bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Holding the Purse Strings: The Continuing Evolution of Human Rights Law and the Potential Liability of the Finance Industry for Human Rights Abuses
Authors: McBeth Adam
Published: April 2017

While the responsibility of States and, in more recent times, corporations, has been thoroughly discussed in relation to human rights, a new stage of evolution may be emerging in relation to the liability of the financial backers of an enterprise that is accused of human rights abuses. This article considers the basis in international law for such emerging liability and examines some of the legal avenues used in recent domestic litigation against financial institutions. The article concludes by examining some of the relevant instruments of ‘soft’ international law and notes that although there is little in the way of concrete legislation or judicial precedent that would hold financial institutions responsible for the actions of those they invest in, the potential for the law to evolve in that direction is clear.
A Human Right to Access Water? A Critique of General Comment No. 15
Authors: Tully Stephen
Published: April 2017

At the conclusion of its 29th session in 2002, the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (hereinafter the Committee) identified a human right to access water uniquely straddling two provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Covenant).1 General Comment No. 15 novelly defined a universal entitlement to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use.2 This article critiques that instrument for the phraseology employed, the substantive omissions and the reasoning of the Committee. The article also evaluates the broader implications of a human right to access water within a liberalised market context. Paragraph 1 questions the legal basis identified by the Committee and considers the existence of a right to access water under contemporary international law. Paragraph 2 assesses the policy justifications which prompted a human rights orientation to the global challenges confronting water resources including the treatment of water services under international economic law. Most notable among the several omissions from General Comment No. 15 is the increasingly prominent role and responsibilities of the private sector as outlined in paragraph 3. Paragraph 4 sceptically examines the prospects for implementing a human rights approach to water resources in light of applicable economic and environmental principles. Finally, it is argued that unreflective resort to the General Comment template for addressing individual interests will render such instruments outdated or unhelpful as normative guides and several solutions are offered in paragraph 5.
Economic Oppression as an International Wrong or as Crime against Humanity
Authors: Davidsson Elias
Published: April 2017

The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to secure the punishment of persons who have committed the most serious crimes which ‘deeply shock the conscience of humanity’.1 Yet what shocks the ‘conscience of humanity’ and what leaves people yawning, depends to a large extent on how mass media select and present facts. While millions of innocent human beings have been killed and maimed over the last century in armed conflict and by mass killing, the overwhelming majority of those who fall victim to adverse human agency are not injured by proximate violence but as a result of being compelled to live in subhuman conditions. Many more die silently each year of preventable hunger and disease than from widely reported direct violence. These silent deaths are mostly the result of decisions made, without malice, by individuals pursuing political or economic interests. Yet, intentionally or recklessly depriving even a single person of basic necessities may give rise to criminal penalties. Failing by gross negligence to ensure basic necessities to a dependent person may also give rise to criminal penalties. Causing death by deprivation of air, water, food, shelter or medicines may amount to murder. Compelling a person to live in inhumane or degrading conditions amounts to inhumane treatment, a violation of customary international law. Such conditions are defined herein as those which do not fulfil minimal humanitarian standards applicable to prisoners of war. The present article examines the conditions under which measures which subject a civilian population to inhumane or degrading conditions of life or perpetuate such conditions, constitute an international wrongful act2 that may reach the level of a crime against humanity under customary and conventional law.3
The Human Rights-Based Approach to Development: The Right to Water
Authors: Filmer-Wilson Emilie
Published: April 2017

The Human Rights-Based Approach to Development (RBA) puts human rights at the heart of human development. It sets the achievement of human rights obligations as an objective of development aid and integrates human rights principles into the development process. Based on the experience of development agencies and using the right to water as an example, this article identifies the practical implications and added value of the RBA. The RBA establishes the obligations of States to ensure that basic water needs are met and empowers communities to claim their right; it identifies and addresses the root causes for lack of access to water; and it places people at the centre of the development process. Translating this complex approach into practice is challenging. Yet taking the extra steps to adopt the RBA will improve the overall impact and sustainability of development aid.
The Changing Human Rights Landscape in Africa: Organisation of African Unity, African Union, New Partnership for Africa's Development and the African Court
Authors: Mangu André Mbata B
Published: April 2017

