NAM Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity.Annual Report

Transcription

Non Aligned Movement Center for
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity
2011 Annual Report
1|NMCHRCD Annual Report
About The Non-aligned Movement
Center for Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity (NAMCHRCD)
The NAMCHRCD 2011 Annual Report is also available online at
www.namchrcd.com.
Published February 2012
By:
The Non-aligned Movement Center for
(NAMCHRCD)
This publication may be reproduced in whole
or in part and in any form for educational or
non-profit purposes without special
permission from the copyright holder
provided acknowledgment of the source is
made.
NAMCHRCD would appreciate receiving a
copy of any publication that uses this report
as a source.
Design and Layout: Nooshin Teymourpour
2|NAMCHRCD Annual Report
(NAMCHRCD) is an outcome of the Nonaligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, held
on September 3-4, 2007, in Tehran. In the
final document of the meeting, entitled
"the Tehran Declaration and Plan of
Action", the Member States decided to
establish the Center in Iran.
Taking into consideration the virtues of
historical traditions and the values of all
civilization and cultures around the world,
the Center as an educational- research
institution provides scientific analysis and
promotes discourse in global human
rights and cultural diversity issues. Under
the heading "Unifying Diverse Cultures
towards the Enrichment of the
Universality of Human Rights", the main
function of the Center is to prepare a
platform for the exchange of knowledge,
good practices, general reflections, and to
have intensive debate in order to
contribute to the advancement of human
rights, with a special focus on the
common human rights challenges that
developing countries encounter.
CONTENTS
A
INTRODUCTION
5
7
8
Message from the Director
2011 Academic Partners
Best Friends in 2011
4
B
REPORTS OF THE ACADEMIC EVENTS
10 The 1st International Summer School on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity
22 International Conference on International Humanitarian Law: Protection of Civilians
32 The 1st International Conference on Cultures and Human Rights: Cultures in Support
of Humanity
9
C
67
68
2012 UPCOMING ENENTS
NAMCHRCD 2012 Academic Programs
2012 Announcements
66
D
75
147
ANNEXES
Short Biographies of Authors/Lecturers and Abstract of Papers/Lectures
Acknowledgments
74
PART
A
INTRODUCTION
Message from the Director
(NAMCHRCD) is an outcome of the Nonaligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, held on
September 3-4, 2007, in Tehran. In the final
document of the meeting, entitled "the
Tehran Declaration and Plan of Action", the
Member States decided to establish the
Center in Iran.
Taking into consideration the virtues of
historical traditions and the values of all
civilization and cultures around the world, the
Center as an educational- research institution
provides scientific analysis and promotes
discourse in global human rights and cultural
diversity issues. Under the heading "Unifying
Diverse Cultures towards the Enrichment of
the Universality of Human Rights", the main
function of the Center is to prepare a platform
for the exchange of knowledge, good
practices, general reflections, and to have
intensive debate in order to contribute to the
advancement of human rights, with a special
focus on the common human rights
challenges
that
developing
countries
encounter.
Our academic events
In line with its objectives, the Center during
the year 2011 held three successful
international academic events with the
participation of more than 600 attendees
(more than 100 speakers and more than 500
participants) from more than 30 countries.
The first event was our first summer school on
human rights and cultural diversity, held in
June. Two other bigger events were held in
November: a conference on international
humanitarian law entitled “Protection of
Civilians” and the first conference on human
rights and cultures, entitled “Cultures in
Support of Humanity”.
You will read more about our academic
programs in the following pages, as well as
the reports prepared by volunteers and
comments received from the participants but
I may mention the three most impressive
features of the events here. First, in
organizing these programs the Centre hugely
benefited from the kind and generous
cooperation and partnership of several
organizations and institutions, as well as
renowned figures and scholars who devoted
their invaluable time and work to the success
and enrichment of the events. You will find
more details about them in this report.
The second was the incredible diversity of
opinions raised by the speakers as well as the
challenging comments and questions raised
by the participants during all of the sessions,
which enlivened and enriched the events.
Another beautiful feature of the events was
the consideration and voluntarily cooperation
of friendly young participants, who were
available everywhere for help. They have
already established a network to keep in
contact with and support the Centre. Also
they are in the process of establishing an
international NGO called “the NAM Youth for
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity”
(NAMYHRCD).
The diplomatic events
During the year I was honoured to address
two official diplomatic gatherings in Tehran.
First, on 2 May, Mr. Akhundzadeh, the Deputy
Iranian Foreign Minister for International
Affairs invited all the ambassadors and heads
of international organisations in Tehran and
asked me to give a lecture for them about the
Centre and its activities. Also in the opening
session of our conference “Cultures in
Support of Humanity” on 24 November,
where Dr. Salehi, the Iranian Foreign Minister,
and several heads of diplomatic missions and
diplomats were present, I explained about the
details of our scientific programs. In the both
events I invited all the guests and their
respected countries/organizations to support
the activities of the Centre. In both events Mr.
Pierre Ryter, head of ICRC mission in Iran,
kindly made a separate statement expressing
the support of the ICRC to the activities of our
Centre. During the year I also was honoured
to have some meetings in my office in Tehran,
upon the request of diplomatic missions and
foreign delegations, the most recent of which
was on 21 December with an esteemed
delegation from the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights.
Our way ahead in 2012 and beyond
In September 2012 the NAM Summit will be
held in Tehran and I do hope that our Center,
as the only human rights body associated to
the NAM, will contribute to the success of the
Summit and to another successful year of
events. The collected papers of our
conference, “Cultures in Support of
Humanity” will be published soon in February
2012, as the first scientific publication of our
Centre, in one special issues of a prestigious
international journal. Also as you will see in
this report, we will have an ambitious
intensive academic agenda for 2012, as there
will be almost one important academic event
for each month of the year.
In the year 2011 we had a small budget to
cover the accommodation and other expenses
of our guest speakers during their visit to Iran.
We also could cover the cost of tickets of 11
guest speakers coming from developing
countries. For the year 2012, hopefully we will
haves a more secure budget to devote more
funding to facilitate the participation of our
guests coming from the NAM region.
Finally, to accomplish our plans for 2012 and
the years after we are very much relying on
the governmental support of every single
NAM member state, and on the support of
our friends and partner institutions, as well as
on the support of every individual and
institution around the world that have
commitment to the promotion of human
right.
Kamran Hahemi , PhD
Director
NAM Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity
2011 NAMCHRCD Academic Partners

The ICRC

Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway

The Centre for Human Rights Education, Curtin University, Australia

Iranian National Committee of Humanitarian Law (NCHL)

Iranian Islamic Human Rights Commission

Iranian National Commission for UNESCO

International Studies Journal (JSJ)

Secretariat for Islam and IHL Conference

UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti
University, Iran
Special Thanks to the NAMCHRCD Best Friends in 2011:
Dr. Janet Blake
Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Shahid Beheshti, Iran
Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh
Senior Lecturer of International Law in the Faculty of Law,
Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR), National University of Ireland, Galway
Dr. Pouria Askary
The ICRC’s legal advisor and IHL programme responsible in Iran
Dr. Linda Briskman
Professor and Chair of Human Rights Education at Curtin University in Australia
PART
B
REPORTS OF THE ACADEMIC EVENTS
The First International Summer School
on Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity (Tehran, 25-29 June 2011)
10 | N A M C H R C D A n n u a l R e p o r t
Report of
The First International Summer School on Cultural Diversity and
Human Rights
(Tehran, 25-29 June 2011)
Initiated by the Non-Aligned Movement
(NAM) Centre for Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity (NAMCHRCD) as its first scientific
program, this summer School was jointly
organized by the Centre and UNESCO Chair
for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at
Shahid Beheshti University. Centre for Human
Rights Education at Curtin University
(Australia), the Office of Vice President for
International Affairs-the Islamic Azad
University (IAU) and the Iranian Islamic
Human Rights Commission also cooperated in
organizing the program.
There were by twelve lecturers (eight from
Iran and four from overseas) and 30
participants from the following countries:
Iran, Afghanistan, Austria, Canada, Germany,
Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Mauritania, Netherlands and Oman.
Organization of the Teaching
The summer school was organized over five
days with morning sessions from 09:00-12:30
and afternoon sessions from 14:00-17:00.
There was a variety of teaching approaches,
including lectures, discussions, workgroup
activities and project work in groups.
11 | N M C H R C D A n n u a l R e p o r t
The teaching was organized around
the following specific themes:
The Relationship between Cultural Diversity
The lectures were given by twelve lecturers, eight from
Iran (including one from the UNESCO Chair at Shahid
Beheshti) and four from overseas (two from Australia,
one from Singapore and one from Italy), as follows:
Mustafa Alaei – Senior Expert, Iranian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
and Human Rights;
Ali Bahreini – Senior Expert, Iranian Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
Historical
and
Current
Contribution
of
Cultures to the Enrichment of the Concept of
Linda Briskman – Professor and Head of the Centre for
Human Rights Education, Curtin University, Australia
Human Rights and Humanitarian Law;
Cultural Limitations to the Implementation of
Janet Blake – University lecturer and International
Relations Director, UNESCO Chair for Human Rights,
Shahid Beheshti University
Human Rights;
Noor Aisha Binte Abdul Rahman – University Lecturer,
National University of Singapore
Cultural Rights;
Rights to Cultural Identity;
Cultural Values and Human Rights;
Human Rights and Ethics;
Protection of Human Rights in Multicultural
Communities;
Universality and Relativism of Human Rights;
The Question of Indivisibility of Human Rights;
Specific Human Rights Issues in Developing
Countries
Michele Brunelli – Professor and Member of the UNESCO
Chair for Ethics in International Cooperation, University of
Bergamo, Italy
Kamran Hashemi - University lecturer and Director of
Non-Aligned Movement Center for Human Rights and
Cultural Diversity
Paimaneh Hastaie – Expert in the Iranian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and UN Special Rapporteur for Indigenous
People
Seyed Ali Mahmoudi – University lecturer and Expert in
the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Caolyn Noble – Professor, Victoria University, Australia
Mahya Safarineya – University Lecturer, Faculty of Law,
Imam Sadeq University
Mahya Safarineya – University Lecturer, Faculty of Law,
Imam Sadegh University
Mohammad Javad Zarif – University lecturer and Vice
President of the Islamic Azad University for International
Affairs
The Lecture and Workgroup Programme
Below, a brief description of each lecture is
given plus the content of the workgroup and
project activities. A copy of the Programme is
attached as an annex to this report.
Each lecture was followed by a
question/answer and discussion session that
gave the participants the opportunity to ask
questions concerning the lecture and to
discuss in greater detail the points raised.
These discussions were generally lively and
very useful.
Day ONE
(Saturday 25 June)
Morning session (09:00-12:30)
The Opening Ceremony
Janet Blake - Welcomed the participants on
behalf of the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights,
Peace and Democracy, giving a brief outline of
the work of the UNESCO Chair and its aims in
co-organising this summer school.
Linda Briskman– Welcomed the participants
on behalf of the Centre for Human Rights
Education, Curtin University, Australia.
Kamran Hashemi – Welcomed the
participants on behalf of the NAM Centre for
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity and
provided some background information on
the work of the NAM Centre and the idea
behind organising this summer school.
Janet Blake then gave an introductory lecture
on the subject of “Introducing Cultural
Diversity and Cultural Rights” and presented
the Summer School programme to the
participants, explaining the different elements
(lectures, discussions, workgroup activities
and project work in groups).
Afternoon Session (14:00-17:00)
Panel I – Relationship between Cultural
Diversity and Human Rights
Mostafa Alaei gave a lecture on “The
relationship between cultural diversity and
human rights” in which he examined, inter
alia, the universality of human rights and the
roots of cultural diversity as found in
international documents. With regard to the
latter, he presents different outlooks such as
cultural essentialism and the cultural
retrospective view. Specific approaches that
he presented were: the need to create a
space for cultural and religious diversity
within the universality of human rights; that
human rights is an evolving process in which
inter-cultural dialogue has its place; and
human rights are about political and legal
justice and not a world view as such. He
discussed also the reservations of Muslim
States to some ‘universal’ HR treaties as well
as differences of approach taken by the
African and European regional approaches to
human rights.
This was followed by a discussion session in
which Kamran Hashemi also contributed to
the discussion as a panelist.
Day TWO
(Sunday 26 June)
Panel II – Human Rights, Culture and
Development
Paimane Hastaei gave a lecture on
“Development with culture and identity, with
collaboration among Indigenous peoples” in
which she set out the challenges facing
Indigenous peoples with regard to their
human and cultural rights. She began by
explaining who the Indigenous peoples of the
world are, alongside the notions of cultural
diversity, cultural identity and ‘social/cultural
group’. She then looked at cases studies of
Indigenous peoples in various countries
(Australia, Mexico, Canada) in order to
understand better the current condition of
the recognition of their rights, analyzing these
rights as: to territory; concerning social and
political
organization;
to
economic
development; creation of a platform for them
to express their concerns ; and the need to
value their identity. This was followed by
consideration of challenges posed by the
intellectual property rights system for
Indigenous traditional knowledge, the
international legal framework for Indigenous
rights.
Carolyn Noble presented a lecture on “Social,
cultural and economic rights” in which she
explained the content and character of these
‘second generation’ rights and set them in the
historical development of these rights and the
cultural and political context in which they
were framed. She then considered how they
can be protected in a context of diverse
vested interests (e.g. of religious minorities,
governments and others). She asked the
question how these rights can be exported
across countries, cultures and different
political and religious systems, discussing
them against the background of international
obligations, the millennium development
goals and western concepts of social and
individual justice.
Workgroup Session on “Measuring
Human Rights”
The afternoon was taken up by a Workgroup
Session on the topic of “Measuring Human
Rights” that was facilitated by Michele
Brunelli and Janet Blake. This began with a
presentation on the methodology of
measuring human rights (analysing the
content of the rights, identifying appropriate
indicators for measuring the performance of
governments in applying rights etc.).
The participants were then divided into four
groups, each tasked with undertaking the
aforementioned process for the following four
human rights topics: human security, right to
health, right to choose and linguistic diversity.
After sufficient time for each group to work
on their chosen topic (with the guidance of
the facilitators), the groups then presented
their results and these were discussed and
evaluated by Michele Brunelli and Janet
Blake.
Day THREE
(Monday 27 June)
Panel III – Contribution of Cultures to
Human Rights
Seyed Ali Mahmoudi spoke on the subject of
“A Comparative Study of Utilitarianism and
Deontology, and their Connections to Human
Rights” in which he presented these different
philosophical and ethical approaches to
governance and explained the different effect
that each has with regard to the guarantee of
human rights, both on the international and
national levels.
concern everyone, protect everyone and
apply to everyone. These rights concern the
right to/value of life, liberty, dignity, equality,
health and welfare, private property,
education and the protection of children.
These rights, and their concomitant
prohibitions, rise above the individual cultural
traditions of any ethnic group or population.
Many of these rights were not themselves
new but were rediscovered and brought back
into fashion in the 18th century in the wake of
American and French revolutions. For these
precepts to become trans-cultural and
therefore universal, it was necessary to wait
for them to undergo a particular historical
political process focused on the State. This
was seen particularly in the evolution of the
relationship between the State and Man, with
the slow transformation of ‘Sovereign’ into
‘Servant of the State’ and ‘subject’ into
‘citizen’. This transition would ultimately
sanction universality, the universality of value
of rights for every single human being.
Michele Brunelli presented a lecture on “from
the status subiectionis to the citizenship; the
parabola of the Human Rights achievement”.
A crucial notion for any society to be ‘modern’
and ‘contemporary’ is that it lists a series of
rights/values that must unequivocally be
universal or, rather, they must inevitably
Javad Zarif gave a lecture on “The
Responsibility to Protect: Justice and World
Order” in which the broader context of
international relations and law with regard to
human rights was presented. He examined
the evolution since the late 1990s of the
principle of a responsibility of States to
protect civilians that grew out of the Bosnia
and Rwanda conflicts and has, more recently,
formed the basis for intervention in Libya.
Although broadly in favour of the notion of
responsibility to protect, he criticised its
linkage to use of force by States acting as the
international community.
Ali Bahreini addressed the question of the
“Universality of Human Rights in Theory and
Practice” in his lecture, using a statistical
analysis of the Resolutions of the Human
Rights Council and decisions concerning the
appointment of Special Rapporteurs, for
example, to examine the bias among western
States towards civil and political rights over
economic, social and cultural rights. He
argued that this bias acts against the
possibility of a diversity of rights and of views
being expressed at the international level.
Mahya Saffarneya presented a lecture on the
subject of “Family Law System in Modern
World: A Multicultural Approach”. In this
lecture, she introduced various modern legal
systems’ approaches to family law and the
challenges that these face in an increasingly
multicultural world. Many governments face
challenges with this regard and this is one
aspect of multiculturalism and cultural
diversity – legal pluralism – that must be
considered when addressing human rights
and cultural diversity.
Noor Aisha Binte Abdul Rahman gave the first
of two lectures, on the subject of “CEDAW
and Prospects for Muslim Personal Law
Day FOUR
(Tuesday 28 June)
Panel IV – Cultural Diversity,
Multiculturalism and Personal Law Issues
Linda Briskman gave a lecture on “Protection
of
Human
Rights
in
Multicultural
Communities”. Her paper traced the
development
of
the
concept
of
multiculturalism and its application in a
number of contexts. It then focused on
critiques of multiculturalism that have arisen,
particularly in industrialised societies, in
relation to what has become known as a
Politics of Fear. Critiques of both
multiculturalism idealism and celebration
were then discussed in relation to the
minimisation of rights. Since it is clear that
some migrants and their cultures are valued
over others, she explored how prejudice takes
hold using examples from media sources.
Reform in Singapore”. In this lecture she
addressed some problems associated with the
reservations of Muslim community leaders in
Singapore over Articles 2 and 6 of the
Convention
on
the
Elimination
of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
which aim to ensure gender equality within
marriage and following marital breakdown.
She argues that, rather than being directly
due to the Islamic law itself, this mode of
thinking is the result of social and cultural
attitudes. She also explored ways of reevaluating the Islamic law in view of social
changes and changing social expectations.
Noor Aisha Binte Abdul Rahman followed her
morning lecture with a second lecture on
“Problems of Islamic Law Making and its
Administration in Malaysia: Implications
on Individual Rights and Dignity”. This
presentation took as its starting point a
Malaysian film (Searching for Kartika) based
on story of the caning of Kartika Sari Dewi
Shukarno for the consumption of alcohol. It
explored Muslim conceptions of ‘justice’ and
also the way in which the Muslim law of
Malaysia is becoming politicised by the mode
of thinking of dominant social groups which
lead to oversights, gaps, loopholes and
arbitrary application of the law and
consequent legal and social problems. She
also discussed the repercussions of these
shortcomings in the making, administration
and enforcement of Islamic law in Malaysia on
the rights and dignity of ordinary people.
These four lectures on ‘Cultural diversity,
multiculturalism and personal law issues’
generated a great deal of interest and
discussion among the participants who
expressed a wide variety of views on these
questions.
Day FIVE
(Wednesday 29 June)
Panel V – Cultural Identity, Diversity and
Human Rights
Linda Briskman presented her lecture on
“Rights to Cultural Identity” in which she took
as her three main subjects: Indigenous people
and the violation of their human rights
historically (and in contemporary times) in
Australia; the plight of refugees and asylum
seekers in Australia, in particular Muslims;
and the discrimination faced by gypsies.
Through this analysis, she showed how
prejudice and discrimination against cultural
and other minorities leads to widespread
abuse of their human rights and she raised
the question of how international human
rights law and cultural diversity policy-making
can help in such cases.
heritage and policy approaches towards
safeguarding endangered languages and
fostering
multilingualism.
The
latter
demonstrated that law-making alone is not
sufficient but that a supportive policy-making
environment is also necessary.
Following these two talks, two summer school
participants addressed the plenary in order to
present their specific experiences and
institutions.
Mr. Abbas Ali Mohammad from the Iraqi
Human Rights Commission gave a short
presentation on the human rights situation of
minorities in Iraq.
Mr. John Strick from the International
Committee of the Red Cross presented the
work of the ICRC worldwide and, in particular,
its activities in Iran in cooperation with the
Iranian Red Crescent Society.
Janet Blake gave a lecture on “Some Ways of
looking at Cultural Diversity - protecting
languages, intangible cultural heritage and
cultural expressions” in which she explored
aspects of cultural diversity through law- and
policy-making outside human rights, in
particular in the field of cultural heritage. She
examined two specific cases – the challenge
of cultural relativism to universalism in the
international listing of intangible cultural
Kamran Hashemi gave the final lecture on the
topic of “Protection of Minorities Rights to
Cultural Identity – The Muslim Experience” in
which he presented the Dhimmah system in
Muslim legal culture which protects minority
rights. Regarded by scholars as an enlightened
approach it is also the broadest and oldest
system for the recognition and protection of
religious minorities, having survived for over
14 centuries and covering a region from
southern Spain to the Pacific in Southeast
Asia. It found its expression, for example, in
the Millet system that operated under the
Ottoman Empire. He gave examples of how
Muslim societies, based on the teachings of
Islam and Islamic law principles, have
traditionally protected the rights of
minorities. Given the lack of any clear binding
provisions on States for the protection of
religious and ethno-religious minorities’ right
to identity, he argued that such personal legal
autonomy regimes might provide an answer.
At the final session of the summer school, the
participants were asked to present the
findings of their project groups. These project
groups had been formed on the first day and
each one had chosen a specific topic to work
on throughout the week, developing their
ideas on the basis of the lectures delivered
and their own discussions.
The groups had worked on the following
topics: Women’s Rights, Cultural Rights,
Cultural Relativism and Universalism and the
Challenges of Cultural Diversity.
The program was held in the meeting room of
the university Residence Guest House in
which the participants and lecturers from
overseas were accommodated. This proved to
be an appropriate and comfortable setting for
a meeting of this type and size.
This summer school proved to be highly
successful and was much appreciated by both
the participants and the foreign lecturers who
remained with the summer school throughout
the week. This success reflected both the
excellent organization of administrative
matters as well as the scientific quality of the
programme.
A closing ceremony was held in which
certificates of attendance were presented to
all the participants.
Final Notes:
These presentations demonstrated both the
high level of participation by summer school
attendees throughout the week and the
quality of the lectures from which they gained
a lot of new ideas and information.
The administrative organization was handled
by the staff of the UNESCO Chair under the
supervision of Ms. Mahrou Ghadiri, Deputy
for Public relations of the Chair.
The programme for the summer school was
designed by Scientific Secreteries, Dr Kamran
Hashemi (Director of the Nam Centre for
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity) in cooperation with Dr Janet Blake of the UNESCO
Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy
at Shahid Beheshti University.
The project work and workgroup materials
were developed by Dr Janet Blake and these
were facilitated with the help of Dr Linda
Briskman, Dr Carolyn Nobel and Dr Michele
Brunellli.
Comments by Professor Linda Briskman (Australia) on the Summer
School
Overall, the event seemed to be a huge success and it was impressive how
people’s attention was held for the whole time, which is a credit to the
organisers and the speakers.
The academic program was rigorous and engaging. I felt participants were exposed to a range of
ideas and views and the dialogue, questions and discussion that followed each session were robust.
The number of participants seemed just right for an event of this kind and even though people were
at different levels of knowledge and expertise it was a very equalising experience for everyone,
judging by the manner in which people participated.
The organisation of the event was excellent. I liked the way in which it was not too formal which
created far more possibilities for conversation and openness. The social aspect – dinner and
‘mountain climbing’ also added to the event - as did the visit to the UNESCO chair. The spaces that
were created for informal contact created opportunities not only for further dialogue but for the
development of friendships and possible collaborations into the future.
In terms of practical aspects, the accommodation was very good. I certainly appreciated being able
to stay at the venue. Although I did get a bit tired of kebabs (especially knowing that Iranian food has
so much variety) it was very generous of the organisers to provide food at lunch-time. I am sure
participants also appreciated being collected from the airport even at inconvenient times. These
gestures made the welcome even warmer.
The only slight difficulty I experienced was lack of access to email as the computer room at the
venue was only open for limited times and the internet café in the nearby shopping mall was usually
full. But in hindsight, it was quite good to be out of touch with my own university and to focus totally
on the summer school.
That’s it. Thanks for everything.
Linda
International Conference on
International Humanitarian Law:
Protection of Civilians
(Tehran, 22-23 November 2011)
Conference poster
Report of
International Conference on International Humanitarian Law:
(Tehran, 22-23 Nov 2011)
The NAM Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (NAMCHRCD), along with ICRC, and Iranian
National Committee of Humanitarian Law (NCHL), and Iranian a number of other partners held a
conference on ''Protection of Civilians in Contemporary Armed Conflicts'' in Tehran. The two-day
event took place on Nov, 22 & 23 at IRCS's Rehabilitation Center, in which government experts,
academicians, law experts, Islamic scholars, researchers and representatives from humanitarian
organizations took part, and issues related to IHL were discussed.
According to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, civilians are
protected against direct attacks in armed conflicts unless and for such time as they take a direct part
in hostilities. In fact, however, this principle has been undermined, the civilian population,
particularly since the Second World War, has suffered most of the consequences of armed violence.
The conference focused on the issue of protection of civilians and also civilian objects during times
of armed conflict, occupation and after conflict.
Opening Remarks:
On the first day, secretary general of IRCS and secretary of NCHL, Mr.
Zaher Rostami delivered the inauguration speech. In his address, Mr.
Rostami criticized the unilateral view of the international community
towards humanitarian issues, saying, ''Further to providing vulnerable
countries with financial help, we have to prepare the grounds for the
revival of human dignity and humanity.'' Mr. Rostami openly criticized
countries for donating financial and technical support to charity
organizations on the one hand, while they are responsible themselves
for inflicting suffering and misery in many parts of the world. Then, he
proposed charity groups and RC/RC national societies to reject any
financial support delivered by any country that is accused for violating the charter of moral code.
Dr. Kamran Hashemi, Director of
NAMCHRCD delivered the next
speech in the capacity of one of the
organizers, starting with a short
welcoming remark. He then added
that one of the main concerns of the
current century is the issue of
making distinction between military
personnel and civilians, and stressed
that the scope of classic wars is
going beyond the old limits, reaching internal conflicts as well as issues outside the war zone.
Mr. Pierre Ryter, head of ICRC mission in Iran was another speaker. Referring to the mandate of the
ICRC to help victims of hostilities, he said, ''During the past 60 years, civilians have constituted the
majority of war victims.'' Mr. Ryter also referred to the rights of
civilians as the basis of IHL and emphasized on protection of private
and public objects and properties as part of the protection provided
for civilians. He also stated that there are enough laws and treaties in
hand to protect civilians, but the main problem lies in their
implementation, a process that is becoming more challenging due to
several factors. Head of ICRC mission in Iran referred to an increase
in non-governmental military groups and developments made in
weapon industries as some of these factors. In the end of his
remarks, Mr. Ryter repeated ICRC's call for int'l community to show
the required good will to help realization of civilians' right to be
protected.
Hojatolislam Hossein Diba, secretary of Permanent Secretariat of Islam & IHL in Qom, delivered the
next speech by giving a report on activities carried out by the secretariat, and then referred to
inadequate executive guarantees and sanctions to prevent any kind of damage to civilians, and said,
''If we look at IHL issues from a non-theoretical perspective, from a concrete practical point of view,
we can find strong ties between IHL and religious or moral teachings, which can serve as the best
sanction for the respect of IHL.''
In the framework of inauguration speeches, also message of secretary general of Asian-African Legal
Advisory Org was read, in which efforts of the organization to respect IHL and protect civilians were
explained, and a successful meeting was wished.
Scientific Speeches:
Legal and jurisprudential bases for protection of civilians in armed conflicts
Ms. Katayoon Hossein-Nejad, Com Dept responsible of ICRC Tehran office was the first lecturer of
the scientific panel, who provided the audience with some generalities of IHL and its related
principles, in which comprehensive information was given on protection of civilians and conduct of
hostilities, as well as the role of organizations like ICRC in this field.
University professor Mohammad Reza Ziaei Bigdeli first dealt with the interaction of Islam and IHL
from a historical perspective, for which he referred to pre-Islamic and ancient periods as well. He
then categorized Islamic commands to give a definition for IHL and its philosophical background, and
examined some Islamic sources to provide the audience with the related overall view of Islam. He
then stressed on the principle of convergence between Islam and IHL, and explained the reasons
behind the existing divergence, and analyzed the performance of Islamic states regarding IHL.
Next lecturer, Dr. Mohammad Munir, professor and head of
law dept of Islamabad Int'l Islamic University, also explained
the converging approach of Islam and IHL, and referred to
the holy Koran and some narrations of Sunnite sect. Dr. Eisa
Ahmad Abadi, university lecturer, also referred to the
philosophy of protecting civilians as a means to promote
humanity and decrease damages inflicted on them. For the
issues of distinction between civilians and military personnel,
he stated Koranic verse 190 of chapter Bagharah, and added,
''What Islam says is related to the conqueror, that even in
the position of conqueror it is recommended by Islam to
make peace should the other party hope so, and to respect
proportionality in case waging war is inevitable.''
Distinction of civilians and military personnel
Christopher Harland, legal advisor of ICRC regional office in south Asia posed some questions to the
audience at the beginning of his speech. Afterwards, he answered the same questions by explaining
the general principle of distinction between civilians and military personnel in IHL texts. As the basis
of his reasoning, he set forth the recent findings of ICRC concerning the concept of direct
involvement in an armed conflict.
Mr. Hosseini, an MFA expert delivered his speech with a view to his 20-year experience in the issue
of disarmament, and talked about the relationship between this global endeavor and rules of IHL. He
also provided the audience with a short history of efforts made by int'l legal system and states for
restriction of weapons and disarmament. Dr. Hossein Sharifi Taraz Kouhi then discussed internal
unrests and upheavals with a view to the recent incidents of the Middle East, and referred to the
modern legal order as a system making governments more committed and int'l law more humane.
Practical protection of civilians
Mr. Paul-Henry Arni, an ICRC representative was another lecturer who introduced the 4-year ICRC
campaign to protect health care in danger. By screening a
short documentary on Libya, he explained the dangers
health care is facing as a result of violation of IHL principles,
and added, ''A research has been conducted since 2008 in
which 655 cases of violation of the rights of medical teams in
16 countries where ICRC is present have been assessed. We
realized how security or military forces can hamper health
care activities by entering hospitals, even by denying access
to some patients in some cases.'' He explained stages of the
4-year campaign of ICRC on health care issues from both
diplomatic and theoretical aspects, and wished for concrete
measures to be taken in the next Int'l RC/RC Conference
(28.11-01.12) to be held in Geneva to improve the protection
provided for civilians.
Dr. Pouria Askari, ICRC -Tehran legal advisor added in line
with Arni's remarks in a more inclusive way the challenges
access to humanitarian assistance is facing. Dr. Askari
reiterated the existing commitments to provide access to
humanitarian assistance, and analyzed the related basic
principles in HR and IHL.
Professor Manfred Nowak, head of the Austrian Ludwig
Boltzmann Institute for Human Rights was the next
lecturer who discussed the relationship between HR and
IHL. He offered a legal definition for torture and explained
that torture ''is done for a specific goal'' to make
distinction between torture and other improper
bahaviors. While expressing regrets for some cases where
torture is considered only an illegal act and not a crime
against humanity, he informed the participants of his
proposal to the UN for drafting a convention to support
the rights of prisoners.
The last part of the first day was dedicated to screening
the film ''Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today'' directed by
Stewart Schulberg, that was welcomed by the audience.
With a narrative historical tone and by taking advantage
of archive images, the film illustrates the process of
Nuremberg court as one of the most important war crime
tribunals ever held. Sandra Schulberg, daughter of
director and cinema producer who was present in the
conference said, ''The film was denied screening
permission for a long period, and I'm happy that it is
shown in Persian today.'' The film had been previously
screened in Sacred Defence Film Festival in Tehran.
Sanctions for IHL
The second day started with a speech given by professor
William Schabas, from the Irish HR Centre and Middlesex
University, who explained developments of int'l criminal
law and IHL and supported membership of an
independent Palestinian state in ICC. He added that ICC is
waiting for UN's green-light to do so. Mr. Schabas also
referred to involvement of political fronts and int'l
relations in int'l criminal interactions and said, ''Not all
the people are like Gaddafi, left alone with no friends
around. Some criminals have important friends. However,
the most important message of Libyan conflicts was the
fact that cracking down peaceful demonstrations can lead
to prosecution.''
Dr. Hassan Savari, professor of University of Tarbiat Modarres (teacher training) delivered a speech
on globalization of IHL executive system. He also pointed to mechanisms like universal jurisdiction,
self-commitment, Security Council initiatives and establishment of ICC, and listed the related
shortcomings.
Dr. Amir Saed Vakil, advisor to Int'l Legal Affairs Centre, focused in his speech on the doctrine of
responsibility to protect and its role in protecting civilians. Mr. Vakil first gave a brief history of
doctrine of responsibility of protection by referring to documents and sources that build up the basis
of this theory, and explained the criticisms it is facing. Dr. Alireza Hojatzadeh, a Payam-e-Nour
University lecturer, discussed the behavioural and social roots of war from an ultra-legal perspective,
and then analyzed the role of ICRC in dealing with it.
Challenges resulted from technological developments
Ms. Cordula Droege, ICRC legal advisor based in Geneva, discussed the concept of cyber warfare. She
explained the various means used in such wars and the unknown status of perpetrators, and then
described its destructive effects on people's life, ''Some countries already have a cyber army to be
used both for defensive and offensive purposes.'' She
explained that the new nature of such concepts does not
exclude them from the jurisdiction of already existing laws
and regulations. ''While IHL only refers to some specific
methods of war, however, using any type of weapon for
any purpose whatsoever is governed by this set of rules,''
she added.
Dr. Seyed Ghasem Zamani, Allameh Tabatabaei University
lecturer also talked on the same subject. He discussed
drones and some of their features, and considered their
use as violation of IHL, particularly the principle of
distinction, and expressed his regrets for the usage of
drones by US army to kill suspects, which he said is against principles of HR and IHL.
Special protections
Dr. Ali Daii was the next lecturer who talked about
protection of civilians arrested in situations of armed
conflict, in both int'l and non-int'l armed conflicts. He first
provided a definition for civilians and the concept of
arresting, and pointed out the related principles of IHL and
HR.
Next lecturer, Dr. Nasrin Mosaffa put stress on Convention
on the Rights of Children and its application in Islam and
armed conflicts according to a comparative study between
int'l regulations and rules ratified by Organization of Islamic
Cooperation.
Dr. Mahdi Zakerian, lecturer of Islamic Azad University, criticized the unclear position of ICRC
regarding the violation of IHL, also criticized the silence strategy adopted concerning the chain
process of fall of dictators in the Middle East, and termed this silence as worrying.
Protection of civilians from philosophical and Islamic points of view
Professor Michel Veuthey, vice-president of Int'l Institute of Humanitarian Law, cooperating with
ICRC from 1967 to 2000, gave a lecture on the right to life and its basis in IHL.
Ayatollah Dr. Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad, professor of USB, was one the last lecturers of the
conference who based his speech on the principle of Non-aggression in Islamic humanitarian law. He
criticized some religious decrees allowing the homicide of unbelievers and said, ''Islamic jihad (war)
does not mean killing unbelievers; rather it refers to fighting killers and attackers, while it is
forbidden in Islam to kill non-combatants. In fact, all conventions and protocols are constructed on
the principle of non-aggression (to refrain from fighting a person who is not involved in the war).''
Dr. Mortaza Yousefi Rad, researcher of Islamic Sciences and Culture Institute was the last lecturer
who considered the innate human dignity and the dignity of believers in Islam as the two theoretical
principles of IHL existing in Islamic and western teachings, and put especial emphasize on the fact
that the innate dignity of believers is only introduced by Islam. Mr. Yousefi Rad also referred to
principles like justice, fulfilling commitments, showing fondness and good will, as well as
magnanimity and self-sacrifice as scientific, fundamental and philosophical principles of
humanitarian law.
Praising the Iranian students who participated in the ICC Moot Court competition in Nepal
The two-day event provided a good opportunity to pay tribute to the Iranian team of law students
who participated in the Moot Court competition in Nepal.
During last summer and after two rounds of national competitions held in July and September,
members of Iranian team were selected for the competition. For the first time, the team members
were all female young students of bachelor's course of study.
Team members were Misses. Zahra Azhar, Zahra Moshref Javadi and Saina Motamedi accompanied
by their coach, Mr. Hamidreza Alikhani, law PhD student of USB. Dr. Pouria Askari, ICRC Iran legal
advisor was also with the team. The team ranked first in Nepal and is now admitted together with Sri
Lanka in Asian competition held in Hong Kong to be held next Feb.
To this end, gifts were presented to team members by Dr. Kamran Hashemi, Director of NAMCHRCD,
Mr. Javidnia, representative of NCHL and Mr. Pierre Ryter, head of ICRC mission in Iran. In return,
team members offered their trophy to ICRC in honour of the services the organization has been
delivering.
The First International Conference on
Cultures and Human Rights: Cultures
in Support of Humanity
Conference poster
Text of Address
By:
His Excellency Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Islamic Republic of Iran
(Thursday, 24 November 2011)
In the Name of God the Compassionate the Merciful
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, I would like to welcome all the Iranian and foreign guests to the “First international
Conference on Human Rights and Cultures; Cultures in Support of Humanity'' and wish this event,
organized by NAMCHRCD in cooperation with other Iranian and foreign organizations, to be the
starting point for future scientific endeavors in this field.
As human beings, all of us have been raised within a particular culture, and have inherited different
subjective and objective elements from the very culture that come to the surface in our perceptions
and attitudes. Such a plurality of identity rooted in culture and social, political, religious and
historical background of each society has also been approved according to Islamic thoughts and the
holy Koran, where God the almighty explicitly reiterates :( O’ people, we created you from males and
females, and divided you into tribes and groups in order to make you understand)1.
Accepting this plurality of ethnic groups and tribes doubtlessly comes with accepting its related
requirements and necessities, which is recognition of human dignity for all as well as respect for
different cultural/social identities. In the holy Koran, human beings are clearly considered as owners
of a God-given dignity2. This kind of plurality and diversity is of course for a particular purpose, which
is driving us to stick to moral values, as well as piousness. Koran explicitly states after recognition of
diversity and plurality that the most honored person before God is the most pious one3. In addition,
in Islamic teachings the ultimate all-encompassing development of human rights relies on a proper
culture as well as correct cultural doctrines. This statement implies that developing various
dimensions of human rights is not possible without having a correct perception of the universe,
mankind, human life and human capacities along with moral values and God-given rationality, in
addition to proper legal principles.
The holy Quran, 49:13
And surely We have honored the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We
have given them of the good things, and We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over
most of those whom We have created ». The holy Quran, 17:70.
3 The holy Quran, 49:13
1
2«
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Colleagues
In contemporary world, despite all the amazing achievements of mankind, unfortunately lots of
efforts are made to ignore diversity and plurality of various human communities, and intellectual
paradigms of some countries with political, economic, military or media dominance are imposed on
others, while such an imposition is justified with the term universality. Meanwhile, different
methods are used to inculcate that the right path to develop human rights is the extremist liberal
perception that leads to an unleashed joy-based view of the world, mankind and his life,
disregarding the origin and destination of creation. By such an imposed approach, despite so many
propagandas of those who claim acceptance of plurality and diversity, it is in fact the uniformity of
theoretical basis and legal content of human rights and duties that is intended in one way or
another. We believe that along with continuous awareness of this undesirable phenomenon,
measures similar to what NAM is taking in the framework of establishing centers for human rights
and cultural diversity can prevent some of the threats arising from such approaches imposed on
human rights across the world.
The truth is that in the framework of existing global mechanisms, there are still numerous
shortcomings facing cultural rights of human beings. While since 2009 a rapporteur has been
appointed for cultural rights by the UN Human Rights Council, who has prepared several reports so
far, however, what is achieved is way below the needs of human community, and it seems that
concerns of developing countries haven't been taken into account in reports prepared by the
esteemed cultural rights rapporteur.
As formation of NAM in 1961 was a result of efforts made to prevent global political and cultural
domination, naturally the organization is trying to play its role in preserving cultural diversity and
boosting human rights in a proper way. To this end, it is necessary for all NAM member states to
precisely study and evaluate different dimensions of cultural rights as well as concerns of developing
communities in their legal and national level, also in the framework of joint entities like NAMCHRCD.
Therefore, the present event is a valuable opportunity to recommend the esteemed UN cultural
rights rapporteur to increase his interaction with NAM state members that constitute more than two
third of UN member states, and take all the precautionary measures to avoid the cultural
domination intended by some states to influence his/her activities and intellectual approaches.
UNESCO is also bearing a heavy burden of responsibility and nations have high expectations from
this organization, therefore, I wish success for this UN agency to fulfill its obligations.
Dear professors, thinkers and researchers;
You are expected to take into account, assess and criticize the efforts made by dominance-seeking
states who try to ratify unilateral politically biased resolutions in international assemblies held in the
field of culture and human rights, or other concepts within the general category of culture and
human rights. Many instances can be put forth in this regard, where intentions of certain countries
are followed that can doubtlessly damage the global convergence necessary for strengthening
human rights culture. In addition, I would like to ask the audience to accurately assess effects of
economic globalization and the crises arising from recent economic modifications on cultures and
cultural rights of different communities, to ultimately find proper solutions needed to overcome
some of its related threats.
As usual, I.R.Iran supports all the wise, sympathetic and politically unbiased endeavors to develop
human rights on a global basis. To this end, it particularly encourages activation of civil entities to
support the influential presence of different cultures in developing human rights. Such entities,
composed e.g. of MPs, members of religious circles and other NGOs active in various social fields,
can certainly make a difference by managing to strengthen the required cultural basis for complying
with human rights from bottom upwards, in other words from the main body of the society, and not
by dictating certain criteria and principles from above without preparing the necessary grounds and
socio-cultural capacity, in a mandatory way.
In the end, I would like to wish the present conference success in realistically upgrading human
rights across the globe.
Thank you
Text of Address
By:
Mr. Pierre Ryter
Head of ICRC Mission in Iran
(Thursday, 24 November 2011- Tehran)
Your Excellencies,
Honourable guests,
Distinguished professors, researchers and scholars,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me first to express my appreciation to the
NAM Center for Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity, for its initiative to organize this
conference. My thanks also go to the Iranian Red
Crescent Society which, together with the National
Committee of Humanitarian Law, is promoting
humanitarian law and humanitarian values in Iran.
Today, 194 states have adopted the Geneva
Conventions which have passed into the body of
customary international law, thus making them
binding even on non-state actors whenever they
engage in armed conflicts.
The notion that International humanitarian law
(IHL) has an essential role to play in support of
humanity is now universally recognized. IHL can be
considered as the ultimate safeguard for mankind
seeking to protect itself against inhuman acts.
If we look at the core of IHL, we find article 3 common to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which
summarizes IHL essential message. Article 3 states that victims of armed conflict shall in all
circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour,
religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. In other words, IHL protects the
cultural diversity of humanity.
Your Excellencies, Honourable guests, distinguished professors, researchers and scholars,
Today, we live in a world that is still divided along cultural, economical and political lines. In such a
world, are cultures part of the problem, or are they part of the solution?
Since the end of the Cold War, different schools of thought are competing to shape the world public
opinion. One such school is promoting the idea that the world is about to witness the "End of
History" while another one is concerned about an emerging "Clash of Civilizations". Here in Iran, a
"Dialogue among Civilizations" has been initiated as a way to preserve peace and cultural diversity.
During these last 20 years, ICRC has been facing many new challenges. In a world that has once again
become polarized, in particular after the 9/11 attacks, the ICRC has to avoid the trap of choosing
side. However, to gain acceptability at field level, a passive neutrality is no longer sufficient. Respect
for local traditions and adaptation to local cultures have become the cornerstones of ICRC security in
war torn countries.
In ICRC experience, cultures can turn violent, and sometimes even inhuman, when they feel that
their existence is being threatened. On the other hand, when cultures feel respected, when they can
express themselves without fear, they become the best vector for promoting humanitarian rules and
humanitarian values.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
In the post 9/11 period, the ICRC has initiated a structured dialogue with Islam. In different Muslim
countries, Islamic scholars and clerics have started to explore with new eyes their own humanitarian
tradition. We already knew that humanitarian law has deep roots in Islam, but we found out that
this tradition has been developed throughout history, in many parts of the Islamic world.
In the holy city of Qom, these initiatives took a new dimension with the establishment of a
Permanent Secretariat of Islam and IHL in charge of following up the first Regional Conference held
in Qom in November 2006.
Your Excellencies, Honourable guests, distinguished professors, researchers and scholars,
Let me take this opportunity to greet the members of the Permanent Secretariat present among us
today and to congratulate them for their researches, which confirm that the universality of
humanitarian law is indeed enshrined in cultural diversity.
Thank you
Report of
The First International Conference on Human Rights and Cultures:
Cultures in Support of Humanity
(Tehran 24-26 Nov 2011)
The NAM Center for Human Rights and
Cultural
Diversity
(NAMCHRCD),
in
cooperation with the ICRC, Irish Centre for
Human Rights at National University of
Ireland-Galway, the Centre for Human Rights
Education at Curtin University-Australia,
Iranian National Committee of Humanitarian
Law (NCHL), Iranian Islamic Human Rights
Commission and Iranian National Committee
for UNESCO, held its first international
conference on human rights and cultures,
entitled, "cultures in support of humanity".
The three -day event took place on Nov, 24-26
at
Iranian Centre for International
Conferences in North of Tehran.
The relation between cultural diversity and
human rights has been an issue of longstanding debate among human rights
scholars, policy-makers and advocates.
Human rights and cultural diversity are
intertwined; full respect for human rights
creates an enabling environment for
guaranteeing cultural diversity. Cultural
diversity can be guaranteed only if human
rights and fundamental freedoms are
protected. Conversely, an environment
conducive to cultural diversity will contribute
in a significant manner to the full respect of
human rights and humanitarian universal
values. Among many different related
matters, the way cultures contribute to the
enrichment of the concept of human rights in
a normative and practical manner in order to
achieve wider enjoyment of human rights
requires further exploration.
Under the heading "Unifying Diverse Cultures
towards the Enrichment of the Universality of
Human Rights ", the NAMCHRCD held its first
international conference on human rights and
cultures under the title of “Cultures in
Support of Humanity”, an academic forum for
scholars and researchers from all over the
world, to arrive at a shared idea, experience
and understanding of the historical role and
contemporary capabilities of civilizations,
cultures and religions, on the following subtopics:
- Shaping the ideas or concepts behind
human rights and humanitarian law
principles such as human dignity, equality,
non-discrimination, freedom and justice;
- Improving international and regional
standard-setting and realization in areas such
as:

