Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Human rights Government policy Australia'
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Schindeler, Emily Martha. "A genealogy of the problematic of homelessness and the homeless in Australia." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2010. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/32068/1/Emily_Schindeler_Thesis.pdf.
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The homeless have been subject to considerable scrutiny, historically and within current social, political and public discourse. The aetiology of homelessness has been the focus of a large body of economic, sociological, historical and political investigation. Importantly, efforts to conceptualise, explain and measure, the phenomenon of homelessness and homeless people has occurred largely within the context of defining “the problem of the homeless” and the generation of solutions to the ‘problem’. There has been little consideration of how and why homelessness has come to be seen, or understood, as a problem, or how this can change across time and/or place. This alternative stream of research has focused on tracing and analysing the relationship between how people experiencing homeless have become a matter of government concern and the manner in which homelessness itself has been problematised. With this in mind this study has analysed the discourses - political, social and economic rationalities and knowledges - which have provided the conditions of possibility for the identification of the homeless and homelessness as a problem needing to be governed and the means for translating these discourses into the applied domain. The aim of this thesis has been to contribute to current knowledge by developing a genealogy of the conditions and rationalities that have underpinned the problematisation of homelessness and the homeless. The outcome of this analysis has been to open up the opportunity to consider alternative governmental possibilities arising from the exposure of the way in which contemporary problematisation and responses have been influenced by the past. An understanding of this process creates an ability to appreciate the intended and unintended consequences for the future direction of public policy and contemporary research.
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Wuryandari, Ganewati. "Human rights in Australian foreign policy, with specific reference to East Timor and Papua." University of Western Australia. School of Social and Cultural Studies, 2006. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2007.0041.
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[Truncated abstract] This thesis focuses on human rights in Australia’s foreign policy from 1991 to 2004 taking East Timor and Papua as case studies. It encompasses the Paul Keating years (1991 to 1996) as well as John Howard’s three consecutive terms as Prime Minister (from 1996 to 2004). As a consequence of events unfolding in this period of time, the thesis does not consider Australian foreign policy towards East Timor beyond the 1999 referendum that resulted in the separation of East Timor from Indonesia and focuses on Papua until 2004. The primary empirical aim of this thesis is to compare and contrast the two administrations’ approaches and responses to human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua. Drawing upon a variety of theoretical concepts in human rights and foreign policy, this thesis shows that incorporating a concern for human rights in the foreign policy making process is problematic because the promotion of human rights often comes into conflict with other foreign policy objectives . . . The two case studies on human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua reflect the tensions between concepts of realism and idealism in Australian foreign policy. However, the situation of East Timor shows that public pressure is required to balance the disparity of national interest and human rights. The role of public pressure has been largely absent in debates on human rights and foreign policy. While this study focuses on East Timor and Papua as case studies, the discussion of the findings has far reaching implications for Australian foreign policy and international relations, especially concerning the scholarly debate over the place of human rights in foreign policy.
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MacIntyre, Jaymie-Louise. "Human rights in Australian politics : a dual case study analysis of the issues affecting the development of human rights policy in Australia /." Title page, contents and introduction only, 2002. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09AR/09arm1526.pdf.
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Fariss, Christopher J. "Human Rights and the Strategic Use of US Foreign Food Aid." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2007. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5184/.
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How does respect for human rights affect the disbursement of food aid by US foreign policymakers? Scholars analyzing foreign aid generally look at only total economic aid, military aid or a combination of both. However, for a more nuanced understanding of human rights as a determinant of foreign aid, the discrete foreign aid programs must be examined. By disentangling component-programs from total aid, this analysis demonstrates how human rights influence policymakers by allowing them to distribute food aid to human rights abusing countries. Consequently, policymakers can promote strategic objectives with food aid, while legally restricted from distributing other aid. The primary theoretical argument, which links increasing human rights abuse with increasing food aid, is supported by results from a Heckman model. This procedure models the two-stage decision-making process where foreign policymakers first, select countries for aid and then, distribute aid to those selected.
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Chow, Lok-ning Eric. "Policy-making in an executive-led government : an analysis of the equal opportunities bill and the human rights and equal opportunities commission bill /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1996. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B1750790X.
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Cai, Ying. "Human rights policies of foreign capital companies of China." Thesis, University of Macau, 2011. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2554513.
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Brankovich, Jasmina. "Burning down the house? : feminism, politics and women's policy in Western Australia, 1972-1998." University of Western Australia. School of Humanities, 2008. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2008.0122.
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This thesis examines the constraints and options inherent in placing feminist demands on the state, the limits of such interventions, and the subjective, intimate understandings of feminism among agents who have aimed to change the state from within. First, I describe the central element of a
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Chow, Lok-ning Eric, and 周樂寧. "Policy-making in an executive-led government: an analysis of the equal opportunities bill and the human rights andequal opportunities commission bill." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1996. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31964916.
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Moyo, Khulekani. "Water as a human right under international human rights law : implications for the privatisation of water services." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80062.
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Thesis (LLD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.Bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The worsening scarcity of fresh water resources has led to an increasing number of people without sustainable access to safe water across the globe. Water privatisation has been presented as the panacea to addressing the global water crisis. Privatisation of water has heightened the impetus for the explicit recognition of water as a human right. This dissertation seeks to establish the legal status of the right to water under international human rights law. The dissertation further attempts to ascertain the scope and normative content of such a right. In order to answer these questions, this dissertation carries out a detailed analysis of the possible legal basis, scope and normative content of the right to water under international human rights law. The principal question that arises is how a State can ensure compliance with its human rights obligations in the event of involvement of non-State actors such as private corporations in the management and distribution of water services. This dissertation‘s main hypothesis is that although privatisation of water services does not relieve the State of its legal responsibility under international human rights law, such privatisation imposes certain obligations on private actors consistent with the right to water. The dissertation goes beyond articulating normative considerations and looks at implementation at the national level by highlighting good practices on the practical implementation of the right to water consistent with the normative standards imposed by the right. The dissertation‘s key contribution is its development of an accountability model to ensure that States and private actors involved in the provision of water services have clearly designated roles and responsibilities consistent with the human right to water. If properly implemented, the model has the potential to give greater specification to the normative commitments imposed by the right to water in privatisation scenarios.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verergerende skaarste van vars water bronne het aanleiding gegee tot die toename in die hoeveelheid mense sonder volhoubare toegang tot veilige water oor die hele aarde. Dit word aangevoer dat die privatisering van water die wondermiddel is om die globale water krisis aan te spreek. Die privatisering van water het aanleiding gegee tot 'n verskerpte aandrang om water uitdruklik te erken as 'n mensereg. Hierdie proefskrif poog om die regsstatus van die reg tot water te vestig binne die raamwerk van internasionale menseregte. Die proefskrif probeer verder om vas te stel wat die omvang en normatiewe inhoud van so 'n reg sal wees. Vervolgens voltrek hierdie proefskrif 'n uitvoerige analise van die moontlike regsbasis, omvang en normatiewe inhoud van die reg tot water binne die raamwerk van internasionale menseregte. Die vernaamste vraag wat opduik is hoe 'n Staat kan verseker dat sy menseregte verpligtinge nagekom word waar nie-Regeringsrolspelers soos korporasies betrokke is by die bestuur en distribusie van waterdienste. Die kern hipotese van hierdie proefskrif is dat alhoewel die privatisering van waterdienste nie die Staat verlig van sy regsverpligtinge in terme van internasionale menseregte nie, sodanige privatisering sekere verpligtinge aan privaatrolspelers voorskryf wat in lyn is met die reg op water. Hierdie proefskrif gaan verder as die artikulering van normatiewe oorwegings en kyk ook na die implementering op nasionale vlak deur goeie praktyke uit te lig met betrekking tot die prakiese implementering van die reg tot water wat konsekwent is met die normatiewe standaarde wat die reg voorskryf. Die kern bydrae van hierdie proefskrif is die ontwikkeling van 'n aanspreeklikheismodel wat versker dat Regerings en privaat rolspelers wat betrokke is by die voorsiening van waterdienste duidelik aangewysde funksies en verantwoordelikhede het wat in lyn is met die reg tot water. Indien hierdie model behoorlik implementeer word, het dit die potensiaal om grooter spesifikasie te gee aan die normatiewe verpligtinge wat deur die reg tot water voorgeskryf word in privatiserings scenarios.
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Berschinski, Sarah. "Cutting Costs and Paying the Price: The Threat to Prisoners' Health and Well-Being Under Government Negligence." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/939.