As Pliny the Elder once put it, ‘ex Africa semper aliquid novi’. There is always some thing new coming out of Africa, and this time for the better. Over the last decade, some important developments unfolded on the African continent with the potential to impact on the future of African peoples. The African Union (AU) whose major purpose is to place Africa firmly on the road to development replaced the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) was launched to achieve African renaissance. The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was devised as NEPAD's linchpin and both were integrated within the AU. The Protocol to the African Charter establishing an African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights finally came into operation. There is renewed hope that a new era has begun and time has come for Africa's development, which is not possible without a more effective and better protection of human rights. In this article, the author reflects on the changing human rights landscape in Africa under the AU, NEPAD, and the African Court.
Mainstreaming Human Rights in International Economic Organisations: Improving Judicial Access for NGOs to the World Trade Organization
Authors: Jägers Nicola
Published: April 2017

In January 2006 the World Trade Organization (WTO) published the report entitled The Future of the WTO1 – known as the Sutherland report after the chairman of the commission that drafted the report – which reflects on the state of the WTO and the challenges ahead. An entire chapter of this nine-chapter report is devoted to ‘transparency and dialogue with civil society’.2 This demonstrates the importance of this relationship for the future of the WTO. In this article the role of civil society in the WTO is discussed.3 It is argued that the approach in the report is too cautious and a more far-reaching judicial role for civil society in the future is necessary. It is submitted that enhancing the role of civil society within the WTO is particularly important in light of mainstreaming human rights.
A Human Rights Framework to Address Trafficking of Human Beings
Authors: Obokata Tom
Published: April 2017

This article attempts to establish a human rights framework to promote better understanding of trafficking and to articulate obligations which can be imposed upon States. It begins by exploring the definition of trafficking of human beings adopted under the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Trafficking Protocol) attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. It then highlights the advantages of using a human rights framework to the practice. The article continues with identification of human rights obligations imposed upon States to: 1) prohibit trafficking; 2) punish traffickers; 3) protect victims; and 4) address the causes and consequences of the act. Finally, the interaction among different branches of international law and its implication on the obligations imposed upon States will be examined. The main conclusion reached is that a human rights framework may be utilised to assist global action against the phenomenon, and several recommendations in this regard are presented.
Protecting Human Rights in the War on Terror: Challenging the Sanctions Regime Originating from Resolution 1267 (1999)
Authors: Dewulf Steven , Pacquée Didier
Published: April 2017

One of the realisations by the United Nations Security Council in the ‘War on Terror’, was the establishment of the ‘1267 terrorism list’, which holds the names of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities that are thought to be associated with Al-Qaida, Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban. A Sanctions Committee has been given the task of maintaining and updating this list, whilst States are obliged to implement several sanctions on all those blacklisted. Although this record has great value and is an important tool in the fight against terrorism, it is also surrounded by controversy because of the multiple human rights questions it raises. After a study of the origin and content of the 1267 sanctions regime, this article will mainly focus on an examination and a critical assessment of the means that are open for a subject to challenge his inclusion on the blacklist and subsequent submission to the sanctions.
A Socio-Legal Perspective on Human Rights and Policing
Authors: Eijkman Quirine
Published: April 2017

This article discusses the implementation of human rights within police systems from a socio-legal point of view. It contributes to debates on the dynamics between law and society. Human rights law seek social change, which is partly directed at those who commit abuses. In many parts of the world people associate policing with human rights violations. Subsequently police reform is initiated. Through police human rights strategies, formal human rights law is implemented within police systems. In reality, however, the empirical effect of this kind of reform is difficult to substantiate. By focusing on the social fields in which law enforcement officials operate, their compliance and resistance to the implementation of human rights is conceptualised.
State Reservations to the ICESCR: A Critique of Selected Reservations
Authors: Ssenyonjo Manisuli
Published: April 2017

As of 18 April 2008, 42 of the 158 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR or the Covenant), constituting about 27 percent of the States parties to the Covenant, had, between them, entered several declarations and reservations of varying significance to their acceptance of the obligations under the Covenant. Yet, unlike most other human rights treaties the Covenant lacks a specific clause on declarations and reservations. This has given rise to several questions examined in this article. Firstly, what reservations to the ICESCR are permissible or impermissible in international human rights law? Secondly, who should decide whether a reservation under the ICESCR is permissible or impermissible'? Thirdly, if a reservation under the Covenant is impermissible, what is the legal effect of such an impermissible reservation? And finally, are some of the existing State reservations to the Covenant incompatible with the object and purpose of the Covenant (i.e. the Covenant's essential rules, rights and obligations) and thus impermissible? If so, how should reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of the Covenant be treated by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR or the Committee)?
Home Sweet Home? Restitution in Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Buyse Antoine
Published: April 2017