Freedom of religion, expression,
information and communication in
times of peace and war;

Freedom from discrimination of any
kind in situations of war and peace;

The rights of women, children,
minorities, the disabled, the elderly,
or migrant workers and their families
in peace time and the time of violence
and armed conflict;

The right to social security, work, rest
and leisure, an adequate standard of
living, education, benefits of science
and culture, protection of the family,
food, housing, health or education in
peace, war and occupation;
- Implementation of human rights law
international humanitarian law;
- Sanctions in human rights law and law of
armed conflicts.
Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kamran Hashemi, Director
of NAMCHRCD, Mr. Pierre Ryter, head of ICRC
mission in Iran, Professor Linda Briskman,
head of the Centre for Human Rights
Education at Curtin University-Australia, Dr.
Kathleen Cavanaugh, senior lecture at Irish
Center for Human Rights and Dr.
Mohamamdreza
Saeidabadi,
Secretary
General of Iranian National Committee for
UNESCO, gave their opening remarks on
behalf of the organizers of the conference
Dr. Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Dr. Kamran Hashemi, Director
of NAMCHRCD, Mr. Pierre Ryter, head of ICRC
mission in Iran, Professor Linda Briskman,
head of the Centre for Human Rights
Education at Curtin University-Australia, Dr.
Kathleen Cavanaugh, senior lecture at Irish
Center for Human Rights and Dr.
Mohamamdreza
Saeidabadi,
Secretary
General of Iranian National Committee for
UNESCO, gave their opening remarks on
behalf of the organizers of the conference.
Along side of the Conference a black and white photography exhibition entitled: Omnia vivunt,
omnia inter se conexa, was held with the presence of the photographer, Zsuzsanna Ardó
Within the three full days of the conference more than 70 speakers gave their speeches in two
panels on several themes. A short report of most of the speeches can be categorized as follows:
Theme 1:
Human Rights and Cultural Diversity: Related Cases and Issues
Anna Müller-Funk - What part should duty play in moral motivation? A discussion of
Kant's categorical imperative
She explored the validity of inclinations as motives, Marcia Barons' concept of “over-determined
actions” and discussed if they – contrary to Kant's claims, do have a moral worth. She wrapped up
the lecture with the conclusion that in a strict Kantian understanding, duty can and should not be
the only source of moral motivation, and is contrasted by Baron's interpretation of duty and moral
motivation.
Mostafa A’laye - Cultural diversity; contribution to peace and humanity, Cultural
conformity; road to uncertainty and violence
He believed that Cultural diversity is a critical question that humankind has to confront in the 21st
century. One of the main questions discussed in the lecture was “How can we reconcile diverse
cultures with peace and human rights in a world brimming with tension, confusion, conflicts and
wars?” “What are the impacts of cultural homogeneity and cultural conformity on the cultures and
religions?” “How can human rights be immune whilst the international community celebrates
cultural diversity?”
Mesbah Ansari - Intercultural cognition and human rights
Intercultural cognition which is the basic element of possibly successful intercultural dialogue is not
a merit to be achieved overnight and could only be mastered through education though not merely
the academic one, he argued in his lecture. He believed that intercultural cognition starts from the
very cultural cognition. It is also very much dependent on cultural diversity. International cognition
skill if acquired worldwide contributes to the realization of international human rights law.
Mohammad-Javad Javid and Esmat Shahmoradi - Natural challenges of cultures in support
of humanity
In their lecture they tried to prove the hypothesis that the core invariant within human beings is
their very nature, and that the cultures, serving as some software to program human life, can be
universal and philanthropic provided only that they are established based upon human’s nature and
essence. Such an essence is the same element which is occasionally referred to, in religious
terminology, as fitrah.
Jakub Krys - Various approaches to multiculturalism and the Individual human rights
In his presentation he compared different multiculturalism solutions and plural societies basing on
the examples of various countries and different practices of human rights respect. He, as a
psychologist, approached the issue from a psychological point of view.
Zacharie Serge Raoul Nyanid - Cultures in support of humanity
The lecturers held that it is possible considering that culture is constantly evolving in any living
society, responding to both internal and external stimuli, and there is much in every culture that
societies quite naturally outgrow and reject. This means that if a multidimensional approach is
adopted within the human rights consensus, this can enrich the corpus of human rights and better
guarantee their enjoyment by all people.
Hossein Sartipi - Human security, culture and universal peace
How can universal human rights exist in a culturally diverse world? This was the most important
question that he dealt with in his lecture. As the international community becomes increasingly
integrated, how could universal peace be achieved through cultural diversity? How could a global
culture emerge based on and guided by human security? These are some of the issues, concerns and
questions underlying the debate over universal human rights and cultural relativism.
Aramesh Shahbazi - Cultural diversity and substantial unity in international law of
humanity: Contradiction or interaction?
She maintained that there was a sociological and reciprocal relation between law and society. She
argued that the objective purpose and the sociological mission of any legal rule is its applicability in
the society in which exists. This fundamental principle applies in mutual relations of international
legal order and the legal system including the rules and regulations.
Mohammad Ali Shahbazi - Cultural diversity and armed conflicts: Exploring the cultural
factor in breaching humanitarian law from protection of civilians point of view
In his lecture he tried to show that beside hard law which exists to protect civilians in armed
conflicts, some other elements are needed to control participants in armed conflicts when they are
in a position of breaching the humanitarian law. He mentioned that improving awareness in
international plan about different cultures can provide an appropriate basis to achieve this goal.
Louis Edward Wolcher - The problem of unity
and diversity in international human rights
In his lecture, he attempted to unpack the meaning
and significance of the distinction between these
points of view for the discourse and practice of
international human rights. He aimed to move the
discussion of cultural diversity in the sphere of
human rights to a level that is deeper than that
which is allowed for by the usual (and in ultimately
sterile) verbal opposition between “universalism”
and “cultural relativity.” The goal is to clarify as
much as possible the relevant points of agreement
and disagreement about the nature of the inherently limited ethical imperative to tolerate and
protect cultural diversity
Mohsen Mohebbi - Cultural diversity in international civil society, a way to secure human
rights
How we can secure cultural diversity through establishing social society; this is the question he dealt
with in his presentation. The point is that the cultural diversity is a threat to universality of human
rights and to solve this threat is to promote international civil society. The main focus of his lecture
was the internationality of human rights and cultural diversity. Elaborating more on the subject he
mentioned some theories of international law and human rights. He also mentioned different views
on human rights from the viewpoint of different sides. The best alternative for the States as the sole
actors of the international arena are the NGOs. To him, the basis of the social life is based on the
social contract, which is important at two levels: the horizontal level which is established between
the people, and the vertical one that is between the people and the rulers. In the end he expressed
hopes for the creation of an international civil society which uphold the value of human rights and
cultural diversity.
Reza Mousazadeh - Interaction between culture and law in the field of human rights
He mentioned that the cultural uniqueness of every society should be taken into consideration and
there should be no generalization of any specific worldview when studying other cultures. There
should be differentiation between cultures. There is no general rule to apply to all the societies. He
mentioned that there are two approached about law making: one approach says that rules and
regulations should rise from the State. The State is the top of the willingness of the whole population
and controls and regulates the reactions and interactions between different entities. But there is
another approach which denies the role of State in the process of law making and gives the greater
share to the society and the will of the people in law making. He quoted a phrase by Montesquieu
that the law should be made in every society according to the social situation. And therefore the law
in every society should be different from any other society because its people are different. And
finally he stressed out the role of culture to be taken seriously when making law and to consider the
cultural intricacies of every society.
Bahram Mostaghimi - The links between human rights and society
In the beginning he defined some keywords such as culture, human rights and history. Then he
elaborated the interrelationship between the keywords. Culture shapes both the individual and
social identity, and through enculturation the identity is passed down to generations. He maintained
that through a cultural approach we can be both universal and relative and preserve the individual
and plural identity. The individual security is gained through the plural security and vice versa.
Ahmad Moballeghi - The coalition of cultures and its impact on promotion of humanity
concepts
There are two pivotal ideas in the paper that he presented: the first one is the circumstances under
which the common cultural postulations affect the development of humanitarian concepts, and the
second idea is the preemption of Islam in transforming the postulations into ideas. He mentioned
the contending ideas and also the common grounds of Islam and Western thoughts. He maintained
that developing the humanitarian concepts paves the way to focus on common grounds in order to
make mutual understanding and peace.
Mohammd Hassan Ziaeifar - Challenges of coexistence and cooperation between the
cultures and human rights in the contemporary world
He mentioned that the issue could be assessed from different points of view. To him one viewpoint
could be the legal one. The other way of assessing according to him was to take the issue of human
rights beyond the boundaries of the subject. He delivered the paper observing the latter point of
view. He answered some questions during the lecture: is it necessary that culture and Human Rights
work in Harmony? In case of such harmony what would be the challenges? What would be the
solutions? And the last question was about the experience of Iran in this regard.
Hossein Sharifi Tarazkuhi - the common cultural teachings, basic norms of human rights
and cosmopolitan citizenship
He put the basis of his argument on the relationship between the cultures. He maintained
that emphasizing the commonalities shouldn’t cause the overlooking of the realities in
societies. His variable was not pretty much the political variables which are linked to power.
He maintained that if cultures are formed within the political frameworks they will be less
flexible. He maintained that reaching cosmopolitan citizenship doesn’t necessarily mean
that we should deny the national boundaries. There were three variables in his lecture:
culture, the basic norms of human rights and finally the cosmopolitan citizenship. In the
end, he pointed out that no matter where we are, we all have a common perception of
humanity.
Pouria Askary - Universality and cultural diversity in practice: Reservation to human rights
treaties
He started his lecture with a short review on ILC outcomes on the issue of reservation to human
rights treaties and continued with a study on cultural diversity and universality of human rights
treaties with main focus on the role of reservations.
Edel Hughes - Freedom of religion, expression,
information and communication in times of
peace and war "crosses to bear: symbolism and
secularism at the European Court of Human
Rights"
In his presentation he analyzed recent trends in the
Court's jurisprudence concerning religious symbols
and contrasts the approach of the Court in Lautsi
with its earlier decisions in cases concerning Islamic
religious symbols. He argued that the Court, through
its decision in the Lautsi case fuels the debate on the
place of religion in the European public sphere and
sets Christianity apart from Islam in terms of the
protection afforded by the Court.
Mohd Azizoddin Mohd Sani - Human dignity as
an alternative to human rights, Malaysia’s
argument to protect communitarianism and
Islam
In his presentation he tried to find a better
understanding of the theory and debate of human
dignity in Malaysian perspective. He believed that
many scholars and activists are confused in dealing
with the theoretical debates and issues of human
rights. Thus he traced the current debate of human
dignity in Malaysia especially when Islam strongly
involved in the debate such as in the case of
pornography, hate speech and policing moral
behavior. To him, although it is controversial, it
makes Malaysia unique and different from other
countries in the world.
Theme 2:
Cultures in Support of Humanity: Contribution of Different Civilizations and
Cultures
Micheal Votte - Sources of international humanitarian law across civilizations
According to him what we should try to do is to engage in dialogue, but the content of the dialogue
should not merely be about the history, but about what is happening and what should happen in the
future. He mentioned that it should be noted that periods of armed conflicts are temporary and will
not last forever and that an enemy will not be an enemy forever. In the course of the lecture he
compared different societies in terms of their perceptions of the enemy and the hostile civilizations.
Finally he maintained that we need to continue to have this dialogue to reaffirm fundamental values
to protect human rights and dignity in all circumstances.
Nikan Bahrami - The origins of human rights in the oriental civilizations.
The main question she addressed during the lecture was whether there had been any rules and
principles in the oriental civilizations regarding human rights. In the beginning she explored the
relationship between the law and history. She held that in order to understand the modern
establishments of law and judicial systems, we should delve deep into the historical roots of every
society. Then she mentioned the contribution of Iran to the civilization worldwide. She stressed the
role of Iran as the crossroad of civilization due to its geopolitical position. She concluded that based
on historical facts the belief that human rights was originally born in Europe is not true.
Nghia Hoang Van - Reinterpreting EastAsian culture and human rights: The case
of traditional Vietnamese legal culture
His overall goal in the lecture was to search for
human dignity and tolerance, as cross-cultural
values of human rights and the contribution of
East Asian culture to the evolution of universal
human rights through examining the traditional
Vietnamese legal culture and its influences on
modern Vietnam. In other parts of the lecture
he argued that Vietnamese traditional culture,
as well as the East Asian Culture, is embraced
by both negative and positive elements that affect, either sides, the evolution of human rights in
Vietnam and East Asia, as well as to the emergence of universal human rights.
Sanoj Rajan - South Asia and its contribution to international humanitarian law synopsis
He followed a twofold path in his lecture. First he made an attempt to consolidate the various
principles and values in South Asian region, which contribute to the study of modern human rights
and humanitarian law. Secondly a case study discussion was provided on the war practices of the
'Chekavars' of the ancient Malabar coast in India which is in consonance with principles of
distinction, proportionality and other means and methods of warfare in modern international
humanitarian law.
Nasrin Mosaffa - Facing the poverty: from charity to right to development
In the course of the lecture she argued that those activities that now are evolved in the form of
“right to development” are an evolution that led to moral and legal definition of right to
development. She believed that strengthening human rights needs universal and philosophical
foundations in various cultures rather than political or economic ones; right to development is
rooted in humanity. In her speech she examined the common grounds of charity and right to
development such as people's well-being.
Theme 3:
Cultures in Support of Humanity: Contribution of Islamic Culture
Bahman Akbari - Humanities in Islamic discourse
He believed that religious thinkers, relying on Islamic resources, are enabled to give directives and
religious edicts for the contemporary issues without dogmatism and petrifaction. He maintained that
one of the indicators of the capabilities of a religion is how its thinkers use their intellectual system
to infer within the framework of that religion. In his lecture he made an effort to suggest ontological
foundations or assumptions for "humanities in Islamic discourse" by applying Islamic texts.
Valeallah Ansari and Abdollah Bagheri - The principle of freedom of religion: A
comparative study between Islamic law and international law
In their lecture they stressed out the importance of freedom of religion in personal liberty. They
maintained that freedom of religion is not a value only in Western societies but it roots in the Islamic
culture as well. To put it short, in their lecture they held the view that years before the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of religion had been guaranteed in Islamic texts and
resources and any sort of compulsion had been chastised.
Hajar Azari and Abdollah Bagheri - The role of the "intellect" as one of the sources of
lawmaking in updating Islamic laws in protection of women victims' rights
In their lecture, they held the view that despite the contending ideas on the issue, intellect or
wisdom as gifts bestowed upon mankind should be utilized by jurisprudents to develop and update
the provisions of Islamic law. God has always encouraged thinking and understanding. From the
aforementioned facts, one can conclude that intellect has acquired a very high position in Islamic
teaching. In their concluding remarks, they noted that using the intellect paves the way for rules and
regulations more compatible with the modern developments of the world.
Seyed Ebrahim Hosseini - Observance of human rights in Islam
In his lecture, he tried to show the observance of human rights in Islam, through quoting narrations
and examples of the Prophet’s life. He stressed the fact that man has a very lofty position in Islamic
thought that whatever it takes to guarantee the rights of man, it is mentioned in the Holy Quran.
The method of his research was descriptive-analytical while using the most authentic and primary
sources – the Quran and the infallible Imams - for inferring Islamic knowledge and rights.
Amir Saed Vakil - International cooperation in protection of humanitarianism in view of
religions
In his lecture he expressed that Islamic teachings introduced pioneer perspective of international
obligation to cooperate in protection of humanitarianism which is comparable by general attitude of
international law including position of the UN International Law Commission in the draft articles on
responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts, 2001.
Mykhaylo Yakubovych - A cultural significance of the modern Islamic exegetics for the
theory of religious tolerance
In his lecture, he provided an in-depth understanding of how the Islamic culture benefits through
tafsir relations between modern law principles and the Quranic teachings. In his lecture he supposed
that both traditional views as well as its modern interpretation supports a wide understanding of
religious freedom and proposes a new solutions for the widespread problems of this field. Finally he
pointed out that the critical analysis of the text of the contemporary tafsirs gives us a great chance
to enrich our cultural experience in a way of serving the humanity.
Gholamreza Zakizadeh and Masoumeh Solgi - Human rights in Imam Ali's government
In their lecture, they seek to find the origins of human rights and they argued that it is necessary to
get into it without any partial views and policy. Regarding this point, human rights will not be
observed unless by paralleling the human rights context in the native cultures. They expressed what
kind of view the various and diffuse cultures all over the world in respect to the human rights
context have. As a result it can be found effective enforcement to observe and enforce the rules of
the human rights by customizing the human rights context so that it can prevent extensive violations
of the human rights.
Seyyed Mohammad Hashemi - Islamic
culture and the human rights
In his lecture, he argued that the issue of
human rights has been accentuated in all
divine religions and the appeal for the
salvation of the human beings is a singular
drive in all religions. He mentioned that
there are many commonalties between all
the religions and the gist of them; all is
that all the human beings should live a
prosperous life. The aim of Islam is the
peaceful coexistence of people. According
to Islam the people are entitled to the
right of determining their own fate. The democracy is embedded in the very nature of Islam. The
ideal in Islam is that besides requiring a prosperous life for people, every single person is put to test
to know his own values. He also linked the generations of human rights with the verses in the Holy
Quran.
Theme 4:
Dialogue, Tolerance and Understanding
William O. Beeman - Artists, human rights, freedom of
expression and the advancement of human understanding
He explored the role of the artist in furthering the benefits of cultural
life in the community through freedom of expression. In his lecture
he showed how artists in many societies have expanded human
consciousness, promoted inter-cultural understanding and advanced
humanities approach to the world. He argued that artists need
special protection to carry out their mission, since their ideas, being
new and unfamiliar to the bulk of the public, may sometimes be
misunderstood or seen as an unwelcome challenge to the status quo.
Far from being a negative influence, the best artists help society grow and evolve in a positive way.
Kathleen Cavanaugh - Constructing the other
In her lecture she looked at the construction of the other, in this case the otherness of “Islam”. Some
of the more public displays of this construction can be found in debates on the manifestation of
religion on the public sphere that is happening in both Europe and North America. She concluded
that by examining whether this construction of the other is, as Zizek has argued, is part of a trend
where integration into the so called democratic project is to become unidentifiable (the
decaffeinated other) and what this says about our concept of democracy.
Hossein Diba - Morality, culture and humanitarianism
To the lecturer, the cornerstone of humanitarian laws is ethical values and moral rules. The most
recent researches in anthropology, social psychology and moral psychology have shown the
influences of cultures on the moral judgments and moral emotions. There are two approached to
assess the degree to which culture important in forming judgment and morals: Cognitive approach
and the feeling and emotional approach, which emphasizes on the feeling and the conception of
morality, is that conscience is formed and regulated by feelings and emotions.
Reza Eslami - Tolerance and cultures: human rights perspective
He first casts a glance on the importance and necessity of tolerance from human rights perspective
as well as its concept and characteristics in any given society, Muslim societies in particular, and
refers the role and impact of tolerance in cultural beliefs and practices.
The lecturer then examined how dialogue among cultures and social groups in societies provides
ground for recognition of “others” and tolerance, and argues that this, in turn, leads to the
institutionalization of the principles of non-violence and non-discrimination both in cultures and
legal systems.
Branislav Radeljic - Islam as a challenge to European tolerance
He explained about the present European Union struggles with the tolerance. For example, in regard
to Muslims, apart from seeing the burqa as a symbol for “the repression that women can suffer in
Islam” and a threat to security, sexual equality and secularism, some European governments would
like to see it banned although banning it altogether would be an infringement on the individual
rights which their culture normally struggles to protect.
Ratna Kapur - Un-veiling equality: disciplining the “other” woman through human rights
discourse
In her lecture, she exposed how the right to equality is a discursive terrain where competing
understandings about gender and culture are produced. Instead of casting the resistance to gender
equality in terms of cultural or religious opposition, she moved beyond a mere concern over the
legitimacy of a cultural practice, such as the veil, to a focus on the need to engage with the deeper
discursive and normative concerns that shape and structure the right to gender equality. She argued
that majoritarianism as well as essentialist assumptions about gender and culture operate in and
through the right to gender equality, illustrating her argument through a discussion on the rights of
Muslim women in postcolonial India in the context of the emergence and forceful advocacy of the
Hindu right as well as the politics surrounding the ban on the veil in France.
Theme 5:
Protection of Cultural Rights
Samira Ahamdi and Faraz Firouzimandi - Securing economic, social and cultural rights in
light of a social market economy: The case of right to social security
In the beginning they mentioned that in an atmosphere of Cold War, the UN set up an International
“Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” in 1966. They held that education was considered the
cornerstone of achieving political rights. Since there is much more to human life than just politics,
thus the UN set up a second set of human rights, “The International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights”. The economic, social and cultural rights to be realized need the intervention of
the States. The lecturers discussed the issue in their speech.
Su-Ming Khoo - Educating within culture and
human rights: What can a capabilities approach
add?
In her lecture she mentioned that human rights and
capabilities approaches have moved closer together in
recent years, with human rights approaches
highlighting the importance of values, while capability
emphasizes the “substantive freedoms and
opportunities” of individuals and groups. Education is a
core socio-economic and cultural right, and is regarded
as one of three “immediate action areas” for realizing
the Right to Development - in turn the integrating
vector for interdependent and indivisible rights.
Firouz Gaini - Quest for a better understanding of children and culture: Twenty-first
century children´s cultures, rights and education from an anthropological perspective
He opened his lecture with examining and analyzing fundamental arguments regarding the
credibility and valuation of the cultural rights of children. Main questions are as follows; 1- How do
we research and illustrate the complex relation between children´s cultural rights and the cultural
diversity of the world today? 2- What position and function does the – formal and informal –
education of children have regarding the knowledge on and respect of cultures and humanity in the
world today? 3- What can be done – on local, national and international levels – in order to improve
the general understanding of children and human right issues across ethnic, religious and national
borders?
Dinesh Kumar - Protection of cultural rights under the Indian Constitution: An analysis
He argued that the challenges in the protection of cultural rights arises when equality as a
guaranteed right is applied to different cultural groups. He mentioned that India had adopted the
scheme of non-discrimination, minority rights, reservation and affirmative action with varying
degrees of success. Despite the several efforts by the government to improve the condition of the
minority, constitutional guaranteed rights, different institution and commission established to
monitor, failed. Minority faces discrimination, violence and atrocities.
Zia E. Madani - Extraterritorial human rights obligations of States and the issue of cultural
rights
In his lecture he tried to examine the cultural rights and the extraterritorial obligation of States with
regard to this type of rights in areas beyond State sovereignty.
Ozoda Nurmatova and Gulbahor Jumaboeva - Case study: Cultural barriers and young
females' rights to education in rural community of Tajikistan
They discussed the ongoing debate on social status of women in Tajikistan. Powerlessness,
helplessness, repressed sexuality, limited role in the family and community and moreover adherence
to traditions - are the most frequent talks about the Tajik women’s place in the society and family.
Mahya Saffarinia - Parents’ right to choose the kind of their children’s education; the role
of culture in human development
In her lecture he tried to identify the best way, so that cultural capacities within societies will be
applied properly. It is worthy of mentioning that various theoretical sources as well as judicial
practices were reviewed in her lecture and several examples followed to support the claim of the
lecturer.
Soumitra Subinaya - Conceptualizing a human-rights-friendly
and more humanitarian “freedom” and “justice” from a woman,
tribal and transgender perspective: Empowering the
marginalized through legal literacy
In his lecture he argued how legal literacy can empower people to
enjoy their human rights and be well protected during disasters and
during peace.
Ghasem Zamani - the right to participate in cultural life and human rights, the new
exceptions to international sanctions
He provided an overview of the beginning of international sanctions in recent decades. He
mentioned specifically the case of Iraq and Yugoslavia in the 90s and stressed out the fact that these
kind of international sanctions impose and excruciating pain on ordinary people and makes it
miserable for them to procure their very basic human needs. He mentioned the case in Iraq where
people could hardly find medicine. In the end he concluded that the cultural aspect of every
international sanction should be given a much greater importance that just the economic and
political outcomes.
Theme 6:
Protection of Cultural Heritage
Janet Blake - Exploring the relationship between cultural heritage and human rights
The relationship between cultural heritage and human rights is a mutual one as she argued in her
lecture. From her point of view several elements and characteristics of cultural heritage have strong
human rights dimensions (negative as well as positive) in particular its role in cultural identity
formation and affirmation, its relationship to the tricky notion of cultural diversity, the problem of
cultural traditions or practices that contravene human rights standards and the potential of heritage
to exclude and serve as the vehicle for expressing social and political tensions. To understand the
relationship between the two, she argued that we must consider some fundamental characteristics
of human rights as well as of certain theoretical challenges that cultural heritage poses such as
relativism and claims for collective rights.
Christopher Harland - An overview of the recent history of legal norms for the protection
of cultural property in armed conflict
In his lecture he provided an overview of the legal protections developed regarding cultural property
in armed conflict from the late 19th century to today.
Hassan Savari - Protecting cultural and historical properties
He discussed whether it is possible to protect the cultural and historical properties, which are the
emblems of every civilization and culture, within the framework of the Rule of Restricting the
Collateral Damage. This was the main question he tried to answer in his lecture. The lecturer gave an
account of wars in the course of time. He mentioned the scorched lands during the wars of centuries
ago. He mentioned that as the international law developed, not only human lives mattered but also
there appeared efforts to protect the cultural and historical sites. He also mentioned the initiatives
undertaken by UNESCO in an effort to register more than 800 historical sites as world heritage sites.
Theme 7:
Protection of Minority/Community Rights
Daniel Aguirr - Development and community rights: A human rights based approach
In his lecture he maintained the view that economic globalization and the drive for economic growth
have created a situation in which some of the basic rights of communities are violated in the name
of development policies. He holds that the group right should be protected by human rights law. The
lecturer seeks to analyze how human rights law could provide a platform for negotiation between
local communities, corporations and governments concerning economic development. He examined
the use of international and national law to empower local communities in a variety of case studies.
Riaz Ahmad - Minority rights as an instrument of a dignified human existence: India’s
response to diversity
Only in a peaceful and egalitarian society could a dignified human life be achieved, he held in his
lecture; a society based on values such as liberty, equality and Justice. When it comes to rights, there
seems to be a paradox; the attempts to promote them on one hand and their frequent violation on
the other. Many lessons could be taken from India’s experience in dealing with socio-cultural
diversities. India, among other things, granted its minorities certain rights. Since the minority in this
country vastly diverse, therefore it employed different measures and achieved different levels of
success.
Dadarao C Kirtiraj - Plight of North Indian migrants: A case of human rights violation in
Pune City in Maharashtra
According to him, as a land of diversity, India has sometimes suffered from this very diversity, in
terms of social economic challenges. He addressed the issue of migration in the lecture. According to
him India suffers the problem of disparity. While there are some regions fully developed, there are
some regions living in absolute poverty. And because of this disparity, North Indians tend to migrate
to more affluent regions. He then addressed the problems raised by the issue of migration. His focus
was on the case of city of Puna, The city which has attracted labor force from different parts of the
country and most of these labor forces don’t have any job security. The questions of his study were;
what is the socio-economical status of the North migrants? How do they face the problem of
alienations with the locals? To what extent their human rights are protected at the place of
destination? What are the factors that inhibit the integration of the migrants with the natives?
Linda Briskman - Never the twain shall meet: Border security, human security and human
rights
In her lecture she opined that in their pursuit for control of sovereign borders, nation State concerns
about human security are given secondary consideration. To her this is particularly manifest in the
responses of Western governments to people fleeing zones of conflict in their quest to seek safe
haven. Accompanying these trends is the manner in which border protection since September 11th
2001 has been used to exclude certain groups from countries. She believed that this is particularly
evident in the way that terrorism and asylum seeking have become conflated and the way in which
the “middle-eastern Muslim” is depicted.
Mehdi Shabannia Mansour and Mohammad Javad
Shabannia Mansour - Freedom of speech for nonMalaysian citizens under Federal Constitution of
Malaysia and Universal Declaration Human Rights: A
comparative study
They believe that Freedom and freedom of speech have
been considered by human beings as a core value for a long
time. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right of the
people. They mentioned the equality of all mankind in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “all people are equal
and everyone has the right to freedom of speech and
expression and these are for all people in a society without
any exception”. Therefore, by considering these articles all
people in a country are equal such as citizen or non – citizen
and they must have an equal right.
Theme 8:
Case Studies
Alireza Delkhosh - The right of “judicial security” and supportive approach of the general
provisions of human rights
The right to judicial security is a very important factor in protecting individuals against sovereignties,
he maintained. According to the “Right of Judicial Security“, all the people regardless of their
nationality, ethnicity, race, faith, etc., are entitled to justice and thus they must be ensured that they
will have reasonable accesses and possibilities to have a fair trial against any invasions to their
substantial rights in any country and in every sovereignty.
Thomas Obel Hansen - Establishing a normative framework for evaluating diverse cases of
transitional justice
Based on an assessment of contemporary practices of dealing juridical with large-scale human rights
violations, he argued that there is a need for updating important aspects of transitional justice
theory. In his presentation he concluded that it is possible to establish some overall positive goals of
transitional justice, namely attending to the needs of victims, preventing the recurrence of largescale violence and, finally, creating a more just society.
Tahereh Jalili - An enquiry into evolution of humanitarian
interventions in responsibility to protect (dose this
evolution work?)
In author’s view Right to Protect is the evolution of humanitarian
interventions. So she attempted to evaluate the reasons for this
evolution. She believed that this evolution goes back to the other
developments in the international society that have taken effect
after cold war. She holds that Right to protect is a response to
current developments in the international arena including
evolutions of the sovereignty, security, human rights and wars,
imperfect implementation of the humanitarian intervention and
emergence of failed States.
Nadaraja Kannan - Myanmar: The struggle for the return to democratic rule
In his lecture, he discusses the struggle for democratic reforms in Myanmar: the roadmap to political
reforms subsequently introduced by the military junta, the new constitution and its implication on
the main pro-democratic party, the National League for Democracy and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi,
the 2010 elections. He analyzed then some recent developments in the country in the human rights
situation vis-à-vis political since the change in government from military to civilian rule.
Saeid Khalouzadeh - The cultural policy of a unified Europe and the role of human rights
He mentioned several point during his lecture, one of which was the cultural policies of Europe
within the framework of European Integration. The second point he mentioned was the efforts
made to homogenize the culture mainly in the last two decades. The other point was the uniqueness
of some cultures and at the same time the cultural pluralism in Europe. He mentioned that although
Europe is trying to tolerate the cultural pluralism, however at the same time it pursues the purpose
of unifying and homogenizing the cultures. The other point that he mentioned was the cultural
initiatives of the European Union during the last two decades. As examples he named three
countries, England, Germany and France. The other points salient in his lectures was the focus on
the language in the European Union.
Abul Bashar Mohammad Abu Noman - Enforcement of international human rights law by
domestic court: Bangladesh perspective
The aims of the lecture were to examine how the problem of domestic implementation of
international norms is addressed in Bangladesh and to search for the way forward for ensuring
effective enforcement of international human rights law in the country.
Seyyed Mehdi Parsaei and Jafar Yaghoubi - Challenges of operationalizing the right to
protection in Libya by UN Security Council C and NATO
They sought to discuss the challenges of operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect by the
Security Council and consequently NATO's intervention in Libya. The main question that they
addressed was: what are the main challenges of operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect by the
Security Council and NATO in Libya?
Azar Safari - States’ obligation to protect against human rights violations by non-State
actors
She discusses that States’ obligations have long been recognized in international law and relations.
With the increasing role of individual persons and groups in international law, they are recognized
both as holders of rights and subjects to obligations. It is suggested that the more the violations
committed against individual persons and groups by Non-States actors, the more responsible the
States in international human rights law should be.
Comment by Dr. Nghia Van Hoang , Vietnam on Conference Cultures in
Support of Humanity
Dear all professors, colleagues and friends,
It was my great pleasure to sharing with you Persian experiences during the
International Conference on Cultures in Support for Humanity, held last month
in Tehran.
I was overwhelmingly impressed by the host country, the organizing committee,
the donors and sponsors, as well as and your contribution, who have made a very successful
conference. I have learnt a lot from the well-known speakers and presenters, as well as all the
participants coming from different cultures and backgrounds. Especially, through this occasion I have
corrected myself about the knowledge of Iran and Islamic culture. Iran, a beautiful country, a kind
and hospitable people, shall be, definitely, in my mind and my heart, now and forever.
May I take this opportunity to thank you all so much for your kindness and hospitality. My special
thanks go to Dr Hashemi and his aides from the NAM's Centre for Cultural Diversity and Human
Rights, and the volunteers who worked so hard to make such a great achievement. I would also like
to express my sincere thanks to the Irish Center for Human Rights, Curtin University, American
universities, and many other Iranian and international professors, for their significant contribution,
without them, this conference could have not been made successfully.
Since I have learnt that cultures are in support of humanity, I wish all of us could further contribute
to enhancing and enriching our cultures so that they could truly support humanity and human rights.
Let me be with your noble course by citing verses of a famous poem that "Culture gives us strength
and love. Culture gives us wings to live up the mankind's dream of peace, tolerance and humanism.
Culture is the only language that comes across all barriers of languages; it has never been changed
when it changes itself. Culture is us and ours".
I wish you all the very best of health, luck and success.
Looking forward to seeing you again
Sincerely yours,
Nghia
Comments by Dr. Riaz Ahmad, India on the Conference Cultures
in Support of Humanity
In the early hours of 30 November I returned to Delhi with a deep
sense of fulfillment emanating from my Tehran visit. I had no confusion
that I would be writing to the conference hosts thanking them for
many things. Unfortunately, my father’s health did not allow me to
spare time for this. It is already the eighth day after my return. At one
level, I feel embarrassed that I could not even thank the conference
hosts during this period. From a different perspective, this delay can
also be seen as a blessing in disguise. I got time to think more about
the conference as also about my interactions with others after the
conference. Whatever I now say is therefore not in the spur of the moment, not merely a formality;
it is my considered opinion. And, I have to say quite a few things.
Academically, the conference was very fruitful. Within its own limitations of availability of time, it
provided a forum for free exchange of views. The themes and topics under discussion and the
approaches to them underscored the academic richness of the conference. The paucity of time,
however, occasionally kept the participants from delving deep into a topic. On the other extreme,
though exceptionally, a few presentations, questions (or sets of questions) and comments were too
long and therefore led to some uneasiness among audience as also to some criticism in private
conversations. Nevertheless, there were chairpersons who did not permit such transgressions. They
were extremely watchful of the limitations of time, and rightly so. Kathleen, as a chairperson, was
such an example. I remember when I was asking questions in a session, she very politely but firmly
refused to allow me to ask any further question. She did the right thing. In her, I find a role model for
all those who have to chair academic discussions. On the whole, there was much to learn from the
conference. It opened many doors for further academic exercises and intercultural contacts. Its
academic content provided enough food for future thought.
At this stage, I would also like to talk about food as a necessity for human survival. I prefer nonvegetarian food. The elaborate arrangements of the eatables and the drinks in both tea breaks and
lunch every day, as also in the informal dinner hosted in the Guest House, almost bordered on treats
that can be described as connoisseur’s delight. The food was remarkable for its variety, good taste,
and abundance. The hospitality and the warmth of the hosts and other locals were even more
amazing. There was however one food-related aspect which perhaps slipped out of the minds of the
hosts. Some people have a preference for vegetarian food, which may be grounded in religious,
health or moral reasons. It would have been nice if vegetarian food could also be made available in
some variety to participants who, unlike me, prefer such food. There were boiled vegetables
available in lunches. But in contrast with non-vegetarian delicacies, they looked very little. For future
conferences, I suggest a separate vegetarian counter with proper display about it and with some
variety of vegetarian dishes. Such an arrangement in future would surely add to the goodwill of the
conference hosts.
Staying at the Guest House was itself a memorable experience. The available facilities and the
behavior of its staff made the stay absolutely comfortable and unforgettable. The breakfasts and the
dinners there were wonderful too. Before leaving the Guest House on 29 November, I asked the
available staff if the Guest House maintained a register where the guests could record their
impressions about their stay there. I was told that there was no such register and no such practice. I
came back. But I would like to mention a few names, and one incident, that have left a lasting
positive imprint on me. Hasan Mudarrasi Niya and Burhani at the information desk and Ismail in the
dining hall were very helpful, very friendly and very warm. An incident in the Guest House made me
acknowledge the essential honesty and integrity of its staff. One day I had left an envelope
containing about 800 US dollars and a few other things on one of the beds in my bedroom there. I
had left the bedroom open and had also put a “room service” tag at the main door. During the day
when I realized that I had left behind a substantial amount of money there, I felt a bit uneasy. But
when I returned, I was pleased and thrilled to find that the whole accommodation including my bed
room was cleaned, the bed on which I used to sleep was made, but the money and other things
which I had left on the other bed remained where they were, untouched. I feel sad that I could not
even thank those unknown staff members who provided the room service there. The whole
experience at the Guest House was pleasant. Perhaps, those having a preference for vegetarian food
would not have enjoyed the stay as much as I and others like me did. For future, the conference
organizers may take appropriate steps to overcome this deficiency at the Guest House too.
A brief comment about my experience in Tehran, outside the conference! As I met the common men
and women of Iran - in the metro, on roads, in bazaars, in shops, in the Historical and Cultural
Complex, in the Niyavaran Park, in the National Museum which is currently headed by my dear
friend Dr Daryoosh Akbarzadeh – the image of Iran in my mind underwent a qualitative change.
When I thought about it later, I realized that my perception of Iran was largely a product of media
reports, which, to say the least, did not capture the totality of Iranian reality. Thanks to the
opportunity provided by the conference hosts, I could personally observe quite a few important
things: how men behaved, how women behaved, how men and women interacted with each other. I
found the reality at variance with my faulty perception of Iran. I have brought back a highly
improved image of Iran and its people.
The conference organizers deserve a very big “thank you” for taking care of the smallest of details in
making the stay in Iran comfortable and memorable. I was received at the airport by a gentleman at
a very early hour of the day; there was a taxi to take me to the Guest House from the airport; there
was another one to take me from Guest House to the airport; there were individuals who, perhaps
under Kamran's instructions and supervision, were always ready to help. Zahra Alvandi was one such
person. She took personal pains to sort out the difficulty in the booking of my air ticket from Tehran
to Delhi. Throughout the conference, she was a big support. Then there was Seyyed Mehdi Parsaei
who was perhaps deputed at the Guest House to take care of the participants. There was his friend,
Ahmed (the gentleman who clicked so many group photos on the last day of the conference) who
also could be seen in the Guest House, interacting with the participants and making them
comfortable. Even at the venue of the conference, there were many students, teachers and other
professionals who appeared ready to help whenever one needed such help. They won hearts with
their friendly behavior. Zakieh Taghizadeh was one such example.
Kathleen has been rightly saying that Kamran and his team have done the heavy lifting for the
conference. I give my special thanks to Kamran. At the same time, I would like to view the
conference as a creative, joint exercise. At some level of visualizing, planning, providing various
supports, etc. all hosts of the conference would have made their contribution. I therefore express
my sincere gratitude also to NAMCHRCD, ICRC, the Irish Centre for Human Rights, and the Centre for
Human Rights Education (Curtin University, Australia). I request both of you, Kamran and Kathleen,
to please convey my feelings to them.
Thanks for engaging me in this fruitful academic exercise; thanks for providing me an opportunity
that corrected my perception of Iran.
I look forward to future meaningful engagements in furthering research and discourse on human
and minority rights.
The email has become too long. My apologies!
Warm regards and best wishes,
Riaz Ahmad
Title of Papers/Lectures at the 2011 Academic Events Organized by Nonaligned Movement Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity
Events Title:
A) The First International Summer School on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (25-29 June)
B) International Conference on International Humanitarian Law: Protection of Civilians (22-23
November)
C) The First International Conference on Cultures and Human Rights: Cultures in Support of
Humanity (24-26 November)
#
Full name
1
Daniel Aguirre
2
Riaz Ahmad
3
Issa Ahmadabadi
4
5
Samira Ahmadi &
Faraz
Firouzimandi
Bahman Akbari
6
Mostafa A’laye
7
Mostafa A’laye
8
9
Mesbah Ansari
Valeollah Ansari
&
Abdollah Bagheri
Paul-Henri Arni
Pouria Askary
Pouria Askary
10
11
12
13
Hajar Azari &
Abdollah Bagheri
14
Nikan Bahrami
15
Ali Bahreini
16
William O.
Beeman
Title of Paper/Lecture
Event
Development and Community Rights: A
Human Rights Based Approach
Minority Rights as an Instrument of a
Dignified Human Existence: India’s Response
to Diversity
Protection of civilian Persons in armed
conflicts from the viewpoint of international
and Islamic law
Securing Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights in light of a Social Market Economy:
The Case of Right to Social Security
Humanities in Islamic Discourse
C
Regent’s College, UK
British
C
Satyawati College of the
University of Delhi, India
Indian
B
Azad University & Payame-Noor University, Iran
Iranian
C
Payam-e-Noor University of
Sanandaj, Iran
Iranian
C
Iranian
The Relationship between Cultural Diversity
and Human Rights
Cultural Diversity; Contribution to Peace and
Humanity Cultural Conformity; Road to
Uncertainty and Violence
Intercultural Cognition and Human Rights
The Principle of Freedom of Religion, a
Comparative Study between Islamic Law and
International Law
Health Care in Danger: the project
Challenges of Humanitarian Access
Universality and Cultural Diversity in
Practice: Reservation to Human Rights
Treaties
The Role of the "Intellect" as one of the
Sources of Lawmaking in Updating Islamic
Laws in order to Protection of Women
Victims' Rights
The Origin of Human Rights in the Historical
Documents with a Glance at Eastern
civilization
Universality of Human Rights in Theory and
Practice
Artists, Human Rights, Freedom of
Expression and the Advancement of Human
Understanding
A
Council of Islamic Human
Rights Commission &
centre for organizing
translation and publication
of Islamic knowledge and
humanities, Iran
Iran Foreign Ministry
C
Iranian
C
C
Independent Researcher
Azad University, Iran &
Imam Sadegh University,
Iran
ICRC, Geneva
ICRC, Tehran
ICRC ,Tehran
Iranian
Iranian
B
Antwerp University,
Antwerp, Belgium & Imam
Sadegh University, Iran
Iranian
C
Islamic Azad University,
Iran
Iranian
A
Iranian
C
University of Minnesota,
USA
B
B
C
Institute
Nationality
Iranian
Swiss
Iranian
Iranian
American
17
18
Noor Aisha Binte
Abdul Rahman
Noor Aisha Binte
Abdul Rahman
19
Janet Blake
20
Janet Blake
21
Janet Blake
22
Linda Briskman
23
24
Linda Briskman
Linda Briskman
25
Michele Brunelli
26
Kathleen
Cavanaugh
27
Ali Daee
28
Alireza Delkhosh
29
Hossein Diba
30
Cordula Droege
31
Reza Eslami
32
Firouz Gaini
33
Thomas Obel
Hansen
34
Christopher B.
Harland
Christopher B.
Harland
35
CEDAW and Prospects for Muslim Personal
Law Reform in Singapore
Problems of Islamic Law Making and it’s
Administration in Malaysia: Implications
on Individual Rights and Dignity
Introducing Cultural Diversity and Cultural
Rights and the Summer School programme
Some Ways of Looking at Cultural Diversity Protecting Languages, Intangible Cultural
Heritage and Cultural Expressions
Exploring the Relationship between Cultural
Heritage and Human Rights
Protection of Human Rights in Multicultural
Communities
Rights to Cultural Identity
Never the Twain Shall Meet: Border Security,
Human Security and Human Rights
From the status subiectionis to the citizenship.
The Parabola of the Human Rights
Achievement
Constructing the Other
A
Protection of Civilians in Detention in Armed
Conflicts
The Right of “Judicial Security” and
Supportive Approach of the General
Provisions of Human Rights
Morality, Culture and Humanitarianism
Cyber Warfare and International
Humanitarian Law
Tolerance and Cultures: Human Rights
Perspective
Quest for a Better Understanding of Children
and Culture: 21st Century Children´s Cultures,
Rights and Education From an
Anthropological Perspective
Establishing a Normative Framework for
Evaluating Diverse Cases of Transitional
Justice
The Main Differences between Combatants
and Civilians
An Overview of the Recent History of Legal
Norms for the Protection of Cultural Property
in Armed Conflict
Protection of Minorities Rights to Cultural
Identity – The Muslim Experience
B
A
A
National University of
Singapore
Singapore
Singaporean
Singaporean
Shahid Beheshti University,
Iran
Iran
Iranian
Iranian
A
Iran
Curtin University, Australia
Australian
A
C
Australian
Australian
A
Bergamo State University,
Italy
C
B
Irish Centre for Human
Rights, National University
of Ireland, Galway
University Lecturer
Iranian
C
Iranian
C
Secretariat of Islam and
IHL, Iran
ICRC ,Geneva
Iranian
Iran
Anthropology & Sociology
University of the Faroe
Islands
Iranian
C
United States International
University, Kenya
Danish
B
ICRC, Regional Office for
South Asia
ICRC, Regional Office for
South Asia
Canadian
NAM Center for Human
Rights and Cultural
Diversity, Iran
NAM Center for Human
Rights and Cultural
Diversity, Iran
Iran
Iranian
University of St. Gallen,
Switzerland
French
A
C
C
C
C
36
Kamran Hashemi
A
37
Kamran Hashemi
Islam and Intra- Muslim Regional Human
Rights Mechanisms
C
38
Islamic Culture and Human Rights
C
39
Seyed Mohammad
Hashemi
Paimaneh Hastaei
A
40
Stéphanie Herber
Development with Culture and Identity, with
Collaboration among Indigenous Peoples
Branding Compassion : the Medical
Humanitarian Field
C
Iranian
Italian
Irish
Dutch
Iranian
Canadian
Iranian
Iranian
Iranian
41
Nghia Hoang
Reinterpreting East-Asian Culture and Human
Rights: The Case of Traditional Vietnamese
Legal Culture
C
Vietnamese Institute of
Human Rights, Ho Chi
Minh National Academy of
Politics and Public
Administration, Vietnam
Vietnam
42
International Humanitarian Law,
Disarmament and Weapons Control
Behavioural Roots in Armed Conflict: Study
on Elements of IHL Breach and Preventing it
The Role of Internet in the Development of
Teaching Human Rights
Observance of Human Rights in Islam
B
48
Tahereh Jalili
49
51
MohammadJavad Javid &
Esmat
Shahmoradi
Nadaraja A/L
Kannan
Ratna Kapur
Introduction to the International Humanitarian
Law
Freedom of Religion, Expression, Information
and Communication in Times of Peace and
War ‘Crosses to Bear: Symbolism and
Secularism at the European Court of Human
Rights’
An Enquiry into Evolution of Humanitarians
Interventions into Responsibility to Protect
(Dose this evolution work?)
Natural Challenges of Cultures in Support of
Humanity
B
47
Mohammad Taghi
Hosseini
Alireza
Hojjatzadeh
Alireza
Hojjatzadeh
Seyed Ebrahim
Hosseini
Katayoon
Hossein-Nejad
Edel Hughes
Payam-e-Noor University,
Iran
Payam-e-Noor University,
Iran
Imam Khomeini Education
& Research Institute, Qom
ICRC, Tehran
Iranian
C
School of Law, University
of Limerick, Ireland
Irish
C
School of International
Relations, Iran
Iranian
C
Tehran University &
Independent International
Law Researcher, Iran
Iranian
Myanmar: The Struggle for the Return to
Democratic Rule
Un-Veiling Equality: Disciplining the “Other”
Woman through Human Rights Discourse
Cultural Policies of European Union and the
Role of Human Rights
Educating within Culture and Human Rights:
What Can a Capabilities Approach Add?”
Plight of North Indian Migrants: A Case of
Human Rights Violation in Pune City in
Maharashtra
Protection of Cultural Rights under the Indian
Constitution: An Analysis
Various Approaches to Multiculturalism and
the Individual Human Rights
C
Universiti Utara, Malaysia
Malaysian
C
The Jindal Global Law
School, Sonepat, India
52
Saeid Khaluzadeh
53
Su-Ming Khoo
54
Kirtiraj Dadarao
Champatrao
55
Dinesh Kumar
56
Kuba Krys
57
Zia E. Madani
Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations of
States and the issue of Cultural Rights
C
58
Seyed Ali
Mahmoudi
59
Seyed Bagher
Mirabbasi
Ahmad
Moballeghi
Mostafa
Mohagheghdamad
A Comparative Study of Utilitarianism and
Deontology, and their Connections to Human
Rights
The Right to Development and Human Rights
Law
Coalition of Cultures and its Effects on
Promotion of Humanity Concepts
The Principle of Non-Transgression in Islamic
Humanitarian Law
43
44
45
46
50
60
61
B
C
C
C
C
Iranian
Iranian
Iranian
Iranian
Indian
Iranian
Ireland, Galway
Bharti Vidhyapeeth Deemed
University, India
Malaysian
Indian
A
Panjab University,
Department of Laws, India
Warsaw School of Social
Sciences and Humanities &
Institute of Psychology of
Polish Academy of
Sciences, Poland
International Relations
Department at the UNESCO
Iranian National Center for
Oceanography, Iran
C
Tehran University, Iran
Iranian
C
Hozeye Elmeyeh, Qom
Iranian
B
Iran
Iranian
C
C
C
Indian
Polish
Iranian
Iranian
62
63
Abul Bashar
Mohammad Abu
Noman
Mohd. Azizuddin
Bin Mohd Sani
64
Mohsen Mohebbi
65
Nasrin Mosaffa
66
Nasrin Mosaffa
67
68
Bahram
Mostaghimi
Anna Müller-Funk
69
Muhamed Munir
70
Muhamed Munir
71
Reza Musazadeh
72
73
Carolyn Noble
Manfred Nowak
74
Ozoda Nurmatova
& Gulbahor
Djumabaeva
Zacharie Serge
Raoul Nyanid
Seyyed Mehdi
Parsaei & Jafar
Yaghoubi
Camilo PérezBustillo
75
76
77
78
Branislav Radeljic
79
Sanoj Rajon
80
Seyed Hossein
Sadat Meidani &
Khalil Rozegari
Ahad Sadikov
81
83
Mohamamad Reza
Saeidabadi
Azar Safari
84
Mahya Saffarinia
85
Mahya Saffarinia
82
Enforcement of International Human Rights
Law by Domestic Court: Bangladesh
Perspective
Human Dignity as an Alternative to Human
Rights?: Malaysia’s Argument To Protect
Communitarianism and Islam
Cultural Diversity in International Civil
Society: A Way to Secure Human Rights
Does the Covenant on the Rights of the Child
in Islam Provide Adequate Protection for
Children Affected by Armed Conflicts?
Facing the Poverty: from Charity to Right to
Development
Culture: Unites and Divides
C
University of Chittagong,
Bangladesh
Bangladeshi
C
Universiti Utara, Malaysia
Malaysian
C
Iranian
B
International Commercial
Court
C
Iranian
C
Iranian
What Part Should Duty Play in Moral
Motivation? A discussion of Kant’s
Categorical Imperative
Humanitarian Law from the Viewpoint of
Islam
Violation of Islamic jus in bello and Cultural
Values by the Pakistani Taliban: A Critical
Appraisal
Interaction between Law and Culture in the
Field of Human Rights
Social, Cultural and Economic Rights
The Relation of IHL and IHRL Laws: The
Crime of Torture
Case Study: Cultural Barriers and Young
Females’ Rights to Education in Rural
Community of Tajikistan
C
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute
of Human Rights, Vienna
Austrian
B
International Islamic
University, Islam Abad
International Islamic
University, Islam Abad
Pakistani
C
C
A
B
C
C
Relations, Iran
Victoria University
University of Vienna,
Austria
OSCE Office in Dushanbe,
Tajikistan
Iranian
Pakistani
Iranian
Australian
Austrian
Tajik
University of Yaoundé II,
Cameroon
Relations, Iran
Cameroonian
Challenges to Operationalizing the R2P in
Libya by UNSC and NATO
C
Making and Remaking of Human Rights:
Latin American origins and development,
from below
Islam as a Challenge to European Tolerance
C
Autonomous University of
Mexico City
Mexican
C
Serbian
South Asia and its Contribution to
International Humanitarian Law Synopsis
Protection of Human Rights while Imposing
and Implementing the Target Sanctions in
Non-Terrorism Context
A historical Survey in the View of Human
Rights
C
University of East London,
UK
International Committee for
Red Cross, India
University Lecturer at Azad
University, Iran
Tajik
The Role of Cultural Diversity in Promoting a
Culture of Peace
States' Obligation to Protect Against Human
Rights Violations by Non-State Actors
Family Law System in Modern World: A
Multicultural Approach
Parents’ Right to Choose the Kind of their
Children’s Education; the Role of Culture in
Human Development
C
the Office Responsible for
Human Rights in Republic
of Tajikistan
Iranian
C
Iranian
A
Iran
Iran
Iranian
C
C
C
Iranian
Indian
Iranian
Iranian
86
87
Hossein Sartipi
Hassan Savari
88
Hassan Savari
89
William A.
Schabas
Mehdi Shabannia
Mansour &
Mohammad Javad
Shabannia
Mansour
Aramesh Shahbazi
90
91
Human Security, Culture and Universal Peace
Towards Universalizing the Executive
Mechanisms of International Humanitarian
Law
The Protection of Historic and Cultural
Property in Light of Prohibition of
Superfluous Injury
The International Criminal Court and
Freedom of Speech for Non-Malaysian
Citizens under Federal Constitution of
Malaysia and Universal Declaration Human
Rights: A Comparative Study
C
B
Tarbiat Modares University,
Iran
Iranian
Iranian
C
Tarbiat Modares University,
Iran
Iranian
B
Middlesex University,
London,UK
Malaysia (UKM) &
Iran
Irish
Cultural Diversity and Substantial Unity in
International Law of Humanity: Contradiction
or Interaction?
Cultural Diversity and Armed Conflicts:
Exploring the Cultural Factor in Breaching
Humanitarian Law from Protection of
Civilians Point of View
The Logical Necessity of Application of the
Fundamental Principles of IHL to Tensions
and Disturbances
The Cultural Common Teachings, Human
Rights' Fundamental Norms and Global
Citizenship
Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Human
Rights
C
Center for International
Legal Affairs (CILA), Iran
Iranian
C
Iran
Iranian
B
University Lecturer
Iranian
C
University Lecturer
Iranian
C
Iranian
Conceptualizing a Human-Rights-Friendly
and more Humanitarian “Freedom” and
“Justice” from a Woman, Tribal and
Transgender Perspective: Empowering the
marginalized through Legal Literacy
International Cooperation in Protection of
Humanitarianism in View of Religions
Protection of Civilians Under the Doctrine of
Responsibility to Protect
Humanitarian Law in Imam Ali’s Tradition
C
Asian-African Legal
Consultative Organization
(AALCO), Iran
National Law University
Orissa, India
Centre for International
Legal Affairs, Iran
Centre for International
Legal Affairs, Iran
N/A
Iranian
Right of Survival, Basis of IHL
B
C
92
Mohammad Ali
Shahbazi
93
Hossein Sharifi
Tarazkuhi
94
Hossein Sharifi
Tarazkuhi
95
Hassan Soleimani
96
Soumitra
Subinaya
97
Amir Saed Vakil
98
Amir Saed Vakil
99
100
Seyed Alireza
Vasei
Michel Veuthey
101
Michel Veuthey
Sources of IHL Across Civilizations
C
102
Louis Edward
Wolcher
Mykhaylo
Yakubovych
The Problem of Unity and Diversity in
International Human Rights
A Cultural Significance of the Modern Islamic
Exegetics for the Theory of Religious
Tolerance
The Philosophical Principles of International
Humanitarian Law in Islam
C
103
104
Morteza YousefiRad
C
B
C
C
B
International Institute of
Humanitarian Law in Nice
and San Remo and Geneva,
Switzerland
International Institute of
Humanitarian Law in Nice
and San Remo and Geneva,
Switzerland
University of Washington
School of Law, USA
Ostroh Academy, Ukraine
The Research Center of
Islamic Sciences and
Culture, Iran
Iranian
Indian
Iranian
Iranian
Swiss
Swiss
American
Ukraine
Iranian
105
Mehdi Zakerian
106
Gholamreza
Zakizadeh &
Masoumeh Solgi
Seyed Ghasem
Zamani
Seyed Ghasem
Zamani
107
108
109
110
111
Mohammad J.
Zarif
Mohammad-Reza
Ziayi-Bigdeli
Mohammad
Hasan Zeyaeifar
Combating for IHL and its Engagement
toward Pro-dictator Civilian
Human Rights in Imam Ali’s Government
B
N/A
Iranian
C
Iran
Iranian
Using Drones, a New Challenge for the
Principle of Distinction
The Right to Participate in Cultural Life as a
Human Right: A New Exception to
International Sanctions?
Responsibility to Protect: Justice and World
Order
Islam and International Humanitarian Law;
Issues and Challenges
Challenges Facing Synergy and Concomitance
of Culture and Human Rights in the
Contemporary World- the Iranian Experience
B
Allame-Tabatabaei
University, Iran
Allame-Tabatabaei
University, Iran
Iranian
Relations, Iran
Allameh Tabatabaei
University, Iran
Iranian Islamic Human
Rights Commission
Iranian
C
A
B
C
Iranian
Iranian
Iranian
PART
C
2012 UPCOMING ENENTS
Non-Aligned Centre for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity 2012 Academic Programs
March, 16
International Seminar: “Emerging New International Human Rights
Institutions/Mechanisms in the NAM Region”, Geneva
May, 21-22
On the Occasion of May 21st, “World Day for Cultural Diversity for
Dialogue and Development”, an International Workshop on Human Rights
and Development, Tehran
July, 1-3
“The First International Seminar for the NAM Governmental Experts,
Academicians, and Practitioners: Cultural Diversity and Human Rights
Education”
July, 7-11
“The Second International Summer School on Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity”, Tehran
August, 5
On the Occasion of “Islamic Human Rights and Human Dignity Day”:
Conference on Muslim Countries and Human Rights, Tehran
October, 7-8
The Second International Conference on International Humanitarian Law,
Tehran
November, 12-14
“The Second International Conference on Human Rights and Cultures:
Legal Cultures in Support the Jurisprudence of Humanity”, Tehran
December 10
On the Occasion of “World Human Rights Day”: Conference on Human
Rights and the NAM Member Countries, Tehran
Announcement 1
On the Occasion of 21 May, the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
The First International Workshop on Human Rights and Development
(Tehran, 21-22 May 2012)
Organized by:
The Non-Aligned Movement Center for
Irish Center for Human Rights
UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace
and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti
University, Iran
The Non-Aligned Movement Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (NAMCHRCD) will
hold its first international workshop on Human Rights and Development, an academic forum for
governmental experts of the NAM Member States, academicians and practitioners from all over the
world to arrive at shared ideas, experiences, understandings and the best practices of the issue. The
Workshop will focus on the following themes:
- The Mutuality of Human Rights and Development;
Since human rights and
- The Right to Development;
- Indivisibility, Interdependence and, Interrelatedness of Human rights;
fundamental freedoms are
indivisible, the full realization of
- The Relationship between Human Rights and Development in the UN;
civil and political rights without the
- Ethics, Human Rights and Development;
enjoyment of economic, social and
- Human Rights, Development and Conflict
“
Registration Requirements:
Filled in Application Form - Please contact: [email protected]
Fees: To be paid to the Secretariat before the workshop starts
140 $ registration fee & 40- 70 $ for each night accommodation + 50 $ & for each
way transportation from or to the airport to the Secretariat
Participants traveling from NAM member countries to Iran are exempted from
registration fee and 3 nights’ accommodation fee
cultural rights is impossible. The
achievement of lasting progress in
the implementation of human rights
is dependent upon sound and
effective national and international
policies of economic and social
development”
Article 13, Proclamation of Teheran,
1968
Registration Deadline: 16 May 2012
The Secretariat will provide visa support to non-Iranian citizens where applications are made before 20 April 2012.
Languages: The working language of the event is English and upon the allocation of sufficient budget, simultaneous
translation in Persian and other languages of the NAM Region will be available.
Venue: UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran
Contact: Dr. Kamran Hashemi, at: [email protected]
 Updated list of speakers and additional information will be available at: www.namchrcd.com
 Speakers and participants will receive valid certificate.
Announcement 2
Call for Papers and Participation
The First International Seminar for
The NAM Governmental Experts, Academicians, and Practitioners:
Cultural Diversity and Human Rights Education
(Tehran, 1-3 July 2012)
Organized by:
The Non-Aligned
Movement Center for
Human Rights and
Cultural Diversity
Swinburne University
of Technology,
Australia
Irish Center for
Human Rights
The ICRC
The Non-Aligned Movement Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (NAMCHRCD) will
hold its first international seminar on human rights practical issues under the title of “Cultural
Diversity and Human Rights Education”, an academic forum for governmental experts of the NAM
Member States, academicians and practitioners from all over the world to arrive at shared ideas,
experiences, understandings and the best practices of the issue.
The seminar will be held in response to the particular requirements of developing countries to advance
their policies and practices in human rights and humanitarian law education. In this line, the seminar
will highlights the key trends and achievements in the field and in particular, aim to secure greater
commitment for future human rights and humanitarian law education in those countries. In this
context the seminar will focus on the related key critical themes, including:

