United Nations

Equal Treatment for All…Except the Highest?

Equal Treatment for All…Except the Highest?

A recent resolution of Member States of the International Criminal Court (ICC) puts into question their commitment to respect the fundamental right of equality for all embedded within Article 1...
The UN Sanctions Regime Against Terrorists: Suggested Changes

The UN Sanctions Regime Against Terrorists: Suggested Changes

The current UN sanctions regime against terrorists does not secure due process rights. Allowing the International Criminal Court to deal with these cases would be a preferable solution, as it...
Domestic Workers – The ILO Convention Comes into Force

Domestic Workers – The ILO Convention Comes into Force

On the 5th of September 2013, the ILO Domestic Workers Convention (C189) came into force. The adoption of the Convention and its supplementing recommendation, in June 2011, was a landmark...
Stigma and Exclusion to Rights and Dignity: a Human Rights Approach to Poverty

Stigma and Exclusion to Rights and Dignity: a Human Rights Approach to Poverty

On 5 November 2013, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, addressed an audience at the Oxford Law Faculty on the subject of...
UN Immunity, Access to Justice and the Haitian Cholera Epidemic

UN Immunity, Access to Justice and the Haitian Cholera Epidemic

A few weeks ago a group of Haitian cholera victims took the extraordinary step of filing a class action suit against the United Nations in the Manhattan Federal District Court....
UN Resolution on Women’s Involvement in Conflict-Prevention: a Move Towards Participative Equality for Women in Conflict Zones

UN Resolution on Women’s Involvement in Conflict-Prevention: a Move Towards Participative Equality for Women in Conflict Zones

Earlier this month, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2122, designed to highlight the importance of women’s involvement in conflict prevention, resolution and peace-building. The adoption of this Resolution...
Provoking Debate: The UN Special Rapporteur and the Right to Housing in the UK

Provoking Debate: The UN Special Rapporteur and the Right to Housing in the UK

The right to housing seldom captures the public imagination or the media spotlight. Yet the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing to the UK earlier...
A New Role for Businesses in Safeguarding Human Rights

A New Role for Businesses in Safeguarding Human Rights

This summer, the European Commission published industry-specific guidelines on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These guidelines, directed at the information and communication technology...
Bringing balance to the international law with long-term perspectives

Bringing balance to the international law with long-term perspectives

Editor’s Note: This post is a follow-up to an earlier post by Karen Moir prior to the July 4th and 5th conference in Geneva on intergenerational equity. On July 4th...
ICESCR Optional Protocol: Reconciling Standards of Review

ICESCR Optional Protocol: Reconciling Standards of Review

Until very recently, there was no individual complaint procedure for a violation of the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); for almost forty...
Alternatives to Detention: Evidence from Canada and Switzerland

Alternatives to Detention: Evidence from Canada and Switzerland

This is republished from Border Criminologies: Foreigners in a Carceral Age A new report in the UNHCR Legal and Protection Police Research Series co-authored by Cathryn Costello and Esra Kaytaz...
Failure to Protect Future Generations Undermines Universality of Law

Failure to Protect Future Generations Undermines Universality of Law

As environmentalists, development practitioners and concerned citizens accelerate their efforts to institutionalize concrete protections for future generations, international human rights law continues to lag behind. The guiding principle of International...

Become A Contributor To The Blog