The loss of housing for large groups of people is often one of the destructive consequences of armed conflict. In the post-conflict phase, those who try to reclaim their homes face many legal challenges. An emerging human right to housing restitution can be an important tool in achieving successful housing restitution. The inclusion of such a right in the peace treaty concluded at the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina shows that legal recognition of people's housing claims is a core aspect of post-conflict reconstruction. If implemented in a way which complies with the rule of law, the recognition of a right to housing restitution can be an important contribution to structural peace in fragile States.
Voices from the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: White Robin C.A. , Boussiakou Iris
Published: April 2017

The future of the Strasbourg Court, a large and very busy court, has been the subject of much discussion. The capacity of the Court to handle the volume of admissible cases remains a significant challenge, and is made more difficult by the absence of ratification by all contracting parties of Protocol No. 14. Ten years after the establishment of the new permanent court, nine judges reflected on aspects of the work of the Court and the challenges it faces. The main purpose of this article is to put into the public domain some extracts from those interviews, which cover a wide range of issues. The voices from the Court are offered in the context of an argument that the contracting parties need to recognise the constitutional nature of the Strasbourg Court, and should be, but probably are not, willing to change the admissibility rules to make determination by the Strasbourg Court a matter of discretion rather than entitlement.
Navigating the Boundaries of Prevention: The Role of Opcat in Deportations with Diplomatic Assurances
Authors: de Wolf Antenor Hallo , Watson James
Published: April 2017

Deportation of foreign national security suspects to States where they may face a real risk of torture and other human rights breaches is becoming an increasingly frequent counter-terrorism measure. To effectively reduce these risks, so as not to be in breach of their non-refoulement obligations, removing States, most notably the United Kingdom, are obtaining diplomatic assurances from receiving States that persons returned will be treated in accordance with their human rights. Verification of these assurances, through monitoring and visiting arrangements, has been held to be an essential part of their credibility and worth. With developments in monitoring and visiting also being seen in the area of torture prevention, most notably now under the Optional Protocol to the Convention, questions are being raised concerning the obligations of OPCAT ratifying States with regard to these removals. This article examines the possible operation of the mechanisms charged with the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment under the OPCAT in terms of these removals, and whether they are a satisfactory means of verifying the assurances.
Immigration Status and Basic Social Human Rights: A Comparative Study of Irregular Migrants' Right to Health Care in France, the UK and Canada
Authors: Da Lomba Sylvie
Published: April 2017

The article examines the constraints that irregular migrants' immigration status exerts on the realisation of their basic social human rights. To this end, the article focuses on the right to health care and undertakes a comparative study of irregular migrants' access to health care in France, the United Kingdom and Canada. The study shows that States perceive the conferment of social rights on irregular migrants as an erosion of the government's immigration power notwithstanding their characterisation as human rights. The resource-intensive nature of the right to health care further heightens States' reluctance to extend this right to irregular migrants. Yet compliance with international human rights law and respect for human dignity require that States reinstate personhood as a source of rights and therefore reassess the relevance of their immigration power.
The Parliamentary Assembly's Involvement in the Supervision of the Judgments of the Strasbourg Court
Authors: Drzemczewski Andrew
Published: April 2017

Even though the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has primary responsibility to supervise the execution of the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, by virtue of Article 46(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Parliamentary Assembly has increasingly contributed to the process of implementation of the Strasbourg Court's judgments. Composed of national parliamentarians, the Assembly can put pressure on States parties to the Convention to help ensure – through appropriate national parliamentary oversight procedures and mechanisms – rapid and complete implementation of Strasbourg Court judgments. This important parliamentary dimension should be taken into account when the 2010 Interlaken Declaration and Action Plan are implemented.
The Abuse Clause and Freedom of Expression in the European Human Rights Convention: An Added Value for Democracy and Human Rights Protection?
Authors: Cannie Hannes , Voorhoof Dirk
Published: April 2017

With regard to certain types of hate speech, the European Court of Human Rights and the former Commission have developed a tradition of applying Article 17 ECHR; the so-called abuse clause. This application leads to categorical exclusion from protection of the right to freedom of expression (Article 10), an approach that contrasts sharply with the Court's general attitude toward accepting and even creating a broad scope of protection under this right. It also contrasts with the Court's usual examination of interferences with freedom of expression in the light of the case as a whole, all its factual and legally relevant elements being taken into consideration. The aim of this article is to show that the abuse clause's application is undesirable, since it tends, even in its indirect variant, to set aside substantial principles and safeguards that are characteristic of the European speech-protective framework. The application of Article 17 is also unnecessary, as it in no way generates an added value for democracy or for human rights protection. We therefore strongly encourage the European Court to consider all forms of hate speech from the perspective of Article 10, without affording a decisive impact, directly nor indirectly, from Article 17 of the Convention.
Towards Rights-Duties Congruence: Extraterritorial Application of the Human Right to Water in the African Human Rights System
Authors: Bulto Takele Soboka
Published: April 2017