The Impact of the UN Initiatives Including “the World Program for Human Rights
Education”, and “the Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training”, on
Developing Countries;

UNESCO and Human Rights Education in Developing Countries;

The ICRC and Humanitarian Law Education in Developing Countries;

The Relation between Human Rights Education and Development;

The Best Initiatives and Practices on Promoting the Culture of Human Rights;

The Best Initiatives and Practices in Applying Religious and Cultural Values in
Localization of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian
Law;

The Best Initiatives and Practices in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Education,
including:
o
By National Committees of Humanitarian Law;
o
By National Human Rights Bodies;
o
By Religious Schools;
o
By Media and Civil Society;
o
In Professional Training, e.g. for Lawyers, Social Workers, Police and in
Military;
o
In Primary and Secondary Schools;
o
In Universities;
o
In Teaching Human Rights and Cultural Diversity;
o
In Teaching Human Rights and Religion.
 Candidate authors, including governmental experts from the NAM Member States, academicians and
practitioners are cordially invited to forward their papers in English (approx. 1500-10000 words) in
Microsoft Word format, to the following address: [email protected] by the deadline of 10 May 2012,
along with an autobiography (maximum up to 300 words).
 As a collected volume of the papers will be published soon after the seminar, the Secretariat would request
authors to prepare papers exclusively for this seminar, in the sense that they are not previously published or
presented in other fora.
 The Secretariat will provide the opportunity for the authors to present their papers during the seminar either
by poster or by presentation.
 NAMCHRCD would be pleased to provide the authors of the papers and participants from NAM Member
countries with accommodation, transportation and meals in Tehran during their stay at the seminar.
 The economy flight ticket of authors form NAM Member State will be covered by the seminar upon the
receipt of a formal note from the respected Permanent Mission to the UN ni New York. A copy of the note
should be scanned and sent to the Secretariat of the Seminar at: [email protected], not later than 10
May 2012.
 Guest Speakers: Along with the authors of accepted papers, the conference will have the honor of presence
of some well know scholars, international and governmental experts and officials.
Registration Requirements only for Participants (not for speakers and authors of the papers):
Fees: To be paid to the Secretariat before the seminar starts
140 $ registration fee & 40- 70 $ for each night accommodation + 50 $ & for each way transportation from or to the
airport to the Secretariat
Participants traveling from NAM member countries to Iran are exempted from registration fee and 4 nights’
accommodation fee
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, 27 June 2012
The Secretariat will provide visa support to non-Iranian citizens where applications are made before 1 June 2012.
translation in Persian and other languages of the NAM Region will be available.
Venue: Iranian Centre for International Conferences, Tehran
 Updated list of speakers, selected papers and additional information will be available at: www.namchrcd.com
 Authors of papers and participants will receive valid certificate.
Announcement 3
The Second International Summer School on Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity
(Tehran, 7 -11 July 2012)
Organized by:
The Non-Aligned
Movement Center
for Human Rights
and Cultural
Diversity
Swinburne
University of
Technology,
Australia
Irish Centre for
Human Rights
UNESCO Chair for
Human Rights,
Peace and
Democracy at
Shahid Beheshti
University, Iran
Items of Discussion:











The Relationship between Cultural Diversity and Human Rights;
Historical and Current Contribution of Cultures to the Enrichment of the Concept of Human Rights
and Humanitarian Law;
Cultural Limitations to the Implementation of Human Rights;
Cultural Rights;
Rights to Cultural Identity;
Cultural Values and Human Rights;
Human Rights and Ethics;
Protection of Human Rights in Multicultural Communities;
Universality and Relativism of Human Rights;
The Question of Indivisibility of Human Rights;
Specific Human Rights Issues in Developing Countries.
Registration Requirements:
Fees: To be paid to the Secretariat before the summer school starts
300 $ registration fee& 40- 70 $ for each night accommodation + 50 $ & for each way transportation from or to the
airport to the Secretariat
accommodation fee
Registration Deadline: 2 July 2012
The Secretariat will provide visa support to non-Iranian citizens where applications are made before 7 June 2012.
translation in Persian and other languages of the NAM region will be available.
Venue: UNESCO Chair for Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at Shahid Beheshti University- Tehran
 Report of the last year Summer School, updated list of speakers and additional information are available at:
www.namchrcd.com
 Participants will receive valid certificate.
Announcement 4
Call for Papers and Participation
The Second International Conference on Human Rights and Cultures:
Legal Cultures in Support of
The Jurisprudence of Humanity
Organized by:
The Non-Aligned Movement Center for Human
Rights and Cultural Diversity
“
Irish Center for Human Rights
Law reflects the culture of a given society, and thus reception in another culture is not possible,
because law is a product of that society and of its particular attributes or idiosyncrasies, like other
institutions such as language, family, religion and so on. The world's legal diversity is a source of
strength. More cooperation between legal practitioners and scholars from different cultures,
exchanges of experience and judicial training, cause to the strength and the mutual trust among these
different legal cultures. We can
indeed bring these different legal
cultures together without eliminating
Truly, the jurisprudence of humanity began millennia ago; to
the differences.
ignore this in the teaching and doing of law and jurisprudence is to
squander the common heritage of mankind”
The way legal cultures contribute to
the right to a fair trial and to the
administration of justice in a
normative and practical manner, requires further exploration. Under the heading "Unifying Diverse
Cultures towards the Enrichment of the Universality of Human Rights ", the Non-Aligned
Movement Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity (NAMCHRCD) will hold its second
international conference on human rights and cultures under the title of “Legal Cultures in Support
of the Jurisprudence of Humanity”, an academic forum for scholars and practitioners all over the
world.
The aim is to arrive at a shared idea, experience and understanding of the historical role and
contemporary capabilities of public and private legal cultures on the following sub-topics:





