The Canadian charter and the protection of international human rights

B.A., University of Alberta 1960; LL.B., University of Alberta 1961; LL.M., University of California at Berkeley 1963.     

Repositioning the international human rights protection system: the UN Human Rights Council

The creation of a UN human rights mechanism was meant to address systematically the international protection and promotion of human rights within the context of international relations. Over the years, the Human Rights Commission has dealt with human rights issues in ways which some commentators have labelled unsatisfactory. The United Nations High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, set up by Kofi Anna to conduct an in‐depth study on global threats, and provide an analysis of future challenges to peace and security, recommended a review of HR mechanisms. This led to the establishment of the Human Rights Council, replacing the Human Rights Commission. One of the mechanisms introduced was the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights. This article looks at how the UPR process has progressed so far and makes some assessment as to where it is heading.     

Control rights, bureaucratic corruption and the allocation of resources

In a two-sector model, we show that corruption is endogenously determined by the model parameters. It depends on the fraction of unskilled labor and the relative TFP differential between skilled and unskilled sector. First, for a larger proportion of unskilled labor force, there is widespread corruption and for smaller share of unskilled labor force, there is no corruption. For the intermediate level, equilibrium depends on the number of corrupt bureaucrats and there are multiple equilibria. Second, corruption decreases with the relative TFP differential between skilled and unskilled sector. For the intermediate level of TFP differential, there are multiple equilibria. On its consequences, corruption causes rise in the wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. It distorts the allocation of resources, which results in the output and the welfare losses, and it is associated with the higher tax rate.     

Human rights violations and genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The massacres that took place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between 1996 and 2003 have posed an interesting challenge to the global community, specifically to its more powerful members. Ironically, the Tutsi-dominated government of Rwanda enjoys international recognition and benefits based on the genocide, Rwanda suffered in 1994, but continues to deny the same benefit to Hutus as they were accused of leading a counter-genocide campaign then in the DRC. While the people of the DRC, as well as human rights activists, call for justice for all who were affected, the government of Rwanda, strongly backed by a number of powerful international powers, opposed attempts by the international community to pin charges of genocide perpetrated by its army in the DRC on it. Because of the clear negation of the genocide report by the Rwandan government, the nature of human rights, human rights violations, and genocide criteria proposed and defended by key members of the international community in relation to the mass killings in the DRC are examined.     

Update to international guidelines on HIV/AIDS and human rights

On 10 September 2002, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released a revised international guideline on "Access to prevention, treatment, care and support." The update to Guideline 6 of HIV/AIDS and Human Rights: International Guidelines reflects significant therapeutic, political, and legal developments in this area since the 12 guidelines were originally published in 1998. The new Guideline 6 significantly expands the guidance given to governments on what international human rights norms require of them in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support.