How Well Does International Human Rights Law Serve Marginalised People?

Syllabus

• Week 1

  Human Rights of Women

  • The Importance of the Human Rights of Women

    In this activity you will be introduced to the reasons for singling out women as a category requiring a body of law that addresses their specific needs.

  • UN Instruments Concerned with Discrimination Against Women

    Here you will be introduced to three international law approaches designed to eliminate discrimination against women, as well as to the UN instruments directed at protecting women’s human rights.

  • Violence Against Women as Discrimination

    Here you will discover that there is a very significant gap in the CEDAW, namely, that it fails to address violence against women.

  • The Importance of Tackling Violence Against Women

    Here you will get a sense of how prevalent the problem is and the impact it has on women’s ability to access other rights.

  • Wrap Up

    Here you will find a list of resources and a summary of the week.

• Week 2

  Human Rights of the Poor

  • Introduction to Human Rights and Poverty

    This week, we will focus on economic, social and cultural rights. Such rights meet the most pressing needs of those living in poverty.

  • Poverty, Inequality and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

    Here you will examine both poverty and inequality to see their impacts on the lives of the world’s poor.

  • The Role of Globalisation

    Here you will hear that globalisation is not neutral and that the gap between the rich and the poor, and poverty itself, are features of the current mode of globalisation.

  • Wrap Up

    Here you will find a list of resources and a summary of the week.

• Week 3

  Human Rights of Asylum Seekers and Refugees

  • People in Flight as a Category of Concern

    Here you will consider the plight of people forced to flee their homes as a result of persecution, war, generalised violence, abject poverty, and other urgent reasons.

  • Reality for Millions who Manage to Cross a Border

    Here you will consider the conditions of life inside refugee camps.

  • Who is a Refugee in International Law?

    Here you will examine the legal definition of refugee and the problems this presents.

  • Wrap Up

    Here you will find a list of resources and a summary of the week.

• Week 4

  Human Rights of Irregular Migrants

  • Undocumented Migrants and "Illegality"

    You will examine the concept of illegality in the context of migrants and migration and question the use of this term.

  • General International Human Rights Law

    Here you will consider the applicability of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to the plight of undocumented migrants.

  • UN Migrant Workers' Convention

    You will consider this specialist treaty which is designed to address the specific needs for protection of both regular/documented and irregular/undocumented migrants.

  • Hannah Arendt's Analysis of the Situation of the Stateless

    Here you will consider whether Hannah Arendt’s analysis regarding stateless people is applicable to the situation of undocumented migrants.

  • Peer Graded Assignment

    Here you will learn about how the peer graded assignment works and you will be given a task to complete.

  • Wrap Up

    Here you will find a list of resources and a summary of the week.

Who will you learn with?