Shaping the ideas or concepts behind human rights law and humanitarian law principles on
issues related to right to fair trial, such as, equality, non-discrimination and presumption of
innocence;
Criminal Justice, Criminal law, Criminal policy, Crimes and Punishments;
Family law and laws protecting women, children, minorities, the disabled, the elderly, poor,
migrant workers and other vulnerable;
Human rights law and humanitarian law jurisprudence;
Sanctions in human rights law and law of armed conflicts
 Candidate authors are cordially invited to forward the abstract of their papers in English
(approx. 250-500 words) in Microsoft Word format, to the following address:
[email protected] by the deadline of 15 June 2012 along with an autobiography
(maximum up to 300 words).
 The Secretariat will review the abstracts for the Conference and will subsequently request the
authors of selected abstracts to email their papers by the deadline of 12 August 2012 for the
final review. It should be noted that the admission of an abstract does not necessarily imply
the admission of a paper.
 The Secretariat would request authors to prepare papers exclusively for this conference, in
the sense that they are not previously published or presented in other fora.
 The Secretariat will provide the opportunity for the authors to present the paper during the
conference either by poster or by presentation.
 NAMCHRCD would be pleased to provide the authors of the admitted papers with
accommodation, transportation and meals in Tehran during their stay at the conference.
 A limited amount of funding is provided for covering flight expenses of some authors of best
accepted papers coming from developing countries. Applicants who require financial
assistance should inform the secretariat in advance.
 Guest Speakers: Along with the authors of accepted papers, the conference will have the
honor of presence of some well know scholars, governmental and international legal experts
and judiciary officials.
Registration Requirements only for Participants (not for speakers and authors of the
papers):
Fees: To be paid to the Secretariat before the conference starts
210$ registration fee & 40 - 70 $ for each night accommodation + 50 $ & for each way transportation from or to
the airport
accommodation fee
Registration Deadline: Wednesday, 16 November 2012
The Secretariat will provide visa support to non-Iranian citizens where applications are made before 7 October
2012.
Languages: The working language of the event is English and upon the allocation of sufficient budget,
simultaneous translation in Persian and other languages of the NAM region will be available.
Venue: Iranian Centre for International Conferences, Tehran
 Updated list of speakers, selected papers and additional information will be available at:
www.namchrcd.com
 Speakers and Participants Will Receive Valid Certificate
PART
D
ANNEXES
Short Biographies of Authors/Lecturers
And
Abstract of Papers/Lectures
On three academic events:
The First International Summer School on Human Rights and Cultural
Diversity (Tehran, 25-29 June 2011)
International Conference on International Humanitarian Law:
Protection of Civilians (Tehran, 22-23 November 2011)
The First International Conference on Human Rights and Cultures:
Cultures in Support of Humanity (Tehran, 24-26 November 2011)
Development and Community Rights: A Human Rights Based Approach
Abstract
Economic globalization has increased the drive for
international exploitation of natural resources. In
turn, the extraction of natural resources has become
synonymous with violations of local communities
fundamental human rights. The networks of power
associated with governmental development policies
and the activities of multinational corporations
increasingly affect local populations. This
marginalization is often justified in terms of global
market imperatives and a drive for economic
growth – what most states call development.
While under international law the emergence of a
right to free, prior and informed consent has given
indigenous peoples’ increased recognition, and
minority communities can be protected by
collective rights, many local communities are
finding themselves without adequate legal
protection. The proposed project will examine the
extent to which human rights law can protect local
communities affected by large scale developmental
projects. The right to development is a right of
peoples to freely dispose of, participate in and
benefit from their natural resources. As such, one
of the doctrinal and academic aims of the project is
to examine in depth this right that is inscribed in
Article 1 common to the twin Human Rights
Covenants of 1967 and to determine its practical
implications at the national level. Do local
communities have collective human rights?
The paper puts forward that group rights have an
intrinsic value that needs to be protected in human
rights law. Diverse cultures are lost when
communities are eradicated and their knowledge of
local human rights and environmental protection is
gone with them. Local communities have been
marginalized as they often conflict with a western
liberal agenda that promotes individual rights and
does not recognize the importance of communities
for sustainable environmental and human
development. In fact, present development systems
undermine communities and exclusively promote
privatization, deregulation, and market based
economies, urbanization and a reduced role for
government.
Daniel Aguirre is a lecturer in International law
and human rights at the Webster’s Graduate
School, Regent’s College London. He holds and
LLM and PhD from the Irish Center for Human
Rights and has published articles and books on the
responsibility of corporations for human rights as
well as the impact of international investment law
on human rights. Dr. Aguirre has taught human
rights at Universities in Italy, Canada, Thailand,
Laos, China and the UK. He has also worked with a
number of Non Governmental Organizations,
including Earth Rights International, training
community activists and public interest lawyers on
international human rights law. Dr. Aguirre is
currently researching the legal protection of
community rights in South East Asia.
Email: [email protected]
The paper seeks to analyze how human rights law
could provide a platform for negotiation between
local communities, corporations and governments
concerning economic development. It will examine
the use of international and national law to
empower local communities in a variety of case
studies. The current paper focuses on states that
have implemented community rights in their
constitution and used this law in national courts as
a model for community empowerment. Can
constitutions protect local communities collectively
and ensure their participation so that they benefit
from large scale development projects. In practice,
community organizations have used this
constitutional protection to prevent and delay
industrial development and large scale investment
while drawing attention to the negative impacts on
their community. The aim of this study is to
provide a possible model for negotiation in
developing states and around the world.
Minority Rights as an Instrument of a Dignified Human
Existence: India’s Response to Diversity
Riaz Ahmad was born in Delhi, the
capital of India; Dr Riaz Ahmad is an
academician, public intellectual and
social activists with over 35 years of
experience. He holds a PhD in Political
Science from a top ranking Indian
university, the University of Delhi, and a
Diploma
in
Conflict
Resolution
(Advanced International Programme)
from Uppsala University, Sweden. He is
an Associate Professor of Political
Science at Satyawati College of the
University of Delhi. His experience
includes teaching graduate, post
graduate, and M Phil classes; research
in the areas of minority rights,
conflict/conflict
resolution,
and
communalism in India; supervision of M
Phil and PhD students; curriculum
development; and editing a well-known
journal Social Change. He has
contributed
papers/chapters
to
distinguished scholarly journals and
other important publications. He has
presented papers in many national and
international conferences in India,
Turkmenistan, Estonia, Finland, Sweden,
and the US. He has also travelled to
Denmark, France, Russia, and the UK.
His social concerns have pushed him to
social activism: he is President of the
Initiative for Democracy and Peace, as
also the President of the Bilal Ahmed
Foundation Trust, both situated at
Delhi. He has also been a member of
the Advisory Committee of the
Developing Countries’ Research Centre
at the University of Delhi. In 2005, in
recognition of his outstanding services
in the field of education, he was
awarded
by
the
International
Association of the Lions Clubs: Lion
Clubs Delhi-Noida, a Certificate of
Appreciation for Lifetime Achievement.
In 2006, in recognition of the
contribution made for the promotion of
inter-religious
cooperation,
international harmony, and the
establishment of a culture of peace,
Universal Peace Federation honoured
him with the Ambassador of Peace
award.
Abstract
A dignified human life today looks possible only in the milieu of a peaceful
and egalitarian society, characterized by the values of liberty, equality and
justice. Human rights and minority rights are indispensable instruments of
refashioning or fine-tuning societies in conformity with the stated pattern,
with a view to making them more livable. However, in the context of rights,
the contemporary global situation is suggestive of a paradox: an
unprecedented interest in their promotion on one hand and their frequent
violation on the other. Rights of the minorities are generally more insecure
than those of the majorities. Further, some minorities have to negotiate more
severe difficulties than the rest. For instance, misinterpretation of global
terrorism, particularly after 9/11, has bred and reinforced Islamophobia,
resulting in hostile attitude and behavior towards the rights of the Muslim
minorities in various national and local settings. Nevertheless, the very
recognition of rights as tools of corrective mechanism inspires hope even in
such trying circumstances.
There is a strong case for constantly watching human and minority rights in
the global, national and local settings, learning from such experience,
updating theory in its light, and guiding practice in view of the enriched
theory. Macro and micro studies on human and minority rights therefore
have far reaching current and future socio-political consequences for the
dignified human existence of individuals and minorities in societies across
the globe.
India’s experiment with its socio-cultural diversity teaches many lessons
about the role and relevance of minority rights in the context of a dignified
human existence. Independence from British colonialism was a defining
moment that entrusted the newly independent state of India with a major
responsibility to confront a series of challenges, of which the issue of sociocultural diversity was one. India began evolving a suitable response to
diversity, locating it in the context of human dignity. In search of a political
framework for a dignified human existence, India experimented, among
other things, with granting its minorities certain rights. India has had
minorities of various kinds, which can be placed in distinct categories. It
therefore employed different measures directed at the dignified human
existence of its minorities, these measures achieving different levels of
success. An estimate of the minority situation in India brings out the success
and failure stories of such measures, as it also captures the current debates
about evolving newer measures for improving the minority situation in the
face of globalization. The stock taking of India’s experiment teaches useful
lessons regarding the theory and practice of minority rights, both in times of
peace and violence.
This paper grapples with serious theoretical issues such as the definitions of
minority and minority rights, ‘universalization’ of minority rights and the
limits thereof, etc. it also makes a constructive assessment of the UN
minority rights’ mechanisms and instruments.
Abstract
In the past, wars and armed conflicts were not considered as taboo, but as
accepted methods and tools for settling disputes and differences among states.
Previously it was believed that legality of wars and conflicts lied in their
justice-based reasons and roots. There for even the most violent conflicts were
always justified as acceptable, proper and even sacred incidents. But as we got
closer to the twentieth century, the just war theory became more diluted.
Now according to the contemporary, armed conflicts and wars emerged from
the very beginning of the creation of the human being. This is an undeniable
reality, all religions, schools of thought and philosophies and all legal experts in
the course of history, accepting this unpleasant reality, have always been trying
to regulate wars and armed conflicts by preparing set of rules in order to avoid
or limit inhuman acts hostilities.
International humanitarian law is a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian
reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons and properties
that are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the
means and methods of warfare.
Through the international conventions and the law governing armed conflicts
and existing related Islamic law we can see clearly that most roots of rules of
war in general and other humanitarian laws as well as the rights of individuals
have already been stressed upon in the Islamic commandments and teachings to
the extent. Nnumber of thinker believe that today international rules have been
extracted from the same Islamic resources.
Issa Ahmadabadi is PhD student of international law in
Azad University. His M.A Dissertation Title is “Protection of
civilian Persons and properties in armed conflicts from the
viewpoint of international and Islamic law”. He has
participated in several domestic and international
conferences on law and auditing for presentation. He wrote
some articles on above two fields that were published or
will be published. He studied in Houze (seminary education)
Kharej Feqh and Usul. He teaches law in Azad and Payam-eNoor University and works in Supreme Audit court.
Protection of Civilian Persons in Armed
Conflicts from the Viewpoint of
International and Islamic Law
Samira Ahmadi was born in 1984 in Sanandaj. Her M.A
is in British Studies at Faculty of World Studies, Tehran
University. Her interest and focus of study is in political
economy, welfare state and social policy. She has
submitted her M.A thesis on the topic of “The Political
Economy of the New Labour Third Way Policy in UK,
1997-2007”. Right now, she is teaching at Payam-Noor
University, Sanandaj, faculties of law and social
sciences. She has some published papers in different
Iranian journals and has recently translated a book:
“Welfare State in Britain from Beveridge to Blair”.
Abstract
In 1966, and considering the ideological atmosphere
between East and West as well as the representation
of paradoxical definitions on Human Rights by
these two ideologies, the United Nations set up an
"International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights". But we cannot care much about our
political rights if we do not have enough to eat.
Obviously, economic and educational inequalities
hinder the use of our political rights. There is much
more to human life than 'just' politics. Hence the
United Nations compiled a second set of human
rights, "The International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights".
Unlike civil and political rights, economic,
social and cultural rights need state
intervention
for
full
realization.
According to the requirements of
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
state has to provide basic infrastructure for
example roads and security. Furthermore,
the state should care about the people who
cannot participate in the market process
because they are sick or cannot find a job or
are too old. For these people, the state should
offer some basic security system in form of
insurance or compensation systems.
unpack, the state bears the role of the provider of
order. It has to create a framework of governance, a
system of preconditions which enables the
economic players to act with as much freedom as
possible and as much solidarity as necessary. The
state is a firm referee who supervises the
compliance with the rules, but who is not a player in
the game itself. This study seeks to examine the
relationship between the realization of Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights: The Right to Social
Security with the existence of a social market
economy.
Key Words: Social Market Economy, Right to
Social Security, Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights.
Securing Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights in light of a Social Market
Economy: the Case of Right to Social
Security
Faraz Firouzimandi was born in 1984 in Sanandaj. He has got
his Master Degree in human rights Law at Allameh-Tabatabaei
University. Tehran. His areas of expertise are on international
human rights law, international organizations (non-state actors)
and international investment law. He has submitted his thesis
on the topic of “Human Rights Obligations of Bretton Woods
Institutions: The Case of World Bank”. He is now head of the
Department of Law at Payame—Noor University. He has
translated a book on the principles of social security law which
has been published in 2009. Also he has some other
publications on the human rights obligations of the non-state
actors as well as on the relationship between international
investment law and human rights.
On the other hand, according to the principles of
social market economy which this paper tries to
Humanities in Islamic Discourse
Abstract
Bahman Akbari was born in 1964,
graduated from the Islamic Seminary of
Qom in Iran. He is a scholar in Islamic
studies, Professor of University, a
member of the Council of Islamic
Human Rights Commission, and former
cultural Counselor of Iran at Uzbekistan
and Tanzania, at present, director of
center for organizing translation &
publication of Islamic knowledge &
humanities. His studies are mainly
focused in the three fields: Islamic law
and jurisprudence, Islamic education &
ethics and International cultural
relations. The basic common subject in
all three fields is Man and Islam. He has
participated in many international
seminars. He has written some books.
He is also quite familiar with a number
of languages including Arabic, English,
Russian, Urdu and Uzbek.
Religious thinkers, considering the epistemological system
originated from religion, will be able to answer the questions about
emerging phenomena and problems, to contemplate without any
blind bias and petrifaction and inadmissible dogmatism, to give
advice for the contemporary life of human beings, to unite
"essentiality and contemporaneous" and consider them as
supplementing and completing each other and not conflicting, and,
in doing so, benefit from reason and religious resources
proportionally and without excess and defect, because a petrified
interpretation of religion, instead of a dynamic and persistent one,
are bitter and unpleasant effects of a defective look at reason.
In other words, one of the most significant indicators for proving
the capabilities of religions and/or intellectual-cultural schools of
thought claiming they can create human systems, is that the
scholars should be able to interpret and analyze the emerging
problems and phenomena by using their own intellectual system.
The present paper is an effort to suggest ontological foundations or
assumptions for "humanities in Islamic discourse" by applying
Islamic texts. Existence, as proposed in Islamic texts, has such
capability that can be applied as a presupposition for codification
of "Social theology" in Islamic discourse.
This paper focused on the relation between cultural diversity and
human rights in Islamic discourse. The paper organized in three
chapters:
 Conceptual Analysis of humanities in Islamic discourse
 Educational Pattern of humanities in Islamic discourse
 Simulation of humanities in Islamic discourse
Keywords: Islamic Discourse, Social theology, human rights.
Mostafa A’laye (1955) MA in Politics; holder of Human Rights Certificate
from Prince Edward Island, Canada and San Remo Institute, Italy; expert on
human rights and women rights; expert on human rights and social affairs at
the missions of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Geneva and New York for 8
years; several executive responsibilities including chairman, advisor and
senor expert in General Assembly committees of the United Nations in New
York and Commission on the Status of Women and Human Rights
Commission in Geneva and Organization for Islamic Countries (OIC);
researcher, author and instructor in the field of Human Rights.
E-mail: [email protected]
1
The Relationship
between Cultural
Diversity and Human
Rights
seeks to focus on the following
three elements:
1) Human rights, the
nature, the genesis
and the question of
universality
a)
Abstract
The subject of the statement is
the relationship between the
cultural diversity and human
rights in more than one aspect:
the human rights per se, the
universality of human rights
and the roots of the notion of
cultural diversity in the human
rights documents developed
and adopted in the United
Nation system and other
organizations.
In this statement, the notion of
cultural diversity, based on the
abovementioned documents, is
reflected as a general and
broad term that refers to a wide
range of concepts such as
national
and
historical
conditions, national, historical
and regional particularities,
development
circumstances,
etc. Therefore the statement
Cultural essentialism
Some hold the view that
the basic human rights and
their ramifications are
essentially rooted in the
western cultures. Among
them
some
western
thinkers, on the left and
the right, suggest that the
human rights are western
construct and to have the
access to human rights,
other
nations
should
accept the western value
systems.
b) Cultural retrospective
outlook
Others perceive human
rights “as the center of a
cross-cultural overlapping
consensus” based on basic
commonalities such as
justice, dignity, rights,
freedom as well as
rejection of subjugation of
human being to human
being.
Some Points of departure:
-Universality of human rights
should be interpreted in a way
to allow preservation of
cultural and religious diversity.
In other words, it should
“create space for diversity
within universality and finding
support for universality within
diversity”.
-Human right is a “dynamic
and evolving process”. Thus
the Universality of human
rights should constitute a
learning process in which
different cultures and religions
could involve in intercultural
dialogue
and
interaction
aiming at reaching crosscultural basic elements to
facilitate the implementation of
universal rights.
-Human rights are all about
political and legal justice. Thus
human rights do not provide a
worldview and cannot compete
with cultures and religions in
that they do not talk about
death and life and the
corresponding ways of life.
-Human rights are universal.
However, the universality of
human
rights
does
not
necessarily imply, per se, the
universality of all human rights
instruments. There are human
rights instruments that are,
theoretically and practically,
not universal. Documents
based on regional and religious
particularities are the best
proof.
2) The nature and
aspects of cultural
diversity within
universality
The
expression
and
implementation of human
rights in the national context
should
remain
in
the
competence and responsibility
of each government. Owing to
the recognition of the immense
complexity of the issue of
human rights due to the wide
diversity in history, culture,
value systems, geography and
phases of development among
the nations and regions of the
world, the implementation of
human rights in different
processes should take into
account cultural and regional
particularities
and
value
systems in each country and
region.
The rights of the individual
should be balanced by the
rights of the community, in
other words, balanced by the
obligation equally to respect
the rights of others, the rights
of the society and the rights of
nation.
-The question of how to
implement human rights dose
not lead to a readymade and
identical prescription for all
cultures and religions. The
peoples and nations are free to
choose the way, best fitted into
their particular circumstances
to implement the basic human
rights.
-The
human
rights
are
universal. Thus all human
beings everywhere in the
world, be it in Asia, America,
Africa and Europe entitled
equally to enjoy all human
rights. There should be no
selectivity of nations, religions
and cultures in this regard.
-There should be no selectivity
and double standards in the
implementation of human
rights and the only way, based
on the Charter of the United
Nations, to address it is the
international cooperation and
not confrontation.
-Rights
are
indivisible,
interrelated
and
interdependent. No hierarchy
of rights. No supremacy for a
particular group of rights over
others.
3) Roots of cultural
diversity in documents and
practice
The notion of cultural diversity
is rooted in variety of United
Nations documents ranging
from the ones adopted in the
first decades and the recent
ones. The notion is also
embraced, practically, in many
regional
and
multilateral
documents.
United Nation documents:
Among various documents in
the United Nations system, the
following documents drew
more attention:
- UDHR
- Declaration on international
cultural cooperation
- Documents referring to the
right to self determination
- Vienna Declaration and
Program of Action
- Bangkok Declaration
- Tunis Declaration
- San Jose Declaration
Regional documents:
The nations in different regions
and of particular religions and
cultures
embarked
upon
outlining and defining various
aspects of human rights, based
on their particularities and
national
and
historical
conditions, though they accept
internationally agreed human
rights instrument. Another
evidence, in this context
representing the roots and the
genesis of cultural diversity in
many parts of the world, are
hundreds of reservations the
governments introduced upon
their ratifications of the given
instruments, particularly to
their
basic
and
central
concepts.
Examples:
a) Islamic countries:
Some Islamic countries abstain
from voting the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
Many Islamic nations present
their reservations to the Bill of
Rights and the core human
rights instruments describing
their specific jurisprudence as
being departed from the
corresponding provisions in the
given instrument.
In an assertive move, The
Islamic countries, embarked
upon drafting, through eleven
years, the Islamic human rights
declaration known as Cairo
Declaration in which the
member countries of the OIC
articulated
provisions
representing their specific
views on rights emanated from
the Islamic worldview.
The
Islamic
and
some
likeminded members of the
United Nations presented their
different views from that of the
western countries on a wide
range of human rights issues
based on their cultural diversity
through the tense and careful
negotiations on a variety of
human
rights
documents.
Wide reservations to the final
documents
are
another
evidence of cultural diversity.
b)
The African Charter
of people’s rights
The name, the spirit and the
letter of the African Charter is
clearly indicative of the
cultural diversity within the
universality of human rights
and the existence of the
specific understanding of how
the rights are defined and
implemented in Africa.
c)
The
European
Convention and numerous
related
human
rights
documents are also a good
example
European
on what
rights in
discipline.
characterizing the
specific standpoint
constitute human
their own cultural
In view of the points described
above, the fact is that the
existence of cultural diversity
in human rights domain is
undisputable and thus the
observance and enforcing
cultural diversity within the
universality of human rights is
essential.
2
Cultural Diversity; Contribution to Peace and Humanity
Cultural Conformity; Road to Uncertainty and Violence
Abstract
Cultural diversity is a critical
question to confront humankind
in the 21st century as
previously isolated peoples and
diverse cultures coming to the
fore
making
the
world
increasingly multicultural in the
present epoch. We must confess
that understandably, there are
some conceptual uncertainty as
to whether the cultural diversity
represents otherwise the current
polemical discourse on cultural
relativism vs. universalism and
even a fallacy to justify
violations seeking to erode
universality of human rights.
The notion of cultural diversity
is widely and frequently
interlinked with such basic
concepts as human rights,
empowerment,
inclusion,
respect for all, tolerance and
self- determination in the
globalizing
world.
Key
elements as such are profoundly
interrelated
and
mutually
reinforcing. Questions arising
from the interplay between the
various facets and components
involved in cultural diversity
affecting its edifice are diverse;
how can we reconcile diverse
cultures with peace and human
rights in a world brimming with
tension, confusion, conflicts
and wars? What are the impacts
of the cultural homogeneity and
cultural conformity on the
cultures and religions? How can
human rights be immune whilst
the international community
celebrates cultural diversity?
Do the states be having
responsibility to ensure creation
of an international order in
which cultural diversity is
respected?
These
are
demanding questions flowing
from interrelation between
cultural diversity and some
basic tenets whose analytical
answers will help international
community to develop a global
vision and design a plan of
action to respect cultural
diversity at all levels.
On the philosophical aspect of
human rights feature of cultural
diversity, the fact is that
essentially the idea of human
rights is not derived from any
particular culture or tradition,
be it occidental or otherwise in
their geographical sense or
other tradition in the world.
They flow from intrinsic
dignity of human being in all
parts of the world. The idea of
human
rights
developed
through the history of different
religions and philosophical,
political
and
cultural
transformation. This has been
manifested over the centuries in
the
humanitarian,
emancipatory, egalitarian and
universalistic
motives and
movements.
Therefore
as
asserted in academic researches
human rights is the center of
cross- cultural overlapping
consensus on basic normative
standards in our increasingly
multicultural societies that
give room for different cultural
and religious interpretations.
With this in mind, it is to be
acknowledged that human
rights law draws its legitimacy
from the distinctions of the
cultures that comprise the world
community. As a result, the
respect for cultural diversity
and cross- cultural differences
do not condemn it to an
intractable trend of non- respect
to human values and such
disagreement takes place within
a
legal
and
normative
framework
that
already
presupposes a fundamental
universality of human rights.
Based on this perception, it
appears that all nations and
communities throughout the
world with various cultural,
religious
and
historical
backgrounds share the concept
of universality of human rights,
while stressing on their
particularities and observing
their specific cultural and
religious values. Consequently I
need to emphasize that the
central argument in the notion
of cultural diversity is not in
any way the reinforcement of
the fallacy of cultural relativism
by virtue of which the human
rights are culturally relative
rather than universal. Rather I
should reiterate that the cultural
diversity
otherwise
is
developed against the notion of
cultural conformity across the
globe. Cultural conformity
takes even far more serious
dimensions in our modern
globalizing world benefiting
from advanced means and
dynamics generated by forces
Intercultural Cognition and Human
Rights
of globalization. Finally I seek
to present the argument that
while respect for cultural
diversity at the international
level
is
an
immense
contribution to peace, justice;
human right and development,
the attempts to enforce cultural
conformity sow the seeds of
hatred, inclusion, violence,
conflict, terrorism, extremism
and even war.
Mesbah Ansari was born in 1972; MA in International
Relations in the School of International Relations which is
affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic
Republic of Iran. He has participated 1 session of the Human
Rights Commission and 4 sessions of the Human Rights
Council. He has also attended the Public International Law
Course of the Hague Academy in 2003.
Abstract
Intercultural Cognition is an ability and an
interdisciplinary skill which one cannot acquire
overnight. It is by education, even though not
mainly by an academic education. Intercultural
Cognition is principally fed by psychology,
political sociology and international relations. It is
the basic element of a possible successful
Intercultural dialogue.
Intercultural Cognition starts from the very cultural
cognition. It is also very much dependent to
cultural diversity. It is meeting point of different
national identities and possibly a new capacity for
global citizenship. International Cognition skill if
acquired worldwide contributes to the realization of
International Human Rights Law.
Cross-Cultural communication and deliberation is
well anchored to passing over the hedges of
different cultural orientations while respecting
them. Globalization should not be taken as being
conducive of cultural egalitarianism but rather,
should yield in more acquainted cultural
orientations. What about the hot potatoes: different
redlines of different cultures? The challenge starts
with the contradictions of the opposing redlines
specially in the area of religious cultures.
What are the primary preparations for soft landing
of such contradictory flights?
Valeallah Ansari is a Senior Lecturer at the College of Law (Azad University), He got 43 years
experience as an academic in Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran University, Tarbiat Modares
University and Imam Sadegh University. He obtained his PhD of Administrative law from Paris
University and PhD of criminal law from Tehran University in 1972. He holds a master degree of
criminal law and criminology from Tehran University and a bachelor degree of Law (Judicial
Sciences) of Tehran University .His areas of expertise are on Administrative law and Criminal law.
Muslim and non Muslim countries, after studying
Islamic principles, we find that centuries before the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Islam
explicitly addressed the principle of freedom of
religion and prohibited every type of compulsion
and coercion in religion. However, apostasy is
criticized, and most critics mention it as an
important obstacle and problematic issue towards
reaching the freedom of religion.
The principle of Freedom of
Religion, a Comparative Study
between Islamic Law and
International law
Abstract
One of the most important aspects of personal
liberty is the freedom of an individual to declare his
or her religion without any fear or compulsion.
There is currently a lot of debate and discussion on
freedom of religion as a human right not only in the
Western world but also in Muslim communities. In
international law, the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) protects the
freedom of religion and belief. In addition, one of
the indisputable and undeniable principles in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the
principle of freedom of religion. Although freedom
of religion is the most challengeable issue in
This paper, first, will study the freedom of faith and
religion in international documents, in particular the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and then
examine the Qur'anic texts and other sources in
favor of freedom of religion. Finally, the apostasy,
its rules and its real position will be examined. We
will conclude that freedom of religion is considered
as the main ascertained accepted principle in Islam,
which means everybody is free to choose any
religion without any coercion or compulsion.
Abdollah Bagheri is a Master student in private law at the Law Faculty, Imam Sadiq University in
Tehran (Iran), conducting research on Civil liability of official statements in the law of Iran and
England .he has a bachelor degree of Islamic studies and Law (Judicial Sciences) from Imam
Sadegh University and he is attorney at law in Iranian Bar Association (trainee).
Email:[email protected]
Health Care in Danger: the project
Abstract
Insecurity of health care in armed conflicts (AC)
and other situations of violence (OSV) is
widespread, affects large populations and has not
been systematically documented and analyzed.
From 2008 to 2010, the ICRC has analyzed 655
violent events affecting health care in 16
operational contexts. The study shows patterns of
insecurity that range from
direct attacks on patients,
health infrastructures and
personnel, denial from access
to care, to general insecurity,
arrests,
looting
and
kidnapping. These patterns
indicate high levels of
vulnerability both for the
wounded and sick and for
health staff.
several key factors that affect the delivery of health
care and increase the vulnerability of populations
worldwide: the duration of crises, the
multiplication of actors and the increasing
lawlessness. The ICRC has decided to address this
challenge. It will mobilize its network of
delegations, the RC / RC Movement, States party to
the Geneva Conventions, the health community and
other actors to come up with solutions and commit
to
their
concrete
implementation.
The overall objective is to
strengthen the protection of
the sick and wounded and to
improve the access to and
delivery of health care in AC
and
OSV
through
implementation of concrete
measures. During the 31st
International Conference in
Direct threats on health care
Paul-Henri Arni is Head of the International
November, the ICRC will
in AC and OSV increase the
Committee of the Red Cross' Regional
launch a four-year process
acute need for emergency
Delegation for the Balkans. Mr Arni has been
aimed at improving safe
and life-saving medical
responsible for managing the ICRC operations
access to effective and
in the former conflict area since 2007
assistance at a moment when
impartial health care in these
they are most needed. The
situations. Participants in the
consequences
of
direct
Conference will be invited to
attacks
against
health
play an active role in
personnel and facilities are
furthering this aim by
dire for local communities
adopting pledges. Later on, a
when hospitals or first aid posts have to close.
series
of
expert
consultations
and workshops,
Insecurity also deepens chronic needs when the
involving
key
stakeholders,
will
be
organized. In
delivery of basic health care can no longer take
2014, an ad-hoc intergovernmental conference will
place, making it impossible to carry out vaccination
review the conclusions and recommendations of the
campaigns for example. Because of its combined
workshops and seek formal support for these from
effects on chronic and acute needs, insecurity of
States. The results of the pledges made at the 31st
health care is probably one of the biggest
Conference, the recommendations of the
humanitarian problems today, in terms numbers of
workshops
and
the
outcome
of
the
people affected. Yet it is a largely under-recognized
intergovernmental
conference
will
be
presented
at
issue. In its global analysis of trends and issues
the 32nd International Conference in 2015.
relating to AC and OSV, the ICRC has identified
Universality and Cultural Diversity in
Practice: Reservation to Human Rights
Treaties
Abstract
Pouria Askary is the ICRC’s legal advisor and IHL
programme responsible in Iran. He has a PhD in
public international law from Allameh Tabatabaei
University and an LLM in international human
rights law from Tehran University. Prior to joining
ICRC, he was in charge of international relations
affairs and research projects in various human
rights NGOs. He is a member of the Iranian Central
Bar Association and also a lecturer in Azad and
Allameh Tabatabaei Universities.
Article 19 of 1969 Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties
stipulates that reservations to a treaty should not be
incompatible with object and purpose of that treaty. The
UN International Law Commission in 1993 decided to
include the topic “Reservation to Treaties” in its
programme of work. In 2011, the Commission completed
the preparation of the guide to practice on reservation to
treaties. The special Rapporteur of the Commission in all
of his seventeen reports tried to safeguard the integrity of
multilateral treaties while ensuring the universality of
those for which universal accession is envisaged and on the top of the list for sure one should bear in mind the
universality of international treaties on human rights.
The present article starts with a short review on ILC outcomes on the issue of reservation to human rights treaties
and continues with a study on cultural diversity and universality of human rights treaties with main focus on role
of reservations.
●
The Role of the "Intellect" as One of the Sources
of Lawmaking in Updating Islamic Laws in order
to Protection of Women Victims' Rights
Abstract
In Islam, "wisdom" or "intellect" is one the greatest gifts humankind can
enjoy. With regard to Islamic law, intellect can be considered as an
important source of Islamic jurisprudence principles in developing and
up-to-dating the provisions of Islamic law. However, there have always
been different ideas regarding this topic. Some scholars believe that
intellect has no position in the sources of Islamic law and only the text
of the Quran and the tradition of the prophet should be followed. On
the other hand, by referring to Islamic texts, it will be clear that the
legislator (God) has always encouraged thinking and understanding.
Therefore, intellect has acquired such a high position in Islamic
teachings that it resulted in creation of one of the most basic principles
in Islamic law, which means “All governed by the rule of reason and
intellect will be ruled by Islamic law”. The main part of this paper will
be dedicated to explaining the position of “intellect” in Islamic teaching
and the credibility of “intellect” as an important source of Islamic
jurisprudence. Secondly, it will be discussed that “wisdom” and “logic"
themselves lead us to have the ability to discover and differentiate
between good and bad actions. Finally, this paper will conclude that by
applying the requirements and creative aspects of this important source
of Islamic law, it will be possible to adopt Islamic regulation in
accordance with new developments in the world and protect of women
victims’ rights in context of Islamic legal system.
●
●
Abdollah Bagheri is a Master student in
private law at the Law Faculty ,Imam
Sadegh university in Tehran(Iran),
conducting research on Civil liability of
official statements in the law of Iran
and England .he has a bachelor degree
of Islamic studies and Law (Judicial
Sciences) from Imam Sadegh University
and he is attorney at law in Iranian Bar
Association.
●
●
●
●
●
●
Hajar Azari is a PhD Student at the Law
Faculty, Antwerp University, Belgium,
conducting research on criminal
protection of women victim of sexual
offenses
(comparative
study:
international law and Islamic law). She
holds a master degree of criminal law
and criminology (with focus on criminal
protection of women victim of rape in
Iranian law) from Tarbiat Modares
University in Tehran and a bachelor
degree of Law (Judicial Sciences) of
Tehran University, Iran.
●
●
●
Artists, Human Rights, Freedom of Expression and the Advancement of Human
Understanding
Abstract
William O. Beeman is Professor and Chair
of the Department of Anthropology at the
University of Minnesota. He was trained at
the University of Chicago as a linguistic
anthropologist. He is past-President of the
Middle East Section of the American
Anthropological Association and Former
Director of Middle East Studies at Brown
University. The author of more than 100
scholarly articles and 600 opinion pieces,
appearing internationally, His books
include, Language, Status and Power in Iran;
Culture, Performance and Communication
in Iran; and Iranian Performance Traditions.
He is also a professional opera singer.
In this paper, I will explore the role of the artist in furthering the
benefits of cultural life in the community through freedom of
expression. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in
Article 27: “Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural
life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific
advancement and its benefits.” The Declaration further in Article 19
further states: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Universally artists in
every society carry out the mission of these two articles. They are
visionaries, imagining ideas that other members of society have never
encountered. The greatest artists present thought that is in advance of
society. They expand the vision of humanity in new directions. In
this paper I will show how artists in many societies have expanded
human consciousness, promoted inter-cultural understanding and
advanced humanities’ approach to the world. I will argue that artists
need special protection to carry out their mission, since their ideas,
being new and unfamiliar to the bulk of the public, may sometimes
be misunderstood or seen as an unwelcome challenge to the status
quo. Far from being a negative influence, the best artists help society
grow and evolve in a positive way.
1
CEDAW and Prospects for Reforms of the Muslim Personal Law in Singapore
Abstract
This paper attempts to discuss some of the
problems pertaining to the reservations of the
Singapore Muslim community leaders to articles 2
and 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). These
articles encapsulate a number of provisions with
the overriding aim of ensuring gender equality
within the marriage institution and after its
breakdown. Contrary to oft cited justification that
the reservation is due to the nature of Islamic law
itself which renders the relevant articles
incompatible with it, this presentation contends that
the major factor conditioning the attitude and
stance towards CEDAW lies in the dominant mode
of thinking on the Islamic law by relevant social
groups within the religious domain. By mode of
thinking we mean how the law is approached and
perceived. It is maintained that to a large extent this
mode of thinking reveals the traits of religious
traditionalism. This factor has strong repercussions
on the extent to which the Muslim law can
reconcile with the underlying values embodied
within the relevant articles at issue in CEDAW. It
also conditions the understanding of CEDAW
itself.
This presentation will also examine some sociohistorical factors that have conditioned the
dominant mode of thinking about the Muslim
personal law. They include among others, centuries
of Malay feudalism as a socio-political culture of
the Malay kingdoms, the dynamics of Islamisation
itself, the nature of the carriers of the religion, the
impact of colonialism, the style of thought of the
influential religious elite as well as contemporary
problems of mass society and their implications on
religious experience. How these affect the way the
Muslim law can be revaluated to address the
challenges of social change that bears upon
changing expectations of marriage, gender roles
and rights and obligations within the family will be
discussed.
The overriding aim is to explore the repercussions
of the reservation to CEDAW on the Muslim
community. In particular it shall discuss how the
stance has resulted in a missed opportunity to
review and evaluate the state of the Muslim
personal law in operation in Singapore. The laws
pertaining to rights and conditions of marriage
including polygamy, rights and obligations during
marriage, rules affecting both women and men
upon divorce, ancillary issues arising from divorce
including those affecting children, as well as
problems of inheritance will be addressed. The
ramifications of the reservation on prospects for
engaging in competing and conflicting legal
opinions on these areas within the Muslim legal
tradition as well as in various jurisdictions of
modern Muslim nation states will be dealt with.
The extent to which
the Muslim law can be
strengthened by best practices from the
contributions of modern societies both Muslim and
non Muslim and its ability to facilitate Muslims
towards integrating effectively into the wider legal
system and thought which they are subjected to as
citizens, resulting from the reservation, will also be
discussed.
Noor Aisha Abdul Rahman is an Associate
Professor at the Department of Malay Studies,
National University of Singapore. Her research
areas include Malay legal history and
institutions, Muslim law and its administration
and sociology of religion (Islam and Malay
religious orientations) She is the author of
Colonial Image of Malay Adat Laws (Brill,
2006) and editor of Secularism and
Spirituality: Seeking Integrated Knowledge
and Success in Madrasah Education in
Singapore (IPS/Marshall Cavendish,2006). She
has also contributed papers to a number of
books and journals on issues on women and
the law. They include Religious Diversity in
Singapore (ISEAS, 2008), Muslim-non-Muslim
Marriage: Political and Cultural Contestations
in Southeast Asia (ISEAS, 2009), Inter-Asia
Cultural Studies, The Muslim World, Journal of
Muslim Minority Affairs and Journal of Asian
Social Science. She is currently a member of
the Board of Trustees, ISEAS.
Address: Department of Malay Studies,
National University of Singapore, AS7, The
Shaw Building, #04-15, 5 Arts Link, Singapore
117570.
2
Problems of Islamic Law Making and its Administration in Malaysia:
Implications on Individual Rights and Dignity
Abstract
This presentation is based on screening a
documentary entitled Menchari Kartika (Searching
for Kartika) a documentary by first-time film
maker Norhayati Kaprawi. (40 min, Malay with
English subtitles) Kaprawi was inspired to
produce the film after surveys by the polling house
Merdeka Center found that a majority of Muslims
in Malaysia supported the caning of Kartika Sari
Dewi Shukarno for consuming alcohol. This
documentary explores the Muslims’ perception of
‘justice’ in the context of Malaysia. A 30-minute
version of the film was screened at the V Women
Film Festival in Jakarta in March 2010. The
screenings in Kuala Lumpur were met with
enthusiasm by the media and the public.
While the documentary has been used for various
purposes depending on the agendas of the groups
that utilize it, my objective in screening it is to
debunk the pervasive and reductive perception that
the problem lies with the "masculine" nature of
Islamic law which discriminates women and fuels
gender inequality. The overriding aim is to
reveal that it is the politicization of the Muslim law
by
dominant social
groups
and
their
dominant mode of thought in conceiving Islamic
law that are the crux of the problem. How these
factors condition a host of problems including
oversights, gaps, loopholes, arbitrariness in
enforcement of the syariah criminal offences will
be
highlighted.
The
repercussions
of
these shortcomings in the making, administration
and enforcement of the Muslim law on the
rights and dignity of the common man, the ultimate
consumer of the law, is the focus of the
presentation. Some reflections on how the problem
may be addressed will also be discussed.
1
An Introduction to Cultural Diversity and Cultural Rights
Abstract
This introductory talk begins by asking the question – What is cultural diversity? The
notion is then explained both “as a fact” and also from the point of view of cultural policymaking on the international and national levels. The challenges that cultural diversity poses
for governments is also noted here. Cultural diversity as a value is also addressed as is the
relationship between cultural diversity and human rights. This leads to an examination of
the relationship between cultural diversity and human rights, whereby the former is
understood as a fundamental element in human rights given the constitutive role of culture
in identity and the importance of identity to human dignity. The way cultural diversity is
treated in international instruments is then presented and some of its important domains are
set out.
The second part introduces cultural rights and rights related to culture - although cultural
rights are often the most directly implicated in preserving diversity of cultural identities,
they are by no means the only human rights relevant to culture. However, cultural rights
present a special set of challenges both to governments and to human rights theorists that
have led to the neglect of this set of rights. These are introduced here as follows: t); the
‘culture’ in cultural rights; the ‘right to cultural identity’; identifying cultural rights (as
opposed to rights related to culture); collective versus individual rights; and universal (HR)
standards versus cultural relativism.
2
Exploring the Relationship between Cultural Heritage and
Human Rights
Abstract
The relationship between cultural heritage and human rights is a mutual one – cultural
heritage contributes, for example, to the preservation of cultural diversity while a human
rights-based approach is frequently necessary to provide adequate protection for heritage
and the cultural community involved. Several elements and characteristics of cultural
heritage have strong human rights dimensions (negative as well as positive) in particular its
role in cultural identity formation and affirmation, its relationship to the tricky notion of
cultural diversity, the problem of cultural traditions or practices that contravene human
rights standards and the potential of heritage to exclude and serve as the vehicle for
expressing social and political tensions. To understand the relationship between the two, we
must consider some fundamental characteristics of human rights as well as of certain
theoretical challenges that cultural heritage poses such as relativism and claims for
collective rights. Cultural rights, although important, are not the sole human rights
applicable to the protection of cultural heritage and we need to judge the content and
performance of the existing international cultural heritage instruments against all the
relevant human rights. Although more recent cultural heritage law-making has responded
increasingly to human rights requirements, its generally ‘soft law’ character and the strong
reservation of State sovereignty are limiting factors; hence, human rights can directly
influence cultural heritage protection if well understood and applied.
Janet Blake is a Senior Lecturer in
Law at the University of Shahid
Beheshti in Tehran; where she
teaches
International,
Environmental and Human Rights
Law.
Her main specialization is in
cultural heritage law. After
working in the Cultural Heritage
Division of the Council of Europe
(1993-1994) while researching
her PhD in International Law, she
held a Leverhulme Special
Fellowship at the School of Law in
the University of Glasgow (19961998) and, since 1999, she has
worked closely with UNESCO as
an International Consultant. In
that capacity, she has written
Preliminary Studies on (1) the
advisability of developing a
standard-setting instrument for
intangible cultural heritage and
(2) safeguarding endangered and
indigenous languages that were
submitted to the General
Conference (2001) and Executive
Board (2008), respectively.
She also acted as Rapporteur for
the Restricted Drafting Group
that prepared the initial draft of
the
2003
Convention
on
Intangible Cultural Heritage. She
has published three books on
intangible cultural heritage as
well as several articles on
safeguarding cultural heritage,
environmental protection law and
justice, human and cultural rights,
cultural diversity and sustainable
development.
Keywords: Cultural heritage, Human rights, Cultural diversity, Relativism, Universalism,
Collective rights, International cultural heritage law.
3
Some Ways of Looking at Cultural Diversity
Abstract
This presentation is aimed at introducing a workshop session on different aspects of cultural
diversity and also picks up from the introductory presentation by the same speaker. It will
look in greater detail at some of the questions referred to there – such as cultural relativism
and multiculturalism – and concentrate on specific domains of cultural diversity as follows:
cultural identity and cultural heritage; linguistic diversity and multilingualism; and the
diversity of cultural expressions.
As a broad framework, the UNESCO cultural policy- and law-making in this area is
presented, concentrating on the 2001 Declaration on Cultural Diversity and its three related
instruments – the 2003 Convention on Intangible Heritage, the 2003 Recommendation on
Multilingualism in Cyberspace and the 2005 Convention on Diversity of Cultural
Expressions. The way in which these three instruments contribute to the promotion and
preservation of cultural diversity will be examined.
On the basis of the above and additional materials provided, workgroups will be established
on the following topics:
 Dilemmas posed by preserving traditional cultural practices (with a specific reference to
implementing the 2003 Convention)
 Measuring cultural diversity and cultural rights;
 Safeguarding endangered languages and promoting multilingualism;
 The positives and negatives of muliticulturalism as an approach; and
 Policies for protecting cultural diversity in the face of global pressures (including ICT).
Each workgroup will then work independently on the subject given to it and, after an
appropriate time, will present its ideas to the other participants in plenary. A discussion will
be held on each presentation, guided by myself.
Linda Briskman is Professor and Chair of Human Rights
Education at Curtin University in Australia. Her main areas of
expertise are Indigenous rights and asylum seeker rights. She
is well published in both areas and has received awards for
her work. She is sought after by the media for commentary
on human rights issues, particularly on asylum seekers and
refugees.
1
Rights to Cultural Identity
Abstract
2
Protection of Human Rights in
Multicultural Communities
Abstract
The paper traces the development of the concept of
multiculturalism and its application in a number of contexts.
It then focuses on critiques of multiculturalism that have
arisen, particularly in industrialised societies, in relation to
what has become known as a Politics of Fear. Critiques of
both multiculturalism idealism and celebration will be
discussed in relation to the minimisation of rights.
There will be an examination of dominant discourses that
proclaim that the interests of nation states should be
privileged over the rights of migrant minority communities.
As it is apparent that some migrants and their cultures are
valued over others, and that these change over time, there will
be an exploration of how prejudice takes hold. Examples
from media sources will be incorporated.
Prospects for change will also be suggested with a focus on
how the human rights of all peoples within multicultural
societies can be achieved.
Discussion questions
 Why is multiculturalism such a contested concept?

What can be done to move multiculturalism beyond
‘the imagined’ to reality?

What are some practical measures that can ensure
that human rights are protected in multicultural
societies?

How can human rights support the rights of minority
groups in multicultural societies?
The question of rights to cultural identity is contested
domain in a number of countries. Cultural identity is of
profound importance for a sense of belonging for the
diverse groups that inhabit the world, including when
they relocate to settings where such groups may become
vulnerable minorities. On a global scale, there are many
examples of settings where there are endeavours to
minimise cultural pluralism, reinforce assimilation and
suppress cultural identity, often driven by community
attitudes based on ignorance and prejudice. There is little
recognition in these settings about how cultural identity
is dynamic, not fixed in time and gradually evolves
according to context and generation. The result of lack of
affirmation of cultural identities can result in the
privileging of the rights of dominant groups in societies.
The paper will examine provisions of United Nations
Conventions that relate to cultural rights and then turn to
global examples where the rights to cultural identity are
minimized, particularly in Western countries. Examples
include Indigenous peoples, Muslim asylum seekers and
the Roma. Endeavours to overcome the minimisation of
rights will be presented, especially those stemming from
civil society organisations.
Discussion questions

What ideologies and belief systems put cultural
rights at risk?

How are these ideologies perpetrated?

What are some examples where cultural rights
are in place?

What are some examples where cultural rights
are in jeopardy?

What is the impact on groups when the right to
culture is eroded?

How does this erosion impact on people’s human
rights?

