Human Rights Journal

No.1 | 2019 | See the journal here

I. STUDIES, RESEARCH, ARTICLES

Adrian Bulgaru, Maria-Beatrice Berna

Cultural and normative implications on the legal protection of women’s rights in the inter-American system

This article focuses on demonstrating how the cultural norms applicable to women in the inter-American society can influence regulatory approaches concerning the protection of their rights. From a structural point of view, the research is comprised of two major orientations: the presentation of the concepts of inter-American culture through which are concretized the characteristics of the female gender, of the male gender and of the specifics of their inter-relation and the identification of formal regional initiatives aimed at both overcoming mentality patterns that maintain women’s inferiority in society – these being established by culture, and at achieving the effective protection of women’s rights. The main reason why we have written the above-mentioned research thesis is naturally understood: if the protection of women’s rights is a synthesis process, then, in creating the relevant legislation to respond to gender issues, it is necessary to consider the cultural aspects – as the latter are the noble expression of the mind of a human community.

Keywords: marianismo, machismo, cultural factors, femicide, Belem Do Para Convention

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Anca Moț

Education and global challenges. The role of UNESCO in promoting education for global citizenship

Education has an essential role to play in addressing the economic, social, political, ecological problems faced by today’s globalized world. It can contribute to the creation of peaceful, tolerant, inclusive and sustainable societies. In 2014, UNESCO recognized the Education Program for Global Citizenship as a central education objective under the slogan "Learning to Live together in Peace". This Program, developed by UNESCO and other international institutions, aims at training young people to take an active role in addressing global challenges by promoting knowledge and social skills to foster peaceful coexistence, international cooperation, solidarity and respect for diversity. The Education for Global Citizenship Program is inspired from other approaches in the field, while also complementing them. These approaches are focused on the challenges of global education and citizenship (education for peace, human rights, citizenship, education for sustainable development).

Keywords: global citizenship, education for global citizenship, the role of UNESCO

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Anna Maria Neagoe

The right of people with disabilities to vote

The right to vote is a fundamental right of every citizen. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the legal instrument that applies human rights to disability, requires states to guarantee to the persons with disabilities the right to vote, stand for election and be elected, including the possibility of effectively and fully benefit from them, without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives. This means ensuring that voting procedures are adequate, accessible, easy to understand and use, protecting the rights of persons with disabilities to vote by secret vote, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of persons with disabilities as electors, in which case they should allow assistance in voting by a person chosen by them.

Keywords: right to vote, persons with disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, accessibility

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Giovanni Baccani

Impact of the European Refugee Crisis on the protection of human rights of asylum-seekers and refugees in Europe

This paper aims to analyse the main characteristics of the ‘European migrant crisis’ which was labelled as an extraordinary event in Europe`s modern history. At the same time, the paper focuses more on asylum seekers and refugees and less on the entire ‘migrants’ category, although European member states have specific duties to protect the rights of any person within their borders. Nevertheless, refugees enjoy a wider set of rights as they do not have the same guarantees in their country of origin. Thus, their safety should be of main concern, their protection being provided by a series of international documents. The signatory states to these documents have a moral obligation and especially a legal obligation to respect them. As such, this article analyses if Europe has fully maintained its obligations towards asylum seekers and refugees, even in a moot situation such as the one of a crisis. The paper focuses on the human rights system, with a special emphasis on the rights of refugees and the protection system in Europe. It analyses main figures and events of the crisis, along with the immediate reaction of the media, public opinion and European governments. The paper aims to provide an academic research focused on identifying variations in the protection of newly arrived migrants in European countries, starting from 2015. The methodology is based on a critical evaluation of the controversial measures adopted by the European Union and national governments as an answer to the rising pressure of migration flows, both at the external and internal borders. The research also examines various breaches of human rights in EU member states.

Keywords: European migrant crisis, UN Refugee Convention of 1951, asylum seekers, refugees, international protection, unaccompanied minors, migration flows

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Ioan Voicu, Florina Voicu

The right to education revisited

The first section of the article is an analytical description of the handbook on education published by UNESCO in 2019. A special emphasis is placed on the legal specifics of this fundamental human right, reflected by numerous international law instruments and embedded in the 2030 Agenda, which summarises the sustainable development goals set by the UN. Fulfilling the right to education is one of the most important goals of this policy document, and UNESCO has an active role in transposing this right. The second part of the article is a summary of Romania`s initiative introduced at the UN in 1979-1981, when, along with many other developing countries, it submitted a resolution on the right to education. The resolution was a point of interest for UNESCO, the organisation that presents to the UN specialised reports on implementing this right and on methods to universally apply this right in member states.

