18th Commonwealth Law Conference, 14-18 April 2013, Cape Town, South Africa

The conference programme for the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference is now available at http://www.commonwealthlaw2013.org/

Current topics include

• Anti-Bribery and Corruption in the Corporate World
• Intellectual Property in the Developing World 
• New Frontiers of Competition Law: Role of Non-Competition Considerations in Adjudication of Mergers and Takeovers 
• Privatising the Courts: Alternative Dispute Resolution 
• Legal Aspects of the Mining and Extractive Industries
• Government Lawyers Exposed 
• Separation of Powers: Constitutional and Media Perspectives 
• Human Trafficking: Commerce and Slavery in the Commonwealth
• LGBT: Decriminalisation and the Role of Lawyers 
• Pitcairn Island – Mutiny on the Bounty: Violence against Women as a Cultural Norm 
• Playing Fair? Sports Law in the Commonwealth 
• Information, Secrecy and Wikileaks 
• Forced Marriages: What Should the Legal Response Be? 
• Defamation Law Reform: Thresholds, Defences and the Value of Free Speech 
• Cyber Security in the Commonwealth 
• Immigration, Migration and Refugees in the Commonwealth – the Legal Response
• How ‘International’ is the International Criminal Court?

Keynote speakers confirmed are: Dr Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and
Justice Dr Willy Mutunga, Chief Justice of Kenya

International Refugee Law Seminar Series

The Refugee Law Initiative of the SAS Human Rights Consortiuum is pleased to inaugurate the 3rd year of the seminar series on

International Refugee Law

These seminars provide a forum for the discussion and debate of cutting-edge research and contemporary legal issues in the field of refugee protection

12 Oct 2012, 5.30 pm: Professor Vincent Chetail,  Graduate Institute (Geneva)
The Relations between Refugee Law and Human Rights Law: A Systemic Perspective
Macmillan Hall, Senate House

22 Nov 2012, 5.30pm: Sir Nicholas Blake QC,  President, Upper Tribunal, Immigration and Asylum Chamber
Country Guidance in the United Kingdom’s Upper Tribunal
Macmillan Hall, Senate House

22 Jan 2013, 5.30pm: Professor Colin Harvey, Queen’s University Belfast
Humanity and Legality: Rights of Refugees and Legal Mobilisation

Council Chamber, Institute of Advanced Legal StudyALS
21 February 2013, 5.30pm: Professor Ryszard Piotrowicz, Aberystwyth University
The Limits of Refugee Law: Human Trafficking and Challenges to the International Protection Regime

Woburn suite, Senate House
March 2013, 5.30 pm: Professor Deborah Anker, Harvard University
Legal Change from the Bottom Up: The Development of Gender Asylum Jurisprudence in the United States
Room tbc, Senate House

May 2013, 5.30pm Dr Maria Teresa Gil-Bazo, Newcastle University
The Right to Asylum in the Practice of Latin American and African States
Room tbc, Senate House

ADMISSION FREE – ALL WELCOME

Convenor: Dr David James Cantor, Director, Refugee Law Initiative

Louise Arbour Human Rights Research Studentships

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies will launch, beginning in the academic year 2012-13, the Louise Arbour Human Rights Research Studentships for new MPhil/PhD research students.


Madam Louise Arbour is a former Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. In December 2010, Madam Arbour was awarded a Doctor of Laws of the University of London, honoris causa, and the Institute is honoured to offer studentships in her name in recognition of her career and achievements.

The Louise Arbour studentships provide the successful applicant with a fee waiver equivalent to up to 100% of the full-time or part-time tuition fee. In 2012-13, up to two full-time and two part-time studentships will be available. Successful applicants will be of exceptional quality, evidenced by previous academic achievement at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Successful applicants will have outstanding research proposals and genuine and demonstrable interest in being supervised by a member of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies faculty.

For further information please contact Simon Lund-Lack, Graduate Student Officer at simon.lund-lack@sas.ac.uk or 0207 862 8834.

New Books - October 2011

A selection of new books added to the catalogue in October 2011, including a number of books purchased to support our growing collection in human rights, which support the Institute's MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights

Moyn, Samuel. The last utopia : human rights in history. Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010.

Gatwa, Tharcisse. The churches and ethnic ideology in the Rwandan crises, 1900-1994. Milton Keynes : Paternoster, 2005.

Bronkhorst, Salomé. Climate change and conflict : lessons for conflict resolution from the Southern Sahel of Sudan. Umhlanga : African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), 2011.

Dinstein, Yoram. The conduct of hostilities under the law of international armed conflict. Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Kalshoven, Frits and Liesbeth Zegveld. Constraints on the waging of war : an introduction to international humanitarian law. Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Sibomana, André. Hope for Rwanda : conversations with Laure Guilbert and Hervé Deguine, translated and with a postscript by Carina Tertsakian ; foreword by Alison Des Forges. London ; Sterling, Va. : Pluto Press ; Dar Es Salaam : Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, 1999.