Can cultural identitiescan grow even stronger
when under threat?
3
Never the twain shall meet: Border security, human
security and human rights
Abstract
In their pursuit for control of sovereign borders, nation state concerns about
human security are given secondary consideration. This is particularly manifest in
the responses of western governments to people fleeing zones of conflict in their
quest to seek safe haven. Accompanying these trends is the manner in which
border protection since September 11th 2001 has been used to exclude certain
groups from countries and the polis. This is particularly evident in the way that
terrorism and asylum seeking have become conflated and the way in which the
‘middle-eastern Muslim’ is depicted. These factors contribute to the diminishment
of the notion of shared humanity as well as reinforcing populist denigration of
specific cultural and religious groups.
The presentation examines the clash of paradigms between border security and
human security by analysing the question of the extent to which perceptions of
race, culture and religion contribute to the divide. Drawing largely on research in
the Australian context, but with resonance in other western nations, the paper
discusses competing ideologies and policy perspectives. It concludes by
discussing how the emphasis on borders diminishes the human quest for safety
and security and the raft of rights that accompany this quest.
The Man and the State; from the status subiectionis to the citizenship
Michele Brunelli is Professor of Sociology of Development and of History and Institutions of
Asian Countries at Bergamo State University – Italy. He has a PhD in History, Institutions and
International Relations of African and Asia Countries. He is Member of the Scientific
Committee of Bergamo UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Ethic of International
Cooperation, following the projects the Chair is activating in Asian countries. He managed
several European Union project in different fields, such as economic and social development
in Russian Federation; education, with particular attention to the Parental participation in
the EU. He also studies issues concerning the relationship among development, human
rights and transnational crime, with particular attention to drug trafficking.
Abstract
The parabola of the Human Rights achievement
Society is defined as modern and contemporary not
for merely temporal reasons alone, but above all
because it has a particular corpus that actually lists
a series of rights/values that must unequivocally be
universal, or rather, they must inevitably concern
everyone, protect everyone and apply to everyone.
These rights concern the right to/value of life,
liberty, dignity, equality, health and welfare,
private property, education and the protection of
children.
It is a group of universal and inalienable rights
(and consequent prohibitions) that rise above the
individual cultural traditions of any ethnic group or
population. Out of such rights, in an almost natural
and consequential way, emerge a series of
prohibitions.
Many of these rights, that were rediscovered and
brought back into fashion in the XVIII century in
the wake of American and French revolutionary
forces, already existed in the great monotheistic
religions, in what Muslims call ahl al-Kitab, the
people of the Book and in the revealed Books (the
Torah, Gospels, Koran, Avesta and Rigveda).
Nevertheless, in order for these precepts, from
religious beginnings (therefore potentially only
acceptable
and
applicable
to
believers) to become trans-cultural
and even laic, therefore universal, it was necessary
to wait for them to undergo a particular historical
political process. A process that lasted centuries
and focused on the State and especially the
evolution of the relationship between the State and
Man, with the slow but inexorable transformation
of ‘Sovereign’ into ‘Servant of the State’ and
‘subject’ into ‘citizen’. These were transformations
that led man to recapture his centrality, through the
attribution to his singularity of certain rights that
characterise him and simultaneously extol his
privileges. Here a critical transition occurs, which
historically saw the evolution of a state of classes,
which had characterised Europe until the Middle
Ages, into a State of society, or the Modern
State/Absolute State, which had its premonitions in
the XV century, but would be in development until
the XVIII century. It was a transition that, by
shaping the State, the conception of the State, its
powers and its prerogatives, would shape a new
conception of law, which would also make the
transition from general to specific. This transition
to the specific – paradoxical only in appearance –
would sanction universality, the universality of the
value of rights for every single Man.
Constructing the Other
immutable and often exist in a contested space.
That said, it is often possible to position them
This paper intends to look at the construction of
along a continuum where at the one end, there are
the Other, in this case the otherness of “Islam”.
States that are strongly secular, exhibiting what
Some of the more public displays of this
Jose Casanova refers to as an illiberal secularism,
construction can be found in debates on the
to those regimes that are secular and have a
manifestation of religion on the public sphere that
particular neutral position (both in rhetoric and
is happening in both Europe and North America.
law) but exhibit rather high
Here it is clear that a
levels of cooperation with
reading of Islam both as a
religious groupings, and
discourse and as what has
Kathleen Cavanaugh is currently a Lecturer of
finally, those States which
come to be read as a
International Law in the Faculty of Law, Irish
have a non-secular (e.g.
“powerful political symbol”
Center for Human Rights (ICHR), National
religious)
orientation.
is engaged in what I have
University of Ireland, Galway. Her publications
Where
states
lie
along this
termed
the
democratic
and research topics include: the study of
continuum
impacts
how
project. This paper will
nationalism, ethnic conflict, political violence,
questions
related
to
begin with a few notes on
entrenched emergencies, freedom of religion
freedom
of
religion
what I see as the dominant
and militant democracy. Her forthcoming
(especially
the
narratives to accompany the
publications include Minority Rights in the
manifestation
of
religion)
literature on both Islam and
Middle East (co-authored with Joshua
is engaged and, related,
on religion and state. I will
Castellino) is with Oxford University Press
how religious communities
then engage with the
(forthcoming exp 2012) and “Narrating Law”
are accommodated in that
question of accommodation
in Anver Emon, Mark Ellis and Benjamin
State.
of the ‘Other’ in what I have
Glahn, eds, International Law and Islamic
An audit of the how
termed
the
democratic
Traditions (forthcoming OUP, exp. 2012).
religion is engaged in a
project. I will conclude by
state’s
public
sphere
examining whether this
engages
still
other
pressing
construction of the Other is,
questions
on
legal
as Zizek has argued, is part
pluralism,
and
the
of a trend where integration
relationship
between
in to the so called
religion and democracy or,
democratic project is to
whether there can be faith
become unidentifiable (the
in ‘democracy’. Finally,
decaffeinated other) and
and returning to the
what this says about our
question of constructing
concept of democracy.
the Other, the very public
Indeed there have been a
construction
of
a
narrative
which posits diversity
number of recent studies (including one that I
and
multiculturalism
as
being
the enemy of our
have recently concluded), which endeavours to
notion of self in the West suggests that how we
look at church-state relations. When interrogating
are reading what constitutes necessary in a
this space, what is clear is that all States adopt a
democratic society is being re-narrated. I will
particular discourse, usually articulated at the
address the shape and form of this narration in the
level of constitutional and statutory law, as well as
final section of the paper.
constantly evolving judicial and administrative
Abstract
decisions. These positions are never fixed or
The Right of “Judicial Security” and
supportive approach of the General
provisions of Human Rights
Alireza Delkhosh, PhD International Law was
born in 14 January 1972. He completed his
B.A studies in the Faculty of International
Relation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
I.R.Iran) in 1997 and got master’s degree in
International Law from Beheshti University
(Tehran) in 2001. His PhD degree in
International law is from Allameh Tabatabaie
University (Tehran) with presentation of his
thesis “State’s Obligation to Cooperation to
Combat International Crimes in General
International law”. His main research
focuses are on International Criminal Law
and International Humanitarian Law and
some of his books and articles are:
- "Combating International Crimes; State’s
Duty to Cooperation" (book)
Abstract
At the same time of recognition of “Cultural Diversity” in Human
Rights, some particular provisions have been identified to protect
individuals against sovereignties which one of most important of
them is the Right of Judicial Security.
According to the “Right of Judicial Security“ , all people without
considering the elements like nationality, ethnicity, race, faith, etc.
entitled to justice and thus they must be ensured that they will
have reasonable accesses and possibilities to have fair trial against
any invasions to their substantial rights in any country and in
every sovereignty.
- "International Humanitarian law in armed
conflicts and Non-International Conflicts:
differences and commonalities"
This type of individual rights, in the case of criminal issues is so
sensitive and has a great amount of importance. The International
Criminal Court in the approach of the current system of
International Law, not only has recognized the general rights of
individuals, but also has emphasized on the dignity of the
individuals, regardless of their legal situations.
- "The case of Libya, a challenge between
Absolute sovereignty of states and
Regulation of Human Rights"
Thus it can be said that the approach of ICC has clarified the
necessity of granting the Right to Judicial Security for all
individuals without any discrimination to all.
- "Obligation of States to Cooperate with
International Criminal Court"
- "The case of Darfur from Humanitarian
perspective"
Hossein Diba is Head of the Department of Moral Education at the Center for Research in
Ethics and Moral Education of The Academy of Islamic Sciences and Culture. He got his
Bachelor of Laws in 1992, M.A. in Philosophy in 2000 and Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion
(Kalam) in 2004. While conducting ethical and philosophical researches, he managed some
research centers namely: 1- Center for Research in Jurisprudence of Judiciary, Director 2National Center for Answering Religious Questions, Director 3- Academy of Islamic Sciences
and Culture, Vice-Chancellor for Research. In recent years, his research interest has been
moral education issues, especially moral psychology. He has written several books and articles
in philosophy, philosophy of religion and moral education.
Morality, Culture and humanitarianism
Abstract
It is clear that the fundamental principles of the human and humanitarian laws based
on the ethical values and moral rules.
The most recent researches in anthropology, social psychology and moral
psychology have shown the influences of cultures on the moral judgments and moral
emotions.
So there are strong evidences for the relationship between cultures and human and
humanitarian laws. This article aims to explain the psychological mechanism of
formation of the human and humanitarian laws, believes by forming of moral
judgments and moral emotions in different cultures. There are two different
approaches to explain how and how much the culture is effective in existing the
moral judgments and moral emotions. The first approach is cognitive approach and
says that humans are reasoning beings and that they reason within a realm that we
can label moral about welfare, justice, and rights in ways that involve concerns with
dignity, worth, freedom, and treatment of persons. The alternative view emphasizes
on the feeling, and the conception of morality in this approach is that conscience is
formed and regulated by feelings and emotions.
The most popular theorists in the former are Lawrence Kohlberg and in the latter are
Antonio R. Damasio and Jonathan haidt.
It is also important to know that what the religious approach is in this subject and
what are the major conclusions of these studies for expanding the human and
humanitarian laws in the world.
Reza Eslami (LL.M. & Ph.D., McGill University, Montreal, Canada), Associate Professor of
Faculty of Law at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran, Iran. Areas of research and
teaching includes international human rights law, public liberties, rights of women and
minorities, peace and development; publishes in human rights field; and organizes
workshops for civil society organizations on human rights issues.
Tolerance and
Cultures: Human
Rights Perspective
Abstract
This article firsts reviews the
importance and necessity of
tolerance from human rights
perspective as well as its
concept and characteristics in
any given society, Muslim
societies in particular, and
refers the role and impact of
tolerance in cultural believes
and practices.
The article then examines how dialogue among cultures and social groups in societies provides ground for
recognition of “others” and tolerance, and argues that this, in turn, leads to the institutionalization of the
principles of non-violence and non-discrimination both in cultures and legal systems.
This article suggests that different target groups in society need human rights education as to tolerance, and
that tolerance and peaceful co-existence pave the way towards capacity-building and empowerment of citizens,
and creates an environment in which the human rights and freedoms could be implemented. The article also
emphasizes the need for certain changes in school curriculum aimed at promoting tolerance within formal
education in societies.
Carolyn Noble, PHD is previous Head of Social Work at Victoria University, Melbourne,
Australia where she taught subjects concerned with social work advocacy, human rights
and social justice. Her scholarship links rights based practice with ethics and human rights
as well as concepts of social and individual justice. She is well published on broader issues
around critical t0hought through reflection and action. She has strong links with
international social work organisations as well as regional and national ones.
Social, Cultural and
Economic Rights
Abstract
Before one can pursue the
advancement
of
social,
cultural and economic rights
advocates must be conversant
with what these rights are,
how they were developed and
in what context historically,
culturally and politically they
were framed. Importantly one
must reflect on how applicable
these rights are culturally and
politically and how they can
be protected especially when religious groups, Governments and other vested interests have many other agendas
to follow.
This workshop explores these issues and sets the exploration in the context of what are social, cultural and
economic rights and how applicable are they for transportation across countries, cultures and different political
and religious systems. These challenges are discussed against the background of international obligations, the
millennium goals and western concepts of social and individual justice.
Firouz Gaini is an Associate Professor in Social Anthropology at
the Dept. of Education at the University of the Faroe Islands
(Northern Europe) where he teaches anthropology, philosophy
& ethics of science, and childhood & youth studies. His main
specialization is youth cultural identities and values. He has
published and lectured widely on youth and children’s rights. He
is the current Chair of the Faroese Academy of Sciences. In
addition, he has been an adviser for several NGO´s working for
children’s rights in the Faroe Islands and the Nordic region.
Quest for a Better Understanding of
Children and Culture
Twenty-first Century Children´s
Cultures, Rights and Education from
an Anthropological Perspective
Abstract
This paper examines and analyzes fundamental
arguments regarding the credibility and valuation of
the cultural rights of children, as part of a larger
debate on the universality of human rights, and the
framework of my approach is delimited by the
following questions: (I) How do we research and
illustrate the complex relation between children´s
cultural rights and the cultural diversity of the world
today? (II) What position and function does the –
formal and informal – education of children have
regarding the knowledge on and respect of cultures
and humanity in the world today? And finally, (III)
what can be done – on local, national and
international levels – in order to improve the
general understanding of children and human right
issues across ethnic, religious and national borders?
The main aim of the paper is, through the
ethnographic lens, and with the children´s `own
viewpoints´ in focus, to outline children´s core
position in any reasoning about the value of
humanity. The paper´s imperative is the potential
dangers of e.g. cultural commercialization, cultural
`racism´ and `ethnocide´ in a globalized world
characterized
by
economic
and
political
competition, as well as xenophobia. Using empirical
data from different parts of the world, the paper
presents cases of violations of human rights – e.g. to
use own language and rights to a (home) land – with
focus on the negative consequences it has on
children, hence also on their culture´s viability and
future; this discussion leads to the domain of human
rights ethics that is connected to the question of
education and pedagogy. What to teach the children
– and in which way? The paper, in summary,
concludes that culture is a capital that empowers
people so that they protect and support humanity.
Establishing a Normative
Framework for Evaluating Diverse
Cases of Transitional Justice

Thomas Obel Hansen is an associate
professor of international law with
the
United
States
International
University in Nairobi, Kenya. He
holds a PhD from Aarhus University
Law School in Denmark, where he
specialized in the field of transitional
justice.
He
has
published
and
lectured widely on this and related
issues,
including
international
criminal law, human rights and
conflict prevention. In addition, he
works as a consultant for various
organizations,
such
as
the
International Center for Transitional
Justice and Open Society Justice
Initiative.

Abstract
Based on an assessment of contemporary practices
of dealing juristically with large-scale human
rights violations, this paper argues that there is a
need for updating important aspects of transitional
justice theory. The field of transitional justice
emerged around the so-called third wave of
democratization, most notably the transitions from
military rule in Latin America in the 1980s and
the transitions in Central and Eastern Europe
following the fall of communist governments.
However, though institutionalized responses to
mass violence and state-sponsored repression now
take place in highly diverse cases, transitional
justice theory remains dominated by the claim that
law and justice should primarily promote liberal
democratic values. This paper argues that it is
useful to operate with a differentiated normative
framework, thereby endorsing a more nuanced
understanding of the interests that transitional
justice in fact serves as well as the legitimacy of
these. In doing so, this paper distinguishes
between transitional justice in cases of liberal
transitions, non-liberal transitions, deeply
conflicted societies that have not seen a
fundamental regime change, and consolidated
democracies. Though rejecting one consistent
normative
framework,
which
prioritizes
liberalization and democratization as the end
product of transitional justice, the present paper
concludes that it is possible to establish some
overall positive goals of transitional justice,
namely attending to the needs of victims,
preventing the recurrence of large-scale violence
and, finally, creating a more just society.
An Overview of the Recent History of Legal
Norms for the Protection of Cultural Property in
Armed Conflict
Abstract
This paper will provide an overview of the legal protections developed
regarding cultural property in armed conflict from the late 19th century
to today. While touching on efforts undertaken in the 19th century,
starting from the Lieber Code of 1863, which included provisions
relating to libraries, museums of fine arts, and “astronomical
telescopes”, the paper concentrates on norms developed in the 20th
century, through the Roerich Pact of 1935, the Geneva Conventions of
1949 (and their Additional Protocols of 1977), and the Hague Cultural
Property Convention of 1954, together with its two Protocols, the most
recent of which was drafted in 1999.
An overview of the protections given to the three classifications in these
latter treaties, namely general protection, special protection, and
enhanced protection will be outlined. The rules relating to safeguarding
of cultural property, as well as respect for cultural property will be
covered, as will provisions relating to the conduct of hostilities. The
goal of the paper is to provide an overview of the steps that States have
taken in seeking to preserve cultural property in armed conflict –
humanity in spite of war.
Christopher Harland is the
ICRC's Regional Legal Adviser
for South Asia, based in New
Delhi. A Canadian lawyer, he
has worked in New Delhi
since 2007, where he moved
to from the Legal Division of
the ICRC at its Headquarters
in Geneva. Prior to joining
the ICRC, Mr. Harland held
positions with the United
Nations in the Cyprus
Referendum (2004), was a
member of the High Judicial
and Prosecutorial Councils of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
(2002-2004), was the Head of
the Human Rights and Rule of
Law Department of the Office
of the High Representative in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
(1998-2002, Head from 20002002), participated in the UN
Secretary-General's
Investigative Team in the
Democratic Republic of the
Congo (1998) and was a Legal
Officer with the UN's Human
Rights Commissioner's Field
Operation in Rwanda (1996
to 1998).
He has also worked in the
Office of the Legal Counsel at
UN Headquarters as an intern
(1995) and clerked with a
judge of the Federal Court of
Canada (1993-1994). He is
the author of books and
articles on human rights law
and
international
humanitarian law.
Kamran Hashemi, Ph.D. in Law, Irish Center for Human Rights, National University of Ireland- Galway, has been
working as a career diplomat for Iranian Foreign Ministry since 1987. Also he has been working also as human rights lecturers in
Iranian Universities since September 2007. In August 2010 he was appointed as director of Non Aligned Movement Center for Human
Rights and Cultural Diversity in Tehran. Relevant to his area of research interest, i.e. Muslims and Human Rights, and in his personal
capacity he has attended several international conferences and published a book: ‘Religious Legal Traditions, International Human
Rights Law and Muslim States and a handful of publications in Iranian and International journals.
1
Protection of Minorities Rights to Cultural Identity – The Muslim Experience
Abstract
The relation between cultural diversity and human
rights has been an issue of long- standing debate
among human rights scholars, policy-makers and
advocates, the most controversial of which has
been the conflict between cultural relativism and
the universality of human rights. On the other hand,
human rights and cultural diversity are intertwined;
full respect for human rights creates an enabling
environment for guaranteeing cultural diversity.
Cultural diversity can be guaranteed only if human
rights and fundamental freedoms are protected.
Conversely, an environment conducive to cultural
diversity will contribute in a significant manner to
the full respect of human rights and humanitarian
universal values.
Among many different related matters, the way
cultures contribute to the enrichment of the concept
of human rights in a normative and practical
manner in order to achieve wider enjoyment of
human rights requires further exploration. As a case
study, the paper will focus on the historical and
contemporary role of Muslim legal culture in
protection of Minorities.
Muslim legal culture on protection of minorities,
called Dhimmi system, has experienced a long
history of regulating the status of minorities in
Muslim territories. Mayer points out that “[i]n
particular, the treatment of the Jewish minority in
Muslim societies stands out as fair and enlightened
when compared with the dismal record of Christian
European persecution of Jews over the centuries.” 1
She also states: “The annals of history point out to
A.E. Mayer, Islam and Human Rights, Tradition
and Politics (Third Edition, Westview Press,
London, 1999), p.136.
1
the fact that the same degree of religious freedom
as granted by Shariah to the non-Muslims living in
Islamic state were non-existent in the history of
other religions.” 2 Bielefeldt has a similar
comparison as follows: “Historic evidence shows
that some Christian minorities and dissidents
preferred living under Islamic rule to being
persecuted by their fellow Christians in the
Byzantine and Habsburg empires. Thus, with
regard to religious tolerance, Islam seems to have a
better historical record than Christianity.” 3
In fact, Muslims by applying the Dhimmah system
have established the widest and oldest system for
recognition and regulating the status of religious
minorities within majority Muslims and their
protection; the system has survived for about
fourteen centuries in an extended area from Spain
in Western Europe to Pacific Ocean in East Asia. In
recent centuries the Dhimmah system, by the name
of Millet, governed the status of minorities in
multi-religious areas under the Ottoman reign in
parts of Eastern Europe and most areas of the
Middle East and North Africa.
Examining the related UN documents and state
practices with regard to the protection of religious
or ethno-religious minorities in their right to
identity, one might conclude that in the absence of
any clear binding provision for states, the
application of personal legal autonomy regimes
could be considered as a clear instance of
protecting this right.
2.
R. I. Doi, Non.-Muslims under Shariah (Islamic
Law), (Third Edition, Ta Ha Publishers Ltd,
London, 1983.
3Heiner Bielefeldt, ‘Muslim Voice in the Human
Rights Debate’, 17Human Rights Quarterly 4
(1995),pp.597-8.
2
Islam and Intra- Muslim Regional
Human Rights Mechanisms
Abstract
The OIC and the Arab League are the largest
intergovernmental organizations whose membership
is comprised solely of Muslim states. In the early
1990s each organization adopted a human rights
document: the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights
in Islam (CDHR) and the Arab Charter on Human
Rights (ACHR), respectively. These documents
remained inactive for more than a decade until both
organizations resumed their human rights activities
in early 2000s, leading in March 2008 to the
adoption of a new Charter for the OIC, with special
emphasis on human rights, as well as the entering
into force of a new version of the ACHR. This
paper will examine the extent to which Islam might
contribute to the internal promotion and protection
of human rights and the establishment of intraMuslim regional human rights mechanisms. A
special approach in the developing world towards
human rights fulfillment is the "cultural-religious
oriented approach". For Muslims this multifaceted
approach is discussed in the "Islam and human
rights" discourse. Islam is the central common
element among all Muslim states for establishing a
human rights system. In this regard, the paper
provides a survey on traditional Muslim law and its
relevance to the concept of rights. In order to
provide a better understanding of the relevance of
Islam to human rights, the study makes a distinction
between the three Islamic concepts of Islamic core
principles/values, Muslim legal traditions, and
Shariah. In line with this distinction the CDHR, as
the most well known contemporary source of Islam
and human rights, is discussed.
The paper argues that after two decades since the
adoption of the CDHR, and following a long
running debate on Islam and human rights, the
related human rights documents in the Arab League
and the OIC in recent years tend to avoid referring
to the controversial or ambiguous areas between
religious legal traditions and human rights and leave
them to be resolved in the process of time within
more progressive endeavors of related states.
Instead references to Islam in these documents have
been limited to contributing areas of the religion to
human rights, i.e. to "Islamic principles and values".
Branding Compassion: the Medical Humanitarian Field
Abstract
The humanitarian field has long been understood as a natural way of aid, carrying out compassion towards others
through direct and concrete acts of help. Notions such as emergency and professionalism are characteristics of
the humanitarian action. Especially in the medical humanitarian field, the tension between emergency and
professional response is constant and required. We focus on a French association, Doctors without borders/
Médecins sans frontières (MSF), created in the 1970’s, to observe how the figure of the physician evolved within
the framework of the development of corporate communication. Indeed, it was only in 1976 that MSF agreed to
launch its first advertising campaign: the decision for a new way of communication (also called ‘humanitarian
advertising’) is the cornerstone that paved the way for the emergence of the ‘French doctors’ and the medical
humanitarian field, as it brought their action out of the shadow. Since the Hippocratic oath strongly relies on
confidentiality and the strict practicing of medical acts, the without borders physicians and their symbolical
break of the oath by becoming witnesses is to be linked with the dissemination through the media of the ideas of
basic human rights including just access to health. The possibilities and limits of humanitarian advertising, or
branded compassion, is the central theme of this paper. Our work is based on three sections: first, how the
decision for a professional communication brought growth and recognition, settling down the medical
humanitarian action in public
consciousness;
second,
the
tandem growth and efficiency
Stéphanie Herber is a Ph.D. candidate of the University of
that consequently asked for a
St.Gallen, Switzerland, attached to the School of Humanities and
reformulation of the founding
Social Sciences. Her research work is focused on the medical
values of MSF; and third we
humanitarian field and its connections to economics, especially
propose a deeper analysis of the
the communication and marketing areas; specialized in French
communication systems used and
and Italian medical NGOs: Médecins sans frontière, Médecins du
deliberately chosen by the
Monde, Emergency. She is also working as a teaching assistant for
association.
business French at the University of St.Gallen.
We want to show, in light of the
evolution of MSF, how an
emotion has been put on the
world market to raise funds for
increasing the activities of the
association and above all how
this particular emotion was raised
as a basis to act for human rights.
Keywords: medical humanitarian
field,
NGO,
corporate
communication,
humanitarian
advertizing.
Reinterpreting East-Asian Culture and
Human Rights: The Case of Traditional
Vietnamese Legal Culture
Nghia Hoang Van is Senior Lecturer and Head of
General Theory Department at the Vietnamese
Institute of Human Rights, Ho Chi Minh National
Academy of Politics and Public Administration, in
Hanoi, Vietnam. He holds his doctorate degree in
law at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK in
2009. His areas of expertise are theories of human
rights, international human rights law, rule of law
and democracy. He teaches international human
rights law at the Academy and in various
Vietnamese academic institutions and organisations;
having been independent expert and national
consultant in the field of human rights for
international organisations such as UN Women,
UNDP, Plan International, International Union of
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and the World Bank.
He has published more than 40 articles and several
books on the issues related to human rights. These
include ‘Access to Culture as a Fundamental Human
Rights’ (2011), ‘Democracy in Modern Society’
(2011), ‘the Amendment of the 1992 Constitution
and Human Rights’ (2011), ‘Human Rights-based
Approach to Children’s Rights Programming’ (2011),
‘Ensuring the Citizen’s Rights to Legal Aid’ (2009),
‘International Human Rights Law and the Protection
of the Individual’s Rights in the Age of Terrorism’
(2006), ‘On the Relative Universality of Human
Rights’ (2009), ‘Development and Human Rights’
(2010), and ‘Role of Social Organisations (CSOs) in
Monitoring and Protection of Environment’ (2011).
Dr Hoang has been member of the UK’s Socio-Legal
Studies Association and Vietnamese Lawyers’
Association.
Abstract
This paper’s overall goal is to search for human dignity and
tolerance, as cross-cultural values of human rights and a
contribution of East Asian Culture to the Evolution of
Universal Human Rights through examining the traditional
Vietnamese legal culture and its influences on modern
Vietnam. The paper explores Vietnam’s traditional values of
humanism, humanitarianism and human rights which were
exposed through the lenses of Feudalism and flowered from the
presence of Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Vietnamese
belief (animism) from 10th century onwards, until 1858 at
which Vietnam began to fall into the French rule while still
remained semi-Feudalism. By looking at the Vietnamese
Imperial dynasties, especially from the Ly, Tran, Le and
Nguyen, the paper seeks for solid proofs demonstrating
traditional Vietnamese legal culture did exist the ideas of
human rights as enshrined in international human rights treaties
and that the East Asian Culture, embraced by Confucianism, by
which Vietnamese legal culture had received, significantly
contributed to the evolution of universal human rights. The
paper is also based on the argument that Vietnamese traditional
culture, as well as the East Asian Culture, is embraced by both
negative and positive elements that affect, either sides, the
evolution of human rights in Vietnam and East Asia, as well as
to the emergence of universal human rights. The transcendent
values constituting that culture are human dignity, tolerance
and endless compassion; they were rich in Vietnamese
traditional the legal culture and Vietnamese traditional society
still significantly influencing on present-day Vietnam. The
arguments brought to some key conclusions that as part of East
Asian Culture, regardless of containing some conservative
viewpoints negatively affecting the ways in which the
individuals’ human rights have been respected, protected and
fulfilled, such as women’s rights, Vietnamese culture embraces
a lot of values supportive for humanity and humanitarianism
and entirely compatible with universal human rights.
Key words: human rights, universalism, culture, Vietnam and
East Asia, Confucianism and Asian Values.
Mohammad Taghi Hosseini has a PhD degree in Political Thoughts and a master
degree in International relations. He is a senior expert of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He has been active in the field of
disarmament and international Security since 1993.
He served as the member of the Permanent Mission of his country to the United
Nations office both in Vienna and Geneva. He also represented Iran in many
conferences and negotiations in the field of arms control and disarmament. Dr.
Hosseini teaches “International and Regional Security” as well as “Disarmament
and Arms Control” at the School of International Relations, Tehran and “Peace
and Civilizational Change” at the Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies,
Tehran. He has been invited to give lectures in many academic conferences and
universities inside Iran and abroad, particularly in Canada, Switzerland, Finland
and South Korea. He published several books and articles in the area of
international security and political Sciences in English and Persian.
International Humanitarian Law and Disarmament and Arms Control
Abstract
From the time of The Hague Conferences 1899 and 1907 delegations realized the implications of armaments
and the observance of the principles and rules of humanitarian law applicable in armed conflict.
The cardinal principles of humanitarian law can be described as the following:




