INTRODUCTION

The course provides a comprehensive understanding to the law, theory, principles, institutions and practice of international criminal law. It offers participants with a well-grounded understanding of the international criminal offense in terms of prosecution procedures, enforcement agencies and control. This gives them a proper base to grasp contemporary developments in the field and opens law professionals and practitioners to a global perspective.

FOR MORE DETAILS AND COURSE OUTLINE PLEASE CONTACT: 

PIERRE DUPLIS BRENNER

The Admission Director

AFRICA INSTITUTE FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT (AICD)

HEAD OFFICE:

21 Detroit Plaza |Pretoria Road|Kempton Park|

Gauteng. SOUTH AFRICA

Telephone : +27 733797377

Whatsapp Number : +27 733797377

Email:info@aicdtraining.com

https://aicdtraining.com/

 

For more information https://aicdtraining.com/apply-online/

The Admission Director

AFRICA INSTITUTE FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT (AICD)

 

HEAD OFFICE:

21 Detroit Plaza |Pretoria Road|Kempton Park|

Gauteng. SOUTH AFRICA

Telephone : +27 733797377

Whatsapp Number : +27 733797377

 

Email:info@aicdtraining.com

https://aicdtraining.com/

 

OUR SERVICES:

TRAINING| SHORT COURSES| CONSULTANCY| RESEARCH| RECRUITMENT| MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:

SADC Institute of Commerce and Industrial Practice
Gauteng. SOUTH AFRICA

 

1.0  COURSE OVERVIEW

 

This course provides a rigorous and critical introduction to the foundation, structure and operation of the international human rights movement, as it has evolved through the years and as it impacts nations across the world. The course introduces participants to the key theoretical debates in the field including the historical origin and character of the modern idea of human rights, the debate between universality and cultural relativism, between civil and human rights, between individual and commModuley, and the historically contentious relationship between the West and the Rest in matters of sovereignty and human rights, drawing on real life examples from current affairs. The course also covers leading policy issues in which human rights are implicated such as the contentious relationship between human rights and economic development / globalization, issues raised by poverty and economic-social and cultural rights, democracy promotion as a human rights agenda, women’s rights, ethnic violence, and the tension between security and human rights. It discusses ways in which human rights are sought to be realized in practice, both within countries, with an emphasis on the Moduleed States, and through transnational mechanisms such as the Moduleed Nations. The course explores the often contentious relationship between the U.S. and international human rights movement, including arguments about American exceptionalism, and the current human rights issues raised by mass movements from criminal justice, policing, mass incarceration and economic and social justice. The course materials will draw from many disciplines including law, philosophy, international relations, sociology and political science and will also rely upon the publications of leading international agencies.

Besides, the course covers the basic principles, theories, conceptual tools, and comparative methods useful for understanding the challenges of democracy and democratization.

Since the early-1970s, successive ‘waves’ of regime change have occurred.  The era from the mid-1970s to the 1990’s is widely regarded as a substantial expansion in the third wave of electoral democracies around the globe. More recent developments remain under debate, however; some see a picture of stasis but other observers suggest that liberal democracy is now ‘in retreat’, ‘in decline’ or under threat around the world, including in Western societies. The rise of populist authoritarianism has destabilized established patterns of party competition and threatened liberal ideals and human rights even in many long-standing democracies, including in the Moduleed States and Western Europe.   Events during the ‘Arab uprisings’ from Tunisia to Syria highlighted a checkered pattern of regime transitions and the challenge of building stable and peaceful nation-states and effective governance in the region.  Elsewhere around the world many states have also experienced only partial or unstable steps towards democratic elections, and then reverses, for example in Turkey, Thailand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria, and Venezuela. There are also numerous examples of ‘electoral autocracies’, in states as varied as Singapore, Burma, Russia and Pakistan, which hold multiparty elections but fail to institute the full panoply of human rights and political freedoms.  Moreover many autocracies persist – whether one-party states, military-backed dictatorships, autocratic regimes, elitist oligarchies, and absolute monarchies. In many countries, therefore, the prospects of democratization remains deeply flawed, incomplete, or uncertain.