Since 85 per cent of African freshwater comes from international rivers, the realisation of the newly emerging human right to water depends on the volume and quality of shared water resources. Each continental African State shares a river with at least one other State. Thus, a State has the capacity to hamper the realisation of the right in other co-riparian States by reducing the volume or polluting the shared river unless they are legally prevented from jeopardising the right abroad. The right would prove an empty promise for the right holders unless they are given legal avenues to hold third States accountable for their (in)actions that produce extraterritorial consequences. This article examines the extraterritorial reach of States' human rights duties in the African human rights system in the light of the regional case law and comparative jurisprudence.
From Security to Justice? The Development of a More Justice-Oriented Approach to the Realisation of European Minority Rights Standards
Authors: Craig Elizabeth
Published: April 2017

The aim of this article is to reassess the development and consolidation of minority rights in Europe with reference to Kymlicka's liberal theory of minority rights and to his own critique of the European minority rights framework. The article begins by revisiting the development of new minority rights norms within the security-focused agenda of the early 1990s. It then considers the role of the first OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in promoting a more justice-oriented approach before considering the significance of the coming into force of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the development of the work of its Advisory Committee. The article argues that there is evidence that a more justice-oriented approach to the realisation of European minority rights standards is emerging, particularly under the Framework Convention.
Framing Multicultural Challenges in Freedom of Religion Terms
Authors: Alidadi Katayoun , Foblets Marie-Claire
Published: April 2017

Multicultural challenges in Europe are being framed in human rights language, and in particular in terms of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The question is whether the practical case-by-case application of the fundamental right to freedom of religion in national and European case law facilitates a ‘deep (and normative) diversity’ in Europe or rather only allows space for a limiting or ‘conditioned diversity’ instead. While opening up possibilities for minorities to live out their lives in accordance to their deeply-held convictions, it seems to us that the human rights working frame in a predominantly ‘minimalist’ conception comes with its inherent limitations as to the management of Europe's religious diversity. While human rights purport to liberate and protect, they also impose conditions, criteria and standards that are grounded in a Western vision of law, society and religion. Religious minorities stand to gain from playing by the human rights rules as long as they accept to mould, shape and limit their claims to fit dominant conceptions, which perhaps diverge from their own understandings, needs and aspirations. Drawing on case law collected through the RELIGARE project network, this article aims to illustrate some of the limitations and confines that Europe's diverse communities face in the areas of the workplace, the public place, the family, and State support to religions.
Shaping Genitals, Shaping Perceptions
Authors: van den Brink Marjolein , Tigchelaar Jet
Published: April 2017

Human rights claim universal validity, which implies that bias in their applicability as well as in their application should be avoided. From this perspective it is rather remarkable that female circumcision is a major cause for human rights concerns, whereas male circumcision is rarely addressed in the context of human rights. This raises the question whether practices of female circumcision are really that different from forms of male circumcision. There is at least some evidence that there are more similarities between male and female circumcision than commonly perceived. Taking this as a starting point, on the basis of facts, figures and rationales, we distinguish three types of circumcision: the ‘African’, the ‘American’ and the ‘Abrahamic’ type. Whereas male circumcision may fulfil the characteristics of any of these three types, female circumcision seems to fit only the African type. The typology allows for an analysis of the frames used in the debate to justify or delegitimise male and female circumcision. Frames that feature in the debates on male circumcision are a ‘medical/health frame’ and a ‘cultural/religious frame’, both with an ‘accessory human rights frame’. The debate on female circumcision (mostly referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM), on the other hand, is predominantly a ‘women's rights frame’. The differences in normative framing as well as the consequences thereof for the human rights protection of men and women do not seem entirely justified by the differences between the practices of male and female circumcision. We discuss three forms of bias – related to culture, religion and to gender – that may help explain the diverging normative framings. Irrespective of one's normative assessment of the compatibility of circumcision practices with human rights norms, the universality claim of human rights requires the application of the same standards to similar practices, regardless of sex.
The Rights for Others: The Contested Homecoming of Human Rights in the Netherlands
Authors: Oomen Barbara
Published: April 2017

