United Nations Human Rights Council: Commission of Inquiry into Human Rights Abuses in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
On 26 March 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council (“HRC”) passed a Resolution ‘condemning in the strongest terms’ the continuing violation of human rights and calling for the referral...
Dignifying the most vulnerable ‘in’ and ‘through’ Security Council Resolution 2139
Conflict — perhaps like no other happening — illuminates our shared vulnerability to hurt and harm of unimaginable form and depth. The legal protection of rights was born of such...
Women at work – positive obligations for positive results
The most significant change in recent decades influencing the position of women at work is the transformation of state-managed capitalism into a globally marketised, privatised, deregulated system. This is accompanied...
Women’s and children’s health: Evidence of impact of human rights
During 2011-13, I had the fortune to serve as a part-time Senior Human Rights Advisor to WHO Assistant Director-General Flavia Bustreo. The records show that the first Director-General of WHO...
Human Rights in Disputed Territories – Affixing Responsibility
“Human rights do not have any borders. It is vital to address underlying human rights issues in disputed territories, regardless of the political recognition or the legal status of a...
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 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
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
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
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
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
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...
