South Africa and the United Nations Human Rights Council

Barriers to the Implementation of the Health and Rehabilitation Articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in South Africa

Background The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a milestone in the recognition of the human rights of persons with disabilities, including the right to health and rehabilitation. South Africa has signed and ratified the CRPD but still has a long way to go in reforming policies and systems in order to be in compliance with the convention. This p...

Do Human Rights Offenders Oppose Human Rights Resolutions in the United Nations?

We investigate voting behavior on human rights in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Our central question is whether countries with a low human rights record systematically oppose human rights resolutions. An instrumental account of voting would suggest that these countries aim to weaken UN human rights resolutions since they could be future targets of these policies. If reputation asp...

Maternal mortality and human rights: landmark decision by United Nations human rights body.

79 Reducing the world’s maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 is one objective of Millennium Development Goal 5. However, progress towards this objective has been slow,1 despite global commitment and the fact that the majority of maternal deaths, 99% of which occur in developing countries,2 can be prevented through well known interventions. So what more is needed to g...

International intellectual property, access to health care, and human rights: South Africa v. United States.

when actions speak louder than words: the human rights record of the united nations

this article examines the human rights abuses perpetrated by the united nationsmissions in places like kosovo, congo and haiti where the united nations powerhas been practically comparable to the state power. it will also investigate similarcases of abuses committed by highest-ranking un officials in new yorkheadquarter and geneva offices. the violations examined in this article include notjust...