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This Thesis argues that the state by contracting out prison food services to private companies and then failing to enforce basic standards has abdicated their responsibility to ensure and protect the physical and mental health of prisoners. Michigan as a case studies reveals the negligence of government to hold Aramark responsible to basic standards of feeding. As a result, leading to a wide-spread case of food-borne illness. The governments unwillingness to protect the basic human rights of prisoners under the control of privately operated prison food services has negatively impacted the health and well-being of prisoners.
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Kruuse, Helen Julia. "Life in the suburbs after "Grootboom": the role of local government in realising housing rights in the Eastern Cape." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1113.
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Davids, Gregory Jerome. "Local Government Capacity for Policy Implementation in South Africa: A Study of the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities in the Western Cape Province." University of the Western Cape, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7759.
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Philosophiae Doctor - PhDLocal government in South Africa is an autonomous policy implementation arm of the government system. The purpose of this study was to examine the institutional, organisational, and human resource capacity challenges the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities in the Western Cape faced in their policy implementation especially on poverty alleviation. The objectives of the study were to develop a theoretical framework for examining institutional, organisational and human resource capacity in the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities; to discuss the local government constitutional, legislative and policy framework within which the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities delivered services to communities; to examine the capacity challenges in the service delivery of the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities and, thereby, highlight operational problem areas; and to make general policy recommendations on the basis of the research findings of the study. The methodology used was the case-study approach. It allowed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics present within Saldanha Bay and Swellendam municipality. The methodology enabled the researcher to answer the research question: In what ways, and with what results has institutional, organisational and human resource capacity affected service delivery in the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities in the Western Cape? The major findings of the study were that local government capacity for policy implementation is directly influenced by the presence or otherwise of institutional, organisational and human resource capacity. These dimensions of capacity are mutually inclusive, independent and interrelated in practice. The study makes several policy recommendations. In the area of institutional capacity the recommendations were that floor-crossing legislation and practices must be done away with; that weak capacitated municipalities ought to be alleviated by public - private partnerships as a mechanism to enhance a municipality's ability to develop and implement policy; and that instead of solely setting standards and monitoring performance, the provincial treasury should assist municipalities to acquire financial competencies. In the area of organisational capacity it was recommended that the community ought to participate in the recruitment and selection committee of the Municipal Manager. It was also recommended that municipalities should establish district-wide forums for financial heads whose purpose would be to create a platform for collaboration, and for the exchange of ideas. And in the area of human resource capacity it was recommended that district municipalities ought to assume a more prominent role in building the capacity of the local authorities with which they share legislative and administrative powers. It was also recommended that both the administrative and political leadership ought to participate in compulsory executive and/or leadership training programmes SALGA implements through some tertiary educational institutions and/or through private service providers.
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Coetzee, Cari. "South Africa's foreign policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe : constructivism as a framework to highlight the contradictory norms of human rights and African solidarity." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/50099.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The downward spiral of Zimbabwe under President Robert Gabriel Mugabe and the slide into lawlessness has excited international opinion. Perhaps even more controversial, has been South African President Thabo Mbeki's obvious reticence to condemn Mugabe's increasing authoritarianism and breach of human rights and democratic standards. South Africa's foreign policy of 'quiet diplomacy' towards Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has received strong criticism. Whilst both domestic and international audiences expected South Africa to take a stronger stance towards Mugabe because of his increasing violation of human rights and democratic standards, President Mbeki has been notably reticent to publicly criticise Mugabe. Consequently, the South African government has been criticised for condoning Mugabe's behaviour, which in turn has raised questions as to South Africa's commitment to the advocacy of human rights and its attempts to establish a leadership position in Africa. Although both internal and external pressures have given rise to South Africa's strong commitment to the international norm of human rights in 1994, this commitment seemed to weaken as the years passed. The commitment to human rights, that was especially prominent during the Nelson Mandela presidency, has given rise to foreign policy tensions and contradictions within the South African government. South Africa's turn to multilateral mechanisms as the main vehicle for South Africa's principled commitment to human rights has been accompanied by a decline in the priority placed on this principle. This loss of ardour in the commitment to the human rights advocacy, moreover, has seemed to increase during the Mbeki presidency. President Mbeki's desire to playa leadership role in Africa and his vision for African renewal and rebirth have been accompanied by a stronger emphasis on African solidarity as a foreign policy principle. South Africa's commitment to the norm of human rights, however, has thwarted South Africa's attempts to strengthen African solidarity since it required a rejection of the norms of 'state sovereignty' and 'not to speak out against each other'. Since high priority is attached to these norms in Africa, contradictions arose between the norms of human rights advocacy and African solidarity. This study argues that South Africa's policy of 'quiet diplomacy' towards Zimbabwe can only be understood by focusing on the role of norms and identity on South Africa's policy. It aims to illustrate how South Africa's aspiration for continental leadership has constrained its commitment to human rights advocacy, as accentuated by the Zimbabwean crisis. This study explores the role of norms and identity in South Africa's foreign policy decisions towards Zimbabwe by drawing on constructivism as a theoretical framework. The international relations theory of constructivism provides a framework for analysing the potential influence of norms in international relations. Constructivism illustrates that South Africa's freedom of action has been determined by the interplay between policy actors and social forces with very different ideological convictions about the country in the world, the pressures incumbent upon it and the extent to which it can influence world affairs.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Zimbabwe se toenemende ekonomiese en politieke agteruitgang onder die presidentskap van Robert Gabriel Mugabe, asook die geleidelike oorgang na wetteloosheid, het internasionale veroordeling voortgebring. President Thabo Mbeki van Suid-Afrika se ooglopende teensinnigheid om Mugabe se toenemende outoriteit en skending van menseregte en demokratiese standaarde te veroordeel, was selfs meer omstrede. Suid-Afrika se buitelandse beleid van 'stille diplomasie' teenoor President Mugabe van Zimbabwe het dus sterk kritiek uitgelok. Terwyl beide binnelandse en internasionale sfere van Suid-Afrika verwag het om 'n sterker standpunt teenoor Mugabe in te neem in die lig van Mugabe se toenemende skending van menseregte en demokratiese standaarde, was President Mbeki merkbaar teensinnig om Mugabe openlik te kritiseer. Die Suid-Afrikaanse regering is gevolglik daarvan beskuldig dat dit Mugabe se gedrag verskoon, wat weer aanleiding gegee het tot die bevraagtekening van Suid-Afrika se verbintenis tot die bevordering van menseregte en pogings om 'n leierskapsposisie in Afrika te vestig. Alhoewel beide interne en eksterne druk tot Suid-Afrika se sterk verbintenis tot die internasionale norm van menseregte in 1994 bygedra het, het hierdie verbintenis mettertyd geleidelik vervaag. Hierdie verbintenis tot menseregte was veral prominent gedurende die Mandela presidentskap en het spoedig aanleiding tot spanning en teenstrydighede in Suid-Afrika se buitelandse beleid gegee. Suid-Afrika se wending tot multilaterale meganismes as voertuig vir die bevordering van menseregte, het dus gepaard gegaan met 'n afname in die prioriteit wat aan hierdie beginsel geheg word. Hierdie afname in Suid-Afrika se dryfkrag in hul verbintenis tot die bevordering van menseregte, het gedurende die Mbeki presidentskap vergroot. President Mbeki se begeerte om 'n leiersposisie in Afrika in te neem, asook sy visie vir Afrika hernuwing en herlewing, het dus gepaard gegaan met 'n sterker klem op die belang van Afrika solidariteit as 'n buitelandse beleidsbeginsel. Suid-Afrika se verbintenis tot menseregte het egter Suid-Afrika se pogings om Afrika solidariteit te bevorder, verhinder, aangesien 'n verbintenis tot menseregte die verwerping van die norme van 'staatsoewereiniteit' en 'nie teenoor mekaar uit te praat nie' vereis het. Aangesien hierdie twee laasgenoemde norme steeds voorrang geniet in die Afrika konteks, het daar teenstrydighede tussen die norme van menseregte en Afrika solidariteit ontstaan. Hierdie studie argumenteer dat Suid-Afrika se beleid van 'stille diplomasie' teenoor Zimbabwe slegs begryp kan word deur op die rol van norme en identiteit op Suid-Afrika se beleid te fokus. Daar word gepoog om te illustreer hoe Suid-Afrika se aspirasie om 'n leiersposisie in Afrika in te neem, beperk is deur die verbintenis tot die bevordering van menseregte, soos beklemtoon deur die krisis in Zimbabwe. Hierdie studie ondersoek dus die rol van norme en identiteit op Suid-Afrika se buitelandse beleidsbesluite teenoor Zimbabwe met behulp van konstruktivisme as 'n teoretiese raamwerk. Die internasionale betrekkinge teorie van konstruktivisme bied 'n raamwerk vir die analise van die potensiële invloed van norme in internasionale betrekkinge. Konstruktivisme illustreer dat Suid-Afrika se vryheid van aksie bepaal word deur die wisselwerking tussen beleidsakteurs en sosiale kragte met verskillende ideologiese oortuigings oor die staat in die wêreld, die druk wat daarop inwerk en die mate waartoe dit wêreld gebeure kan beïnvloed.