The protection of the civilian population and civilian objects;
Establishing the distinction between combatants and non-combatants;
States must never make civilians the object of attack; and
States must never use weapons that are incapable of distinguishing between civilian and military
targets.
It is prohibited to cause unnecessary suffering to combatants. States do not have unlimited freedom of choice
of means in the weapons they use. In considering these principles, one can easily observe the interrelation
among the International Humanitarian Law and Disarmaments and Arms Control. It can also be observed in
many legal instruments and proceedings of the international legal authorities. These principles were widely
used by the International Court of Justice in its Advisory Opinion on the request made by the General
Assembly of the United Nations on the question concerning the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear
Weapons.
“Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be
Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects” is a particular example of the
interrelation among the International Humanitarian Law and Disarmaments and Arms Control. While the
mother convention is basically in the realm on international Humanitarian Law, the Annexed Protocols to the
Convention make prohibitions or limitations to the use of some kinds of weapons. This presentation will
elaborate this issue.
Observance of Human Rights in Islam
Abstract
What status does man have in Islamic thought and what
evidence can we present for the observance of human
rights in Islam? This research, while taking the verses of
the Quran and narrations and life of the Prophet
Mohammad (PBUH) into consideration, makes effort to
explain this issue. Explanation of the high status of man
in Islamic thought and law, answering doubts along with
some manifestations of the importance given to human
rights by Islam as well as the observance of human
rights even at times of war and Jihad are some other
issues mentioned in this paper. What deserves attention
is the close relationship between the principles of
security, justice, peace, and innate morals and defensive
Jihad and invitational Jihad. All of these are rooted in
the teachings of the great prophets of God especially the
comprehensive and final religious law (shari’ah) of
Islam and this matter alone is the most important factor
in guaranteeing its enforcement. The method of this
research is descriptive-analytical while using the most
authentic and primary sources – the Quran and the
infallible imams - for inferring Islamic knowledge and
rights.
Seyed Ebrahim Hosseini, born in 1964,
is PhD in Public Law .He is a faculty
member of the Imam Khomeini
Education and Research Institute, and
the head of Education Department in
the meanwhile .He has written many
books and articles as briefly mentioned
below:
Books:
1) The principle of prevention by force
and its exceptions in Islam and
contemporary international law
2) The character and rights of women
3) Family rights of women
4) Feminism
5) The doctrine of the Islamic Republic
concerning women.
Articles:
About 40 articles were published and
presented in various conferences.
Freedom of religion, expression, information and communication in times of
peace and war
‘Crosses to Bear: Symbolism and Secularism at the European Court of Human
Rights’
Abstract
The decision of the Grand Chamber of the European
Court of Human Rights in March 2011 to reverse
the earlier finding of the Second Chamber in the
Lautsi v Italy case came as a surprise to few. The
initial decision was the source of consternation
among many commentators; both for its paucity of
analysis and the implications it would have for State
schools across Europe. Described variously as
sending ‘shockwaves through Europe’1, ‘an
embarrassment’2, ‘quite explosive’3 and as ‘wrong
and myopic’4 it was always going to be an uphill
battle for the verdict in Lautsi v Italy to survive the
appeal before the Grand Chamber. The facts of the
Lautsi case, which has proved to be one of the most
contentious in recent years, have been outlined
elsewhere5 but essentially concerned the applicant’s
wish to have her children educated in an
environment that did not include crucifixes on the
walls of State schools. Italian schools are in fact
obligated to display crucifixes in the classroom
under legislation that pre-dates the unification of
Italy. In September 1860 Article 140 of PiedmontSardinia’s Royal Decree no 4336 stipulated that
each classroom be equipped with a crucifix whilst
in 1924 Article 118 of Royal Decree no. 965
required each classroom to have a crucifix and a
portrait of the King.6 More recently, in October
R Lamb ‘When Human Rights Have Gone too Far: Religious
Tradition and Equality in Lautsi v. Italy’ (2011) 36 N.C.J. Int’l
L. & Com. Reg. 751-772, 751, noting that the European Court
of Human Rights “made a decision that sent shockwaves
through the various European nations over which it
presides.”
2 JHH Weiler suggested that ‘[i]ndependently of one’s view of
the substantive result, the decision of the Second Chamber of
the ECtHR is an embarrassment’. See JHH Weiler ‘Lautsi:
Crucifix in the Classroom Redux’ (2010) 21.1 EJIL 1-6, 1.
3 P Jenkins ‘Notes from the Global Church: Church-State
Disconnect’ Christian Century, February 23 2010, 69.
4 As described by the Vatican. See BBC News: ‘Italy school
crucifixes 'barred'’, 3 November 2009, available at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8340411.stm (last visited 8
August 2011)
5 See, for example, D McGoldrick ‘Religion in the European
Public Square and in European Public Life – Crucifixes in the
Classroom? (2011) 11.3 Human Rights Law Review 451-502,
464-7.
6 Lautsi v Italy (Second Chamber), Application No. 30814/06,
Judgment of 3 November 2009 §17-20.
2007 the Ministry of Education adopted Directive
no. 2666 recommending that school principals
display crucifixes.7
Nonetheless, the facts of the case are arguably less
noteworthy than the approach taken by both
Chambers of the Court. The case and its disposal
warrant a reassessment of the Court’s approach to
secularism and neutrality; thus, this paper seeks to
analyse recent trends in the Court’s jurisprudence
concerning religious symbols and contrasts the
approach of the Court in Lautsi with its earlier
decisions in cases concerning Islamic religious
symbols. It will be argued that the Court, through
its decision in the Lautsi case fuels the debate on the
place of religion in the European public sphere and
sets Christianity apart from Islam in terms of the
protection afforded by the European Court of
Human Rights.
Edel Hughes is currently a lecturer at the School
of Law, University of Limerick, Ireland. She was
awarded LLM and PhD degrees in International
Human Rights Law from the National University
of Ireland, Galway in 2003 and 2009. Edel
publishes in the field of international human
rights law and a monograph based on her PhD
entitled Turkey’s Accession to the European
Union: The Politics of Exclusion? was published
by Routledge in September 2010. In January
2012, Edel will take up a position as Senior
Lecturer in Law at the School of Law and Social
Sciences, University of East London.
1
Lautsi v Italy (Second Chamber), Application
No. 30814/06, Judgment of 3 November 2009
§10.
7
Tahereh Jalili was born in Hamedan in 1985. She received her MA degree in
diplomacy and international organizations of the School of International
Relations of Foreign Affairs in Tehran in 2010. Now she is staff of Foreign
Affairs.
Her study focus is on the international organizations especially UN. She has
written several articles about humanitarian interventions and responsibility to
protect in Persian.
An Enquiry into Evolution of Humanitarians Interventions in to
Responsibility to Protect (Dose This Evolution Work?)
Abstract
Responsibility to Protect is an emerging norm in the international relations and international law.
This concept means “each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from
genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”. R2p was elaborated in
2001 by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty and was endorsed
in a resolution of 191 heads of state and government representatives in 2005 .In 2009, Ban Ki
Moon delivered a report that stated how states have to implement this concept. The importance
of this concept is because of its close relationship with national sovereignty and protection of
civilian population. This concept emanates from a new definition of national sovereignty
equating it with responsibility rather than authority and therefore rejects any claim of
sovereignty if the state were unable or unwilling to protect their populations.
In author’s view R2P is evolution of humanitarian’s interventions. So this study attempts to
evaluate the reasons for the evolution. It seems that this evolution goes back to the other
developments in the international society that have taken effect after cold war. Investigating
emergence of new international norms calls for having a new perspective of the basic concept of
international relations and law. Therefore, it can be said that R2P is a response to current
developments in the international arena including evolutions of the sovereignty, security, human
rights and wars, imperfect implementation of the humanitarian intervention and emergence of
failed states.
The author believes however that R2P is an important emerging norm, but it seems that by itself,
it is not enough, especially in dealing with the Arab Spring in light of recent reactions by
powerful countries and Security Council.
Natural Challenges of Cultures in Support of Humanity
Abstract
Mohammad-Javad Javid, PhD, is
Associate Professor of Faculty of
Law and Political Sciences,
University of Tehran. He was
born in 1974, Dr Javid, obtained
a PhD in Public Law from the
University of Toulose, France,
and a PhD in Sociology from
Sorbonne University.
He has published tens of books,
academic-research articles, and
interviews in the local and
international
scientific
and
scholarly journals, and has
participated in a variety of
international conferences across
the world.
He is currently teaching at the
University of Tehran, and some
other prestigious universities in
Iran. The Number of master’s
and PhD theses he has
advised/examined amounts to
50 thus far.
The relation between culture and nature
has been an issue of long-standing
debate. Total dominance of one over the
other would mean ignorance of human
identity in some respect. There is no
discussion in the approval/rejection of
one or both; rather, the basic argument is
the priority of one over the other, with an
aim to support humanity, as a human
obligation. Given the above, the present
article seeks to prove the hypothesis that
the core invariant within human beings is
their very nature, and that the cultures,
serving as some software to program
human life, can be universal and
philanthropic provided only that they are
established based upon human’s nature
and essence. Such an essence is the same
element which is occasionally referred
to, in religious terminology, as fitrah.
With this in mind, authors of this article
are of the view that contemporary
cultures, alone, fall short of fulfilling the
above obligation; and that mere
emphasis on cultures cannot form a
reliable standing point for human rights
or global cultures, since they are
primarily time- and place- bound. For
this purpose, the suggestion is dividing
culture into variable and invariable
elements.
Key words: nature, human being,
culture, human rights, humanity, cultural
diversity.
Esmat Shahmoradi is currently a
university lecturer and a PhD
candidate at Allameh Tabataba’i
University. She obtained a
master’s degree in international
law from the University of
Tehran,
and
another
in
Translation
Studies
from
Allameh Tabataba’i University.
Attaining the top rank in the PhD
National Exam in Translation,
the top rank in the MA National
Exam in Translation, and rating
7th in the MA National Exam in
International Law, in addition to
other cultural and academic
activities, she goes on to work
on issues of judicial corruption
besides socio-legal barriers to
protection of the basic human
rights.
Among other publications, she
has recently translated two
Persian books into English: 1.
Nāser Qorbān-Nia, Morality in
International Law 2. Hussein
Ramazani Kheradmardi, Political
Management: Khājeh Nasīr alDīn Tūsī's Perspective.
Myanmar: The Struggle for the Return to Democratic Rule
the human rights situation in
Myanmar have had little effect.
Abstract
Despite being one of the first
countries in Southeast Asia to
become independent of colonial
rule
in
1948,
Myanmar
succumbed to military rule in
1962 and it remained so until as
recent as 2010 when a nominally
civilian
government
was
installed. After having been
under the military-junta for
almost half a century, the socioeconomic and political system in
the country is in shambles.
In addition the country’s human
rights record is in a deplorable
state as large sections of the
population have been subjected
to great sufferings as a result of
blatant violation of human rights.
Various forms of sanctions by
western countries to pressure the
military junta to bring about
political reforms and to improve
Nadaraja Kannan has a PhD in
History from Universiti Sains
Malaysia. He is currently attached to
the School of International Studies,
Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah,
Malaysia. Some of the courses he
has taught under the International
Studies Programme include, Modern
World History, Malaysian Foreign
Policy, Government and Politics in
Southeast Asia and Propaganda in
International Relations. His area of
interest is on Malaysian and
Southeast Asian history and politics
including issues concerning racerelations and human rights.
This paper discusses the struggle
for democratic reforms in
Myanmar, the roadmap to
political reforms subsequently
introduced by the military junta,
the new constitution and its
implication on the main prodemocratic party, the National
League for Democracy and its
leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the
2010 elections and some recent
developments in the country in
the human rights situation vis-àvis political since the change in
government from military to
civilian rule.
Keywords: Myanmar, Military
Rule, National League for
Democracy,
Human
Rights
Violation
Ratna Kapur is Global Professor of Law at the Jindal Global Law School,
Sonepat, India, She is also on the Faculty of the Geneva School of Diplomacy
and International Relations, Geneva, and Titular of the Center for Feminist
Legal Research, New Delhi. She practiced law for a number of years in New
Delhi with the Law Offices of R.K.P. Shankardass and now teaches and
publishes extensively on issues of international law, human rights, critical legal
theory and postcolonial theory. She was the Senior Gender Advisor with the
UN Mission in Nepal during the transition period from 2007-2008. She has
been a Visiting Professor of Law at a number of universities including Yale Law
School, NYU School of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, the United
Nations Peace University, Zurich University, and the National Law School of
India University, and a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School and Cambridge
University. She received her law degree from Cambridge University and her
LL.M. from Harvard Law School. Her latest books include:Makeshift Migrants
and Law: Gender, Belonging and Postcolonial Anxieties (Routledge 2010);
Erotic Justice: Law and the New Politics of Postcolonialism (Glasshouse Press,
Cavendish Publishers, 2005); Secularism’s Last Sigh? (Co-authored, Oxford
University Press, 2001)
Un-Veiling Equality: Disciplining the “Other” Woman through Human Rights
Discourse
Abstract
The right to gender equality has been a site of
political and socio-religious struggle and
controversy in the global human rights arena as well
as in a number of domestic jurisdictions. The
struggle to secure the right to gender equality has
had many enemies, and increasingly these
opponents to gender equality are waging their battle
not in opposition to equality, but in and through it.
Gender equality remains a site of intense political
contestation in which right wing religious and
fundamentalist forces endeavor to claim the terrain
as their own. At the same time, the pursuit of gender
equality even by so-called progressive groups such
as feminists or human rights advocates has not
necessarily proved liberating and has often been
limited by a woman-centered approach that
reproduces gender and cultural essentialism.
In my paper, I expose how the right to equality is a
discursive terrain where competing understandings
about gender and culture are produced. Instead of
casting the resistance to gender equality in terms of
cultural or religious opposition, I move beyond a
mere concern over the legitimacy of a cultural
practice, such as the veil, to a focus on the need to
engage with the deeper discursive and normative
concerns that shape and structure the right to gender
equality. I argue that majoritarianism as well as
essentialist assumptions about gender and culture
operate in and through the right to gender equality,
illustrating my argument through a discussion on
the rights of Muslim women in postcolonial India in
the context of the emergence and forceful advocacy
of the Hindu Right as well as the politics
surrounding the ban on the veil in France.
Educating Within Culture and Human Rights: What Can a Capabilities
Approach Add?
Su-Ming Khoo is a Lecturer in the School of Political
Science and Sociology at the National University of
Ireland, Galway, Ireland. Her teaching and research
focus on human development and rights-based
approaches to development, especially the rights
to food, health and education. Other research
themes and interests include public goods, public
scholarship,
decolonization,
democratization,
participation, sustainability and ecology.
Recent publications include journal articles and
book chapters on the rights to food and health in a
development context, Millennium Development
Goals, sustainability, consumer activism, citizenship
and development education.
Abstract
Human rights and capabilities approaches have
moved closer together in recent years, with human
rights approaches highlighting the importance of
values, while capability emphasises the ‘substantive
freedoms and opportunities’ of individuals and
groups (Vizard, Fukuda-Parr & Elson 2011).
Education is a core socio-economic and cultural
right, and is regarded as one of three ‘immediate
action areas’ for realizing the Right to Development
- in turn the integrating vector for interdependent
and indivisible rights (Sengupta 2002; UN 1986).
Yet, until recently, there have been relatively few
studies applying human rights and capability
approaches in the field of education (Saito, 2003).
Recent clarifications of the content of the right to
education have taken a comprehensive approach to
human rights education that moves beyond
education about human rights, to encompass
education for and through human rights. Indeed, it
has been argued that human right in education is an
essential prerequisite for human rights education
(Tomasevski, 2004). The UN’s adoption of a World
Programme for Human Rights Education (2005)
and UN Declaration on Human Rights Education
and Training (2011) represent further milestones
embedding a wide and deep understanding of
human rights education as the crucial vehicle for the
development, promotion and realization of a
universal culture of human rights. The capability
perspective is also a problematic liberal theory in
terms of the extent to which it addresses entrenched
conditions of power and domination. Enhancing
peoples capabilities involves not only providing
education, decent living standards and political
participation, but also opportunities, skills and selfconfidence that empower people to stand up to
arbitrarily dominating conditions and discriminating
practices. Alexander (2010) argues that capability
theory needs to be strengthened and developed to
provide effective antidotes to ‘liberal hegemony’.
This can be achieved by increasing the robustness
of the condition of freedom, combined with a vision
of individual freedom as tied to the common good.
Walker (2008) suggests that capability theory
currently provides only a thin account of education,
and fails to fully take into account how power and
unfreedoms work through education. Walker
suggests that neither Sen’s reluctance to specify
valuable capabilities, nor Nussbaum’s canonical list
of 10 ‘central capabilities’ is sufficient – this must
be supplemented by focus on power, values and
education as a public good. A pedagogical
perspective also requires us to address the special
position of children and future-oriented processes of
being and becoming. Human rights are sometimes
perceived to be illegitimate from a cultural
perspective, while others point out that such cultural
objections tend to come from dominant rulers, not
those who need their rights protected (Chanock
2000). Drydyk’s discussion of capabilities and
‘responsible pluralism’ (2011) suggests a way to
address these cultural dilemmas. He suggests that
the capability approach can enhance the
effectiveness of human rights since its formulation
of ‘valuable functionings and capabilities’ helps to
draw in pluralistic justifications. However, he
insists that the discussion must be anchored in
public knowledge about care and neglect, and
argues that culture must not be relegated, either to a
background view or the private realm, but
contribute to a variety of “reliable moral discourses”
that can be mobilized in support of equal dignity.
Dadarao C Kirtiraj (b.1967) is a Science graduates from Fergusson College Pune and did his Master degree in Social Work from
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai (India). He was awarded Ph. D. by the University of Pune in 2008 for his thesis, “A
study on Impact of Globalization on Socio-Economic Status of Neo-Buddhist Community in Akola District (Maharashtra State)”
and presently working as Associate Professor at Social Sciences Center, Bharti Vidhyapeeth Deemed University, Pune. He has a
teaching and Research experience of More than 15 years and is a recognized guide for M. phil. and Ph.D in Social Work. He is a
Visiting faculty to Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies, Pune and Tilak Maharashtra Deemed University, Pune. He is actively
involved as an activist in Dalit-Backward Class and Buddhist Movement in Maharashtra right from his Childhood and is a general
Secretary of Center for Social Research and Development Activities located in Pune. He is also associated with several Buddhist
Educational Institutions and is founding secretary of Baudha Samaj Shikshan Prasarak Santha, Pune. He has participated and
presented his research papers in several National and International conferences in India and abroad on the Issues related to the
situation of Dalits, Buddhist, backward Class and minority communities in India. There are few books on his credits published
by the National publisher in India and also published number of research based articles in English and Marathi in different
edited books and magazines.
Plight of North Indian Migrants: A Case of Human Rights Violation in Pune City
in Maharashtra
Abstract
The concept of migration even if old it has added different dimensions to it due to the changing socio-economic
and political situations more popularly called as neo liberal era or globalization. Globalization created the
situation of marginalization, exclusion and social disintegration. (Sinha Manoj, 2004) Because of urban centric
model of developments, many rural people are forced to migrate to cities in search of employment and better
living. According to the Census 2001, among the population of 9.69 crore of Maharashtra, 32.32 lakh persons
(3.34 per cent) were in-migrants from other states in India, out of which more than 40 percent were north Indian,
particularly from UP and Bihar. These migrants are the most exploited people; they suffer from insecurity and
social exclusion leading to the gross violation of their fundamental and Human rights.
City of Pune being an Industrial hub and its connectivity to all parts of the country attracts people from all over
India. But the treatments offered to the north Indians from UP and Bihar is discriminatory owing to the sons of
soil politics being practiced by the regional political parties like MNS (Maharshtra Navnirman Sena) and Shiv
Sena. This has occasionally resulted in violence against the north Indian labor force employed in Pune city and
suburbs areas. Many times they had to run away in overnight so as to save their lives. These people despites of
being citizens of India could not enjoy their basic fundamental rights and are constantly subjected to
discrimination, conflicts and violence as a part of vote bank politics. The present paper is an attempt to throw
new lights on the issues of migrants and human rights violation in India. The paper will be based on the analysis
of primary data (personnel interviews, and discussions) collected from north Indians living in Pune City either
singly or with families.
Dinesh Kumar is an Assistant Professor in the Department
of Laws, Panjab University, and Chandigarh, India. His
area of interest is Public International Law and Human
Rights. He has published articles in international and
national journals and participated in various international
and national conferences, workshops. In the recent past,
he was invited to present paper and to participate in two
weeks program on Law, Social Thought and Global
Governance organized by BIARI, Brown University, U.S.A.,
and was awarded a fellowship by the United Nations to
participate in Regional Course in International Law held at
Seoul National University, Republic of Korea. He is actively
involved in teaching and research on TNCs Human Rights
Obligations.
Protection of Cultural Rights under the
Indian Constitution: An Analysis
Abstract
India is a land of myriad ethnic, religious, caste and
linguistic minorities affiliated to distinct belief systems,
sub-cultures and regions. If one goes in deep down in
understanding diverse aspects of Indian cultural and social
ethos, one realizes that the Indian society comprises of an
extremely differentiated structure with a huge diversity in
its cultural ethos. Integration of these diverse
communities, some large enough to aspire to a regional
homeland and others content to remain as part of the
Indian state has been a central preoccupation of Indian
governments since 1947.
India’s Constitution was drafted during Partition, which
had a profound effect on the Constitutional provisions
dealing with minorities. The preamble to the Indian
Constitution says that India is a secular state. Right to
freedom of religion is guaranteed under fundamental
rights and Indians of all religious persuasions have the
freedom to profess, practice and propagate their religion.
India's freedom movement provides insights into how the
main pillars of the Indian Constitution - democracy,
secularism, social justice and fundamental rights were forged over a period of time.
The Constitution also recognises the need for affirmative action provisions for socially and educationally disadvantaged
groups is also significant. The Directive Principle of State Policy in Article 49 obligates the State to protect every
monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal
and export. It is a unique scheme of the Constitution that in addition to a detailed set of rules on fair State-religion
relationship, egalitarian approach towards all religions is embedded in it as citizen’s duty (Article 51-A (e) and (f).
The challenges in the protection of cultural rights arises when Equality as a guaranteed right is applied to different
cultural groups. India adopted the scheme of non-discrimination, minority rights, reservation and affirmative action with
varying degrees of success. Despite the several efforts by the government to improve the condition of the minority,
constitutional guaranteed rights, different institution and commission established to monitor, failed. Minority faces
discrimination, violence and atrocities. It has created a lot of tensions including communal conflicts and security
challenges taking governance difficult. The article will explore to what an extent the institutional mechanism established
under the Constitution and various other statutes protect the minorities ‘identity’, recognizing their distinctive character
while managing diversity?
Various Approaches to Multiculturalism and the Individual Human Rights
Abstract
Last decades brought previously unknown scale of migrations and growing multicultural environments in many
cities and countries. This process in turn creates new problems and previously unknown phenomena with which
societies need to deal.
Ideas about the nature of plural societies differ between countries and the question arises how to organise
societies in this new reality.
Do the word multiculturalism is always understood in
the same way? According to multicultural
psychologist John W. Berry’s model (2011, 2007)
plural societies may implement at least four
JAKUB KRYŚ specialises in the areas
intercultural strategies of absorbing ethno cultural
common
to
the
psychology
and
groups: integration, assimilation, separation, and
multiculturalism. He finalises his Ph.D.
marginalization. Do all the countries name the same
studies at the Institute of Psychology of
Polish Academy of Sciences and Warsaw
phenomena under the word multiculturalism? Another
School of Social Sciences and Humanities.
problem is that there is more and more voices that
multiculturalism cannot co-exist with fundamental
His special interests are Intercultural
individual human rights.
Psychology, Positive Psychology, Social
Psychology as well as the Psychology of
All this leads to the question what exactly
Emotions. Kuba belongs to the Society for
multiculturalism means and what different solutions
Intercultural Education, Training and
may be hidden under this word and how do they relate
Research as well as to the European
to human rights respect or violations.
Association of Social Psychology. He derives
The aim of my presentation is to compare different
his fascination in interculturalism from the
passion of travelling and meeting people
multiculturalism solutions and plural societies basing
from different cultures.
on the examples of various countries and to refer this
comparison to different practices of human rights
respect.
Zia E. MADANI, PhD in Public International
Law is currently an assistant Professor in the
International Relations Department at the
UNESCO Iranian National Center for
Oceanography (Ministry of Science, Research
and Technology). His previous appointments
include Researcher in UNESCO Chair for
Human Rights, Peace and Democracy at
University of Shahid Beheshti; Member of
the Iranian Bar Association; visiting assistant
professor for Master’s Courses in Azad
University Damghan Branch as well as
Bachelor’s courses in Azad University
Eslamshahr and Naragh Branches; Head of
the Iranian Legal Group Participating in the
5th and 6th Henry Dunant Memorial Moot
Court Competition for South Asia, (16-17
October 2009, Dhaka, Bangladesh and 20-22
October 2010, New Delhi, India).
He graduated from Tehran University and
Allameh Tabatabaii University in Master’s
(2005) and Doctorate (2011) Degrees
respectively, was born and lives in Tehran.
He has publications namely in the area of
Human Rights Law, Humanitarian Law as
well as Law of the Sea.
Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations of States
and the Issue of Cultural Rights
Abstract
International human rights law has been recognized for years to enjoy a character
that sets it apart from more traditional areas of international law, in particular in
the way in which it attempts to intervene directly in the relationship between the
State and its citizens. For this reason, and because its most immediately felt
impacts are often with regard to this aforementioned relationship, much of the
literature in human rights has tended to concentrate on issues relating to the
implementation of international human rights standards within the internal
jurisdiction of each State Party. However, there is another issue of great
importance that requires further exploration and which, thus far, has been far less
well theorized in the international literature, namely to what extent do the
obligations placed by international human rights treaties on their States Parties
extend beyond their immediate territories.
Hence, Human rights treaty obligations of state are not narrow to its territory and
attained extraterritorial horizons. One of the significant horizons is the
implementation of such obligations in areas beyond state sovereignty, is during
armed conflicts in which it is normally international humanitarian law that has the
individual protection functions. Discussion of the extraterritorial human rights
obligations usually tends to focus on civil and political rights. But human rights
law is far richer than those two topics in particular, or even than the whole realm
of civil and political rights in general. The set of rights known as economic,
social and cultural rights are equal members of the human rights family. If human
rights law applies extraterritorially, particularly during armed conflict, then it can
be assumed, unless otherwise stated, that this holds true for the whole body of
human rights law and does not exclude economic, social and cultural rights. On
the contrary, even the International Court of Justice has affirmed the applicability
of economic, social and cultural rights obligations in an extraterritorial situation,
specifically situations to which International Humanitarian Law is applicable.
Among the Three aforementioned rights, this paper tends to examine the cultural
rights and the extraterritorial obligation of states with regard to this type of rights
in areas beyond state sovereignty.
The Principle of Non-Transgression in Islamic
Humanitarian Law
Abstract
The “Islamic Law of War” is part of the Islamic legal system. It
concerns the conduct of hostilities in the face of the enemy in the
time of war. The Islamic legal system incorporates a number of
principles aiming at the protection of individuals, non-combatants
and the civilian population in general. All these principles are
based on the fundamental axiom of non- aggression which is
pivotal in the Islamic humanitarian law. It follows from one
interpretation of a verse in the Holy Quran to which I subscribe.
There are, of course, other interpretations not leading to that
conclusion. My aim here is to defend and expound that
interpretation, and explain why it contributes to peace among
nations and a better life.
Mostafa Mohaghegh Damad had two
separate courses of education. He first
attended the Fayzieh School at Qum, Iran,
where he received his traditional Islamic
education in Arabic language and literature,
Qur’an and hadith, Islamic philosophy,
theology and jurisprudence. On this
background he achieved the status of
Mujtahid (Ayatollah) in 1970. Parallel to his
traditional studies he pursued a modern
academic education, first at Tehran
University. There he made his B.A. in
Islamic Philosophy (1969) and his M.A. in
Islamic Jurisprudence (1980). After that he
went to Belgium, where he made his Ph.D.
in Law (Doctorat en Droit) at the Catholic
University of Louvain-la-Neuve in 1996.
Currently, he is a professor in Faculty of
Law at Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran.
He has been a fellow member of The
Iranian Academy of Science since 1988.
Abul Bashar Mohammad Abu Noman is an Associate Professor of Law, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. He did my LL.B
(Honours) and LL.M. from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. He also did my second level LL.M. in Human Rights
under Dr. Sohmen Human Rights Scholarship Program from the University of Hong Kong.
He worked as a consultant of the USAID sponsored project on Promotion of Human Rights Advocacy through Human Rights
education & conscientiousness and a team leader of the project on Developing and Disseminating Human Rights Education
Curriculum for the Secondary School Students. He also worked as Coordinator of Street Law Program, a human rights
awareness-building project sponsored by USAID. A good number of articles have already been published to my credit in
various referred academic journals on different issues ranging from human rights, labour rights, child rights, women rights,
environmental law, good governance, access to justice and post-conflict justice. He has participated and presented paper in
various conferences, seminars and workshop at home and abroad. He is also associated with a number of national and
international human rights organizations.
Enforcement of International Human Rights Law by Domestic Court:
Bangladesh Perspective
Abstract
There is a substantial body of norms of international
human rights law, both in international conventions
and customs. However, the international
mechanism to enforce human rights worldwide is
rather weak. On the other hand, domestic courts
have remained largely unutilized as concerns
enforcing international human rights law. This is
primarily owing to different state perceptions
concerning the interrelation between international
law and municipal law, and the resultant diverging
views they take to implement norms of international
law in the state territories. This tends to weaken the
international human rights enforcement regime.
There is a need to emphasize the legal and binding
nature of international obligations and to involve
domestic courts to ensure compliance. The
importance of and contemporary movement for the
protection and promotion of human rights has
further underlined this need. The increasing
recognition of individuals as subjects of
international law, especially international human
rights law, has added new dimension. Invoking
international human rights law in domestic courts,
therefore, merits special consideration. The issue of
invoking international human rights law in domestic
courts would invariably bring to focus the
relationship between international law and domestic
law and the status of international law in domestic
legal system as well as the role of domestic courts
in relation to the application of international law.
Bangladesh as a member of the common law
community is no different from other common law
countries where incorporation of the international
law into the domestic law and application of
international instruments are becoming increasingly
frequent. However, Bangladesh position in relation
to domestic application of international law is
characterized by paucity of case laws, ambiguity of
constitutional and statutory provisions, and
reluctance of the judges as well as the lawyers to
refer to international
instruments. These
characteristics are largely the functions of
traditional and stereotyped thinking of our legal
community, lack of willingness to know more of
international legal development, lack of sufficient
emphasis on international law in our law school
curriculum, and finally rigid adherence to common
law principles with little or no interest to take
anything from civil law system, or even with little
interest to have a look at other common law
jurisdictions which are now devoting more time and
toil to accommodate international law within
domestic jurisdiction. The aims of this paper are to
examine how the problem of domestic
implementation of international norms is addressed
in Bangladesh and to search for the way forward for
ensuring effective enforcement of international
human rights law in Bangladesh.
Mohd. Azizuddin Mohd. Sani is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Chairman at the College of Law,
Government and International Studies. He got 10 years experience as an academic. His Bachelor
of Art (Hons) and Master of Art in Political Science are from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. He
obtained his Ph.D in Politics and International Relations from Keele University, UK in 2007. His PhD
thesis is entitled “Social Responsibility” and Theory and Practice of Freedom of Political Speech in
Malaysia. His areas of expertise are on Human Rights, Political Theory, Civil Liberty, Malaysian
Politics, Democratisation and Media Studies. His latest publications are books entitled “Freedom
of Political Speech and Social Responsibility in Malaysia” (Bangi: UKM Press, 2010) and “The Public
Sphere and Media Politics in Malaysia” (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009). He also
published his work in many journals such as Journal of Contemporary Asia, Asian Journal of
Political Science, Taiwan Journal of Democracy, Harvard Asia Quarterly and the latest North
Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation (to access the article:
http://www.law.unc.edu/documents/journals/articles/994.pdf)
