaties, specialised jurisdictions have therefore increasingly interpreted their provisions in light of current living conditions. This method, called evolutive interpretation of treaties, is still looked at with suspicion. Indeed, it is not recognised by the Vienna Convention on the law of treaties and it may lead the judge to depart from the parties intention as expressed in the text of the convention. The evolutive interpretation of treaties invites therefore to reconsider the international judge’s interpretative function, between its strict theoretical conception and the empirical needs of contemporary international law

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / It is an unfortunate and cruel reality that both government and armed groups used child soldiers during armed conflict. Child soldiers have become an integral part of government forces as well as insurgent groups in Africa and elsewhere. Most of them are being exploited as combatants, while others perform functions, such as porters, spies who are able to enter small spaces, cooks, messengers, lookouts, and even suicide bombers. Some of the most disturbing aspects of child soldiering are that some of them are being forced to kill or are themselves killed, sexually abused and are exposed to drugs. The use of child soldiers in conflicts is not a recent phenomenon and has indeed become a common practice that characterises modern conflicts. Recruitment is usually carried out forcefully or voluntarily by both government and rebel forces. The difference between these two types of recruitment is not always clear since their decision to join is always influenced by external factors. Examples of such reasons for voluntary recruitment include the desire to revenge, adventure, peer pressure, and need for belonging and survival. Concerning the reason for survival, some argue that, the children do not actually choose freely to become combatants, but are rather forced by circumstances. There are numerous reasons for the continuous targeting of children by armed forces and armed groups. These include shortage of combatants, the fact that children are easy to train physically and psychologically, and also that children are obedient and are readily available. The recruited children are compelled to take part in brutal induction ceremonies, where they are threatened and forced to kill or witness the killing of someone they know. / South Africa

The researcher aimed to investigate the laws and policies regulating the use of corporal punishment in Swaziland schools by benchmarking these against HRL, and to investigate the non-compliance of selected schools in the Hhohho and Manzini regions with these legal prescripts. This was done in the two participating schools in the study. The study employed the qualitative approach, using two cases to source the information from the participants. Interviews and questionnaires were used to collect the data from the participants. The principals and their deputies were interviewed, whilst the teachers and learners responded to questionnaires. The literature review revealed that the teachers tend not to adhere to the prescripts in respect of the abuse of corporal punishment. The literature review focusing on the Swaziland situation brought to light that the teachers go beyond the legal prescripts when administering corporal punishment. The results indicated that in Swaziland corporal punishment is legal while, according to the Human Rights Law, it is a crime. The study indicated that teachers do not adhere to the legal prescripts on corporal punishment. Of the ten requirements for corporal punishment, the teachers complied fully with only two. It was also found that the teachers were not conversant with the legal prescripts. Some of the requirements did not seem viable to them to comply with. The researcher recommended that the Swaziland Constitution be aligned with the Human Rights Law, and that principals monitor the abuse of corporal punishment. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Diamonds have played a dual role in society since their discovery. On the one hand, they have brought smiles to the faces of many exhibiting love, beauty, wealth and brilliance. On the other hand, they have been at the heart of many conflicts. This juxtaposition has different impacts in usage. For those whom diamonds were a positively and morally accepted benefit, it did not present problems. Where diamonds spurned conflicts, it caused harm to lives and territories. Human rights abuses became the cause of international conflicts. Humanitarian interventions appeared on the United Nations Security Council agenda. The United Nations had to address the human rights abuses and had to confront the escalation of human rights abuses. Human rights abuses reached significant proportions forcing the application of humanitarian intervention mechanisms. Control of the diamond trade industry was fast becoming an item on many international peace keeping agendas. International organisations such as the World Trade Organisation, the International Criminal Court, the African Union, the European Union, the World Diamond Council and the United Nations have all tried to influence the diamond trade and its consequential impact upon human rights. These organisations are regulated by law, making them a preferred mechanism for establishing accountability for human rights abuse, arising from the illegal trade in rough diamonds and the maintenance of peace and security.Pressed by the United Nations and, De Beers; NGOs; the Partnership Africa Canada and Global Witness; the World Diamond Council; and many States initiated a formalised voluntary international certification scheme for the export and import of diamonds. Thisinternational certification scheme for the trade of rough diamonds became known as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme has been hailed as a milestone in the diamond trade industry. Simultaneously, the Certification Scheme has been criticised for its inefficacy in regulating the legitimate trade of rough diamonds. Whether the Certification Scheme in its present form is suitable to address the crisis in the trade of rough diamonds is central to this study. Thus, the characterisation, monitoring, implementation and evolution of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme will be examined. / Jurisprudence / LLD