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Hallam, Adrienne Louise, and n/a. "Globalisation, Human Genomic Research and the Shaping of Health: An Australian Perspective." Griffith University. School of Science, 2003. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20040812.114745.
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This thesis examines one of the premier "big science" projects of the contemporary era - the globalised genetic mapping and sequencing initiative known as the Human Genome Project (HGP), and how Australia has responded to it. The study focuses on the relationship between the HGP, the biomedical model of health, and globalisation. It seeks to examine the ways in which the HGP shapes ways of thinking about health; the influence globalisation has on this process; and the implications of this for smaller nations such as Australia. Adopting a critical perspective grounded in political economy, the study provides a largely structuralist analysis of the emergent health context of the HGP. This perspective, which embraces an insightful nexus drawn from the literature on biomedicine, globalisation and the HGP, offers much utility by which to explore the basis of biomedical dominance, in particular, whether it is biomedicine's links to the capitalist infrastructure, or its inherent efficacy and efficiency, that sustains the biomedical paradigm over "other" or non-biomedical health approaches. Additionally, the perspective allows for an assessment of whether there should be some broadening of the way health is conceptualised and delivered to better account for social, economic, and environmental factors that affect living standards and health outcomes, and also the capacity of globalisation to promote such change. These issues are at the core of the study and provide the theoretical frame to examine the processes by which Australian policy makers have given an increasing level of support to human genomic research over the past decade and also the implications of those discrete policy choices. Overall, the study found that globalisation is renewing and extending the dominance of the biomedical model, which will further marginalise other models of health while potentially consuming greater resources for fewer real health outcomes. While the emerging genomic revolution in health care may lead to some wondrous innovations in the coming decades, it is also highly likely to exacerbate the problems of escalating costs and diminishing returns that characterise health care systems in industrialised countries, and to lead to greater health inequities both within and between societies. The Australian Government has chosen to underwrite human genomic research and development. However, Australia's response to the HGP has involved both convergences and variations from the experiences of more powerful industrial nations. The most significant divergence has been in industry and science policy, where until the mid-1990s, the Australian Government displayed no significant interest in providing dedicated research funding, facilities, or enabling agencies to the emerging field. Driven by the threat of economic marginalisation and cultural irrelevance, however, a transformation occurred. Beginning with the Major National Research Facilities Program of the Department of Industry, Science and Technology, and then the landmark Health and Medical Research Strategic Review, support for human genomic research grew strongly. Comprehensive policy settings have recently been established to promote the innovation, commercialisation, promotion and uptake of the products of medical biotechnology and genomics. As such, local advocates of a broader model of health will be forced to compete on the political and economic stage with yet another powerful new area of biomedicine, and thus struggle to secure resources for perhaps more viable and sustainable approaches to health care in the 21st century.
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Mwebe, Henry. "The impact of privatisation on socio-economic rights and services in Africa: the case of water privatisation in South Africa." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2004. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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This study generally centres on the debate about the impact of privatisation on socio-economic rights and services. The specific objective of the study is to establish whether the privatisation of water services in South Africa has led to denial of access, either through the lack of availability of a commercialised, cost-recovery service, or denial of access because of hight rates and resultant inability to pay. The study analysed how this has impacted on the states constitutional and international human rights obligation and how the resultant problems can be addressed. It examines whether or not privatisation, which is basically aimed at improving service delivery and bringing countries in line with globalisation principles, has actually achieved that objective.
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Hadji, Mutambuli James. "An evaluation of the government communication and information system's communication strategy: a case study of the 16 days of activism campaign in Soshanguve." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1004900.
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United Nation's (UN) millennium development goal number three is aimed at eliminating gender inequality and empowering women. Gender-based violence is recognised as a global public health and human rights problem that leads to high rates of morbidity and mortality, including sexually transmitted infections, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance dependence and suicide. In responding to this international public health and human rights concern, the South African government has adopted numerous public health communication strategies to highlight the plight of women and children. One of the campaigns that are conducted in South Africa is the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children (16 Days of Activism Campaign). This campaign was introduced in 1999 but the literature review reveals that to date, no studies have focused on its evaluation. As such, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the 16 Days of Activism Campaign with special reference to the Soshanguve community in Gauteng province. This study builds on two theories, namely the excellence theory and the diffusion of innovation theory. Mixed research methods (also called triangulation) was used whereby in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives from the Government Communication and Information System and the Department of Women, Children and People with Disability to establish the promotion strategies used in the campaign and the methods used to assess the effectiveness of the campaign. Furthermore, a self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted within the Soshanguve community to evaluate the promotion strategies and assess the impact of the campaign.This study revealed a high level of reliance on the television, radio and newspapers in the communication strategies. Both government departments acknowledged that they do not have a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of the campaign from the receivers‟ perspective. The Soshanguve community felt that in essence the campaign is relevant but not on time. The residents viewed the study as an important part of creating awareness about the campaign and they believed the campaign helped them to know what to do when faced with gender-based violence so that they can assist those who are affected by it.
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Zimbwa, Allan Golden. "Securitisation and its application to low cost housing finance in South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002746.
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Section 26 of the Constitution of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 provides that housing is a basic human right and that the government must take reasonable legislative and other measures to achieve the realisation of this right. A number of measures were taken to try to resolve this socio-economic issue. A number of housing institutions were established , various pieces of legislation were passed and housing subsidies were provided. However, housing backlogs remain a challenge. In March 1994 the housing backlog was estimated between 1,3 and 1,8 million units. When more than a million houses were provided by 2001 , the housing backlog had increased to between 2 and 3 million houses. To date subsidies in excess of R29 billion have been spent on housing provision. A study by the Department of Housing concluded that, at the current rate of increase of housing funding vis-a-vis the growing backlog and rapid urbanisation, the household backlog will not be changed in ten years' time. The United States of America (USA) had a similar low cost housing problem, but securitisation alleviated it with the participation of government agencies Fannie Mae, Ginnie Mae and Freddie Mac. In South Africa, the NHFC tried to emulate the USA model by establishing Gateway Home Loans (Pty) Limited (Gateway) in 1999. Gateway, however, was not a success. This research investigates whether securitisation can be applied in South Africa to alleviate the low cost housing issue. The study finds that there is a credit availability gap for the low income sector earning less than R8 000 per month because of the perceived risk of default and unwillingness by banks to lend to this sector. The increase in housing backlog that continues unabated, inadequate housing finance system to low income earners, the lessons learnt from the failure of Gateway, the success factors of the USA securitisation model and the sound and sophisticated South African financial system are the rationale for applying securitisation. A proposal of how to effectively apply securitisation to low cost housing in South Africa is provided with recommendations to revive the primary market.
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Kilian, Clive Linton. "The status of the Al Qaeda and Taliban detainees at Guantanamo bay." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/826.
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The United States of America has in its custody several hundred Taliban and Al Qaeda combatants who were captured after the September 11, 2001 attack and during the war in Afghanistan. These prisoners are incarcerated at the Guantanamo naval base in Cuba. The treatment given to these detainees has elicited widespread criticism, as well as unprecedented intellectual and legal debates regarding prisoners of war. In order to fully understand the position of the Guantanamo Bay detainees, one has to be aware of the origins of the prisoner-of-war phenomenon. From biblical times, through the countless conflicts that were waged across the globe through the ages, the concept of “prisoner of war” gradually evolved. Growing concern for the plight of prisoners of war was paralleled by the development of the laws of war, which sought to regulate the conduct of combatants during an armed conflict. The laws of war that have bearing on modern day States are those documented in the Geneva Conventions. The Geneva Conventions regulate armed conflicts and set out the requirements for prisoners of war, as well as their trial rights. The United States, in declaring the Guantanamo Bay detainees “unlawful combatants” or “illegal enemy combatants”, terms which are undefined in International Law, have sought to evade the prescripts of the Geneva Conventions. In direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions, the Guantanamo Bay detainees are denied the right to humane treatment, a fair trial and due process of the law. Prior to Hamdan vs Rumsfeld, the United States’ position was challenged with very little success. The Supreme Court, in Hamdan vs Rumsfeld, directed the president to accord the detainees the protections of the Third Geneva Convention. The relief brought by this decision was very short lived. In September 2006 the United States Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006. This Bill gives the president of the United States unfettered power in dealing with anyone suspected of being a threat to the State, as well as the authorisation to interpret and apply the Geneva Conventions according to his sole discretion.
