Global Campus of Human Rights

We are living in a state of multiple crises: an obvious but still neglected climate crisis; a health crisis with an ongoing pandemic; an economic and financial crisis closely related to an energy crisis; and a human security crisis reflected in the many violent conflicts, new and long-lasting, around the globe. Responses to crises are often emotional, populist and fear-induced. In order to maintain and solidify their power and pursue their interests, governments tend to use crises to create a permanent state of exception, legitimating measures that under ‘normal’ circumstances might have been unthinkable. On the other hand, crises unsettle people – people lose trust in political systems, the media or the rule of law in general. Human rights and violations thereof are at the core of these dynamics; ultimately, crises are a symptom of the fragility of the human rights system, and the disregard by states of rights commonly agreed upon by the international community. At the same time, the doubts about institutions, democratic systems and the rule of law are also an expression of a lack of trust in human rights. What we need, thus, is to regain control over the human rights discourse, in order to be able to respond profoundly to the violation of human rights, and to re-establish trust in them, and the system established to implement them, by showing that human rights are more than just written words. As a platform for the discussion of important and topical human rights issues, the European Yearbook on Human Rights 2022 aims to make a contribution towards ensuring that future responses to crises not only pay respect to human rights but are rooted in them. Differently from the previous editions, which were dedicated to specific topics (the 2021 edition was dedicated to ‘Human Rights in Times of a Pandemic’ , and the 2020 edition to the rights of the child), the EYHR 2022 takes a broad approach to various topical human rights issues in Europe and beyond.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explore key areas that impact assessment practitioners may consider when evaluating business impacts on women and girls in conflict-affected contexts. Conflict has severe impacts on women and girls, including increased domestic and sexual violence, as well as heightened economic insecurity and loss of livelihood. Additionally, gender roles can change drastically as a result of armed conflict. Business activities can compound these issues by further perpetuating violence, contributing to displacement, and undermining access to already-scarce resources. Despite the risk and severity of these impacts, impact assessments of business activities frequently fail to incorporate a gender and conflict perspective. A vast body of knowledge already exists on gender and conflict, yet this knowledge is poorly reflected in impact assessment literature and practice. I argue that increased integration of gender and conflict knowledge can significantly enhance impact assessment practice, especially in better recognising and responding to the threats and opportunities faced by women and girls in conflict-affected contexts.

This contribution addresses political and legal questions around the return of foreign children formerly associated with the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria to their countries of origin. While the international children’s rights framework can clearly be interpreted to entail a responsibility of states to return these children, a lack of political willingness and coherent return strategies result in ›laissez-faire‹ politics of European States, including Germany. Thus, assuming responsibility on the international level and developing a coherent and unconditional return strategy on the national level is necessary to effectively protect these children’s rights.

This paper focuses on the case of Ríos Vivos Antioquia, a social and environmental movement that fights against the construction of Hidroituango —the largest dam in Colombia— which has produced serious environmental and social impacts on the population surrounding the project. This article analyzes the internationalization of the struggle by this movement through different strategies aimed at defending the Human Rights of its community. For that purpose, this research uses documents produced by the movement and reports of some NGOs as well as interviews with members of RVAM and external collaborators to know their main strategies in some depth. This paper concludes that the strategies of internationalization used by this movement have resulted in the strengthening of the social struggle and the empowerment of the population in that region, which has been particularly affected by the violence in Colombia.
 Recibido: 19 abril 2020Aceptado: 06 noviembre 2020

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is one of the most ratified United Nations (UN) treaties with close to 90% Member States adhering to its obligations. The right to participation in political and public life is one of the basic rights embedded in the Convention and other international legal and policy documents. At the same time, persons with disabilities remain significantly under-represented in democratic structures, such as political parties, parliaments and in decision-making processes in most of the UN Member States due to various barriers and obstacles. This contribution explores these challenges, while reflecting on the positive practice examples from various countries, which can contribute to more visible participation of persons with disabilities in political life. As evident from the research, political parties and parliaments need to take concrete steps in making their structures more representative and inclusive for all society members. With improved accessibility of information and infrastructure, increased support, removal of legal restrictions on legal capacity and stronger fight against stereotypes and prejudices, persons with disabilities can exercise their rights and contribute to political processes on an equal basis with others.

Since the Arab spring spread to Syria in early 2011, massive crimes have been committed in the country on an almost daily basis. With the International Criminal Court (ICC) sidelined, no systematic accountability approach is available. The focus of accountability efforts lies on third countries acting under the doctrine of universal jurisdiction. These have led to initial concrete results. Actors at the UN level are making creative attempts to eliminate impunity for the crimes in Syria. This article makes an effort to analyze and evaluate these attempts.

In sub-Saharan Africa over 80 per cent of needy children are unable to access palliative care services. Since the introduction of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of Children, the three countries selected for this study, South Africa, Uganda and Kenya, have committed themselves to protect and promote the rights of children. Within the broader framework of international human rights, countries are obligated to realise a child's right to health and provide adequate health care. Yet, children living in these countries with life-threatening and life-limiting illnesses suffer from physical, psychological and emotional pain. The objective of the article is to focus on the plight of seriously ill children in sub-Saharan Africa. This includes highlighting their basic human right to paediatric palliative care and the challenges they encounter in receiving the necessary help. In examining a right to health it is understood that encapsulated within that right is the

This chapter addresses the relationship between press freedom and freedom of expression. It makes the case that press freedom matters as a right in itself due to its government oversight capacity, and that the right to freedom of expression is in fact meaningless without a free press, or the Fourth Estate. Since the free press fulfills several vital political and social functions, while also having access to a mass audience, it has a powerful influence on the government–citizen relationship. The chapter also highlights the importance of press freedom for promoting and protecting human rights.

National Human Rights Institutions (nhris) have rapidly proliferated worldwide in the last twenty years. They play an important role in the implementation of international human rights standards at the domestic level. Examples, especially from the African and Asian regions show that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) relates to the work of nhris. Some institutions were established as one of the outcomes of peace processes in order to advance reconciliation and prevent future abuses. Where nhris already exist, the institutions may promote and protect human rights in each phase of the R2P. This paper discusses what role nhris can take up in assisting governments, the international community, and people before, during and after crisis situations. Through concrete country examples, it also highlights the challenges that the institutions must face, and summarises the limits of their influence.

Increasingly, the categories of professionalism are being employed to describe human rights work. Within the broader category of ‘human rights professionals’, a significant sub-group, that of field-based human rights staff of intergovernmental organizations, has been subject to particular scrutiny. This article explores issues of the professionalization of this group, while drawing implications for all human rights field workers. Following a brief overview of the history of human rights field operations, the question is raised: what is at stake in a process of professionalization? Next, it is asked whether those components identified as central to the development of a profession – shared values, a body of scientific knowledge, and procedures and systems to apply that knowledge – exist in a reasonably welldefined form with reference to human rights work. We then take stock of the extent to which these components have come together in generating an actual sense of professional identity and a culture of professionalism. In conclusion, some remaining challenges are identified and suggestions are made for measures that may contribute to reinforcing the existing momentum and further consolidating the profession.