This article describes and explains the historical and current emphasis on human rights as a foreign policy issue in the Netherlands. Whilst human rights have, in the past decades, had a central place in Dutch foreign policy they hardly figure in political and societal discourse on pressing domestic social problems. In order to explain why this is the case, the article presents a three-fold model of understanding how human rights acquire meaning as a discursive framework. Whilst the legal dispensation is important, attention also has to be paid to legal culture and legal consciousness and the role of actors in rights implementation. Applying this model to the Netherlands, it is noted that there is hardly a country in the world in which human rights have a more privileged legal position. There is, however, a lack of knowledge of human rights combined with a legal culture that privileges consensualism over adversarialism and fears juridification of disputes. Additionally, the many actors involved in policy-making are also considered a factor in explaining the relative lack of reference to human rights in a country that is so active in their formulation and implementation at the international level.
The Effectiveness of Legislative Reform in Combating Domestic Violence: A Comparative Analysis of Laws in Ghana, Namibia and South Africa
Authors: Beninger Christina
Published: April 2017

Although women's rights advocates laud the progressive domestic violence laws in Ghana, Namibia, and South Africa, such laws tend to generate controversy and internal resistance on cultural and traditional grounds, and are frequently criticised for their lack of effective implementation. Consequently, some question the effectiveness of legislative reform altogether. This article employs a detailed comparative analysis of the development and implementation of laws in each country, to assess the effectiveness of legislative reform to combat domestic violence. It argues that legislative reform to combat domestic violence, particularly when rooted both in international human rights law and local contexts, is both necessary and generally effective for developing normative and legal standards, driving State accountability for protection from violence, and ultimately promoting social change.
DH v Czech Republic Six Years Later: On the Power of an International Human Rights Court to Push Through Systemic Change
Authors: Smekal Hubert , Šipulová Katarína
Published: April 2017

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is often portrayed as the most developed regional human rights court, one which wields the power to influence practices in its Member States. In 2007, the Grand Chamber of the Court issued a famous ruling in the case DH v Czech Republic, which condemned discrimination of Roma children in education. The problem criticized in the DH case is of a systemic character; in order to comply with the ECtHR's judgment, the Czech Republic would have to change its whole system of primary education. In our article, we discuss the ability of an international human rights body to push through a significant change in one of its Contracting Parties. We seek to draw more general propositions from the case study of DH v Czech Republic which can be tested by further studies – we try to identify factors and circumstances which support or hinder an international human rights court in its effort of pushing through a systemic change.
Multidimensional Discrimination in Judicial Practice
Authors: Jonker Merel , Halrynjo Sigtona
Published: April 2017

The concept of multidimensional discrimination is claimed to pose considerable challenges for judicial practice. The methods for tackling discrimination on more than one ground have been extensively discussed in the literature but not yet comprehensively analysed empirically. The present study compares and analyses the case law of the Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish equality bodies concerning gender-plus discrimination in the labour market. Based on 74 cases, the comparison shows that neither integrated equality bodies nor anti-discrimination legislation is a prerequisite to protect against multidimensional discrimination, and that the appointment of comparators occurs on pragmatic grounds. These findings suggest that multidimensional discrimination can be adequately dealt with in judicial practice.
Danger and Fear in Prison
Authors: Herrera Clara Burbano , Viljoen Frans
Published: April 2017

This article focuses on the role the African and Inter-American human rights systems in protecting the rights of detainees through interim measures. The need for regional human rights to complement protection at the national level is all the more pronounced when it comes to detainees, because they often lack democratic leverage at the national level. While complementing the universal system, regional systems have the added benefit of closer connection and binding judgments. Because the situation of detainees often requires urgent intervention, interim measures are required to ensure that detainees do not suffer undue harm. A comparative survey of interim measures in the two regional systems reveals that, while these measures had been issued in both systems, the Inter-American has used them much more frequently. One of the reasons for this difference is the fact that the Inter-American system does not make the submission of a formal complaint a prerequisite for issuing interim measures. The African Commission should amend its Rules of Procedure to allow for a similar possibility; and it should devote more resources and institutionalize this procedure. Despite the inclusion of collective rights in the African system, the African Commission has infrequently dealt with urgent measures affecting groups of detainees. Both systems suffer from some defects. There is a lack of substantiated reasoning in decisions dealing with interim measures, especially when requests are rejected; information is not made available systematically about the fate of all requests for interim measures; and a lack of compliance besets both systems.
Defining the Right to Participate in Cultural Life as a Human Right
Authors: Romainville Céline
Published: April 2017

Drawing on Cass Sunstein's theory of incompletely theorized and specified agreements, this article intends to describe, explain and assess the legal regime of the right to participate in cultural life in international law. It offers a redefinition of this human right as an incompletely theorised and specified agreement in order to make this human right suitable for a certain degree of operationalization.