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Smith, Malcolm. "Regulating IVF and pre-implantation tissue-typing for the creation of "saviour siblings" : a harm analysis." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2010. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/35798/1/Malcolm_Smith_Thesis.pdf.
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Scientific discoveries, developments in medicine and health issues are the constant focus of media attention and the principles surrounding the creation of so called ‘saviour siblings’ are of no exception. The development in the field of reproductive techniques has provided the ability to genetically analyse embryos created in the laboratory to enable parents to implant selected embryos to create a tissue-matched child who may be able to cure an existing sick child. The research undertaken in this thesis examines the regulatory frameworks overseeing the delivery of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in Australia and the United Kingdom and considers how those frameworks impact on the accessibility of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedures for the creation of ‘saviour siblings’. In some jurisdictions, the accessibility of such techniques is limited by statutory requirements. The limitations and restrictions imposed by the state in relation to the technology are analysed in order to establish whether such restrictions are justified. The analysis is conducted on the basis of a harm framework. The framework seeks to establish whether those affected by the use of the technology (including the child who will be created) are harmed. In order to undertake such evaluation, the concept of harm is considered under the scope of John Stuart Mill’s liberal theory and the Harm Principle is used as a normative tool to judge whether the level of harm that may result, justifies state intervention or restriction with the reproductive decision-making of parents in this context. The harm analysis conducted in this thesis seeks to determine an appropriate regulatory response in relation to the use of pre-implantation tissue-typing for the creation of ‘saviour siblings’. The proposals outlined in the last part of this thesis seek to address the concern that harm may result from the practice of pre-implantation tissue-typing. The current regulatory frameworks in place are also analysed on the basis of the harm framework established in this thesis. The material referred to in this thesis reflects the law and policy in place in Australia and the UK at the time the thesis was submitted for examination (December 2009).
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Herrero, Alvaro J. "Court-executive relations in unstable democracies : strategic judicial behaviour in post-authoritarian Argentina (1983-2005)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2007. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:bd89e8f6-2b98-4336-9ec2-110c3d362da3.
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This dissertation deals with court-executive relations in post-authoritarian Argentina (1983-2006). Specifically, I analyse Supreme Court behaviour in highly sensitive cases to determine whether the tribunal has cooperated with or obstructed the government’s policy preferences in three key policy areas: human rights, economic emergency and pensions. This innovative type of approach – i.e., focusing on a small number of highly sensitive decisions – allows me to concentrate on cases that are genuinely important for the government or, more precisely, for the country’s political administration. There are cases that are significant for the State apparatus but irrelevant for the president (thinking of politicians as self-interested actors). My research uses a rational choice approach to courts, underscoring the strategic nature of judicial behaviour. This vision of judges provides a more accurate account of judicial-executive relations by bringing politics into the study of courts. By focusing exclusively on attitudes and apolitical jurisprudence, other visions take for granted the institutional context. Political stability, for example, cannot be assumed in many developing democracies. My findings indicate that the Argentine Supreme Court has consistently avoided obstructing the president’s policy preferences. Such behaviour is motivated by strategic considerations: judges are risk-averse actors that avoid clashing with the executive. For most of the time, the Supreme Court has operated under unified government, which increases the chances of being punished for anti-government decisions. Two other factors also account for the court’s risk-averse behaviour. First, procedural rules grant the Supreme Court wide discretion over its docket. The tribunal has used such discretion to strategically select the timing of its decisions. Second, recurrent democratic breakdowns have repeatedly led to attacks against the court, such as impeachment, irregular dismissals, and/or enlargements. Third, politicians exert broad control of judicial promotions, allowing them to block the careers of independent, courageous judges that act as a check on political power.
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Zenzile, Mlamli Lennox. "A study of the Amathole District Municipality's settlement plan in the light of the land reform and spatial planning measures." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003215.
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This study concerns the analysis of policy, and the statutory and regulatory impact of spatial planning on the land reform programme with emphasis on the land reform settlement plan (LSRP) of the Amathole District Municipality (ADM). There is a brief historical overview of the effect of the policy of spatial segregation in both rural and urban areas of the ADM. This study demonstrates, inter alia, the challenges faced by the ADM in both consolidating and physically integrating communities that were hitherto divided across racial lines. The critical question is whether the ADM has the ability to produce a Spatial Development Framework (SDF), which will be responsive to the needs of the region and serve as a catalyst in reversing the physical distortions caused by the land-planning legislation of the apartheid past. The greatest challenge lies in meeting the developmental aspirations of the Development Facilitation Act, 1995, the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 and the National Spatial Development Perspective, 2003. Chapter 1 deals with the purpose, research problem and the method of research, as well as the definition of terms used in this research and literature review. Chapter 2 deals with the evolution of central themes of spatial planning and land reform, spatial development plans and integrated development plans (IDPs), the alignment of Amathole SDF and Eastern Cape Spatial Development Plan and the co-ordination of spatial frameworks. Chapter 3 deals with the composition of the ADM and the evolution of the LRSP, as well as land-tenure reform programmes impacting on the Amathole Municipality region. This chapter analyses the settlement plan against spatial planning legislation, the issue of institutional arrangements and mechanisms of consolidated local planning processes. Chapter 5 deals with the thorny issue of participation of traditional leaders in municipal planning and the government’s land-reform programme. Despite the existence of legislation in this regard, implementation seems to pose some difficulties. This chapter also deals with the co-operative governance framework. Chapter 6 is a concluding chapter dealing with the gaps discovered in the Amathole Municipality in the light of existing legislation. Reference to cases is made to demonstrate the challenges confronting the ADM. One notable aspect is the issue of urban-rural dichotomy and how the two worlds are positioned in their competition for the use of space. It is evident from this research that the post-1994 policy and legislative framework and implementation machinery lacks capacity to change the current form of the apartheid city-planning paradigm, something which impacts immensely on the sustainability of the current human-settlement development programmes. Population dynamics in terms of migration are hugely driven by search for employment opportunities and better services. The efficiency and ability of the municipal spatial evelopment frameworks in directing and dictating the identification of development nodes in its juristic boundary informed by the overarching national policy and legislative framework is key in building a better South Africa.
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Kinuthia, Wanyee. "“Accumulation by Dispossession” by the Global Extractive Industry: The Case of Canada." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/30170.
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This thesis draws on David Harvey’s concept of “accumulation by dispossession” and an international political economy (IPE) approach centred on the institutional arrangements and power structures that privilege certain actors and values, in order to critique current capitalist practices of primitive accumulation by the global corporate extractive industry. The thesis examines how accumulation by dispossession by the global extractive industry is facilitated by the “free entry” or “free mining” principle. It does so by focusing on Canada as a leader in the global extractive industry and the spread of this country’s mining laws to other countries – in other words, the transnationalisation of norms in the global extractive industry – so as to maintain a consistent and familiar operating environment for Canadian extractive companies. The transnationalisation of norms is further promoted by key international institutions such as the World Bank, which is also the world’s largest development lender and also plays a key role in shaping the regulations that govern natural resource extraction. The thesis briefly investigates some Canadian examples of resource extraction projects, in order to demonstrate the weaknesses of Canadian mining laws, particularly the lack of protection of landowners’ rights under the free entry system and the subsequent need for “free, prior and informed consent” (FPIC). The thesis also considers some of the challenges to the adoption and implementation of the right to FPIC. These challenges include embedded institutional structures like the free entry mining system, international political economy (IPE) as shaped by international institutions and powerful corporations, as well as concerns regarding ‘local’ power structures or the legitimacy of representatives of communities affected by extractive projects. The thesis concludes that in order for Canada to be truly recognized as a leader in the global extractive industry, it must establish legal norms domestically to ensure that Canadian mining companies and residents can be held accountable when there is evidence of environmental and/or human rights violations associated with the activities of Canadian mining companies abroad. The thesis also concludes that Canada needs to address underlying structural issues such as the free entry mining system and implement FPIC, in order to curb “accumulation by dispossession” by the extractive industry, both domestically and abroad.