Hoffman, David and John Rowe. Human rights in the UK : an introduction to the Human Rights Act 1998. Harlow : Longman, 2010.

Hutching, Megan. Leading the way : how New Zealand women won the vote. Auckland : HarperCollins Publishers, 2010.

Bunte, Thimna and Laureline Monnier. Mediating land conflict in Burundi. Umhlanga : African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), 2011.

Seecharan, Clem. Mother India's Shadow over El Dorado : Indo-Guyanese politics and identity, 1890s-1930s. Kingston ; Miami : Ian Randle Publishers, c2011.

Social accountability & poverty reduction in Ghana : community assessment of five districts / by the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) of ISODEC ; with the support of the Department for International Development (DFID), through the Institute for Policy Alternatives (IPA), and of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), through Diakonia. Accra : Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), [2005]

African Human Rights Case Law Analyser

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights is the oldest human rights complaint-handling body in Africa. Established by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Article 30), since 1988, the African Commission has been receiving and determining cases (called communications) on human rights violations in Africa. It has through the years developed a valuable and uniquely African body of human rights case law, which is available here in its most exhaustive collection.


The African Human Rights Case Law Analyser offers the most exhaustive access to the decisions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in English and French.


The African Human Rights Case Law Analyser (CLA) is a joint project of the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems (HURIDOCS). Its principal aim is to promote human rights in Africa by filling the information lacuna on the African Human Rights System.

Institute of Commonwealth Studies podcasts

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies has been recording and making available as podcasts a number of seminars, conferences and lectures.

These are available at http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/events/videos-and-podcasts.html

Currently available podcasts include:

• The 2009 conference "Reconstructing Rwanda: 15 Years After Genocide. A Tribute to Alison Des Forges"
• Presentations from the conference "Recovering Stolen Generations, Land, and Culture: Indigenous Rights & Transitional Justice"
• Dr Shirin Ebadi (2003 Nobel Peace Prize Winner) speaking on "The Human Rights Situation in Iran"
• Institute Director Philip Murphy on "The House of Windsor and the Modern Commonwealth"
• The Rt Hon Tony Benn's lecture "Serving the Next Generation - The Commonwealth in the 21st Century: The Movement for Colonial Freedom"
• The Rt Hon Peter Hain speaking to "Mandela: the man and his legacy", and
• The Rt Hon Lord Howell of Guildford, Minister of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office, giving the Inaugural Peter Lyon Lecture: "The Commonwealth - A Global Network for the 21st Century"
  
  
  
  
  
  

 

 

United Nations report on Sri Lanka

The recent Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka has been made public and released on the UN website.

The panel was set up to advise Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on accountability issues relating to the final stages of the conflict, which ended in May 2009 when Government forces declared victory over the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The panel found credible allegations of serious violations committed by the Government, including killing of civilians through widespread shelling and the denial of humanitarian assistance and credible allegations regarding the LTTE concerning numerous serious violations, including using civilians as a human buffer and killing civilians attempting to flee LTTE control.

The Sri Lanka conflict was fought over three decades and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies contains a wide range of material on the conflict and peacebuilding in Sri Lanka. Collections include primary material published by both the Sri Lanka Government and LTTE, as well as publications on topics including the conflict, peacebuilding, resettlement, development, displacement, ethnicity and human rights.

Recently acquired books also include works on recovery from the tsunami of 2004.

Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull Ph.D Scholarships for 2011

Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, University of Hull Ph.D Scholarships for 2011



To celebrate recent research successes, the University of Hull has made available 30 UK/EU PhD scholarships and 30 international PhD fees bursaries. Of these, 20 scholarships and bursaries will be available to students from FASS (Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences), which includes the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation.

 Applicants from European Union are eligible for a scholarship which includes course fees and a stipend to cover living costs. Students from outside the European Union are eligible for a scholarship which covers course fees. As part of this larger scholarship round, the Wilberforce Institute is particularly keen to encourage applications for scholarships in the following areas:


* Historical Slave Systems and Global Diasporas.


* The Abolition of Slavery and the Transition to Freedom.

* Memories, Legacies and Representations of Slavery and Abolition.

* Modern Slavery, Human Rights and Human Development.


* Wartime Enslavement and Sexual Violence.


The deadline for applications is the 31st of May.


Applications


Formal applications for a scholarship need to be made through the University's Admissions Office, rather than to the Wilberforce Institute directly. Application forms can be obtained from the University Admissions Office or downloaded in Word format from their website.