These developments have profound consequences. Advocates argue that democratic governance is a universal human right. Moreover, this type of regime is also believed to have instrumental advantages by helping people live wealthier, healthier, and more secure lives. Effective democratic states elect leaders who are more accountable and thus more responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens, including the poor. In addition, democratic governance is also believed to promote international peace and cooperation among similar types of regimes, reducing the causes of conflict and violence between and within states.

In the light of these arguments, the international development commModuley, multilateral organizations, and national stakeholders have used multiple strategies to support democratic governance. Resources have been devoted to strengthening the capacity of political institutions, notably through encouraging multiparty competitive elections, independent judiciaries, and effective legislatures designed to curb and counterbalance strong executives, as well as implementing decentralization strategies, anti-corruption drives, and public sector reforms. Democratic assistance has flowed into attempts to foster and expand civic society by nurturing grassroots organizations, advocacy NGOs, human rights watch groups, and the independent news media. And aid has been invested in attempts to expand economic growth, peace-building, and sustainable development, as an indirect route to democratic governance. But critics suggest that these efforts, no matter how well-meaning, have been largely ineffective, international assistance for democratic governance should be reduced, and these resources should be invested in other priorities at home and abroad.

 

2.0   COURSE OBJECTIVES

 

The course provides an introduction to basic human rights philosophy, principles, instruments and institutions, and also an overview of current issues and debates in the field with focus on the problems specific to Bulgaria. This course aims to explore some aspects of the diverse and increasingly complex body of international law of human rights that has both national and international application. The course also seeks to analyze the ways in which allegations of human rights violations are dealt with in the Bulgarian courts and the impact of human rights discourse on international politics and relations

 

In addition, the course will sharpen your understanding of the challenges facing democratic governance and also provide insights into the range of practical policy recommendations which could be adopted to strengthen the process of democratic governance.

The course will use a broadly comparative methodology incorporating evidence from a wide range of countries worldwide, including developed and developing societies.   This class is evaluated through mixed types of assignments, including a standard academic paper and a professional report. There are no prerequisites for taking the class.

3.0   COURSE GOALS

 

This course seeks to help students to:
·        develop analytical skills to question and appraise human rights policies and practices at the international and national levels;
·        enhance understanding of fact-finding methodology and develop interview skills;
·        gain substantive knowledge of the international law and policy of human rights and consider prevailing trends in the human rights field and of the challenge and contribution of critics;
·        perceive improvements, discern ambiguities and identify contradictions in the human rights movement;
·        draw useful conclusions about the roles of various state and nonstate actors in the identification of rights and in their promotion and enforcement; and
·        identify potential roles for oneself in the promotion of human rights.

sharpen your understanding of the challenges facing democratic governance and also provide insights into the range of practical policy recommendations which could be adopted to strengthen the process of democratic governance.

4.0   COURSE OUTLINE

 

A.  HUMAN RIGHTS

Module 1: What are human rights?

 

1. Defining human rights
2. Philosophy of human rights– do human rights exist? What makes a right a human right?

• A brief history of human rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its impact

1. How can human rights be framed as a “common concern” or as “human dignity”?  What are the implications of these and other possible conceptions of human rights?  Who benefits from human rights?  What is the impact on philosophy, politics, specific practices of state and nonstate actors?
2. What are the possibilities and limitations for human rights as a means of pursuing global justice?
3. How do human rights norms develop?  When do we know they exist?

• How do you recognize a human right?  Can you list specific attributes of human rights?  Are human rights different from “civil rights”?
• How are we to understand enforcement of human rights under international law?  Are there other, “extra-legal” ways in which human rights norms are enforced?

1. With specific reference to Forsythe and Schlesinger, discuss the role played by human rights in international relation in the Moduleed States.  From your past study of the field of IR (if any), can you point to any dilemmas for human rights in IR?
2. How does human rights figure into US foreign policy?  How should it?  What about the foreign policy of other countries?
3. Does the US generally abide by international human rights law?  Do other states?