As a first step, this article qualifies the right to participate in cultural life as an incompletely generalized agreement: people do not agree on the theoretical foundations of this human right although there seems to be a loose agreement on the recognition of some component of this human right. As a second step, this article intends to show that the right to participate in cultural life worked and still works as an incompletely specified agreement: monitoring bodies have not yet received much possibility to make clear and operationalise it even if there was an agreement reached on this human right as a low level principle. This contribution then offered a redefinition of the right to participate in cultural life which aims at authorising an agreement on this human right as a ‘mid-level principle’ whenever there is still disagreement existing on the foundation of this latter right. Taking into account the dynamic and moving features of cultural life and the general and adaptive nature of international human rights law, this article intends to elaborate a legally relevant definition of the right to participate in cultural life as an incompletely generalised and specified agreement on a low level principle. This definition tries to open a third way between a restrictive definition of the right to participate in cultural life as a right to access a set of definite artworks and the broad ‘anthropological’ definition given in General Comment No. 21 of the Committee on economic, social and cultural rights.
Human Rights, Governance, and Democracy: The World Bank's Problem Frontiers
Authors: Gillies David
Published: April 2017

This article examines the case for and against applying political conditions to World Bank lending, the circumstances that might trigger such conditions, and the means by which they may be applied. It also surveys the genesis and diverse meaning of the ‘good governance’ agenda and briefly examines how the Bank responded to human rights abuses in China and Kenya.
Extrajudicial Execution of Children: Shortcomings of Social Citizenship and the Fallacy of Criminal Justice in Brazil
Authors: Fernandes Edesio
Published: April 2017

The article analyzes some of the implications of the phenomenon of extrajudicial execution on ‘street children’ in Brazil. Following the presentation of basic information on the subject, as related to the general panorama of human rights violations in Brazil, the author looks for its immediate causes in the country's broader socio-economic and political reality. The killing of children exposes structural inequalities and injustices which result from the socio-economic conditions of wealth distribution in Brazil and from its political system. The phenomenon is analyzed in the context of Brazil's state system of social control and distribution of justice. The killings of children – and the impunity of the perpetrators – are facilitated by the distortions of the systems of police administration, criminal justice and community care.
The Involvement of the Security Council in Maintaining International Humanitarian Law
Authors: van Baarda Th.A.
Published: April 2017

In this article the author discusses the growing involvement of the Security Council in humanitarian protection and assistance in armed conflict. Given the fact that the Security Council is apolitical body par excellence, its involvement in the humanitarian relief effort may prejudice the neutrality and independence of the latter. He finds himself in agreement with the ICRC, which has proposed that the UN should make a clear distinction between encouraging respect for humanitarian law on the one hand, and the effort to maintain international peace and security on the other.
Ratifying the UN Migrant Workers Convention: Current Difficulties and Prospects
Authors: Hune Shirley , Niessen Jan
Published: April 2017

Although international fora are being reinforced and official statements are made stressing the importance to adhere to human rights conventions, states are very reluctant to sign and ratify the 1990 UN Migrant Workers Convention. In this article we will explore the reasons why, at a time when the legal protection of migrant workers is needed as never before, it has become difficult to adopt and implement human rights standards which protect them. These reasons relate to the general political and social climate as well as to the content and character of the Convention.
Do lipid microemboli induce acute kidney injury during cardiopulmonary bypass?
Authors: Issitt Richard , James Tim , Walsh Bronagh , Voegeli David
Published: April 2017

Background:

Acute kidney injury (AKI) following cardiopulmonary bypass affects 5% of patients, representing significant postoperative morbidity and mortality. Animal models have shown an increased uptake of lipid microemboli (LME) into the renal vasculature, potentially indicating ischaemic causation. This study tested a new lipid filtration system (RemoweLL) against a conventional system with no lipid-depleting capacity to determine the efficacy of the filtration system and its effects on renal function.

Methods:

Thirty consecutive patients underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery using either the RemoweLL filtration system (15 patients) or a conventional cardiopulmonary bypass circuit (15 patients). Renal function was assessed using cystatin C concentrations as a surrogate marker of glomerular injury, as well as perioperative glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and serum creatinine concentrations. Patients were defined as having acute renal injury if there was an increase in absolute serum creatinine ⩾3 mg/dL (26.4 µmol/L) or 1.5-fold increase from baseline as categorised using the AKIN criteria.

