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The thesis proposes to approach the idea of human rights as a specific truth regime on ‘the human' that contests those regimes of falsity which deny the essence of humanness on grounds such as race, sex, colour, gender, national or social origin. This theoretical proposition is supported by a case study of the deployment of the idea of human rights in the Gold Coast from 1945 up to Ghana's independence from colonial rule in 1957. As such, the study analyses how the concept of human rights, affirmed in the 1945 United Nations Charter and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articulated in the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights, influenced domestic politics in one British colony in Africa. At the same time, the study highlights the way in which post-World War II nationalism produced some of the most important political changes affecting this region in this era. Relying on a first-hand investigation of archival and primary sources, the thesis scrutinizes the formulation of demands for the collective right to self-determination which emanated from nationalist movements, the evolving drafts for a bill of rights in Ghana's Independence Constitution and the debates on whether or not to extend the European Convention on Human Rights to the Gold Coast. The particular and disprivileged position of women in the colony is a subject of critical commentary throughout the thesis. By examining critically the emergence of the human rights idea, the study draws attention to the complex interplay of factors as well as actors that inspired a new-fangled notion of universal rights, while highlighting the way politics, including Cold War politics, contributed to define the subject of human rights in an ambiguous, incomplete but promising way.

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The Ph.D. focuses on the recent conflict in Sri Lanka that ended on 19 May 2009 with the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), otherwise known as the Tamil Tigers, and the death and disappearance of between an estimated figure of 75,000 and 146,679 Tamil civilians and LTTE combatants from that year. The research is based on narratives from oral histories taken largely from survivors of the civil war in order to produce a graphic novel to convey the story of a family whose experiences are paralleled among many other people from the Vanni in north-eastern Sri Lanka. Multiple methodologies were deployed from working closely with an illustrator, Lindsay Pollock, to focus groups and semi-structured and structured interviews listening to survivors' testimonies and experiences based in Chennai, London and Zurich with those people who are currently going through, or have recently gone through, the asylum process. The thesis and in particular the graphic novel can contribute to the formation of a compelling and engaging 'human rights culture' (Galchinsky 2012) both in terms of representing the bloody conflict in Sri Lanka, and the ordeals and dilemmas faced by displaced persons in other countries in its aftermath. As opposed to human rights law which is based on a vertical axis, Galchinsky states that human rights culture is based on a horizontal appeal to a shared humanity. While universalist understandings of human rights and the holistic conception of culture implied in his proposal are questionable, the horizontal axis of enquiry and representation informs this research - ranging from the fieldwork period that led to the collation of testimonies to the production of the graphic novel, to its sharing with research contributors for their opinions and formative feedback, and to its wider dissemination. The accompanying graphic novel is hybrid in terms of the combination of text with illustrations and photographs, and with regards to a fusion between the 'fictional' with 'factual' - both deemed here as conventions of representing and engaging with real-life events. Even though the nuance of multiple perspectives offered by research interlocutors may be simplified in the narrative of the graphic novel, there are clear theoretical and methodological advantages that, to date, have not been considered in the Sri Lankan context for this kind of literature. These include the ability to retain the anonymity of interlocutors while highlighting the compelling recollections of their experiences, the potential to foster a 'sympathetic imagination' across social and other demarcations that can constitute the creation of meanings that offer a particular way of seeing, feeling and thinking about one's relationship with oneself, others, and with society in general (Salgado 2007), and the possibilities for a collaborative approach with interlocutors. The written thesis provides the contextual and ethnographic foundations for the graphic novel that also elaborates upon the self-reflexive and participatory methodologies and ethical concerns of creating the novel itself. The graphic novel enables a wider career in terms of its readership amongst research contributors as well as others, and its role in promoting educational awareness and humanitarian advocacy on the recent conflict.