University of Hull Admissions Office <http://www2.hull.ac.uk/student/admissions.aspx>
The University of Hull, HU6 7RX, UK
Tel +44 (0)1482 466850
 Fax +44 (0)1482 442290
Email admissions@hull.ac.uk


In order to apply for a scholarship, you should submit the following information:


1. A Completed Application form:


2. A research proposal (around 1,000-1200 words) which should explain:
a) the area of the project
b) the research questions that will be addressed
c) the approach and methods to be employed

3. A brief statement of how the applicant is qualified (formally and in terms of skills, personal attributes etc.) to carry out the project

4. Two references from individuals who are qualified to comment upon your project and professional career to date.

For further information, please contact Dr Douglas Hamilton at D.Hamilton@hull.ac.uk

Institute of Commonwealth Studies Human Rights Seminar Series 2010-11

Human Rights Seminar Series 2010-11


Unless otherwise indicated seminars will take place at 5.30pm in Room G32, Senate House,School of Advanced Study, University of London

For maps and directions: http://www.sas.ac.uk/maps.html

For further information, please contact Par Engstrom (par.engstrom@sas.ac.uk)


Wednesday, 17 November
The Judicial Protection of Social Rights: An Incrementalist Approach
Dr Jeff King, Fellow and Tutor in law, Balliol College, and Research Fellow, Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford


Wednesday, 24 November
Public Security or Social Defence? Explaining Change and Continuity in Brazil's Public Security Policies
Prof Anthony W. Pereira, Director Brazil Institute, King's College London
Note change of venue: Stewart House, Seminar Room 274/5


Wednesday, 1 December
Civilian Social Networks and the Social Construction of Genocide Victims: A Topology of the Unión Patriótica (Colombia)
Andrei Gomez-Suarez, Lecturer in International Security, University of Sussex


Wednesday, 26 January
Lawfare and Palestine
Dr Michael Kearney, Fellow in Law, LSE


Wednesday, 9 February
Including ‘Caste’ in the UK Equality Act (2010)
Meena Varma, Executive Director of Dalit Solidarity Network UK


Wednesday, 2 March
Title tbc
Dr Leslie Vinjamuri, Co-director, Centre for the International Politics of Conflict, Rights and Justice, SOAS, and Co-chair, London Transitional Justice Network (LTJN)


Wednesday, 30 March
Legitimacy and Supranational Human Rights Courts
Dr Başak Çali, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights and Principal Investigator European Court of Human Rights Project, UCL

Start of term - welcome to our new Human Rights students

We'd like to wish all our new students a warm welcome to the Library. Students at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies are either starting the MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights, or studying for a PhD in a wide range of topics and regions.

The teaching collection in human rights is focused on supporting the MA in Understanding and Securing Human Rights, and has been built up over the course of this programme to be an important and up to date collection of material on human rights, that is well supplemented by collections at the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies and elsewhere in the Senate House Library.

The general Commonwealth Studies collections reflect the interest of the Commonwealth as an organisation in human rights issues, as well as the issues that have impacted on and within various Commonwealth nations - including recognition of indigenous peoples' rights, genocide and war, apartheid, cultural rights and the environment, globalisation and development, and reconciliation.

Both collections are available to consult on a reference-only basis for any library member not on the MA programme. Library staff are always willing to help and support your research and study.

SAS Visiting Fellowships in Human Rights - Call for Applications

Visiting Fellowships in Human Rights - Call for Applications
Applications are invited for Visiting Fellowships in Human Rights, hosted by the Human Rights Consortium at the School of Advanced Study, University of London.


Visiting Fellowships in Human Rights are granted for a period ranging from one to six months. Fellows are expected to help develop the activities of the Human Rights Consortium at the School by presenting at a conference or seminar or contributing to a publication, and to pursue their own research. Office space, access to computing and printing facilities and a library card are provided.

An honorarium of up to £2,000 is offered to one Visiting Fellow in Human Rights each year. Non-stipendiary fellowships may also be offered, subject to space availability.

The application deadline is 30 September 2010 for a visit in 2011. Prospective applicants are encouraged to apply at least six months before their proposed visit.

For more information, please go here:

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival 19-25 March London

We're pleased to publicise the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, featuring films at the Ritzy, ICA, Curzon Soho and Curzon Mayfair, and encourage you to look at the full programme on their website.

Of Commonwealth interest include the following:

Good Fortune - questioning the benefits of international efforts to alleviate poverty, Good Fortune, presents a unique perspective on human rights abuses and environmental destruction carried out in the name of progress in Kenya. Screening Sunday 21st March at 6.30pm (ICA), the screening includes a question and answer session with the film's director.

Nero's Guests - documentary about the thousands of Indian farmers who commit suicide each year due to poverty and the inability to repay debts. Screening Monday 22nd March at 6.30pm (ICA).

War Don Don - tells the story of the sensational trial of Issa Sesay, a senior commander of the rebel Revolutionary United Front, Siera Leone. Screening Thursday 25th March at 6.30pm (ICA), the screening includes a question and answer session with the film's director.