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Standfield, Rachel. ""Not for lack of trying" : discourses of whiteness, race, and human rights in postwar Australia." Master's thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150356.
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Pedersen, Morten B. "Sanctions or engagement? : a critique of Western human rights policy on Burma/Myanmar." Phd thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/151311.
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Winter, Satine Hyacinth. "Navigating the battleground: autism policy and human rights for children with autism spectrum disorders in Australia." Thesis, Griffith University, 2017. https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/3455.
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The purpose of this study was to explore the Helping Children With Autism (HCWA) package, which is a public website on Australian autism policy with a particular consideration of how the HCWA package positioned parents when they engaged with this federal government initiative. The study also aimed to examine how and to what extent the HCWA package aligned with international human rights standards using the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This study was underpinned by a theoretical framework that combined the sociology of Zygmunt Bauman and the models of disability (charity, medical, social, human rights) with human rights.
The nature and complexity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents challenges to parents raising their child with ASD, which often results in uncertainty about their rights and responsibilities alongside those of the government, and State. In 2008 the Australian Government attempted to solve the policy problem of autism and implemented the HCWA package in response to parents’ pleas for help in raising their child with ASD (Palm Consulting Group, 2005, June 20). The HCWA package was the first autism specific policy in Australia and aimed to provide funding, support, and services for children with ASD and their families (Minister for Families Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 2007). The HCWA package is currently being superseded by the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) across Australia and hence the opportunity to benefit from a close exploration of the HCWA may contribute to this process.
Limited research evaluating the effectiveness of the HCWA package has been conducted. No study has evaluated the parent perspective on the HCWA initiative as a policy and there were insufficient studies of parents’ reactions to the HCWA package (Prior, Roberts, Rodger, & Williams, 2011; Wicks & O'Reilly, 2013; K. D. Wilson, 2013; K. D. Wilson & Watson, 2011). Moreover, there is limited research on disability policy compliance with human rights standards, especially in Australia. Research on the HCWA package is important because it has the potential to identify areas of strength and weakness from a consumer and human rights perspective and helps inform future government policies and initiatives such as the NDIS and to improve the quality of life for children with ASD.
A qualitative approach of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) was used to examine the HCWA package across three landing pages from two government departments: FaHCSIA and DEEWR. In 2013 data were selected from the HCWA package over several months during the implementation of the HCWA package across Australia. The researcher, as a parent of a child with ASD, selected and analysed the data to explore how the HCWA package positioned parents when they engaged with this federal government initiative. Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) grammar of visual design provided a framework to analyse online web content using the researcher as viewer of the policy. The e-government autism policy was further analysed in terms of web accessibility and compliance with regulatory guidelines for federal government department websites.
The findings from this study reveal that the Australian Government positioned parents of children with ASD as consumers of the product of autism policy, in this case the HCWA package. This positioning was framed within a discourse of charity and medical models of disability that viewed autism as a problem of the individual and provided charity through funding, supports, and services (e.g. medical and education professionals). The charity and medical models of disability were entwined within a broader discourse of power where the Australian Government had power, position, and authority as experts over parents of children with ASD. This unequal distribution of power added to the tensions within the autism community and the cycle of blame between parents and professionals.
Good parenting - as it was constituted by the HCWA package - involved being informed and educated and willing to follow the advice of the Australian Government. Good parents furthermore complied with traditional western gender roles where women were viewed as the primary caregivers and nurturers of children with ASD, particularly in the early years. The Australian Government also positioned parents as neoliberal citizens who were responsible for the success of raising their child with ASD and the outcomes of that child in life and within society. Lastly, the study found that the HCWA package did not align with all general principles of Article 3, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and was thus regarded as indicative of a violation of human rights for children with ASD in Australia.
Based on these findings, the study presents recommendations concerning the parent-as-consumer role in autism policy in meeting the best interests and needs of children with ASD and their families, which also have relevance to the current transition to the NDIS in Australia. An eight-step model is proposed to improve parent information and health literacy on ASD, which is important for improving parent decision-making for their child with ASD. In particular, a newly framed human rights model of disability is recommended as a means of moving forward from the social model of disability in critical disability studies and for advancing the rights of children with ASD in theory and in practice.
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Yitay, Binyam Agegn. "The critical analysis of the judicial enforceability of socio economic rights in Ethiopia." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/726.
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MacCallion, Gregory John. "Defining human and national security in military interventions : Australia and Canada in Somalia and Afghanistan." Phd thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/155775.
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Since the introduction of the concept of human security in 1994, debates have raged regarding the definition and applicability of the concept. Proponents of human security have sought to define the concept so that it may be utilised, whereas critics of human security have argued that the concept is too broad and amorphous to be adopted or utilised by states in international relations. This thesis examines two states; Australia, which has never utilised the term, 'human security,' in its declaratory policies; and Canada, a state that, for a time, was one of the most vocal proponents of the concept in its foreign policy statements. The research examines the two countries' military interventions in Somalia (1992-1995 - prior to the introduction of human security as a concept) and Afghanistan (2001-2013 - after the concept's introduction) to establish if, and to what extent, human security featured in and/or shaped their missions. Drawing upon an analysis of Australia's and Canada's declaratory policies and implementation approaches for each mission, this thesis presents a unique analytical framework that assesses the degree of norm internalisation of human security by the two states. It argues that human security is both co-opted and adapted by states in military interventions when the limitation of traditional national security approaches is recognised and when such actions are in alignment with national values. This thesis finds that the core concept of human security can be, and has been, operationalised at the implementation level, regardless of whether the state has a clearly defined declaratory policy of human security or not. Further, states now perceive the core concept of human security as a necessary condition for mission success in military interventions; military security, alone, is no longer enough. The thesis concludes with the argument that, for states, the concept of human security works better in practice (implementation) than it does in theory (declaratory policies). Indeed, when it comes to incorporating the fundamental elements of human security in military interventions, this thesis argues, it is the practices of human security that drives, and helps create, policies based on human security.
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Donaghey, Bronwyn. "Regulating the biological family : policy, genetics, discourse, and diminishing ’other’ bodies." 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/57101.
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Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library.This thesis identifies and elaborates on the way in which notions of genetic inheritance connect with notions of ’proper’ families and hence shape policies concerning reproduction and family formation. Assumptions about the structure and shape of the ’proper’ or ’traditional’ family - as a heterosexual two-parent unit with biological children - and its claim to naturalness, are embedded in policies related to reproductive technologies and family formation. The thesis explores the discourses surrounding the following specific policies - surrogacy, IVF, adoption, abortion, child support and posthumous reproduction - to elucidate the frameworks of meaning within which we understand these issues.
http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1295254
Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 2006
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Donaghey, Bronwyn. "Regulating the biological family : policy, genetics, discourse, and diminishing ’other’ bodies." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2440/57101.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis identifies and elaborates on the way in which notions of genetic inheritance connect with notions of ’proper’ families and hence shape policies concerning reproduction and family formation. Assumptions about the structure and shape of the ’proper’ or ’traditional’ family - as a heterosexual two-parent unit with biological children - and its claim to naturalness, are embedded in policies related to reproductive technologies and family formation. The thesis explores the discourses surrounding the following specific policies - surrogacy, IVF, adoption, abortion, child support and posthumous reproduction - to elucidate the frameworks of meaning within which we understand these issues.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics, 2006
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Ramoroka, Veronica. "The determination of refugee status in South Africa : a human rights perspective." Diss., 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/13850.
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The South African Refugees Act1 makes a distinction between an asylum seeker and a refugee. The Act defines an asylum seeker as “a person who is seeking recognition as a refugee in the Republic”. A refugee on the other hand, is a person “who has been granted asylum” in the Republic.2 The legal position in South Africa is that before a person is recognized as a refugee, he or she is protected by the Bill of Rights to a certain extent. In the case of Lawyers for Human Rights v Minister of Home Affairs the Constitutional court confirmed that the protection afforded by the Bill of Rights applies to everyone, including illegal foreigners and asylum seekers.3 This means that asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to most of the rights in the Constitution except those specifically reserved for citizens. Practically though, a refugee enjoys more rights than an asylum seeker. It is therefore in the interest of asylum seekers to have their status as refugees determined.
