Human rights and the right to development : insights into the Myanmar government's response to rights allegations

Myanmar is ruled by a military government that is strongly condemned for human rights abuses. In responding to these allegations, the Myanmar government repeatedly adopt the language of Right to Development as a counter perspective and counter allegation. The Right to Development is not well reflected in the Western human rights discourse, and both its development and Myanmar's position in the Right to Development dialogue are considered. This paper looks at the differing perspective that an understanding of the official public Myanmar response to rights allegations brings to the human rights debate surrounding Myanmar, highlighting contested ideas concerning the identity of rights duty-bearers, conceptions of those duties, and allegations of double standards. While the Myanmar position that sanctions violate the Right to Development is rejected, it is suggested that this difference in perspective is a contributor to the impasse and communication gap between the West and the Myanmar regime over human rights.

Voices in the human rights dialogue : the individual victim and the Australian Human Rights Commission

Framework for human rights protection in Australia - report of the National Human Rights Consultation Committee - the role of resolution of human rights complaints in the enforcement of human rights - use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) - current role of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) - future role as an advocator and crusader for victims of human rights abuses - need for recognition and protection of the special status of the AHRC.

Navigating human rights across the life course

Issues related to human rights have increasingly moved to the forefront of professional concern in recent years. Despite this, there has been minimal attention paid to exploring how changing human needs across the lifespan impact upon human rights. This paper takes a broad look at human rights issues that occur across the life course, and uses examples of life course transitions to illuminate issues related to moral rights and human rights. The examples include family formation, raising children, adolescent maturation in the context of youth offending and grandparents parenting their grandchildren. Each example explores the contestable rights and responsibilities of children, young people and adults and the ways in which these are negotiated within the context of the family.

Human rights and rehabilitation outcomes

Purpose. The aim of this article is to introduce rehabilitation professionals to the rapidly growing literature on human rights particularly as it relates to health and rehabilitation. The article aims to stimulate further discussion and debate concerning the place of human rights in rehabilitation practice.

Method. Some important milestones in the recent history of the human rights movement are briefly outlined, and some important terms in the rights literature are explained. The Ward and Birgden model of the structure of human rights is then described as an example of a rights perspective that might have particular relevance for health and social services and rehabilitation.

Results. A rehabilitation case study is presented as an example of how the Ward and Birgden model could have practical relevance when deciding on the most important outcomes for an individual in rehabilitation.

Conclusion. Human rights are playing an increasing role in the struggle to improve health and healthcare globally. They also have important implications for rehabilitation practitioners and researchers and should form the core of any ethical framework for rehabilitation. It might even be argued that rights and dignity are themselves valued outcomes for rehabilitation.

Human rights and dignity in offender rehabilitation

The concept of human rights is a moral (and legal) one that that is intended to safeguard provision of the social, economic, environmental, and psychological goods necessary for a dignified human life. Over the last 3 years, several papers on the implications of rights-based thinking for the assessment and treatment of offenders have appeared. In this paper, I draw from this work—in particular, the conceptual model developed by Ward and Birgden (2007)—and examine its practice recommendations and implications. First, I analyze the concept of dignity and its role in human rights thinking. Then the Ward and Birgden model of human rights is outlined and ethically justified. Finally, I discuss some of the major assessment and treatment consequences of this human rights approach.

Human rights and forensic psychology

Objectives. Human rights serve to orientate practitioners to the necessary conditions for a minimally worthwhile life for service users, the prerequisites for a life of dignity and a chance at happiness, and the opportunity to incorporate into their life plans cherished values and goals. In this introduction to the special section paper, I discuss the basic concept of human rights and outline their relevance for clinical practice with offenders.

Method. I explore the core values associated with human rights and suggest that one of their primary functions is to protect the internal and external conditions of individuals' agency and their pursuit of better lives.

Conclusion. I briefly outline the three articles comprising this special section of LCP on human rights that address issues of risk, therapeutic jurisprudence, and the rights of detained persons.

Dignity and human rights in correctional practice

Interventions with offenders have a normative layer as well as a scientific basis and therefore it is not possible to quarantine ethical questions from discussions of best practice. My aim in this paper is to provide an expanded ethical canvass from which to approach correctional practice with offenders. The cornerstone of this broader ethical perspective will be the concept of human dignity and its protection by human rights norms and theories. I also explore the relationship between responses to crime and offender rehabilitation based on an enriched theory of punishment that is sensitive to offenders’ moral equality and their attendant rights.

Human rights and correctional clinical practice

The formulation of human rights theory and policies represents an ethical advance and promises to supply a framework for resolving ethnic, social, and individual conflicts. Ethics is essentially a means for coordinating the conflicting interests of peoples and nations and human rights provide a strong foundation to do this in multiple domains. Our aim in this paper is to apply a human rights perspective, in association with a justifying theory and set of goods, to the correctional arena. First, we discuss the definition of human rights, their proper analysis and justification. We then apply the results of our discussion to the assessment, treatment, and monitoring of offenders. Finally, we consider the policy, research, and intervention implications of a human rights perspective for correctional practitioners.

A human rights-based practice framework for sexual offenders

Human rights create a protective zone around people and allow them the opportunity to further their own valued personal projects without interference from others. In our view, the emphasis on community rights and protection may, paradoxically, reduce the effectiveness of sex offender rehabilitation by ignoring or failing to ensure that offenders' core human interests are met. In this paper we consider how rights-based values and ideas can be integrated into therapeutic work with sex offenders in a way that safeguards the interests of offenders and the community. To this end we develop a rights-based normative framework (the Offender Practice Framework: OPF) that is orientated around the three strands of justice and accountability, offender needs and risk, and the utilization of empirically supported interventions and strength-based approaches. We examine the utility of this framework for the different phases of sex offender practice.

Restorative justice and the human rights of offenders : convergences and divergences

Restorative justice has gained significant momentum as a justice reform movement within the past three decades, and it is estimated that up to one hundred countries worldwide utilize restorative justice practices. Although claims about the role of restorative justice in protecting human rights are repeatedly made in the restorative justice literature, they are seldom supported by empirical evidence or a thorough analysis of human rights and their justification. In this paper, we discuss how the assumptions underpinning restorative justice practices impact on offenders' human rights, and their points of convergence and divergence. We argue that while these assumptions can protect certain offender rights, they may violate others. We finish with some suggestions about how to reconcile the tensions between human rights and restorative justice, focusing in particular on the relationship between community needs and individual well-being.