Human Rights Law Review - current issue

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and International Human Rights Law: Contextualising the Yogyakarta Principles

O'Flaherty, M., Fisher, J. — 2008-05-27

On 26 March 2007, a group of human rights experts launched the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (the Yogyakarta Principles). The Principles are intended as a coherent and comprehensive identification of the obligation of States to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of all persons regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Since their launch the Principles have attracted considerable attention on the part of States, United Nations actors and civil society. It is likely that they will play a significant role within advocacy efforts and, whether directly or otherwise, in normative and jurisprudential development. The present article constitutes the first published critical commentary on the Principles. It seeks to situate them within the contexts of (a) the actual situation of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, and (b) the applicable international human rights law as it stands today. Thus situated, the Yogyakarta drafting process and the outcome text are examined. The final section of the article comprises a preliminary review of the impact and dissemination of the Principles.

Abortion as a Human Right--International and Regional Standards

Zampas, C., Gher, J. M. — 2008-05-27

This article focuses on the striking expansion of international and regional human rights standards and jurisprudence that support women's human right to abortion. It summarises pertinent developments within the United Nations, European, Inter-American and African human rights systems regarding abortion, as they relate to women's rights to life and health, in situations of rape, incest or foetal impairment, and for abortion based on social and economic reasons and on request. In doing so, the article touches on charged issues such as maternal mortality, prohibitions of therapeutic abortion as infringing on the right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and state procedural obligations to ensure women's right to access legal abortion. Finally, the article addresses the growing recognition by international human rights bodies that criminalisation of abortion leads women to obtain unsafe abortions, threatening their lives and health, and recent national-level developments in the field.

Reporting on Hong Kong to UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies: For Better or Worse Since 1997?

Panditaratne, D. — 2008-05-27

The year 2007 marked the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region within the People's Republic of China (PRC). In the years leading up to the change of sovereignty on 1 July 1997, the United Kingdom made several international human rights treaties applicable to Hong Kong. These included the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Since 1997, the treaties have continued to apply to Hong Kong, with the PRC submitting reports on behalf of Hong Kong to United Nations (UN) monitoring committees. The following article examines the reporting process with respect to Hong Kong, focusing on Hong Kong's reports submitted under the ICCPR and ICESCR. It recalls the grave concerns before 1997 about the future of the UN human rights reporting process in Hong Kong and analyses the extent to which that process has changed since 1997. It finds that fears expressed before the change of sovereignty have largely proved unfounded. Nevertheless, the article identifies certain concerns and pinpoints ways to improve the current process.

Developments at the Human Rights Council in 2007: A Reflection of its Ambivalence

Callejon, C. — 2008-05-27

Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo--Decision on the Confirmation of Charges

Bekou, O. — 2008-05-27

Recent Developments in the African Human Rights System 2007

Murray, R. — 2008-05-27

The Case of the Maya Villages of Belize: Reversing the Trend of Government Neglect to Secure Indigenous Land Rights

Campbell, M. S., Anaya, S. J. — 2008-05-27

Mark Freeman, Truth Commissions and Procedural Fairness

Bisset, A. — 2008-05-27

Samantha Knights, Freedom of Religion, Minorities and the Law

Langlaude, S. — 2008-05-27

Books Received

2008-05-27