The process of applying for refugee status can be a challenge for those seeking refuge in the Republic of South Africa. For applicants coming from non-English speaking countries, language barrier can also present its own challenges. In terms of the Refugees Act, the first application is to the Refugee Reception Officer at the refugee reception office. The application must be made in person.4 When an asylum seeker is deemed fit to qualify for asylum, he or she will be issued with a permit in terms of section 22 of the Refugees Act. The permit allows the asylum seeker to temporarily reside in South Africa until the finalisation of the asylum claim. This permit does not mean that the asylum seeker is already recognised as a refugee. The permit is an indication that the asylum seeker’s application as a refugee is not yet finalised. The application is considered finalised when it has gone through the hearing before the Status Determination Officer and any review or appeal following from that decision.
It is the Refugee Status Determination Officer who will grant asylum or reject the application.5 For people applying for refugee status, the determination by the Status Determination Officer may in itself mark the beginning of the process to be repatriated back to the country they were running away from in the first place. An aggrieved applicant can also apply to have the adverse decision reviewed or even lodge an appeal in accordance with the provisions of the Refugees Act.6 For as long as the application is still pending, the government cannot deport any asylum seeker.
An asylum seeker who enters the Republic of South Africa, either through a port of entry or illegally faces many challenges before he or she could reach a refugee reception office. Those who come in through a port of entry face being turned away by Immigration Officers due to lack of documentation. Often, asylum seekers find it hard to reach the refugee reception offices as there is no co-operation between the Immigration Officers, the South African Police Service and the functionaries in the refugee reception offices. To make things worse, the Immigration Amendment Act has reduced the days from fourteen to five, for asylum seekers without valid documentations to reach any refugee reception office. Since refugee reception offices are located only in five cities in the country, these have conditioned asylum seekers and refugees to stay and make their living in those cities as they are required to make frequent renewal of their permit. The closure of some of the refugee reception offices like the Johannesburg refugee reception office has caused a major concern to asylum seekers and refugees. This persistent closure of refugee reception offices may be seen as a further persecution in the eyes of asylum seekers and refugees.
The inability of the different functionaries to differentiate between asylum seekers and economic migrants adds to the problem concerning the process of refugee status determination. Instead of seeking to identify people in need of protection from persecution or events seriously disturbing public order, the process is used as an immigration control and this causes more people to be turned away or returned to countries where their lives may be at risk. The communication between the asylum seeker and all the functionaries of the Department of Home Affairs is very important. The lack of professional interpretation functionaries to help asylum seekers who need interpretation contributes to the problems asylum seekers face. Often, asylum seekers have to provide their own interpreters if the Department is unable to do so. The purpose of the study is to investigate the status determination process from a South African perspective and to make recommendations which will try to resolve the problem(s) identified.Public, Constitutional, & International
LLM
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Eshareturi, Cyril, A. Morgan, and C. Lyle. "Proposed reforms to UK policy on honour based violence: the big societal divide?" 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/15424.
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NoHonour Based Violence results in several deaths each year in the UK and has many health and social implications. In recent years, practitioners have stated that the scale is increasing and that government policies are not making adequate provision to address it as a major problem. The House of Commons Home Affairs Committee report remains the most comprehensive government document on the issue of honour based violence in England and Wales to date. We used the Rist policy cycle framework to critically analyse the Report, dismantling the policy process into three key stages for subsequent independent assessment. Current policy defines and categorises honour based violence differently from domestic violence yet has chosen to tackle it under the rubric of domestic violence. Responses have been constrained by limited capital to adequately finance specialist interventions, lack of expertise, inability to reach individuals who are most susceptible therefore highly vulnerable, and contraction of specialist non-governmental organisations who have always been at the fore in tackling issues on honour based violence. Consequently, the government’s response has been unconvincing and improperly conceptualised by accepting it into the broader context of violence against women and hence domestic violence. Stronger coordinated response at local level is needed but this is where issues of community, integration, tolerance, and the Big Society agenda are made complex and serve to confound new legislation and policy. Overcoming highly sensitive cultural barriers is a key challenge to all. Consequently, we recommend that for honour based violence to be tackled effectively, the government needs to re-access and take a broader view on the issue by constructing honour based violence within the discourse of human rights in order to declare a position that sits easily in the context of cultural differences and the Big Society.
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Von, Essen Brendan Craig. "No longer the skunk of the world? Neoliberalism, human rights and contemporary South African foreign policy (1994-2014)." Thesis, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/21858.
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Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in the field of International Relations, at the
University of the Witwatersrand, 2016In the early 1990s South Africa left the Apartheid-era and transformed into a country based on liberal democratic principles such as freedom and human rights. The soon to be inaugurated president, Nelson Mandela, promised that South Africa would base its new foreign policy on these same principles and the pursuit of the international human rights agenda. Initially this seemed to be the case; South Africa signed on to most international human rights conventions and even acted on these principles condemning Nigeria when the ruling regime executed human rights activists. However, once the country gradually began adopting neoliberal ideological positions, first domestically then in its foreign policy, the prominence of human rights in South Africa’s foreign policy began to wane. This is evidenced in South Africa’s actions on international organisations as well as the country’s approach to human rights challenges such as the Zimbabwean crisis in the early 2000s and the furore over planned visit of the Dalai Lama in 2011. Using a hermeneutic approach it is possible to gain an ontological understanding of the process by which this move towards neoliberalism lead to a economisation and commodification of South Africa’s foreign policy between 1994-2014. This in turn undermined the liberal democratic principles which underpinned the country’s international relations leading to a relegation of the human rights agenda to a subsequent by product which can be achieved through greater market liberalisation.
MT2017
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Naidoo, Varusha. "South African foreign policy in a post-apartheid, post-cold war era : a case of human rights versus national economic interests." Thesis, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/4387.
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The clash between South Africa's dual need of a new political identity and economic viability
reflects not only the difficulty in conducting a traditional foreign policy with a strong
ideological overlay but also has spurred the debate over whether her foreign policy is to be
conducted on the basis of expediency or principle. This study argues that although the shift to
a post-apartheid society has created the context for South African foreign policy to be shaped
by a new culture of human rights, it remains an interest-based pragmatic activity rather than
an exercise in the projection of ethical values or ideological principles. It seems that the
African National Congress (ANC)-led government has not yet resolved the basic
contradictions that have bedevilled its international thinking since it came into power. Faced
with this dilemma, South Africa is often reduced to straddling the fence by half-heartedly
supporting principles on one occasion (as in its relationship with the Republic of China), and
on another pursuing its economic interests (as her intention to sell arms to the People's
Republic of China attests). The government's basic goal of developing fruitful political and
economic linkages without sacrificing the principles which underpin wider policy has proved
elusive. The central proposition of this study is that the defining parameters of South African
foreign policy have remained largely indeterminate because of the realities of the conflicting
interests posed by its domestic and external concerns. In essence, the inability to reconcile
primary foreign policy goals (preservation of national economic interest) with new foreign
policy aspirations (promotion of human rights and peace through the pursuit of justice and
fair-play) reflects a tense ambivalence in the founding principles of post apartheid South
African foreign policy.Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.
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Pereirinha, Inês Maria Costa. "Human rights violations on post-terrorist attacks situations: A comparison of France and the United Kingdom." Master's thesis, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10071/23993.
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This study is about how the terrorist attacks in Paris and United Kingdom between 2015 and 2017 influenced the violation of human rights in Muslim communities, with a special focus in Muslim women.
The policies adopted by governments and the media speculation revolving in Islam created a fertile environment for a rise in Islamophobic attacks in these two countries, among other factors, which contributed for a restriction of fundamental rights and liberties in these communities.
The main objective of this dissertation is therefore, to understand, with the help of interviews with various individuals related to this area, in which way some of these rights were being retrieved and by which policies, and what was the role of the society as a whole in the phenomenon.Este estudo é sobre como os ataques terroristas em Paris e no Reino Unido nos anos de 2015 a 2017 influenciaram a violação dos direitos humanos em comunidades muçulmanas, com um foco especial nas mulheres muçulmanas. As políticas adotadas pelos governos e a especulação mediática em torno do Islamismo, criaram um ambiente propício para um aumento de ataques islamofóbicos nestes dois países e outros fatores, que restringiam estas comunidades de alguns dos seus direitos e liberdades fundamentais. O objetivo desta dissertação é então perceber, através de entrevistas realizadas a vários indivíduos relacionados com a área, de que forma é que alguns destes direitos lhes foram sendo retirados, quais as políticas que mais influenciaram e qual o papel da sociedade como um todo neste fenómeno.
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Manawalia, Mehek. "The practice of extraordinary rendition : increasing accountability and oversight." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1805/2847.
