Citizenship and the Constitution

The status of “British subjects”, the relationship between the individual and the State, and the concept of “rights” and “liberties” are relevant to the current political debate about “British identity”, citizenship, “multiculturalism”, a “British Bill of Rights”, and whether there is now a need for a written constitution. This article describes the confused contemporary understanding of what is meant by “British” citizenship and analyses the parallel developments of citizenship and our constitutional arrangements. The Human Rights Act, devolution and Gordon Brown's proposed constitutional renewal are important steps in setting out the ideas and principles that bind us together as a nation. Together with a coherent definition of the rights and obligations of British citizenship, constitutional reform would achieve a stronger sense of what it means to be British today.     

The contested spaces of civil society in a plural world: norm contestation in the debate about restrictions on international civil society support

Civil society organizations are facing increasing political restrictions all over the world. Frequently, these restrictions apply to the foreign funding of NGOs and thus curtail the space for external civil society support, which, since the 1990s, has become a key element in international democracy and human rights promotion. This so-called ‘closing space’ phenomenon has received growing attention by civil society activists, policymakers and academics. Existing studies (and political responses), however, neglect the crucial normative dimension of the problem at hand: As we show, the political controversy over civil society support is characterized by norm contestation, and this contestation reveals competing perceptions of in/justice and touches upon core principles of contemporary world order. Taking this dimension into account is essential if we are to academically understand, and politically respond to, the ‘closing space’ challenge. It is also highly relevant with regard to current debates on how to conceptualize and construct order in a world that is plural in many regards and in which liberal norms are fundamentally contested. Empirically, the paper combines an assessment of the global debate about closing space in the UN Human Rights Council with an analysis of a specific controversy over the issue in US-Egyptian relations.     

Sustainable development and the struggle for LGBTI social inclusion in Africa: opportunities for accelerating change

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2063 chart a new development pathway for Africa. ‘Leaving no one behind’, or full social inclusion, is central to this effort. What will this mean for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex (LGBTI) people in Africa who are among the most socially excluded members of the population? This article explores this through a discussion framed by the concept of social inclusion and the commitments regarding it that appear in the SDGs and the Agenda 2063. Although LGBTI inclusion across Africa is not explicit in either document, there are nevertheless important opportunities for linking continental LGBTI advocacy to the sustainable development enterprise.     

Judgement without justice: on the efficacy of the European human rights regime

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is widely regarded as the most important human rights court worldwide. This article investigates the extent to which the court addresses cases from countries with the worst human rights performance. Using a new data set on all ECtHR judgments from 1995–2012, the analysis suggests that the ECtHR does not deliver its judgments against members of the Council of Europe with the worst human rights records, but instead against more democratic and affluent states. The reason is that litigating in front of a supranational court requires capacities that vulnerable people are unlikely to possess, except when aided by transnational advocacy groups. However, more judgements are issued against countries that lack independent judiciaries, where cases are less likely to be resolved at the domestic level. While the ECtHR might not address the worst human rights crimes, it plays a subsidiary role in the European human rights protection system by compensating for weak domestic judiciaries. However, the court's inability to independently pursue litigation, together with the lack of capacity in some countries to bring cases forward, have hampered more effective protection of human rights for the most vulnerable in Europe.     

论民族、种族和宗教犯罪的立法完善——从国际人权公约角度看

民族、种族和宗教相互之间具有紧密联系,且对一个国家的和谐与稳定关系重大。我国加入或即将加入的国际人权公约对民族、种族和宗教相关的犯罪行为已经作出了明确规定,我国有必要以国际人权公约的规定为参照检视我国刑法在民族、种族和宗教犯罪上的规定,作出与我国实际相符合、也与国际人权公约相一致的修正。修改现有相关犯罪的构成条件,增加我国刑法没有规定但危害严重的民族、种族和宗教犯罪。     

切实保障被害人权益稳固和谐社会基石

被害人的权益保障已成为社会关注的一个热点问题,对其引起足够的重视,有利于社会治安的维护与和谐社会的构建.我们可以在明确保障被害人权益对构建和谐社会现实意义的基础上,放眼全球,立足国情,从法律和制度层面提出保障和完善被害人权益的构想.     

中国国家人权机构的建立与完善——以《巴黎原则》为基础

自2004年“国家尊重和保护人权”的条款写入宪法以来,完善人权的国内保护逐渐成为人权保障的核心。1993年,联合国大会通过了《促进和保护人权的国家机构的地位原则》（简称巴黎原则）,为各国在国家人权机构的建立和完善方面确立了基本原则。通过对巴黎原则的研究,能够建立起符合国际标准国家人权机构,对人权的国内保护大有裨益。     

Smoke but No Fire? The Politics of a ‘British’ Bill of Rights

This article systematically explores the political context behind Labour and the Conservatives' new commitment to a British Bill of Rights. This is linked to conflicting incentives to resist the current trajectory towards rights constitutionalism (‘Constitutional Freeze’), to further encourage further rights constitutionalism (‘Constitutional Fire’) and to engage in largely cosmetic change (‘Constitutional Smoke’). Ultimately, the latter has proved dominant for both parties. This demonstrates the difficulty of building political momentum behind significant revision of institutional responsibility for protecting human rights in stable, democratic settings. It specifically illustrates the strong barriers which both a hegemonic policy preserving and an ‘aversive’ constitutionalising dynamic must overcome to succeed.     

The Ethical Trading Initiative: Tenth Anniversary Conference

This article reports on the tenth anniversary conference of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), drawing attention to the irony that just as progress is being made on the situation of home workers (among the least protected of all working people) the two organisations that have done so much to raise awareness of these issues themselves face closure for lack of funding.     

Diary of a participatory advocacy film project: transforming communication initiatives into living campaigns

In August 2007, the government of Tanzania made a commitment to doubling the number of training places for skilled midwives, following a five-year campaign by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood in Tanzania (WRATZ), which culminated in the first television screening of a participatory film, ‘Play Your Part’. With contributions from a range of health professionals, communities, a pop singer, and the Minister of Health, the message was that everyone at every level has a part to play in saving mothers' lives. WRATZ was successful because it was able to promote its message in a way that provides a model for advocacy, combining the reactive creativity of journalism and the methodological rigour of participatory video to bring about a tangible impact.