The Issue Human rights are rights that everyone is entitled to by the simple virtue of their being human. This being the case, human rights cannot help but be universal in nature. Even with the enormous amount of rhetoric and academic discourse surrounding the concept of human rights, there continues to be much debate, controversy […]
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Lesson Series 66: Universal Periodic Review
The Issue The Universal Periodic Review, established by the UN General Assembly in 2006, is a process through which the human rights records of the United Nations’ member states can be reviewed and assessed. It is based upon human rights obligations and commitments expressed in the UN Charter and other international human rights instruments. The […]
Lesson Series 65: India: Caste discrimination
The Issue Discrimination of any kind, be it racial, religious or gender based, is a gross violation of basic human rights. Such discrimination directly affects the realization of all human rights, including civil and political rights, as well as economic and social rights. Caste discrimination–most commonly occurring in South Asia—is discrimination based upon descent, whereby […]
Lesson Series 64: Corruption and its effects on human rights in Asia
The Issue Corruption and its ill effects can be found throughout Asia, from government officials, politicians, social welfare institutes to business practices and routine daily affairs. The prevalence of corruption is directly linked to a breakdown in the rule of law. On the one hand, when justice institutions are not functioning, when the law is […]
Lesson Series 63: Right to the Truth
The Issue The right to the truth is an inherent part of international law, and is in fact intimately linked to many rights, such as the right to legal protection, to an effective investigation, to seek information, as well as non-derogable rights such as the right to be free from torture. An individual victim or […]
Lesson Series 62: Arbitrary detention
The Issue Arbitrary detention is increasingly becoming a gateway to graver abuses within the Asian region. It is used for the purposes of intimidation and/or punishment, by state forces as well as individuals. Such detentions violate numerous fundamental human rights and international norms.
Lesson Series 61: The right to be free from torture
The Issue The right to be free from torture is absolute and constitutes a non-derogable state obligation. Despite this, countries throughout Asia continue to see widespread acts of torture committed by police and military officers. In many countries, policing systems are inextricably bound to the practice of torture. The direct or indirect state sponsorship of […]
Lesson series 06: Human Rights Monitoring and Fact-Finding
The Issue Basic guidelines are required for the process of gathering information about and monitoring human rights abuses. The most important aspect of a fact-finding process is the analysis of the information, and ultimately, utilizing the information to advocate for action to stop the violations. In addition to the technical skills and resources needed to […]
Lesson series 05: Due Process Rights (ref. Art. 14 of ICCPR)
The Issue This lesson examines creative ways human rights activists can promote and monitor government spending on necessary legal reforms.
Lesson series 03: Non-Discrimination and Right to Life
(A special lesson for religious groups) The Issue The single incident which opens the way to discussion of a number of human rights issues, as laid out in this lesson, is the (controversial) act of suicide of the Pakistani Catholic Bishop John Joseph on May 6 1998. Rev. Dr. John Joseph, 66, was a Catholic […]