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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States has transferred close to a hundred individuals suspected of terrorism to foreign jurisdictions through a process known as extraordinary rendition. This is an infamous program that allows for the transfer of individuals to a foreign jurisdiction for interrogation, detention, or trial. While the use of extraordinary rendition attracts widespread controversy regarding its use and legality, it remains a vital tool for combating international terrorism. Evidence in this thesis lends support to extraordinary rendition program, but recognizes that while the program strengthens the country’s ability to gather vital intelligence to combat terrorism, there are methods to improve the program. The extraordinary rendition program requires an assessment of the totality of circumstances before a extraordinary rendition is permitted; reliance on diplomatic assurances from countries that hold a good human rights record; and subsequent monitoring of individuals rendered to foreign states to ensure that transfers comply with U.S. and international law. Evidence suggests that extraordinary rendition aids in the ability to gather sensitive intelligence and serves as a gathering tool used by American presidents to preserve freedom and peace; however, in the eyes of critics, this program represents a perversely autonomous and un-American legal maneuver that avoids due process. This thesis seeks to discuss common misconceptions associated with the extraordinary rendition program and identify the major points of controversy. The first part explores the history of the extraordinary rendition program and provides an understanding of its roots and procedures. The second part, discusses the executive branch’s attempts to conduct extraordinary renditions morally and responsibly, and examines the legal oversight and accountability gaps surrounding the program. Part three identifies the line of authority empowering the President to conduct extraordinary renditions. It also outlines the struggle of the legislative, judicial and executive branches to strengthen the extraordinary rendition program’s compliance with the rule of law by increasing oversight and accountability. Finally, Part four discusses the future of the extraordinary rendition program. The discussion presents possible solutions to correct oversight and accountability problems and suggests a multi-faceted approach that raises the bar for extraordinary renditions, thereby closing the oversight and accountability gaps.
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Shearar, Jeremy Brown. "Against the world : South Africa and human rights at the United Nations 1945-1961." Thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1278.
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At the United Nations Conference on International Organization in April 1945 South Africa affirmed the principle of respect for human rights in a Preamble it proposed for inclusion in the Charter of the United Nations. The proposal was approved and the Preamble was accorded binding force. While South Africa participated in the earliest attempts of the United Nations to draft a bill of rights, it abstained on the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights because its municipal legislation was incompatible with some articles. Similarly, South Africa did not become a party to the international human rights instruments the declaration inspired, and avoided an active role in their elaboration. Subsidiary organs of the General Assembly undertook several studies on discrimination in the field of human rights. They provided evidence that racial discrimination in South Africa intensified after the National Party came to power in May 1948 on the platform of apartheid and diverged from global trends in humanitarian law. The gap between the Union and the United Nations widened.
At the first General Assembly in 1946, India successfully asked that the treatment of persons of Indian origin in South Africa be inscribed on the agenda. The Indian question was later subsumed in the charge that South Africa's racial policies violated the Charter and in 1952 the General Assembly began to discuss apartheid. South Africa protested that these actions contravened Charter Article 2(7), which prohibited intervention in matters of domestic jurisdiction, and were ultra vires. Criticism of the Union increased in intensity, until in 1960 it culminated in calls for economic and diplomatic sanctions.
Research shows that South Africa was the main architect of its growing isolation, since it refused to modify domestic policies that alienated even its potential allies. Moreover, it maintained a low profile in United Nations debates on human rights issues, abstaining on all substantive clauses in the two draft covenants on human rights. These actions were interpreted as lack of interest in global humanitarian affairs. South Africa had little influence on the development of customary international law in the field of human rights but was a catalyst in the evolution of international machinery to protect them.Jurisprudence
(LL.D)
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Pagan, Phillip. "Evaluation of institutions for interstate water trading involving the ACT." Master's thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150406.
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Nkongolo, Kabange Jr. "Improving the governance of mineral resources in Africa through a fundamental rights-based approach to community participation." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/14186.
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This study makes the assumption that community participation in the governance of mineral
resources is a requirement of sustainable development and that through a fundamental
rights-based approach, it can be made effective. The concern is that an affected community
should not only be involved in the decision-making process, but its view must also influence
the outcome in respect of whether or not a mineral project should take place and how it
should address development issues at local level. It is assumed that this legal approach will
improve mineral governance by bringing more transparency and accountability. In many
African resource-rich countries, community participation has until now been practiced with
more of a soft approach, with the consequence that it has been unable to eradicate the
opacity existing in the management of revenues generated by mineral exploitation and also
deal efficiently with the recurrence of fundamental rights violations in the mineral sector.
Obviously, the success of the fundamental rights based-approach is not absolutely
guaranteed because there are preconditions that must be fulfilled. The synergy between
community participation and some relevant concepts like democracy, decentarlisation,
accountability, (good) governance and sustainable development must be well balanced for the participation process to bring positive outcomes. Also, because the fundamental rights
based-approach is conceived here within the framework of the African Charter of Human
and People’s Rights, its normative and institutional components, despite the potential to
make participation effective and successful, require that some critical challenges be
addressed in practice. The study ends with the conclusion that the fundamental rights based-approach
is appropriate to make community participation effective in the mineral-led
development process taking place at local level, provided that its implementation is kept reasonable.Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law
D.Law
39
Mpaka, M. "The prevention of HIV transmission from mother-to-child : the obligations of the South African government in terms of national and international laws." Diss., 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/4342.
Full textAbstract:
Women and children are often the most affected by pandemics which have swept through the world, and in this regard the HIV/AIDS pandemics is not an exception. The most common route of HIV infection in HIV positive children under 5 years of age is through Mother-To-Child Transmission (MTCT). In spite of the seriousness of this pandemic, the Constitutional Court has found that the measures taken by the South African government with regard to the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) has fallen short of what the Constitution requires. This dissertation critically reviews the management of the South African PMTCT programme, and discusses the relevant Court decisions. The study finally clarifies the obligations of the South Africa government in the context of PMTCT under the 1996 Constitution and in terms of international law.Constitutional,International & Indigenous Law
LL.M. (Legal aspects of HIV/AIDS)
40
Muthaphuli, Phumudzo. "Offenders' rights with regard to rehabilitation in South Africa." Diss., 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1309.
Full textAbstract:
Every human being deserves to have their rights respected all the times. Not only does the correctional system have the responsibility to rehabilitate offenders before they are released to the community but also to respect their rights throughout the rehabilitation process.. In this research the extent in which human rights affect the process of rehabilitation was outlined. This was achieved by analyzing the provisions of major human rights instruments, both internationally and nationally as well as standards required for the treatment of offenders. In addition various rehabilitation programmes were also discussed.
The findings of the research indicated that South Africa has achieved a lot when it comes to the recognition of human rights. From the research it was discovered that indeed offenders' rights have an impact on the rehabilitation process. Based on these and other findings recommendations were made.Criminal Justice
M. Tech. (Correctional Services Managemnent)
41
Mathebula, Dingaan Willem. "South African legal aspect for voluntary repatriation of refugees." Diss., 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/19916.
Full textAbstract:
The dissertation investigates South Africa’s legal aspects pertaining to voluntary repatriation of refugees. The repatriation of Mozambican and Angolan refugees was referred to in order to examine the loopholes in the process of repatriating them. This study moreover examines whether the application of the cessation clause is in contravention of the principle of non-refoulement, which is intrinsically the cornerstone for voluntariness of repatriation. The analysis of international, regional and South Africa’s refugee protection framework demonstrates that South Africa affords refugees the protection required by international law. This has been compared with states’ practice and case law with regards to refugee protection in countries including Canada and the United Kingdom. Although South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom have comprehensive legal framework governing refugees’ protection, refugees’ rights have been violated on numerous occasions. The dissertation consequently concludes that notwithstanding the presence of international, regional and domestic legislations, the rights of refugees are violated due to their vulnerability and the repatriation process ignores the principle of voluntariness on several occasions.Public, Constitutional, and International Law
LLM
42
Devitt, Rebecca. "'Sweat and tears' : stolen generations activism and the National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families." Phd thesis, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/149903.
Full text
43
Winter, Wilbur. "The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and social development: an exploratory study of the link between the Bill of Rights and social development." Diss., 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/27570.