The 1951 Refugee Convention aims to provide international legal protection to all asylum seekers. Individuals making asylum claims based on persecution which relates to their sexual orientation however are not explicitly represented in Article 1A (2) of the Convention. As a consequence, cases based on sexual orientation are usually argued under the ‘membership of a particular social group' category, a classification which has long remained the most contested of the Refugee Convention grounds for granting asylum. This thesis focuses on the experiences of lesbian women as they navigate the UK asylum process. The research explores how sexuality is constructed and performed as women seek asylum as well as how this impacts upon their social and sexual identity. A theoretical framework for the study is principally (though not exclusively) drawn from the works of Judith Butler (1990, 2004, 2006) and Michel Foucault (1978, 1979), as well as Ken Plummer's (1995) ‘telling sexual stories'. The research draws upon in-depth, repeat interviews with eleven lesbian asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. These women all reported to have experienced physical and sexual violence in their home countries as a consequence of their homosexuality and all had sought international protection in the UK on the basis of their sexuality. The analysis presented in this thesis reveals that the experience of going through the UK asylum process was, for the women in this study, an emotionally challenging and confusing experience. As a consequence of women's traumatic experiences in their home countries, they were often over familiar with secrecy which added to the difficulties of self-identifying as a lesbian in the UK. The legal requirement to evidence and ‘prove' one's sexual orientation was considered problematic and frequently left women feeling compelled to ‘perform' their sexual identity in order to be believed as a credible lesbian. In addition the analysis presented demonstrates that the requirement to share intimate narratives on demand and in an open and public way had a range of significant implications on women themselves. This included how women felt that their sexuality was persistently judged and the devastating impact of not being believed. This thesis also shows how navigating complex legal procedures impacts upon women's social and sexual identity. The study demonstrates that living in limbo, without permanency and stability exacerbated women's experiences of social isolation and rejection and left them occupying a distinct social space, excluded from British, asylum seeking and migrant groups. Despite these struggles however, the data presented in the thesis also reveals women's ability to recognise, fight and campaign for their legal citizenship and to enjoy the freedom to express their sexual identity and sexual self-esteem. The desire to create a safe space, to understand their sexuality and to re-construct a sense of belonging was paramount as women fought for their sexual entitlements.

This thesis presents a critical analysis of the property rights in terms of Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (P1-1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to the property conflict in Cyprus. The theme that runs through the paper is whether property disputes in Cyprus have had an impact on the established case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Also addressed is the extent to which Cypriot property claims caused the Court to depart from its traditional approach concerning property rights under the ECHR and whether these cases before the Court have introduced a new aspect to the understanding and interpretation of the protection of property rights in the Convention system, specifically the application of the P1-1 to the Convention. The Court's approach, in its various precedents, in examining property rights within the remit of P1-1 will be compared with the property claims from Cyprus in order to determine the unique and significant character of the Cypriot property cases and to analyse their relationship with the right to property under P1-1 to the ECHR.

International norms are central to international relations because they constitute key instruments to influence state behaviour (Finnemore and Sikkink, 1998; Risse and Sikkink, 1999; Acharya, 2004). The process by which international norms, principles and procedures diffuse into national systems is called norm diffusion (Krook and True, 2010; Towns, 2012; Brown, 2014). This thesis contributes to our understanding of the complexities of norm diffusion processes by undertaking the first in-depth analysis of the role that community-based organizations (CBOs) play in such processes. Focusing on the area of global health norms regarding HIV/AIDS, and based on extensive field research undertaken in Honduras, Ukraine, Uganda, and El Salvador, the thesis presents evidence of the CBOs analysed playing various essential roles in the diffusion of international norms domestically. First, they may act as implementers of such norms ensuring their appropriation among the populations they represent and generating local practice, on occasion even bypassing their own governments when these have rejected such norms. Second, CBOs may also be able to influence their governments and other relevant state actors at the later stages of norm diffusion, when states are deemed to implement international norms through their integration into national practice, even to the point of making states change their stated positions on certain international norms. Thirdly, through the simultaneous interaction with and entanglement in multiple norm diffusion processes, CBOs may also be able to alter such processes by tactically interlinking them and affecting their respective outcomes.

The treatment of irregular migrants in Malta is problematic from a human rights perspective, for it contravenes the principle of universalism that is intrinsic to human rights philosophy. This study investigates this treatment. Crucially, it identifies four elements of political practice in the absence of which it is contended a human rights culture cannot flourish, as well as underlying patterns in Maltese political culture which contravene these four elements. Its ultimate aim is to propose meaningful, effective and long-lasting human-rights-compliant solutions to the treatment of irregular immigrants in Malta. Based on a reading of foundational documents of the modern human rights movement, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the thesis posits that human rights should be ‘located' between the political and the cultural. The four basic principles of human rights identified as framing the optimal political conditions for the nurturing of a human rights culture are related to dignity, a cosmopolitan orientation, democratic practice and a commitment to equality. This concept of a human rights culture is innovatively used as an analytical tool for examining Maltese responses to irregular migration. This is done in a two-way manner, with the examination of practice enriching the identified theoretical framework, and the theoretical framework then guiding the search for possible new human-rights-consistent policy directions which Malta could take. Drawing on a range of ethnographic methods, including in-depth interviews and participant observation, this study brings to light the difficulties of putting into practice human rights principles within an already established local culture grappling with its own ghosts like occupations and colonial experiences. Although resistance to change is often difficult to identify since it is shrouded in ‘modern' language, hidden under security arguments or bureaucratic explanations. Interviews and a range of documents illustrate the multi-layered misconceptions, stereotypes and fear that play out among the Maltese.

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