"Governments with strict control over the information that their citizens hear from foreign sources are regular targets of human rights pressure, but we know little about how this information matters in the domestic realm. I argue that authoritarian regimes strategically pass on certain types of ext
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ernal pressure to their public to “internationalize” human rights violations, making citizens view human rights in terms of defending their nation internationally rather than in terms of individual violations, and making them more likely to be satisfied with their government’s behavior. I find strong support for this model through statistical analysis of Chinese state media reports of external human rights pressure and a survey experiment on Chinese citizens’ responses to pressure on women’s rights. This analysis demonstrates that authoritarian regimes may be able to manipulate international human rights diplomacy to help them retain the support of their population while suppressing their human rights." (Abstract)
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"Every year, hundreds of human rights defenders, humanitarian workers and journalists and media workers are killed around the world – simply for doing their job. Hundreds more are threatened, sexually harassed, kidnapped, arrested, imprisoned or otherwise targeted. This briefing paper is the preli
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minary output of research undertaken in an effort to inform or inspire action among the media support, human rights and humanitarian sectors to address pressing safety and protection issues. The paper seeks not only to identify com¬monalities between these sectors, but to identify possible areas for future collaboration and cooperation to address issues of safety and impunity." (Publisher description)
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"En el presente informe, la CIDH pudo constatar cómo el incremento de las actividades extractivas en la Amazonía ha causado efectos de deforestación y ha creado tensiones por el uso de la tierra y sus recursos. En algunos países las actividades ilícitas se han fortalecido, posibilitando rutas d
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el narcotráfico, explotación sexual y asesinatos. Ese contexto, se torna aún más tenso con las demandas de desarrollo de megaproyectos de infraestructura; explotación de petróleo, gas y minería; explotación forestal; uso de recursos genéticos, construcción de represas; pesca y agricultura industriales, entre otros. Los impactos son irreversibles al medio ambiente y a las comunidades locales, y en general, han sido impuestos a los pueblos indígenas sin cumplir con su derecho a la consulta y consentimiento libre, previo e informado. Esa situación fue diferente para algunos pueblos que decidieron y pudieron huir a bosques remotos de difícil acceso y se mantuvieron en aislamiento de agentes externos. Por muchos años esas comunidades han preservado sus modos de vida, sin embargo, hoy día se encuentran en situación de especial vulnerabilidad, pues la presión sobre sus tierras se ha intensificado y no cuentan con recursos suficientes para defenderse. La Comisión destaca el desarrollo normativo en el ámbito internacional del reconocimiento de los derechos pueblos indígenas, y valora los esfuerzos realizados por los Estados a través de la elaboración de nuevas leyes nacionales y políticas públicas dirigidas a esos colectivos. Sin embargo, durante los uì ltimos anÞ os se han advertido nuevos problemas que amenazan la supervivencia de estos pueblos, particularmente las alteraciones medioambientales y el cambio climatico, hacen cada vez más difícil que puedan mantener sus formas de vida e interacción con el medio ambiente." (Conclusiones, página 197)
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"Seit mehr als 20 Jahren herrscht Bürgerkrieg im Kongo. Über drei Millionen Menschen haben bereits ihr Leben verloren. Der Kampf um Rohstoffe wie Coltan, Zinn und Kupfer, an denen der Ostkongo reich ist, spitzt sich weiter zu. 2015 inszenierte der Schweizer Regisseur und Theaterautor Milo Rau das
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Kongo Tribunal - ein politisches Theaterstück -, um den Konflikt und seine Widersprüchlichkeiten öffentlich darzustellen und die gegensätzlichen Positionen, die Interessen und Unvereinbarkeiten zu entschleiern. Durch ein symbolisches Urteil am Ende des Tribunals sollten die Verantwortlichkeiten festgestellt und öffentlich gemacht werden. Milo Rau lud Opfer, Milizionäre, Regierungsvertreter, Oppositionelle, Unternehmer und Vertreter internationaler Organisationen ein und verhandelte mit ihnen drei Fälle, die symbolisch für den Konflikt stehen sollten. Dieses Buch ist eine Verschriftlichung des Tribunals. Milo Rau gewährt Einblicke in sein Regietagebuch und verdeutlicht durch Bilder und Fotos die Eindringlichkeit des Theaterstücks. Im Buch eingebunden sind zudem Interviews, Zeitungsartikel, Reden und Reaktionen. Auch wenn es eine symbolische Verhandlung war, weckt das Theaterstück Hoffnung auf die Möglichkeit eines solchen Tribunals." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"[...] To test the argument whether the killing of journalists is a precursor to increasing repression, we introduce a new global dataset on killings of journalists between 2002 and 2013 that uses three different sources that track such events across the world. The new data show that mostly local jo
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urnalists are targeted and that in most cases the perpetrators remain unconfirmed. Particularly in countries with limited repression, human rights conditions are likely to deteriorate in the two years following the killing of a journalist. When journalists are killed, human rights conditions are unlikely to improve where standard models of human rights would expect an improvement. Our research underlines the importance of taking the treatment of journalists seriously, not only because failure to do so endangers their lives and limits our understanding of events on the ground, but also because their physical safety is an important precursor of more repression in the future." (Abstract)
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"This publication will contribute to ensuring that the breadth of human rights violations in Eritrea becomes known, and that the issue of human trafficking migrates more strongly upwards into the public eye." (Back cover)
