human rights Archives

Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink: Political stagnation and water fragility in South Africa’s Free State

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Safe and clean drinking water and sanitation are basic human rights.

After 30 years of post-Apartheid single-party rule, corruption and ineffective governance are widespread in South Africa. In the Free State Province, the situation with respect to water and sanitation provision is so dire that it amounts to a human rights crisis. Reinstating water rights and addressing Free State water fragility will require a paradigm shift in the political landscape, not […]

Defining the rule of law in terms of liberty and equality

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The research explores the interaction between liberty and equality in the context of the rule of law.

The relationship between liberty, the individual freedom from social oppression and restrictions, and equality, which entails providing equal rights and opportunities to all segments of the population, is intricate and often disputed. Isabel Trujillo, professor in legal philosophy at the University of Palermo, Italy, explores this relationship in the context of the rule of law – the notion that all […]

Human Rights Day 2022: #StandUp4HumanRights

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A special edition blog for Human Rights Day 2022, celebrating research into academic freedom as well as other works on human rights

The 10th of December 2022 is Human Rights Day, and it’s an important date in the calendar of internationally observed events by the United Nations (UN). Human Rights Day 2022 is a celebration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948. After the horrors and atrocities of World War 2, nations […]

Sustainability asymmetries in buyer–supplier relationships

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A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This is easy to say, but the reality is more complex. New research into sustainability and Strategic Supply Chain Management (SSCM) shows that buyer–supplier relationships are far from straightforward, and differences between buyers’ and suppliers’ approaches to sustainability can both positively and negatively affect buyers’ financial and market performance. Led […]

Invoking human rights to stop ivory tower bullies

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Dr Leah P Hollis argues that workplace bullying is a violation of the Human Rights Act; as an international issue, employees are denied the rights to civility and dignity in the workplace, especially in higher education institutions

Higher education institutions are not immune to workplace bullying. In fact, research shows that they can be virulent breeding grounds for a particularly pernicious form of bullying – one cloaked in popular perceptions of civility. In higher education, bullying is even delegated to subordinates. However, because workplace bullying inhabits a grey legal area, prosecuting cases is challenging. Dr Leah P […]

Is the Corona pandemic a gateway to global surveillance?

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For the first time in human history, digital surveillance technologies have allowed governments around the world to monitor almost everyone, almost everywhere, almost all the time. The public has largely accepted such measures as necessary in the fight against the Coronavirus. But are we right to passively accept the abandonment of our right to privacy – a fundamental human right […]

Doing good: Social change initiatives and ethical thinking

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graphic showing various hands reaching for a globe

Social change is complex. Program designers and implementers need to deal with complexity in ethical ways. Ms Susan Igras and Dr Anjalee Kohli at Georgetown University and their co-authors examine the power dynamics of norms-shifting interventions in fostering health improvement. Their aim is to develop an approach to designing and carrying out interventions which more systematically take into account values, […]