This dissertation explores the impact of international cultural heritage law on individuals and local communities, particularly through the lens of cultural heritage law's use of universalising... Show moreThis dissertation explores the impact of international cultural heritage law on individuals and local communities, particularly through the lens of cultural heritage law's use of universalising language such as the ‘cultural heritage of mankind’. It argues that this rhetoric empowers states to prioritise purportedly common interests over local ones, potentially erasing living heritage value in the process. The dissertation places cultural heritage law in the context of broader international legal trends, in particular the tension between the pursuit of common interests through international law and the enduring influence of state sovereignty as a structuring principle of that law. It argues that contemporary cultural heritage law often fails to effectively limit state powers or protect the interests of individuals and local communities. It thus calls for stronger guarantees of participation within cultural heritage law, drawing upon legal standards developed within environmental law and human rights law. The dissertation suggests a rethinking the concept of ‘universal interest’ in heritage law to qualify the operation of state sovereignty and to better accommodate the interests of individuals and local communities, emphasizing their role as central actors and the need to bridge the gap between local and global interests in cultural heritage protection. Show less
When nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) encounter state resistance to human rights accountability, how do NGOs use international courts for their human rights advocacy strategies? Considering the... Show moreWhen nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) encounter state resistance to human rights accountability, how do NGOs use international courts for their human rights advocacy strategies? Considering the overlapping phenomena of shrinking civic space within authoritarian, hybrid, and democratically backsliding regimes, and state backlash against international courts, NGOs navigate two potential levels of state backlash against human rights accountability. Building on the interdisciplinary scholarship on legal mobilization, we develop an integrated framework for explaining how states' two-level (domestic and international) backlash tactics can both promote and deter NGOs' strategic litigation at international human rights courts (IHRCs). States' backlash tactics can influence NGOs' opportunities, capacities, and goals for their human rights advocacy, and thus affect whether and how they pursue strategic litigation at IHRCs. We elucidate the value of this framework through case studies of NGOs' litigation against Tanzania at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, an understudied IHRC. Drawing on an original data set, interviews, and documentation, we process-trace how Tanzania's various backlash tactics influenced whether and how NGOs litigated at the Court. Our framework and analysis show how state backlash against human rights accountability affects NGOs' mobilization at IHRCs and, relatedly, IHRCs' opportunities for influence. Show less
full book landing page (including bibliography): https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/component/edocman/sixty-years-after-independence-africa-and-international-law-views-from-a-generation-soixante-ans-apres... Show morefull book landing page (including bibliography): https://www.pulp.up.ac.za/component/edocman/sixty-years-after-independence-africa-and-international-law-views-from-a-generation-soixante-ans-apres-les-independances-l-afrique-et-le-droit-international-regards-d-une-generation Show less
This study explores the duty to investigate potential violations of the law during armed conflict, and does so under international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), and... Show moreThis study explores the duty to investigate potential violations of the law during armed conflict, and does so under international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL), and their interplay. Through a meticulous comparative legal analysis, it maps out the scope and contents of investigative obligations. On the basis of general international law, it also develops and applies a step-by-step methodology for resolving issues of interplay between both legal regimes. In doing so, this study clarifies the scope of application and contents of investigative obligations under both legal regimes, as well as for situations to which both apply. The study finds that the oft-heard narrative that to require States to conduct human rights investigations during armed conflict would impose inordinate burdens on them, and would be wholly unrealistic in light of the realities of hostilities, is unfounded and in need of revision.The methodology which this study develops for resolving issues of interplay lends itself to broader application than this research project alone, and can guide future research into issues of interplay. Show less
International human rights law has evolved to offer specific protection to persons who are internally displaced. This protection is becoming increasingly important as the effects of climate change... Show moreInternational human rights law has evolved to offer specific protection to persons who are internally displaced. This protection is becoming increasingly important as the effects of climate change are putting more populations around the world at risk of displacement. However, there is still limited empirical insight into the factors that enhance or undermine effective protection of the rights of climate displaced persons in practice. This article seeks to fill this gap, drawing on a case study of climate displacement resulting from Tropical Cyclone Pam which struck the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu in March 2015. We note that Vanuatu has an expansive suite of laws and policies dedicated to disaster preparation, risk reduction and response, as well as climate change and disaster displacement. However, its capacity to fulfil its human rights obligations in the face of climate disasters is undermined by a lack of resources and institutional capacity. We argue that this gap must be addressed through an integrated approach to international law that emphasises human rights obligations of international cooperation and assistance along with obligations relating to climate change mitigation, adaptation and capacity building under international climate change law. Vanuatu's experience with Cyclone Pam also provides a clear case for strengthening the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage Associated with Climate Change Impacts ('Warsaw Mechanism') in a manner that results in enhanced human rights protection for climate displaced persons. Show less