"Murders of people with albinism are a recently emerging human rights issue in Africa, particularly Tanzania. Thus far, public debates about albino killings in Tanzania and other African countries have been dominated by media reports rather than academic writing. This paper presents the findings of
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a content analysis of Swahili and English Tanzanian media reports published between 2008 and 2011 on albinism and albino murders in Tanzania, and the diverse activities that have unfolded in response to these attacks. Using a human rights framework, the article explores these responses from a social work perspective. It finds that interventions are often framed with reference to African conceptions of humanness. These conceptions are found to be compatible with notions of human rights as relational, in which the various rights and responsibilities of different members of society are seen as interconnected. In practice however, some interventions have resulted in trade-offs between competing rights, causing further harm to victims and their families. To become sustainable therefore, interventions should aim to support all the human rights necessary for the well-being of Africans with albinism, their families and communities. Further research to this effect is recommended." (Abstract)
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"This report arises out of five years of research and targeted advocacy on behalf of writers and journalists who have been censored or persecuted for their work in the People’s Republic of China. It presents PEN International’s findings, compiled by our international researchers and by our colle
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agues on the ground in China, on the ongoing threats to individual writers and journalists in the country and our assessment of the climate for freedom of expression in the world’s most populous state. These findings and assessments are echoed and amplified throughout the report in ten essays contributed by leading writers from China." (Executive summary)
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"The human rights situation in Venezuela has become more precarious since 2008, when Human Rights Watch released its last report on Venezuela, A Decade Under Chávez. The pro-Chávez majority in the National Assembly has passed legislation expanding the government’s powers to limit free speech and
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to punish its critics. The Supreme Court—packed with Chávez supporters in 2004 and re-packed in 2010—has openly rejected its role as an independent check on presidential power, while joining with the president in dismissing the authority of the Inter-American system of human rights. The accumulation of power in the executive, the removal of institutional safeguards, and the erosion of human rights guarantees have given the Chávez government free rein to intimidate, censor, and punish Venezuelans who “offend” the president or obstruct his political aims. Tightening the Grip documents the abuses, showing how President Hugo Chávez and his supporters have made ample use of these powers over the past four years in a wide range of cases, with negative consequences for judicial independence, media freedom, and civil and political rights." (Back cover)
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"Der Autor untersucht in dieser Studie die spezielle Dynamik der Theokratisierung von Staat und Recht – mit besonderem Schwerpunkt auf den in Pakistan geltenden Blasphemiegesetzen. Welchen Einfluss hatten die Blasphemiegesetze, die mir der staatlichen und politischen Bevorzugung einer einzigen Rel
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igion einhergehen, auf die pakistanische Gesellschaft? Der Überblick über die damit zusammenhängenden Menschenrechtsverletzungen wird mit der Schilderung von Einzelschicksalen ergänzt, die das Ausmaß des Versagens der Justiz und des Missbrauchs dieser Gesetze eindrucksvoll veranschaulichen. Neben einer logischen Analyse der Blasphemiegesetze untersucht der Autor die psychologische Verfassung bzw. die Denkmuster, die dem Status quo Vorschub leisten und sich gegen eine Änderung dieser Gesetze sperren. Dabei wird auch der Standpunkt der gebildeten Schichten unter den Muslimen erörtert. Auf der Basis empirischer Daten geht der Autor der Frage nach, warum die Provinz Punjab ein Brennpunkt des Missbrauchs der Blasphemiegesetze und des religiösen Fundamentalismus ist. Kapitel 1 widmet sich den weltweiten Entwicklungen und Ansätzen im Umgang mit der Frage der Diffamierung von Religionen. Kapitel 7 untersucht die umstrittenen Resolutionen zur ‚Diffamierung von Religionen‘, die zwischen 1999 und 2010 nicht weniger als zwölf Mal bei UN-Gremien zur Abstimmung kamen. Abschließend erläutert der Autor die von den einzelnen Regierungen ergriffenen Maßnahmen und den Versuch der Verabschiedung einer entsprechenden Gesetzesnovelle im pakistanischen Parlament. Davon ausgehend entwickelt der Autor praktische Vorschläge zum weiteren Vorgehen für die beteiligten Interessengruppen – die Zivilgesellschaft und die Regierung Pakistans sowie die internationale Gemeinschaft." (Zusammenfassung)
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"This article analyzes the liability of the Philippine President for the tort of constitutional negligence in relation to the murders and forced disappearances of leftists, journalists, and other dissidents. It uses the international law doctrine of command responsibility as a form of attribution th
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at may be used, by analogy, to hold the President accountable for a culture of impunity. The article describes the role of the President as the regulator of a human rights-conducive information ecology and argues that massive human rights violations meant to silence dissidents are a source of liability for which a class action suit is an available remedy. Finally, it looks at the concept of presidential immunity from suit from a comparative perspective and argues that the continued application of restrictive immunity rules established during the American colonial era is misplaced considering the universalist design of the present Philippine Constitution and developments in immunity jurisprudence in the United States." (Abstract)
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