Results:

Postoperative differences in LME count between the two groups were highly significant [p<0.001]. Analysis of peak cystatin C concentrations showed significantly lower levels in the LME filtration group on the 2nd postoperative morning [p=0.04]. Two-factor ANOVA revealed a trend towards interaction, but this failed to reach significance [p=0.06]. There were no differences throughout the study period in serum creatinine or GFR [p>0.05]. There were no differences in any of the serum or urinary electrolytes.

Conclusions:

This study has shown a trend towards improved cystatin C removal with LME filtration; with significantly lower peak concentrations, although no further evidence of renoprotection could be demonstrated. Further research is warranted to establish possible renal benefits of LME filtration in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Analysis of 2019 Patients Undergoing Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction From a Community-Based Registry
Authors: Arianjam Afshin , Inacio Maria C.S. , Funahashi Tadashi T. , Maletis Gregory B.
Published: April 2017

Background:

Knowledge of patient characteristics, surgical fixation, graft choice, outcomes, and concurrent injuries of revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is limited.

Purpose:

To describe the current cohort of revision ACLR captured by a community registry and the outcomes observed in the registered patients.

Study Design:

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:

Patients who underwent revision ACLR registered between February 2005 and June 2014, by 200 surgeons in 46 hospitals, were evaluated. The Kaiser Permanente ACLR Registry (KPACLRR) collected data intraoperatively and postoperatively using paper forms, electronic medical records, administrative claims data, and patient-reported outcomes. The KPACLRR cohort was longitudinally followed, and outcomes were prospectively ascertained. Outcomes (ie, revisions, subsequent operative procedures, deep surgical site infections, and deep venous thrombosis) were adjudicated via a chart review. Descriptive statistics were employed.

Results:

Of 2019 patients who underwent revision ACLR, at a median follow-up of 2.2 years (interquartile range, 1.0-3.8 years), 212 (10.5%) required subsequent operative procedures, and 86 (4.3%) were revised a second time. At the time of revision, 55.1% of the patients had at least 1 concurrent meniscal injury, and 26% of those were repairable. Cartilage injuries were present in 42.0% of patients. Deep surgical site infections occurred in 12 patients (0.6%), deep venous thrombosis occurred in 5 patients (0.3%), and 1 patient (0.1%) had a pulmonary embolism.

Conclusion:

Revision ACLR can be performed with a low short-term revision rate and relatively few complications. At the time of revision, nearly half of these patients had an irreparable meniscal injury, and slightly less than half had a cartilage injury. A large community-based ACLR registry is useful in informing surgeons of current treatment practices, prevalence of concurrent injuries, and outcomes associated with the procedures, especially infrequent procedures such as revision ACLR.
Coupled thermo-physical behaviour of an inorganic intumescent system in cone calorimeter testing
Authors: Kang Sungwook , Choi Sengkwan , Choi Joung Yoon
Published: April 2017

This article examines the thermo-physical behaviour of an inorganic-based intumescent coating, tested with bench-scale cone calorimetry, in order to promote the understanding of its intumescence and to contribute to the optimisation of its thermal insulation performance. In the test, the specimen underwent the following phenomena simultaneously: (1) thermo-kinetic endothermic water vaporisation; (2) formation of micro-scale pores in its internal volume; (3) expansion of its volume; (4) variations in thermal boundaries. These simultaneous phenomena cause several changes in internal–external conditions given to the test sample: (1) loss of mass (water molecules); (2) reduction of effective thermal conductivity owing to its porous structure; (3) increase in length of the conductive heat transfer path across its expanding volume; (4) irradiance intensification and additional heat transfer generation on its moving boundaries, exposed to the heat source and surroundings. This interacting thermo-physical behaviour impedes the heat transfer to the underlying substrate. It is therefore comprehensively explained by finite element analysis, associated with the experimental data obtained from a thermogravimetric analyser, differential scanning calorimetry, electric furnace and cone calorimeter tests. The numerical predictions agreed with the physical measurements with consistent accuracy, in terms of both histories of substrate temperature and coating-thickness expansion. This combined numerical–experimental approach enables clear interpretation on the process of intumescence, the impediment mechanism of heat transfer and the critical factors of the material’s behaviour.
Corporal Punishment and Child Aggression: Ethnic-Level Family Cohesion as a Moderator
Authors: Lee Yoona , Watson Malcolm W.
Published: April 2017

