Commonwealth Model National Plan Of Action On Human Rights

While many countries seek to improve their capacity to protect and promote human rights in accordance with constitutional imperatives and Commonwealth values, they often lack a clear roadmap on how to do so. Currently, there is no single and easy-to-use model which Commonwealth countries can use as a basis for planning the process. This guide will particularly useful for those in smaller countries who wish to develop a human rights plan. The action plan makes three key points: first that full public participation in the development of a national action plan is key to a successful outcome, secondly that putting the plan into operation need not mean adding another bureaucratic layer to government, and thirdly that the model is a model only, and not intended to be prescriptive.

While many countries seek to improve their capacity to protect and promote human rights in accordance with constitutional imperatives and Commonwealth values, they often lack a clear roadmap on how to do so. Currently, there is no single and easy-to-use model which Commonwealth countries can use as a basis for planning the process. This guide will particularly useful for those in smaller countries who wish to develop a human rights plan. The action plan makes three key points: first that full public participation in the development of a national action plan is key to a successful outcome, secondly that putting the plan into operation need not mean adding another bureaucratic layer to government, and thirdly that the model is a model only, and not intended to be prescriptive.

This book looks at the challenges and contemporary issues raised by human rights in the island countries of the South West Pacific which have come under the influence of the common law – where the legal systems are complex and perceptions of rights varies widely. Drawing on a wide range of resources to present a contemporary and evolving picture of human rights in the island states of the South Pacific region, the book considers the human rights aspects of constitutions, legal institutions and structures, social organisation, culture and custom, tradition and change. The materials provide legal, historical, political, social and cultural insights into the lived experience of human rights in the region supported by illustrative material from case-law, media reports, and policy documents. The book also locates the human rights concerns of Pacific islanders firmly within the wider theoretical and international domain while at the same time maintaining focus on the importance of the unique identity of Pacific island nations and people. Human Rights in the South Pacific will appeal to anyone interested in the region or in human rights including international rights advocates, investors and developers, policy-makers, representatives of government and civic society and those wishing to acquire a better understanding of what countries emerging from colonial rule face in developing but still retaining their identity.

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This dictionary has more than 1000 cross-referenced entries on terminology, conventions, treaties, intergovernmental organizations in the United Nations family or regional bodies, and the constantly expanding universe of non-governmental organizations, as well as some of the pioneers and defenders of human rights.

This book brings together the papers commissioned for a Pan-Commonwealth Expert Group Meeting on Gender and Human Rights which took place at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in February 2004. These papers, together with other key background papers, represent much of the analysis and experience from Commonwealth member countries that informed the development of the Human Rights section of the new Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015. The papers address a wide range of Gender and Human Rights issues, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), gender-based violence, culture and the law, indigenous peoples, trafficking and migration, land and property rights, diversity, and a life cycle approach to gender and human rights. The contributors include government policymakers, judges, lawyers, academics, representatives of civil society organizations, and specialists from multilateral agencies including the Commonwealth Secretariat. The purpose of this book is to contribute to current policymaking, program planning and implementation on Gender and Human Rights. It is intended for a wide audience of policymakers, magistrates, judges and lawyers, academics, and civil society organizations grappling with these issues. It is also intended as a conceptual and policy-oriented resource for those committed to implementing and supporting the Human Rights goals of the new Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015.

This publication introduces the reader to national human rights institutions (NHRIs). Its focus is on NHRIs as both cornerstones of national human rights protection and promotion, and links between States and the international human rights system. Respect for human rights requires the concerted effort of every Government, individual, group and organ in society. With this in mind, the publication is intended for all those who seek a basic understanding of NHRIs, the work they do, how they interact with States, civil society and the international community, and how to support their work.

This book deals with human rights action planning, as a largely under-researched area, from theoretical, doctrinal, empirical, and practical perspectives, and as such, provides the most comprehensive studies of human rights planning to date. At the theoretical level, by advancing a novel general theory of human rights planning, it offers an alternative to the traditional state-centric model of planning. This new theory contains four sub-theories: contextual, substantive, procedural, and analytical ones. At the doctrinal level, by conducting a textual analysis of core human rights conventions, it reveals the scope and nature of the states' obligation to adopt a plan of action for implementing human rights. At the empirical level, a cross-case analysis of national human rights action plans of 53 countries is conducted exploring the major problems of these plans in different phases of planning and uncovering the underlying causes of these problems. At the practical level, this volume sets out how these plans should be developed and implemented, how they can be best monitored by international human rights bodies, and how to maximize their effectiveness. With discussions bridging human rights theory and practice and development discourse, this book will be a useful resource for a wide range of audiences, from academics of different disciplines (law, human rights, social policy, political science, political philosophy, legal philosophy, development studies, planning studies, socio-legal studies) to governments, human rights practitioners, and the UN human rights bodies.