• What are the implications of characterizing human rights policy as “pragmatic”?
• Application of the human rights concept to four case studies

 

Module 2: Fundamental rights of the individual

 

1. Life—preventing genocide
2. Liberty—fighting human trafficking

• Security of the person

1. Protection from torture
2. What constitutes cruel punishment?

Module 3: Use of the law in defense of rights

 

1. Equality before the law—fighting discrimination based on:
2. Race—discussion of Black Lives Matter

• Gender—women’s rights in Saudi Arabia

1. Group project on rights of the accused:
2. Protection from arbitrary arrest and detention
3. Presumption of innocence in fair and public trials

Module 4: Civil and political rights

 

1. Right to privacy, and how it has been affected by modern technology
2. Freedom of movement and right to asylum—Syrian refugee crisis and the American response

• Right to marry and form a family

1. Freedom of thought, conscience, religion– Comparing religious freedoms around the world
2. Freedom of opinion and expression
3. Challenges in protecting free speech in the U.S.

• Fighting for free speech under repressive regimes
• Freedom of assembly and association

1. Right to take part in the government of one’s country

 Module 5: Social rights

 

1. Right to work, under favorable conditions and for fair and equal pay
2. Right to an adequate standard of living, including food, clothing, shelter, and medical care

• Right to education

Module 6 Culture And The Nature Of Human Rights:  The Universality Debate

1. Why do we have a human rights rather than a human duties movement? What alternative language could have been used to describe the values and goals of the human rights movement?  To what extent is rights language restrictive?
2. Do any particular characteristics or substantive content necessarily attach to the language of rights?  Or are rights empty receptacles open to many different types of values and ideas?

• Is the language of rights and the content of rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) universal?  Or are the values that are incorporated in the UDHR particular to given cultures or states?  Are there ways of bridging the differences among cultures or states so that they are bound to recognize the same rights?

1. How can we understand human rights in a cross-cultural context?
2. What validity is there to the argument that human rights are a western imposition? Are there ideological arguments that favor upholding human rights?  Are there ideological arguments that lead to violations of human rights?
3. How can human rights advocates avoid being called “cultural imperialists”?

• What is the debate within Islamic commModuleies on human rights? (Make specific reference to the authors below and/or other authors from previous studies).  How do human rights hold currency in Islamic traditions?
• How should we weigh individual women’s rights against the rights of a disadvantaged minority group? How do we do this in an Islamic society?

1. Can or should we have universal women’s rights? Are human rights only the rights of individuals? Can we preserve both cultural traditions and individual rights? Is it possible to compromise when faced with such a rights dilemma?

CASE STUDY EXERCISE:

Shah Bano: Muslim Women’s Rights
http://oz.uc.edu/thro/shahbano/index.htm

Module 7:  Strategies and Tools for Application of Human Rights   Norms:

 

1. UN Charter and UDHR
2. How does the UN Charter address human rights and in what provisions? Are all human rights included?
3. What is the meaning of the clause concerning domestic jurisdiction?

• What correlation is there between the concepts of sovereignty, non-interference and the international protection of human rights? What are the implications of there concepts for international law and policy?

1. Compare the Charter’s human rights provisions with those of the UDHR. Are there any potential conflicts?
2. What are the categories of human rights that are set out in the Universal Declaration? What is the status of a declaration under international law? Is the UDHR legally binding on states?  Under what theories?

 

1. ICCPR and ICESCR:
2. Compare the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).  How are they the same?  How do they differ?  Can you explain the differences?
3. What is the time frame for implementation of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights?

• Replying only on the preambles and texts of the UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR, how would you identify the reasons for those instruments, their justification in moral and political thought, and the moral and political traditions from which they derive? Why do you think the documents did not provide a lengthy justification?

1. Do you see in any of these documents any departure from ‘universal’ premises, rights, and related obligations of states? Are there any concessions in any provisions to different cultures or political systems?
2. Are civil and political rights of the individual the most basic and fundamental of all human rights? Is it desirable to establish a hierarchy of human rights?
3. Compare a “political” right with an “economic” right. What linkages can be drawn between violations of economic rights (e.g., the right to work) and violations of civil rights (e.g., the right to be secure from torture)? What UN organs and machinery are in place for promoting and protecting human rights?