Ethnicity has been examined as a putative moderator between parents’ use of corporal punishment and children’s externalizing behaviors. Yet, the reasons for this potential ethnic-level moderator have not been fully examined. The primary objective of this study was to examine whether the effect of corporal punishment on aggression is ethnic-specific using major racial groups inside and outside the U.S. samples and how the mean levels of cohesion in family relationships as found in different ethnic groups moderate the association between mothers’ use of corporal punishment and children’s aggression. A total of 729 mothers who had children aged 7 to 13 years were sampled from five ethnic groups (i.e., European American, African American, Hispanic American, Korean, and Chinese). Several hypotheses were tested to examine the moderating effect of ethnic-level, family cohesion on the relation of corporal punishment to children’s aggression. As expected, the mean level of family cohesion was significantly different across ethnicities. Consistent results across parallel multilevel and fixed effect models showed that high corporal punishment was associated with more aggression in all ethnicities, but there was a significant variation in the association across ethnicities, and the variation was explained by ethnic-level family cohesion. There were weaker associations between corporal punishment and child aggression among ethnic groups with high family cohesion and stronger associations among ethnic groups with low family cohesion. Ethnic/cultural variation in this study emphasizes the importance of understanding family environment of diverse ethnic groups when evaluating the influence of corporal punishment on child behavior in different ethnic/cultural contexts.
Child Welfare Responses Linked to Subtypes of Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence From the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect
Authors: Gonzalez Andrea , MacMillan Harriet , Tanaka Masako , Jack Susan M. , Tonmyr Lil
Published: April 2017

Children exposed to intimate partner violence (CE-IPV) are at increased risk for later health and social difficulties. To date, studies have primarily focused on CE-IPV as a unitary construct; this may lead to the mistaken assumption that all subtypes of CE-IPV (i.e., exposure to direct or indirect physical abuse, or exposure to emotional abuse) are equally harmful requiring similar responses from child welfare services. The purpose of this study was to examine child welfare responses by CE-IPV subtype in a large Canadian child welfare sample. Using data from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect–2008 ( N = 2,184), we examined child welfare responses to CE-IPV subtypes or their co-occurrence. Information was obtained from child welfare workers’ reports. Cases with co-occurring subtypes of CE-IPV were more likely to be substantiated and involved multiple incidents compared with that with single CE-IPV subtypes. Cases with direct physical CE-IPV and co-occurring CE-IPV were also more likely to remain open and have an application considered or made to child welfare court. Exposure to emotional IPV was the least likely to warrant interventions by welfare services, including referrals to specialized services. These results suggest that within CE-IPV subtypes, there is evidence of different responses (recommendations and services) once a case has been opened by a worker. Future research is needed to examine the effectiveness of the responses and outcomes for children following child welfare interventions.
They Shall—or Shall Not—Pass? Communist State Borders in the Czech Culture of Remembrance after 1989
Authors: Šmidrkal Václav
Published: April 2017

This article is part of the special section titled From the Iron Curtain to the Schengen Area, guest edited by Wolfgang Mueller and Libora Oates-Indruchová.

This article analyses the formation of the two mutually opposing memory poles of the communist past that crystalized in Czechia after 1989. To this end, it focuses on the issue of communist state borders, which slowly developed into one of the most controversial memory conflicts. Anti-communist Iron Curtain discourse established a new mainstream “national memory” using the previous border regime as a prime example of the non-democratic rule that violated values that were constitutive of liberal democratic order after 1989. Nevertheless, the Communists’ border discourse did not fade away after 1989. It was sustained by communist politicians, party members and former Border Guards. It still influences the public memory of state borders by stressing their legitimacy, legality, and ultimately the inevitability of protecting them. The search for unequivocal heroes and evil-doers of the communist state border regime strengthens this split memory and makes embracing its complexity hardly possible. The existence of these two opposing memory discourses, which refute one another, is not just an example of group conflict over the “right” memory. It also illustrates deep postcommunist divides in Czech society going beyond the watershed events of 1989.
Leakage analysis of bolted flange joints considering surface roughness: A theoretical model
Authors: Ma Benben , Jin Fan , Sun Zhi , Guo Xu
Published: April 2017

In the present paper, a theoretical model for leakage analysis of bolted flange joints without gaskets, which can take the surface roughness into consideration, is proposed based on percolation theory. In this model, Persson’s rough contact theory is employed to predict the height of the critical constriction along the percolating path. Based on this model, a criterion of maximum allowable bolt spacing is also suggested to guarantee a low leakage rate. The reasonable agreement between the theoretical predictions and detailed three-dimensional finite element analysis results verifies the validity and usefulness of the proposed theoretical model.