Human Dignity as an Alternative to Human Rights?: Malaysia’s Argument to
Protect Communitarianism and Islam
Abstract
This paper tries to find a better understanding of the
theory and debate of human dignity in Malaysian
perspective. This is because many scholars and
activists are confused in dealing with the theoretical
debates and issues of human rights. Human rights
from the West tend to be very individualistic which
is incompatible with the Malaysian (or Asian)
understanding of rights which are collectivistic and
stress more on duties and responsibilities.
Therefore, the language of human dignity is suited
more to Malaysians than human rights. This is
because when arguing about duties and
responsibilities, it is actually about human dignity,
not human rights. In tradition, Asian and Western
alike, human dignity is more important in order to
not only protect people’s rights but people also have
to perform his or her duty to self and the society. At
the same time, they must be responsible in any
action taken by them. This paper also discusses the
concept of human dignity in Malaysia which is
unique because Islam and the Malay (the majority
population
in
Malaysia)
custom
merged
harmoniously. The ingredient of human dignity is
strongly embedded in local communitarian culture
and values which make it relevant to the current
political, social and cultural scenario in Malaysia.
Thus this paper will trace the current debate of
human dignity in Malaysia especially when Islam
strongly involved in the debate such as in the case
of pornography, hate speech and policing moral
behaviour. Although it is controversial, it makes
Malaysia unique and different from other country in
the world.
Keywords: human dignity, human rights, Islam,
duty and responsibility, Malaysia.
1
Facing the Poverty: from Charity to Right to
Development
Nasrin Mosaffa is Associate Professor
of International Relations from
University of Tehran. She was the first
Director of the Center for Human
Rights Studies in the Faculty of Law
and Political Science at the University
of Tehran, where previously she was
deputy and acting dean for a period.
Dr. Mosaffa is the author of eight
books and more than fifty scholarly
articles. She has been Director of the
Center for Graduate International
Studies (1997 - 2010).
She carried out implementation of a
five years joint project of Islamic
Republic of Iran and UNDP under the
title "National Capacity Building for
Human Rights Promotion and Greater
Access to Justice" with the
cooperation of eight Iranian partners
from government, academia and civil
society as National Project Director
from 2005.
Alongside other activities in UN
processes; in 2005, she was shortlisted
as one of the final candidates for
Independent Expert on Human Rights
and International Solidarity.
She has been a visiting professor at
Nottingham and Oxford Universities,
and visitor researcher at University of
Essex in 2010 - 2011.Her main areas of
interest are the International human
rights, women’s right, children and the
disabled.
Abstract
The discourse on the right to development has evolved significantly since
25 years ago that it was proclaimed in Declaration on Rights to
Development. Initially it was described as a right that was qualitatively
different from other rights reaffirmed in Human Rights instruments. It had a
normative function in offering a legal framework for humanising the global
inequality and facing the poverty.
Poverty is the most real fact of daily life of large portion of people across
the world and has a long history. Assisting those in need because of poverty
has a long tradition and worldwide reach; every culture got its own moral
course of help to the poors.
Facing poverty and end to injustice is regarded as a social doctrine that has
been important and caused wide range of activities from individual helps to
charities. This article will argue that those activities now are evolved in
form of ‘right to development’, an evolution that led to moral and legal
definition of right to development. Strengthening human rights needs
universal and philosophical foundations in various cultures rather than
political or economic one, right to development is rooted in humanity. This
article wants to examine the common grounds of charity and right to
development such as people’s well-being.
2
Does the Covenant on the Rights of the Child in
Islam Provide Adequate Protection for Children
Affected by Armed Conflicts?
Abstract
More than a quarter of the global population of two billion children lives in
Islamic countries; therefore, their protection is vital while a handful of them
are suffering from lack of hygiene, education, and poverty. The current
armed conflict in different ways also has an effect and seriously impacts
children as victims and associates in armed groups. Organization of Islamic
Cooperation (OIC) as a collective voice of its 57 members, initiated a series
of efforts in this regard. Islamic texts and traditions show significant
importance for child protection, but what has been done until today by OIC
as a main intergovernmental Organization guided by Islamic principles,
values and norms, is not sufficient. Covenant on the Rights of the Child in
Islam is the first human rights binding document adopted by OIC as part of
consecutive efforts of OIC to promote protection of children. Although it is
regarded as an important step, its adequacy for protection of children
affected by armed conflicts is under question. Furthermore, in comparison
to International Humanitarian Law and Convention on the Rights of the
Child, it does not reflect proportionately and further provisions for children
affected, with regard to the extent and the dimensions of conflicts in Islamic
countries.
Anna Müller-Funk graduated from Aston University (UK) and the Center
for the Study of Global Ethics at the University of Birmingham (UK) and
is now a Phd student at the University of Vienna. She works as a
Researcher at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights in
Vienna.
What Part Should Duty Play
in Moral Motivation? A
Discussion of Kant’s
Categorical Imperative
Abstract
Kant’s Categorical Imperative is one of
the universalist moral frameworks that
had a wide impact on legal and political
concepts of human rights. In his moral
theory duty and the starting point of this
discussion is therefore his definition of
duty and his perception of what role duty
plays in the moral motivation of “rational
beings”. This will be followed by a critical
assessment of Kant’s claim and its
underlying assumptions. The outset of the
discussion will be the role of reason, which forms the basis of the concept of duty. It will be concluded that
Kant’s conception of it has some short-comings and displays a problematic derivation of human worth.
Following this discussion I will then turn to the generality of the Kantian moral theory and investigate its
limitations in adapting to the differences and contexts of both, situations and individuals. Consequently, the last
part of this paper is concerned with the role of reason. I will explore the validity of inclinations as motives,
Marcia Barons’ concept of “overdetermined actions” and will discuss if they – contrary to Kant’s claims, do
have a moral worth. This paper will end with the conclusion, that in a strict Kantian understanding duty can and
should not be the only source of moral motivation, and is contrasted by Baron's interpretation of duty and moral
motivation.
Manfred Nowak Born 1950 in Bad Aussee (Austria), 1973 Promotion (Dr.
Iur.) University of Vienna, 1975 LL.M Columbia University (New York), since
1992 Director of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights (Vienna),
1993-2001 Member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances, 1996- 2003 Judge at the Human Rights Chamber of
Bosnia- Herzegovina, 2000-2007 Chairperson of the “European Master’s
Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation” (E.MA, Venice), 2002 2003 Olof Palme Visiting Fellow at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of
Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI, Lund/Sweden), 2002- 2006
Member of the EU Network of Independent Experts in Fundamental
Rights, 2004 - October 2010 UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, 2007-2008
Professor for International Human Rights Protection at the University of
Vienna; 2008 Member and Rapporteur of a Panel of Eminent Persons
selected by the Swiss Foreign Minister to draft an Agenda for Human
Rights; 2008 - 2009 Swiss Chair on Human Rights, Graduate Institute,
Geneva; since 2008 head of the interdisciplinary research platform
“Human Rights in the European Context” (University of Vienna); Member
of the Austrian Monitoring Body of the UN Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities; since 2009 head of interdisciplinary PhD
Research School “Empowerment through Human Rights” (University of
Vienna) Member of the Coordinating Committee of UN Special
Procedures; Chair of COST Action “The Role of the EU in the Human Rights
Reform”; since 2011 Professor for International Law and Human Rights at
the University of Vienna; author of more than 400 publications in the fields
of constitutional, administrative and international law with a focus on
fundamental and human rights.
The Relation of International Human Rights Law and Humanitarian Law: The
Crime of Torture
Abstract
The prohibition of torture is one of the very few absolute and non-derogable rights, under both, human rights law
and International Humanitarian Law. The paper will thus start by distinguishing different types of ill-treatment,
to assess the different legal approaches of human rights law and International Humanitarian Law towards the
crime of torture. It will be concluded that the differences with regards to the definition of torture and cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) are rather minimal. The paper will therefore proceed to the analysis of
the differences with regards to the criminalisation of torture, both under human rights law and International
Humanitarian Law. In the conclusion the paper will provide an overview of the strengths and shortcomings of
both approaches.
Ozoda Nurmatova is the young researcher and the member staff of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan - working in the
OSCE’s Political and Military Dimension in the Counter-Terrorism and Police Unit. She received her Master degree in Political
Science-Central Asia at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2009. Her couple research works include: Analysis of the
Possible Cooperation between the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), the OSCE, and the EU in Central Asia (2009);
Consequences of the Mined Fields between the Tajik and Uzbek Borders (2010); Causes of Street Children in Istanbul (2009)
E-mails: [email protected]
Case Study: Cultural Barriers and Young Females’ Rights to Education in Rural
Community of Tajikistan
Abstract
“Education for women – is education for family,
for community, for nation.”
African proverb
This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on
social status of women in Tajikistan. Powerlessness,
helplessness, repressed sexuality, limited role in the
family and community and moreover adherence to
traditions - are the most frequent talks about the
Tajik women’s place in the society and family.
During the Soviet era in Tajikistan efforts were
made to change the condition of women. Attempts
were directed on increase of a level of women’s
education and their involvement to participation in
social production. These measures seemed
successful and they really changed a traditional way
of life of women. However inequality of women
remained up to collapse of the Soviet regime and
was aggravated during the Civil War (1992-97)
period when women began to return to performance
of traditional roles. Tajikistan gained independence
in 1991. The Civil War had a negative impact not
only on the standard of living but also strongly
influenced the role of women in society.
Traditional, especially Islamic beliefs of women
associated with the house were strengthened during
the conflict. In the last decade, Tajik authority with
the support of International Community gave
special attention to education of girls in rural
community of Tajikistan. It is of concern that very
few Tajik young females in the rural areas attend
school or complete the nine-year compulsory
education after primary school. The majority of
population (74%) in Tajikistan constitutes rural
inhabitants, living in more than thousand villages.
This means that the mainstream of isolated young
females from schools live in the remote rural areas.
By taking into consideration this complex cultural
dilemma, the research attempts to highlight the
traditional barriers restraining young females from
full school education in the rural areas of Tajikistan.
It thus, marginally encompasses answers for
possible question like, why is the contribution of
female community important for the development
and stability of the country.
Gulbahor Jumaboeva is the young researcher and the member staff of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan - working in
the OSCE’s Political and Military Dimension in the Counter-Terrorism and Police Unit. She received her Master degree in
Political Science-Central Asia at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2005. Her couple research works include:
Coexistence of Islam and Secular Society in Tajikistan; Cross-Border Conflicts in Fergana valley; The Role of Traditional and
Non-Traditional Society in Tajikistan; The Poverty Reduction Strategy in Tajikistan.
Zacharie Serge Raoul NYANID is a career
diplomat, graduate of the International Relations
Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) where he is an
Associate Lecturer. Since he researched his PhD in
Political Science at the University of Yaoundé II,
he has been working as a consultant at the
Research and Documentation Center of the
National School of Administration and Magistracy.
He is also an Expert of the Cameroon-Nigeria
Mixte Commission for the implementation of the
ICJ decision of 10 October 2002 pertaining to the
border conflict between the two countries. His
work in this Commission earned him the honorary
title of ‘Knight of Merit’. He has published several
articles on socio-political crisis in Africa, as well as
on security issues in the Middle East. He is Sub
Director for the Middle East at the Cameroon
Ministry of External Relations.
Abstract
The question of the ‘universal’ or ‘relative’
character of the rights declared in the major
instruments of the human rights movement has long
been a source of debate and contention. These
understandings of the character of human rights
have sometimes been presented as alternatives, as
extreme visions with no neutral ground between
them, and sometimes as allowing for a more
complex view that considers some norms as
universal, some as relative to context and culture.
The principle of universalism of human rights
norms that streams through the universal
instruments starting with the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights rests on the fundamental claim of
equal human dignity. On the one hand, the main
argument is that basically, all rights and values are
defined and limited by cultural perceptions and
since there is no universal culture, there are no
universal human rights. In this situation, the
challenge of human rights is to identify the common
denominators rather than to dwell on the
impossibility of universalism. This paper argues
that the universality of human rights does not
presuppose uniformity and cultural diversity is not
incompatible with the enrichment and enjoyment of
human rights.
Asserting the universality of human rights does not
necessarily suggest that our views of human rights
transcend all possible philosophical, cultural or
religious differences or represent an aggregation of
the world’s ethical and philosophical trends of
thought. Rather, it is enough that they do not
contradict the ideals and aspirations of any society,
and that they reflect our common humanity. For the
standards being proclaimed internationally to
become reality, we have to work towards their
‘indigenization’, their assertion within each
country’s traditions and history. This is possible
considering that culture is constantly evolving in
any living society, responding to both internal and
external stimuli, and there is much in every culture
that societies quite naturally outgrow and reject.
This means that if a multidimensional approach is
adopted within the human rights consensus, this can
enrich the corpus of human rights and better
guarantee their enjoyment by all peoples.
Challenges to Operationalizing the R2P
in Libya by UNSC and NATO
Abstract
The current paper seeks to study the challenges to
operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect by the
Security Council and consequently NATO’s
intervention in Libya. The main question of the
research is: what are the main challenges to
operationalizing the Responsibility to Protect by the
Security Council and NATO in Libya? A simple
answer to the main question of the research could
be the explicit interpretation of the concept of
security by the Security Council and NATO,
persistence of a political approach and
discriminative attitude of the members of the
Security Council and to put it short the mingling of
the International Law and Global Politics. The
social uprising in Libya in 2011 faced heavy crack
down by the government, a situation which was
named the Characteristic Violation of Human
Rights by the Human Rights Council. General
assembly suspended Libya’s membership in the
Human Rights Council and the Security Council
passed two resolutions under chapter VII of the
charter (resolution 1970, 1973) and called the
situation in Libya a threat against International
peace and security and authorized NATO’s recourse
to military force in order to protect the civilians,
establish no fly zone and impose arms embargo.
The Libya’s case was the first time that the newly
emerged Responsibility to Protect and the role of
the Security Council was put to a serious practical
test. The research has enjoyed descriptive-analytical
Jafar Yaghoubi was born on 11 September 1986
in Abadeh. After graduating from high school in
2002, he continued his studies at Shahid Beheshti
University and obtained his B.A in political
science in 2007. After graduation he has taught
English at an institute for one year and
afterwards he started his studies at the School of
International Relations in 2009. Currently he is
taking an M.A in Diplomacy and International
Organizations. He is fluent in English and French
and can communicate in Spanish.
Seyyed Mehdi Parsaei was born in 1986 . He
completed his BA at the University of Yazd in Political
Science. He received his MA in International Peace
and Security, recently graduated from School of
International Relations. His research area lies in
conflict and peace, Middle East Political issues and
Uk’s foreign policy. He participated in Zeytun
Exchange Program 2011 in the Framework of
Exchange Diplomacy between School of International
Relations and Amsterdam University in Netherlands.
Personally he enjoys cooking and riding his bike
around.
methodology and the findings suggest that the case
of Libya has unearthed many challenges to the
implementing of this doctrine. Based on the
findings we have observed the mingling of
Humanitarian purposes embedded in the doctrine of
Responsibility to Protect with the political and
military intentions of powerful countries. As well as
the aforementioned challenges, Security Council
members’ interpretation of responsibility to protect
which is tantamount to recourse to violence is
another critical challenge. There is no tangible
difference between NATO’s current interpretation
of Responsibility to protect doctrine and the
previous version which is abrogated; the
Humanitarian Intervention in the 1990’s. The
Security Council and NATO so flagrantly prefer the
third pillars of the responsibility to protect over the
first and second ones. The examples of NATO’s
violation of the resolution 1973 in the regime
change policy and also the flouting of
discrimination principle (discriminating between
military and civilian zones) on one hand, and the
selective approach of the Security Council, derived
from veto right, towards the Arab Spring ignoring
the case of Bahrain on the other could be considered
as other challenges. Notwithstanding the challenges
mentioned above, this paper, under no
circumstances whatsoever, ignores the positive
roles of the Security Council and NATO, and their
effective quick action in Libya.
Keywords: responsibility to protect, Security
Council, NATO, Libya
Islam as a Challenge to European Tolerance
Abstract
Branislav RADELJIĆ is a Senior Lecturer in
International Politics at the University of
East London. His current research focuses
on the study of European Union politics,
Eastern Europe and presence of Islam.
Accordingly, he has published the
following articles: "How Do European
Young Muslims View European Identity?"
(Etnoantropološki problemi), "Islam in the
European Union: Key Issues and Debates"
(Journal of Islamic Thought and
Civilization),"Questionable
Adaptation:
Young Muslims and European Identity"
(European Journal on Child and Youth
Research) and "Growing Concerns about
Islam in the European Union" (Review of
International
Affairs).
In
addition,
hisforthcoming book will look at European
Community involvement in the Yugoslav
state crisis and the role of non-state
actors.
This paper argues that the present European Union struggles
with the tolerance. According to Michael Ignatieff, “[t]he
essential task in teaching ‘toleration’ is to help people see
themselves as individuals, and then to see others as such – that
is, to make problematic that unthought, unconsidered fusion of
personal and group identity on which racism depends. For
racism and intolerance are, at a conceptual level, procedures
of abstraction in which actual, real individuals in all their
specificity are depersonalized and turned into ciphers or
carriers of hated group characteristics.1 If looking closer at the
concept of European tolerance, “with its philosophical
foundations and political aims, [it] was the result of persistent
efforts by different and quarrelling peoples who basically were
not tolerant at all.”2 For example, in regard to Muslims, apart
from seeing the burqa as a symbol for “the repression that
women can suffer in Islam” and a threat to “security, sexual
equality and secularism,” some European governments would
like to see it banned although “banning it altogether would be
an infringement on the individual rights which their culture
normally struggles to protect.”3 Out of 5 million Muslims in
France, only about 2000 cover their face fully. This microminority was enough for the National Assembly to pass a draft
law on 13 July 2010 stating that “no one can, in the public
space, wear clothing intended to hide the face.” 4 By becoming
law, the ban is expected to apply both to the residents and
visitors in France and offenders will face penalties, fines or
prison.5 Thus, while the French leaders justify the ban as the
right way to fight all forms of religious extremism, they
cannot predict possible reactions. Indeed, if talking about
consequences of the ban, the most dangerous aspect seems
overlooked: the French leadership has ignored the fact that the
decision to ban burqas “may stigmatize Islam and create a
defensive reaction” across the EU.6
Ignatieff, Michael, “Nationalism and the Narcissism of Minor Differences,” in Ronald Beiner (ed),
Theorizing Nationalism, Albany, NY, SUNY Press, 1999, p. 101.
2 Friesel, Evyatar, The Days and the Seasons, Detroit, MI, Wayne State University Press, 1996, p. 102.
3 “A Bad Idea,” The Economist, 15 May 2010, p. 18.
4 Quoted in Bobby Ghosh, “The Moment,” Time, 26 July 2010, p. 7.
5 Gauthier-Villars, David, “France Advances Ban on Some Islamic Veils,” The Wall Street Journal, 14 July
2010, p. A15.
6 “Running for Cover,” The Economist, Internet: http://www.economist.com/node/16113091/print,
26/07/2010.
1
SANOJ RAJAN is presently working with the ICRC as the Academic Programmes
Responsible/Legal Adviser for the Academic Circles at the Regional Delegation for South
Asia, New Delhi. He is an academician who is specialising on Public International Law,
International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law. He has his LLM and PhD in
International Law and has around ten years of experience in International Law teaching.
Before joining ICRC he has served as an Associate Professor in the University of Kerala till
2008.Presently he is a Visiting Professor to Indian Society of International Law, New Delhi,
Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, ITM University, New Delhi and University of Kannur, Kerala.
He also has research publications in various reputed journals and has attended and
presented papers in various national and international seminars.
South Asia and its contribution to International Humanitarian Law Synopsis
Abstract
Diversity of culture is the face mark of the South
Asian region. It has been a cradle of many major
religions of the world and all other religions has
gone through a major phase of their evolution in
this region. The people in this region differ in their
language, race, creed, colour, religion and custom.
In spite of these diversities, the common threads,
which unifies the population here for centuries, are
certain humanitarian values that are intertwined in
the cultures in the South Asia.
Be it in Hinduism, Buddhism or Jainism and in
certain extend to the Islamic practices followed,
these humanitarian values have great say in the way
of life in these region and can be identified with the
modern Human Rights and Humanitarian
principles. The concept of 'Desha Dharma'1 of
Hindius in ancient India, 'wars of self defence and
the peaceful resolution of disputes'2 under Buddhist
teachings are classic examples of this.
C. J. Chacko, 'International Law in India', IJIL,
vol.1, p.184, at p.199.
1
C.G. Weeramantry, Bhuddism and International
Humanitarian Law, Oxford Handbook of
International Humanitarian Law, p.5.
2
Much discussions and research had been carried out
in past on this areas, but it remains unexplored to
the full extend. There are still potential areas in
these cultures, which can bring out new dimensions
to the present Human Rights and Humanitarian
Laws.
Good examples for this are specific IHL related
rules specific to certain regions / ethnic groups like
the Chinarole of Manipur and duels in lieu of
battles among the 'Chekavars' of ancient Malabar
coast in India.
The purpose of this paper is twofold; first an
attempt is made to consolidate the various
principles and values in South Asian region, which
contribute to the study of modern Human Rights
and Humanitarian law. Secondly a case study
discussion on the war practices of the 'Chekavars' of
the ancient Malabar Coast in India which is in
consonance with principles of distinction,
proportionality and other means and methods of
warfare in modern International Humanitarian Law.
The Role of Cultural Diversity in Promoting a
Culture of Peace
Abstract
Mohamamad Reza Saeidabadi is the
Assistant Professor of International
Relations at the Faculty of World
Studies at the University of Tehran. He
is also the Secretary General of Iranian
National Commission for UNESCO. He
has been the visiting fellow at the Chair
of International Politics at Potsdam
University in 2008. Dr Saeidabadi has
published many scientific papers and
book chapters and also has given many
talks in national and international
conferences.
This paper will address the link between cultural diversity and a
culture of peace. When cultures are politicized, encircled and
deprived from their logical share of a voice and image in the
international arena, conditions will not be in favor of a culture of
peace.
A culture of peace cannot be developed and nurtured in the absence
of cultural diversity, as a major component of sustainable
development in the world. This paper will, therefore, shed light on
the different pillars of sustainable development and the method(s) by
which cultural diversity and a culture of peace, which are
intertwined, can contribute to the advancement of sustainable
development in the world.
The Paper will examine theories that are in conflict with cultural
diversity, culture of peace and humanity. In this view, theories that
prescribe deconstruction and construction as the best way to divert
crisis, doctrines which see liberal democracy as the only available
political and economic system and theories that view conflict among
civilizations as inevitable are altogether not in line with a culture of
peace.
“States’ Obligation to Protect Against Human Rights Violations by Non-State
Actors”
Abstract
States’ obligations have long been recognized in international law and relations. For many decades, these
obligations were limited in scope and depth. In recent decades, in the light of development of customary and
obligatory international laws, States’ obligations have gradually been widen in many areas such as foreign
nationals, human rights, international criminal acts, humanitarian law etc. Of these advancements, is the
emergence of State’s obligations towards individual persons and groups. This trend of obligation is relied upon
the rise and significance of International Human Rights Law which view States as obligees towards individual
human beings, groups and communities. These new States’ obligations consist of obligation to respect,
obligation to fulfill, and obligation to protect. With the increasing role of individual persons and groups in
International Law, they are recognized both as
holders of rights and subjects to obligations. It is
Azar Safari was born in 1987. She has B.A. degree in
suggested that the more the violations committed
law from the Faculty of Law of Shahid Beheshti
University, Tehran, in 2009. She was admitted to M.A.
against individual persons and groups by Non-States
program in Human Rights Law at Allame University, in
Actors, the more responsible the States in
Tehran, where she is writing her thesis on “The States’
International human Rights Law should be. On the
Obligation to prevent of Human Rights violations by
other hand, it is also suggested that parallel to such
Non-State Actors”.Her major academic interests are
States’ obligations, individual persons, groups,
Children’s Rights, History, International Human Rights
corporations, sub-national entities should also be
Law, and Humanitarian Law. The present paper has
subjected to International obligations where they
been extracted from her M.A. thesis.
infringe individual persons’ rights. In any case of
violations by Non-States’ Actors, the State concerned
should be ready to accept the final responsibility,
whether directly or indirectly. The obligation to
protect may require a range of obligations varying
from negative actions to particular positive actions,
depending on the relevant violation. Now, due to the
wave of globalization, privatization, and liberalization
of economy, the functions of private and Non-States
Actors in different spheres of society, have drastically been changed and upheld. The new social roles of NonStates Actors have both positive and negative impacts on the advancement or slowness of the institutionalization
of civil society and democratic values. Many instances of infringements of Human Rights have been committed
by Non-States persons or groups which may directly or indirectly sponsored by States. In some other instances,
violations have been made without any link to any States. Consequently, it is urged that the rules of International
Law should aim at developing a new form of obligation to address adequately the issue of the infringement of
Human Rights by such Non-States Actors. Even though the concept and scope of the obligation to protect are not
clearly formulated in International Law, this paper will try to examine the possibility of the development of
States’ obligation to protect with emphasis on the cultural rights of persons and groups.
Parents’ Right to Choose the Kind of Their Children’s Education; the Role of
Culture in Human Development
Abstract
One of the important areas of the entrance of culture in international
human rights generally and child’s rights specifically is the parents’ right
to choose the kind of their children education. In this respect, we are
faced with the parents’ entitlement to choose their children educational
approaches based on their own culture, thoughts and views. Considering
the cultural diversity within societies and different and somehow
contesting customs and beliefs, the lack of certain legal framework for
implementing this right will influence the implementation of children’s
right to education and makes it adherent to parents taste and attitudes. On
the other hand, it may be proposed that parents should enjoy from limited
authority to choose the kind of their children’ education and more
authorities should be granted to the governments and educational entities
to impose their own norms and standards although against the rights of
parents and children. Various cases in the world can be mentioned as
examples for both situations. This study tries to answer the following
questions:
What is the extent of the parents’ right to choose the kind of their children
education?
Does this right provide the ground for the insertion of various cultural
approaches in human development?
How should the contradiction between parents’ cultural approaches and
governments’ authority be solved?
How is it possible to prepare the ground for the appropriate enjoyment of
this parental right through enrichment of culture and family values?
What is the approach of international legal instruments?
This study, investigating the aforementioned questions, tries to identify
the best way according to child’s right, so that cultural capacities within
societies will be applied properly. It is worthy of mentioning that various
theoretical sources as well as judicial practices will be reviewed in this
study.
●
●
●
Mahya Saffarinia, PhD, was
educated in International Relations
and Human Rights Law, Assistant
Professor
at
Imam
Sadegh
University,
Instructor
of
international organizations, Human
rights law, and family law in
International Instruments, Islam and
Human rights, Public international
law and legal texts. Also, she is
Writer and Translator of books,
articles and researches on family law
and human rights law. She has
participated at many International
human rights meetings and forums.
●
●
●
Human Security, Culture and Universal Peace
Abstract
Human beings have become mute spectators of
violence in various parts of the world. Wars,
terrorism, genocides, as some of the world violence
features, are terrible realities of today. It is clear that
it cannot be denied conflicts between human beings
can no longer be settled by breach of human rights
principles. End of the cold war has created a series
of tentative attempts to define "a new world order".
Since then, the international community has entered
a period of tremendous global transition.
Undoubtedly, this transition has established social
and human security problems more than solutions.
End of super-power rivalry, the growing
North/South disparity in wealth and access to
resources, coincides with an alarming increase in
violence, poverty and disintegration.
The world has also witnessed one of the most
severe global economic recessions since the Great
Depression of the 1930s. At the same time,
previously isolated peoples are being brought
together voluntarily and involuntarily by the
increasing integration of markets, the emergence of
new regional political alliances and remarkable
advances in telecommunications, biotechnology and
Hossein Sartipi is PhD student in Ecommerce Law at UKM and in
International Law at PNU, lecturer in
University at the School of Law and
Media, legal officer in Iranian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, former
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
General Manager in Iranian Atomic
Energy Organization and also former
Legal Manager in Iranian Supreme
National Security Council.
transportation. Such problems have prompted
unprecedented demographic shifts. In Addition, the
resulting confluence of cultures of peoples and
trend to be secure is an increasingly global and
multicultural world that has been seen with tension,
confusion and conflict in the process of its
adjustment to pluralism. There is an understandable
urge to return to old conventions, traditional
cultures, fundamental values, and the familiar,
seemingly secure, sense of one's identity.
Over five decades, adoption of the Declaration of
Human Rights granted a great progress in
promoting an understanding and respect for its
principles. But creating a world which embraces the
principles of non-violence, respect for human
rights, sustainable development and cultural
diversity still faces many challenges. Current global
trends threaten entire segments of societies with
social, economic and cultural marginalization and
have been raised as human security. Culture of
Peace has changed some definition in international
community. It is a set of values, attitudes, modes of
behavior and ways of life that reject violence and
prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes.
Regarding this issue, the year 2000, designated by
the UN as the International Year for a Culture of
Peace, was an inception for a global movement to
expand the culture.
This situation sharpens a long-standing dilemma:
How can universal human rights exist in a culturally
diverse world? As the international community
becomes increasingly integrated, how with cultural
diversity would be achieved comprehensive
universal peace? Is a global culture inevitable? If
so, is the world ready for it? How could a global
culture emerge based on and guided by human
security? These are some of the issues, concerns
and questions underlying the debate over universal
human rights and cultural relativism. It would be
attempted to prepared logical and practical answer
above mentioned questions.
Mehdi Shabannia Mansour was born in 1983 in Iran. He is PhD Candidate in
National University of Malaysia (UKM) now and Lawyer and Legal Advisor and
Lecturer in Iran. He studies in Public Law. His main areas of expertise are Human
Rights and Labor Law.
Freedom of speech for non-Malaysian citizens under Federal Constitution of
Malaysia and Universal Declaration Human Rights: A comparative study
Abstract
Freedom and freedom of speech has been
considered by human being for a long time.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental right of the
people that many people try to achieve their rights
during the time and they face many problems and
sometimes lost their life. According to the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights “all people
are equal and everyone has a right to freedom of
speech and expression and these are for all people
in a society without any exception”. Therefore, by
considering these articles all people in a country are
equal such as citizen or non – citizen and they must
have an equal right. But in Malaysia Federal
Constitution in article 10 doesn’t cover the
noncitizen for freedom of speech and freedom of
expression. According to Article 10 “Every citizen
has the right to freedom of speech and expression.”
This research shows the study about the freedom of
speech for non-Malaysian citizens under Malaysian
constitution law and The Universal Declaration
Human Rights by comparative research and
specially principles of comparative topic. Usually
Malaysia has lots of tourist annually. According to
official statistics published in 2010, Malaysian
population was approximately twenty-four million
while at the same time this country was the host of
more than twenty five million tourists. This means
that tourist population is over a fixed population of
Malaysian citizens. These tourists stay in Malaysia
for a long time and in fact they live in Malaysia. In
addition, millions of students from different
countries study in Malaysia to finish their studies
and these cause foreign students to live for several
years in Malaysia. However, according to this
information, Malaysia becomes a distinctive
country. Despite articles of the Universal
Declaration Human Rights freedom of speech is not
considered for non Malaysian citizens under
Federal Constitution Malaysia. So this problem
must be solve by changing the rule or adopt an act
for non-citizens who live in Malaysia for a long
time.
Key words: freedom - freedom of speech - nonMalaysian citizens - Federal Constitution of
Malaysia - Universal Declaration Human Rights.
Mohammad Javad Shabannia Mansour was born in 1986 in Iran. He is Master
Candidate in Shahid Beheshti University of Iran now. He studies in Public Law. His
main areas of expertise are Human Rights and Labor Law.
Cultural Diversity and Substantial Unity in international Law of Humanity:
Contradiction or Interaction?