Full textAbstract:
Text in English with summaries in English and AfrikaansBibliography: leaves 89-108
Democracy in South Africa came at a price. The apartheid era did not accommodate or incorporate democratic and constitutional principles. The year 1996 saw a democratic Constitution being adopted, having been certified by the Constitutional Court. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution guarantees the rights and freedoms of all South Africans. The apartheid era ensured that the rights which are enjoyed today were reserved for only a portion of the South African population. This study emphasises the importance of the Constitution and the role and responsibility of every citizen to defend it. In defending the Constitution, the rights and freedoms of all South Africans are defended. The Bill of Rights promotes social development for all South Africans, as opposed to disparate social development under the divisive apartheid era. The Constitution is a powerful enabler for democracy and social cohesion and unity. This study depended on secondary sources which are vital to keeping historical facts alive and truthful. Desktop research is qualitative and, while less expensive, produces acceptable results and findings.
Demokrasie in Suid-Afrika het met 'n prys gekom. Die apartheidsera het nie demokratiese en grondwetlike beginsels geakkommodeer of opgeneem nie. In 1996 word 'n demokratiese Grondwet aanvaar, wat deur die Grondwet Hof gesertifiseer was. Die Handves van Menseregte in die Grondwet waarborg die regte en vryhede van alle Suid-Afrikaners. Die apartheidsera het verseker dat die regte wat vandag geniet word, slegs vir 'n gedeelte van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking gereserveer is. Hierdie studie beklemtoon die belangrikheid van die Grondwet en die rol en verantwoordelikheid van elke burger om dit te verdedig. Deur die Grondwet te verdedig word die regte en vryhede van alle Suid-Afrikaners verdedig. Die Handves van Menseregte bevorder sosiale ontwikkeling vir alle Suid-Afrikaners, in teenstelling met uiteenlopende sosiale ontwikkeling onder die verdelende apartheidsera. Die Grondwet is 'n kragtige instaatsteller vir demokrasie, sosiale samehorigheid en eenheid. Hierdie studie was afhanklik van sekondêre bronne wat noodsaaklik is om historiese feite lewendig en waaragtig te hou. Desktop-navorsing (boek) is kwalitatief en hoewel dit goedkoper is, lewer dit aanvaarbare resultate en bevindings op.
Development Studies
M.A. (Development Studies)
44
Litchfield, Chelsea. "Sexual diversity : inclusiveness in women's club level sport." Thesis, 2011. https://vuir.vu.edu.au/19405/.
Full textAbstract:
Safe and supportive spaces are important for women as they explore and affirm diverse and non-conventional discourses and practices of gender and sexuality. Sport, however, does not readily provide such spaces. Historically, many women athletes and women‘s team sports have been stigmatised by a lesbian label and by the discrimination that regularly accompanies this label. Also, there are many sporting teams and club environments where lesbians are invisible and silent. This research examined the lived experiences of women hockey players from three clubs in suburban Melbourne, in relation to their understandings of gender and sexuality, and policy and practice in the club context. This research project utilised a qualitative multiple case study approach and employed interview and content analysis methods. It was found that all three hockey clubs had not implemented a member protection or anti-discrimination policy at the club level. Additionally, the two clubs that had a mixed-gender membership had a culture where males dominated the governance of the club and adhered more readily to traditional ideas about gender and sexuality resulting in a culture of male domination and heterosexism. In such clubs, women often played a subordinate role and sexual diversity in general, and visibility of lesbians in particular, was minimal. In contrast, the club which was established by lesbian feminists, and had an exclusively female membership, had developed by necessity and design, a culture of governance of women by women, a more open attitude to the sexuality of members and a highly visible lesbian presence. This research concluded that the current communication processes in place between the state sporting association and the hockey clubs was inadequate, as evidenced by the invisibility of policy at each of the hockey clubs. In addition, irrespective of politics, gender and sexuality diversity, the lesbian label, in all cases, had a negative impact on the research participants by defining, controlling and constricting their self identity and self image.
45
Matsinhe, David Mário. "Pitfalls of national development and reconstruction : an ethical appraisal of socio-economic transformation in post-war Mozambique." Diss., 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/18173.
Full textAbstract:
Mozambique is undergoing intensive socio-economic reforms to reconstruct war
damages and develop the nation. The reforms consist of economic liberalisation through structural
adjustment and monetarist economic stabilisation, e.g. government withdrawal from economic
activities, privatisation, deregulation, reduction of tariff levels on imports and tax on
investments, cuts of expenditure on social services, restrictive credit system, focus on
monetarism, increased taxation on individual income, etc. The nature of these reforms, on the
surface, leads to morally questionable conditions. There is social chaos and disintegration, high
indices of corruption, subtle recolonisation, decline of civil services, etc. At the
bottom lie the market ethics and fundamentalist theological discourse by dint of which the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund deny historical consciousness, lack institutional
memory, vest themselves with unquestionable international authority, dictate and impose policies
without accountability for the social consequences. If there is any hope for Mozambicans, it lies
in development ethics which relies heavily on the liberation motif, historical consciousness, and
African Heritage.Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology
M. Th. (Theological Ethics)
46
Mnyaka, Mluleki Michael Ntutuzelo. "Xenophobia as a response to foreigners in post-apartheid South Africa and post-exilic Israel: a comparative critique in the light of the gospel and Ubuntu ethical principles." Thesis, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1176.
Full textAbstract:
Blaming those who are different from us because of skin colour, nationality and language when things do not go right during the process of reconstruction is common among those who are faced with such a task. This assertion is confirmed by our examination and evaluation of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa and post-exilic Israel. In South Africa socio-economic and political reasons are cited for the rejection of African immigrants by some South Africans. The Jews in the post exilic period understood their religious, social and economic problems to be caused by others. What is more disturbing is that the Jews understood their xenophobia to be demanded or legitimised by God. These reasons for them necessitated hatred, isolation, stigmatisation and sometimes negative actions against foreigners.
When we compare xenophobia in both post-apartheid South Africa and post-exilic Israel in this study, we find that factors such as identity, notion of superiority, negative perception of those who are different and use of power, play a major role in the exacerbation of xenophobia. In evaluating both situations, using the African principle of Ubuntu and Christian moral values, we are able to demonstrate that xenophobia as found in both situations is morally wrong since it is inhuman, selfish, racist/ethnocentric, discriminatory and often violent. Ubuntu and Christian values and principles such as human dignity, human rights, reciprocity, love, compassion, forgiveness, hospitality and community were sacrificed by South Africans and Jews in their dealings with foreigners in their respective situations.
It is argued here that among other things in the case of South Africa, the reduction of inflammatory statements by government representatives and the media, education of the unemployed, the youth and workers; and the meeting of spiritual, material, humanitarian and moral needs by the Church, will help sensitise South Africans to the plight of African immigrants and migrants and will further deepen the ubuntu and Christian values.Religious Studies and Arabic
D.Th.(Theological Ethics)
47
Okello-Wengi, Sebastian. "Analysing the support systems for refugees in southern Africa: the case of Botswana." Thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1256.
Full textAbstract:
The purpose of this study was to analyse the support systems for refugees in Southern Africa with specific reference to the Republic of Botswana. Qualitative framework as described by Lofland and Lofland (1984), Schensus and Schensus (1992) was used to conduct the investigation. Interviews were conducted with thirty refugees who currently living in Botswana as a refugee or asylum seeker. Focus group discussion was also held with twenty-six refugee workers.
Interview findings were derived using Glaser and Straus' (1976) and Van Maanen, (1979) constant comparative method of qualitative analysis and were grouped into four major categories. Among the most significant findings were that the subjects agreed that on paper and by design, there are structures for providing the different services to refugees but refugees are not provided with adequate services. The second finding is that the support systems for refugees in Botswana are more focused on the provision of material support with little attention given to the psychosocial needs of the refugees. The third finding is that the Botswana government withheld some of the Articles of the 1951 UN refugee Convention, which deal with the socio-economic rights of refugees in Botswana. The fourth finding is that refugee workers need specialised training to enable them to address a wide rage of psychosocial issues affecting refugees. Last major finding is that there is no established clear system of service delivery in the participating agencies. The researcher concluded that because of trauma and stress experienced by refugees and refugee workers, there is a need to improve on the psychosocial support provided to refugees and refugee workers in Botswana by improving the knowledge and skills of refugee workers and promoting refugee participation.
The researcher recommends two urgent actions that should be taken. First, the refugee management in Botswana need to improve on its service quality control mechanism, including evaluating its legal and operational framework. Second, psychosocial components need to be integrated into every aspect of the refugee programmes. This will support recovery for the many traumatised refugees and refugee workers in Botswana.Social work
DPHIL (SOCIAL WORK)