• How do you react to the following ways of characterizing civil and political rights and economic and social rights:

1. UN Organs:
2. What is the role of the main and subsidiary organs of the UN in protecting human rights?
3. How does the UN investigate violations of human rights?

• What are the mechanisms available under the ECOSOC resolution 1234 for inducing a government to improve its human rights record? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

1. How may an individual lodge a complaint under the ECOSOC resolution 1503? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this mechanism?

Module 8: Strategies and Tools for Application of Human Rights   Norms

 

1. Regional Systems
2. Compare the regional human rights conventions.  Make a list of some of the similarities and differences, both in the substantive rights named and in the mechanisms established for their promotion.
3. What are some of the social, political, cultural, historical differences among the regions that may explain the different challenges for the realization of human rights?

• Does the regional approach to human rights offer good opportModuleies for the effective enforcement of human rights?

1. To what extent does a regional approach offer advantages over a UN System or “global” approach?  Make a list of the benefits and limitations of a regional approach.
2. Suppose that an individual lives in a Latin American state that is a party to one of the regional systems is injured by arbitrary arrest and imprisonment without trial and with harsh treatment.  You are a staff member of a human rights NGO in the individual’s state.  Advise the individual of the possible processes.
3. Why were the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia created?  Do they represent something “new”?  What precedent do they draw upon?

• Do you support the creation of ad hoc criminal tribunals, such as the ones for Rwanda and Kosovo?  What are the arguments for and against?
• What are some of the human rights issues implicated with the creation of such courts?  (Think about victims, by-standers and the accused.)

1. Why at the close of the millennium do we see increased interest in international criminal courts?  Is there a human rights justification?  A political justification?
2. Can you predict the future with respect to utilization of international criminal courts?  What would it take for the U.S. to embrace universal application of international criminal law?

CASE STUDY EXERCISE:

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda:  The Akayesu Verdict (Rape Trial)  http://oz.uc.edu/thro/rw/rw-index.htm

 

B.   DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

Module 9: Introduction to Democratic Governance

 

1. Theoretical frameworks and concepts: classifying regimes
2. Concepts, benchmarks and indices: Democracy

• Concepts, benchmarks and indices: Governance

Module 10: Contextual Drivers of Democratization

 

1. Explanatory frameworks: regime change and democratic consolidation
2. Social determinants

• International agencies & democracy assistance

1. Explanatory frameworks: regime change and democratic consolidation
2. Civil society, protest politics, and revolution from below

Module 11: Constitution building

 

1. The principles and practices of constitution building
2. Elections: free and fair electoral and party laws

• Electoral management and electoral integrity

1. Inclusive legislatures and minority representation
2. Executive powers: presidential, mixed, or prime ministerial
3. Decentralizing decision-making to local and federal levels

• Independent media and social networks
• Case study debate: Building constitutions

 

Module 12: Strengthening Civic Society

 

1. Culture and democratization
2. Religion and democracy

• Social capital and democracy

 

Module 13: Consequences of democratic governance

 

1. Conclusions: Impacts on prosperity
2. Conclusions: Impacts on poverty and welfare

 

 

FOR REGISTRATION AND INQUIRIES, CONTACT:

The Admission Director

AFRICA INSTITUTE FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT (AICD)

 

HEAD OFFICE:

21 Detroit Plaza |Pretoria Road|Kempton Park|

Gauteng. SOUTH AFRICA

Telephone : +27 733797377

Whatsapp Number : +27 733797377

 

Email:info@aicdtraining.com

https://aicdtraining.com/

 

OUR SERVICES:

TRAINING| SHORT COURSES| CONSULTANCY| RESEARCH| RECRUITMENT| MANAGEMENT CONSULTING

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:

SADC Institute of Commerce and Industrial Practice
Gauteng. SOUTH AFRICA