"The implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, within the wider context of globalisation, has brought about a conflict between the obligation of states to promote and protect health and the achievement of economic goals pursued under the WTO regime. Since trade is the driving engine of globalisation, it is imperative that, at the very least, rules governing it do not violate human rights but rather promote them. The problem of IP and the right to health therefore lies in ensuring that the integration of economic rules and institutional operations in relation to IPRs coincide with states’ obligations to promote and protect public health. ... This study centres on the specific debate about health and IPRs in the context of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the WTO rules on IP protection. In terms of a human rights approach to the TRIPS Agreement, the ICESCR has been chosen for several reasons. First, the ICESCR specifically recognises both the right to health and the right to the protection of inventions in clearer terms than any other human rights instrument. Secondly, at least 111 of the state parties to the ICESCR are also members of the WTO including a large number of developing countries. Thirdly, if one sees the ICESCR as a vehicle for the fulfilment of the obligation to promote and protect human rights under the United Nations Organisation’s (UN) Charter, it can be argued that in line with article 103, the implementation and interpretation of TRIPS by all UN members states must take into account basic human rights. However, even with primary focus being on the ICESCR, most of the discussion on practical issues will focus on the experiences in Sub-Saharan Africa because the inequalities and problems of access to health care are most dramatically played out in this part of the world. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between the obligation of states to progressively realise and guarantee the right to health, and the IP rules under the TRIPS Agreement. The specific objective is to examine the relationship between the exceptions under the TRIPS Agreement and the obligation to protect health and the identification of a consistent way of achieving a convergence between the implementation and interpretation of the rules of the two regimes in the area of health." -- Chapter 1 / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2001. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

In the early 1990s the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that the gravest effects of climate change could be on human migration, as millions would be displaced by coastal erosion, flooding, and drought. Today, this is considered a reality that is coming ever closer. Yet, there are currently no binding international frameworks dedicated to the issue of climate induced migration. In addition, the current regime of international refugee law is woefully inadequate at responding to the issue. Individuals that do not fall under the refugee definition are thus commonly left with the general scope of international human rights law standards, so-called complementary protection.   On these premises, this thesis sets out to examine the circumstances under which the non-refoulement principle in international human rights law could be applied in the context of climate change effects and especially slow onset processes, and how the principle could potentially be developed. Principally through examining jurisprudence concerning the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, this thesis finds that while there is a possibility for non-refoulement obligations to arise due to the effects of climate change, the precise scope of such protection is unclear. Although case law has emerged and continues to do so, the complex nature of climate induced migration and the undeveloped jurisprudence on this issue leaves important questions unanswered. This thesis finds that there seems to be no obvious response to the question whether climate change is a relevant factor in the legal analysis of non-refoulement claims, and whether it should be. Furthermore, there are great challenges in discerning the required intensity of harm for the threshold to be met and protection to be granted. In addition, this thesis finds that applying the non-refoulement principle in the context of slow onset processes entails several difficulties, particularly concerning the timing and prediction of the harm. It is therefore concluded that, as long as there is no framework dedicated to the issue of climate induced migration, clarity will be much needed in case law as to the scope of non-refoulement obligations in the context of, especially, slow onset processes due to climate change.

The idea of universal applicability of human rights has been a symbol of hope that peace and justice in the world is possible, since the late 1940s. Although it is a fiction, and anthropology can proof this bringing countless evidence, strong general awareness of this idea still inspires many in their strive for freedom and dignity as well as opposition to violence. The aim of this thesis is to bring two controversial examples, illustrating how and why value-driven struggle for promotion of human rights fails. The aim is nevertheless not to compromise this noble idea but to contribute to its more thorough understanding as well as more effective implementation. A chapter on so called female genital circumcision (also known as female genital mutilation) offers critical analyses of the international campaign for eradication of this practice, led by international feminist movement since the late 1970s. The attention is drawn mainly to manipulation of facts and unfair argumentation, thanks to which the so called female genital circumcision was labelled cruel practice of backward societies serving degradation and control of women, making more structured understanding of reality impossible. A chapter dedicated to abortion tries to see political and cultural influences hidden under the surface of debate on...

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