Keywords: education, law, sustainable development, UNESCO, UN, 2030 Agenda, promoting, implementation, globalisation, strategy, programs, recommendations, universality

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II. CASE-LAW

Andreea Moroianu

Decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Deaconu v. Romania

The present case shows that all courts should bear in mind that nobody should be discriminated if they are in a similar situation, especially if there are no clear grounds for a different treatment. The applicants filed a complaint with the European Court for Human Rights referring to Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention. The applicants were two Romanian brothers who had not been granted non-pecuniary damages after their sister died in an accident. At the time of the accident, the applicants were younger than 14. Two of her older brothers were granted nonpecuniary damages. However, a Romanian Court of appeal considered that the applicants were too young to be aware of the negative consequences of her death. The European Court of Human Rights noted that the Court of Appeal based its ruling on the statement of a single witness. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights emphasised that there has been no reasonable justification for a different treatment, given that the Romanian Court of Appeal did not base its findings on expert reports or any psychological evaluations of the applicants. The European Court for Human Rights concluded that there has been a violation of Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with Article 1 of Protocol No. 1.

Keywords: age, age discrimination, difference of treatment

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Bianca Pătulea

Decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Flămînzeanu v. Romania

The right to education is not an absolute right, it can be limited by the states by adopting a national law having a legitimate aim, as long as the measures adopted respect the principle of proportionality, are predictable and do not affect the essence of the right to education. In this case, the European Court of Human Rights emphasized that although the right to education does not impose on the state the obligation to organize special education structures, the state has the obligation to ensure the access of all persons to the structures and institutions already existing in the national education system. In the case presented to the Court, the Romanian state did not take the necessary measures to ensure that the limitation of access to education has a legitimate objective and respects the principle of proportionality, being thus in violation of Article 2 of Protocol no. 1 to the Convention.

Keywords: right to education, principle of proportionality

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III. REVIEWS

Felicia Maxim

Treaty on International and European Social Law (Nicolae Voiculescu, Maria-Beatrice Berna, Universul Juridic Publishing House, Bucharest, 2019)

The Treatise on International and European Social Law reviewed hereunder is an absolute novelty on the national level, and it fills a 10-year analysis gap on the European level. Analysing the social field, the authors engage in an ambitious scientific demarche and a reflective perspective of the national social field, voicing both criticism and solutions. The complexity of the Treatise on international and European social law is confirmed from multiple perspectives: rigorous scientific information, presented in a quasi-exhaustive manner, the use of legislative and jurisprudence filters to comprehensively describe a particular issue, highlighting European and international social standards and comparing them to the national progress and failures.

Keywords: European and international social standards, legislation, case-law

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Daniela Albu

UNHCR Global trends Report: Forced Displacement in 2018 (UNCHR, Geneva, 2019)

The 2018 Global Trends Report of UNHCR on forced displacement shows that there is a rise in the number of refugees as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, or human rights violations. By the end of the year 70,8 million individuals were forcefully displaced worldwide. The figure includes refugees and other displaced people not covered by UNHCR’s mandate and excludes other categories such as returnees and non-displaced stateless people. Sixty-seven per cent of refugees come from only five countries: Syria (6.7 million), Afghanistan (2.7 million), South Sudan (2.3 million), Myanmar (1.1 million), and Somalia (0.9 million). The report also focuses on the dire situation in Venezuela, which forced more than 3 million people to flee their country during 2018 due to lack of food and medicine, violence and poverty. The report also tackles relocation and integration of refugees. In 2018, 92,400 refugees were relocated in 25 countries, especially Canada, USA, Australia, UK and France. With regards to integration, it is difficult to distinguish between naturalized refugees and people who are not refugees. 62,600 refugees were naturalized, which is 10,800 less than in the previous year.

Keywords: refugee, naturalization, relocation, integration

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