Aramesh Shahbazi, PhD in international
law from Allame Tabatabaie University,
legal adviser in the Center for
International Legal Affairs (CILA) and
executive manager of International Law
Review.

Abstract
There is a sociological and reciprocal relation between law and
society. The objective purpose and the sociological mission of any
legal rule is its applicability in the society in which exists. This
fundamental principle applies in mutual relations of International
legal order and the legal system including the rules and regulations.
Nonetheless flexibility and dynamism of relevant factors of
International legal system which are centrifugal in some ways
would disturb the unity of International legal order and therefore
international law of humanity Cultural diversity of International
legal order, which is due to the multiculturalism, an indisputable
fact of contemporary International legal system, while stimulated
the UNESCO to declare it as “the common heritage of mankind”
has decreased the substantial unity of International legal system to
material unity. Examining this premise depends on considering the
contradiction and interaction of the relevant factors.
Keywords: unity, diversity, international law of humanity,
contradiction, Interaction.
international community in the right way to protect
and promote cultural diversity?
Mohammad Ali Shahbazi is 30 years old and
was born in East Azerbaijan, Tabriz. He has
studied French literature in B.A then changed
his major to International law M.A. and now
he is studding in the same branch Ph.D. in
Azad University, Science and Research
Branch. His field of research is different
aspect cultural diversity as his M.A. thesis
was about the “Convention on Cultural
Diversity”. At present he was working on
legal framework of Right to Development. Of
course he is interested in Humanitarian law
of Human Right in general.
Cultural Diversity and Armed
Conflicts: Exploring the Cultural
Factor in Breaching Humanitarian
Law from Protection of Civilians
Point of View
Abstract
when looking at the armed conflicts have occurred
in past decades in which breach of Humanitarian
law were obvious (i.e. Rwanda, Former
Yugoslavia, etc) at one hand one can trace cultural
differences and on the other hand in the past years
international community has declared “cultural
diversity” as common heritage of humanity which
should be protected and promoted. This situation
begs the question that may humanitarian law’s
breach root in the cultural differences and is the
In the way to answer above mentioned question,
firstly we explore the meaning of the term “culture”
to define the extent of our research. Then we
analysis some recent armed conflicts to identify
their characteristics and to spot the cultural factors
which may be a kind of motivation to trigger or to
continue the conflict. Of course we are to explore
the role of cultural factors in motivating participant
in armed conflict to bypass the humanitarian law
especially from a protection of civilians’ point of
view. At the final phase we will show the there is
no link of causality between cultures and conflicts
because, before all, that is true that cultures makes
differences between peoples but it also allows them
to communicate in spite of these differences. Then
the armed conflicts cannot be reduced solely to
cultural differenced when they usually are
embedded in material interests. However cultural
difference can provide motivation to breach
humanitarian law in regard of civilian and
promoting cultural diversity in international plan
can be best response to this part.
This brief note is trying to show that beside hard
law which exists to protect civilians in armed
conflicts, some other elements are needed to control
participant in armed conflicts when they are in a
position of breaching the humanitarian law. And
improving awareness in international plan about
different cultures can provide an appropriate basis
to achieve this goal.
Key words: Armed conflicts, Cultural Diversity,
Humanitarian law, Protection of civilians.
Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Human Rights
Abstract
Hassan Soleimani is assistant
Traditional knowledge is the cornerstone of the culture, source of
professor at the Iran’s Islamic Azad
revenue and human rights of indigenous peoples and local
University
Damghan
Branch
communities. It is embedded in the culture of local community.
(presently
on
leave)
and
has
taught
Traditional knowledge is not restricted to any specific field; it may
different
subjects
of
international
belong to traditional medicine, handicraft, art, agricultural,
law. He also published several
environmental and knowledge associated with genetic resources. It
Articles and studies on international
has been estimated that in the year 1995, the market value of
law. He has done his LL.M at the
pharmaceutical derivatives from traditional knowledge amounted to
Shahid Beheshti University Islamic
U.S. $43 billion. Accordingly, Traditional knowledge which crop
Republic of Iran, Tehran and Doctor
up from different cultures make huge contribution to the humanity
of philosophy (PHD) in international
and its existence.
law at the University of Wales,
In this context, Traditional knowledge has been receiving
United Kingdom in 2006.
increasing attention during last decade in relation to intellectual
property protection. The different aspect of Traditional Knowledge
He is currently Deputy Secretary
including its protection has been under discussion in several
General of the Asian-African Legal
international bodies since the beginning of last decade. Some of
Consultative Organization (AALCO)
these international forums where the discussions are presently
which is an intergovernmental
ongoing are: the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the
Organization based in New Delhi,
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Trade
India.
Organization (WTO) and International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture 2001 under the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The rights which are expressed in the Human Rights documents
especially Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 15.1 of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in
relation to Traditional Knowledge are important to review.
Accordingly, in order to reach this aim, the Article will discuss the
relation between Traditional Knowledge and Culture, the importance of Traditional knowledge and its relation
with Human Rights. Article then follows and analyze the ongoing discussions in a number of international
arrangements dealing with the subject.
Keywords: Traditional knowledge, Human Rights, Cultural Rights, Cultural Diversity, Intellectual Property
Rights.
Soumitra Subinaya is a Youth Activist,
and CEO of an NGO called GLADJ and
also currently a Law and Sociology
student at National Law University
Orissa and a Psychology student at
IGNOU.
Soumitra has been awarded almost
more than half a century of
certificates of achievement by
prestigious international organizations
including UN Organizations for his
well researched and insightful
communication projects on social,
environmental and legal issues and
also for his social work.
He currently serves as the Global
Youth Justice Youth Ambassador for
India, Joseph P. Overton Fellow for
Center for Civil Society, India, and also
as Senior Reporter to an English
Newspaper. His notable international
achievements include The 1st prize in
the
United
NationsHabitat
International Essay Contest 2010 from
amongst 45 countries worldwide for
which he won an all expenses paid
trip to UN Habitat , Kenya; The 1st
Prize from the Asia-Pacific Region in
the AIESEC International Writing
Competition
2010
which
saw
submissions from 40 countries
worldwide for which he won an all
expenses paid trip to London, U.K;
and, being selected as a Youth
Delegate from India With Full
Scholarship to attend the United
Nations AOC Summer School at
Lisbon, Portugal, from 28th August to
2nd September, 2011.
Conceptualizing a Human-Rights-Friendly and more
Humanitarian “Freedom” and “Justice” from a
Woman, Tribal and Transgender Perspective:
Empowering the marginalized through Legal Literacy
Abstract
It is more often than not that we accord immense significance to objective
region-wide universalizable conclusions collected from field or otherwise
research but discard accounts of subjective individual experiences, which
normally bedeck the library-shelves accommodating anything but not the
place designated for accepted academic research literature. This paper seeks
to be an unconventional endeavour at understanding fresher interpretations of
the terms “justice” and “freedom” through a 60:40 mixture of moving
accounts of subjective experiences and existent crystallized generalizations in
the sociological, economical, psychoanalytical, legal, feminist, transgender
and policy study discourses so that these terms can be made “Human-RightsFriendly” and more humanitarian. Through this paper, I make a humble
attempt at providing a platform to few unsung marginalized women, “Others”
and men from India whose voices have always been marred, suppressed and
completely ignored. My paper titled “Conceptualizing A Human-RightsFriendly and more Humanitarian “Freedom” and “Justice” from a Woman,
Tribal and Transgender Perspective: Empowering the marginalized through
Legal Literacy” is largely an experiential essay supported by three real-life
subjective experiences of the poorest COMMON “others”, women and men
of India personally collected by the researcher in the poorest state, Orissa
(exclusively for the sake of this forum). These persons voice their personal,
political and economic ordeal with the subjectively available concept of
freedom and justice to each one of them. In the process, they aspire to
spatialize a new conceptual landscape of “freedom” and “justice” and enable
us to be critically conscious of the societal semiotics that defines our
environment. I, the researcher here, have showcased how imparting “humanrights-and-humanitarian-Legal-Literacy-Education” can empower these
marginalized groups to enter the mainstream developmental and incomegeneration activities in a nation. This paper also depicts how a lack of legal
literacy amongst the general public in general and amongst these
marginalized groups in particular creates a disproportionate burden on and
victimizes women, tribal-people and transgendered people enormously both
during peace and during disasters. This paper will be a novel and most likely
the only one importing a gender-mainstreamed, tribal and transgendered
perspective. It is highly important at this time when thousands of tribal
people are facing displacement in Orissa to accommodate the whims of the
government which is hell bent on infringing private property rights. Further,
the transgendered people are now being increasingly subjected to humiliation
and being used for sexual gratification thereby dehumanizing their dignity.
Women, as usual, continue to be the lesser mortals sometimes because of
non-friendly laws and at other times due to prevalent social codes. This paper
suggests how legal literacy can empower such people to enjoy their human
rights and be well protected during disasters and during peace.
International Cooperation in Protection of Humanitarianism in View of
Religions
Abstract
Although there is not any point of doubt in relation to necessity
of international cooperation as a pillar of safe-guarding
fundamental values of international community, international
legal system behaves conservatively to this subject and it seems
that acceptance of international cooperation in a form of an
international obligation which its breach will reach to
international responsibility is not realized. In this article we try to
take our consideration on notion and various religious
approaches to bases of cooperation then will study in more
details about obligation to cooperate in international law under
international conventions, customs, and jurisprudence.
As we can observe in the conclusion of the article Islamic
teachings introduce pioneer perspective of international
obligation to cooperate in protection of humanitarianism which
is comparable by general attitude of international law including
position of The United Nations International Law Commission
in the draft Articles on responsibility of states for internationally
wrongful acts, 2001.
Amir Saed Vakil, Ph.D, International Law is
an Iranian lawyer and legal consultant,
having practical knowledge of issues related
to international claims particularly in public
International Law, International Trade Law,
and Iranian Legal System. Moreover, with
significant background in academic activities
by writing and translating more than 15
books and 30 articles in respect of some
issues such as International Organizations,
Human Rights, Intellectual Properties,
International Law, Oil & Gas Law, and etc.
The Problem of Unity and Diversity in
International Human Rights
Abstract
Although the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity
declares that the defense of cultural diversity is an “ethical
imperative,” it also states that “no one may invoke cultural diversity
to infringe upon human rights guaranteed by international law, nor
to limit their scope.” The Declaration’s fulsome praise for “good”
cultural diversity is therefore hedged by a prior commitment to
upholding universal human rights. What is diverse is precious, it
seems to be saying, but what is universal is even more precious.
This essay attempts to unpack the meaning and significance of the
distinction between these points of view for the discourse and
practice of international human rights. It aspires to move the
discussion of cultural diversity in the sphere of human rights to a
level that is deeper than that which is allowed for by the usual (and
in ultimately sterile) verbal opposition between “universalism” and
“cultural relativity.” The goal is to clarify as much as possible the
relevant points of agreement and disagreement about the nature of
the inherently limited ethical imperative to tolerate and protect
cultural diversity. The essay does this by reflecting on the
dialectically linked concepts of unity and diversity and by
investigating what it really means to say that different groups of
people have different “beliefs” about what is morally and legally
permissible or mandatory. The international law norms that protect
human rights are, like all normative systems, expressed in general
(i.e. abstract) terms. The essay contends that if one wants to
discover whether differently situated people agree or disagree about
the significance of these norms the right place to look is not at the
words expressing the norms themselves, but at how those words are
actually applied to real, concrete cases.
Louis Edward Wolcher holds the title of
Charles I. Stone Professor of Law at the
University Of Washington School Of Law,
in Seattle, Washington (U.S.A.). With
academic degrees from both Stanford
University and Harvard Law School, he has
written extensively in numerous fields of
philosophy and law, including the
philosophy of language, the philosophy of
law, critical theory, ethics and human
rights.
One of his philosophical essays, ‘Time’s
Language’, was awarded Second Prize by
the final jury of the Millennial
International Essay Competition in 2000,
and his most recent book, Law’s Task: The
Tragic Circle of Law, Justice and Human
Suffering, was published in 2008 by
Ashgate.
He has been invited to give numerous
lectures abroad, including at the European
Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, the
Irish Center for Human Rights, the
Institute of Political Science in Tashkent,
the University of Ljubljana Faculty of Law,
Kobe University and Osaka University in
Japan, the London School of Economics,
Birkbeck Law School in London, and Mofid
University in Iran.
He held the
Fulbright-Tocqueville
Distinguished Chair in American Studies in
Paris during the fall of 2009, and was
given the University of Washington’s
Distinguished Teaching Award in 2005.
Wolcher lives with his wife Susan Haluk
Wolcher on Mercer Island in the State of
Washington, U.S.A.
A Cultural Significance of the Modern Islamic Exegetics for the Theory of Religious
Tolerance
Abstract
An exegetical tradition (tafsir)
played an important role in
Islamic religious outlook since
the times of the early Muslims.
Despite the complex changes in
social, political and, to some
extent, religious life in the
Muslim countries during the
colonial and post-colonial era,
tafsir still represents the main
trends of how the Qur’an is
reflecting in the cultural context.
In our study, which is based on
the Arabic texts of the
commentaries of XX-century
authors (Rashid Ridha, Mustafa
al-Maraghi,
Said
Hawwa,
Muhammad al-Ghazali, ayatollah
at-Tabatabai and others), we
considered tafsir as a mirror, in
which the modern Islamic culture
shows its relation to the
principles of Qur’an. A mutual
influence of the modernity and
Islamic religious tradition can be
Mykhaylo Yakubovych received his PhD from
the National University of Ostroh Academy
(Ostroh, Ukraine) where currently works as
an assistance professor and researcher in
Islamic Studies, Conducted a research on the
problem of inter-religious relations in Islam
during his fellowships in Poland (2008, 2009),
Italy (2009, 2011) and Saudi Arabia (2010),
Published numerous articles and translations
in scientific journals in Ukraine, Poland,
Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Great Britain.
His latest book is the “Fasl al-Maqal of ibn
Rushd: a Critical Study” (Ostroh, 2011),
Participated
in
various
collective
monographs, among them “Islamic processes
in Ukraine and Abroad: Realities and
Forecasts” (Kyiv, 2011), Completed the first
full translation of the Qur’an into Ukrainian
language. Main academic interests: Qur’anic
Studies, Medieval and Contemporary Islamic
Thought.
described as a complex system of
values, which rooted in both
Western and Eastern cultures.
Comparing the modern Western
understanding of the freedom of
religion with the statements of
contemporary exegetes, our study
showed the inner evolution of tafsir
and its evaluation of the new issues
of public and private law.
The research provides in-depth
understanding of how the Islamic
culture benefits through tafsir
relations between modern law
principles and Qu’anic teachings.
We suppose that both traditional
views as well as its modern
interpretation supports a wide
understanding of religious freedom
and proposes a new solutions for
the widespread problems of this
field. Finally, the critical analysis
of the text of the contemporary
tafsirs gives us a great chance to
enrich our cultural experience in a
way of serving the humanity.
The Philosophical Principles of International Humanitarian Law in Islam
Abstract
The issue of international humanitarian law and its importance in
various communities and nations implies that individuals, various
societies, nations and races have a common understanding in
Morteza Yusefi Rad is an associate
regard with life; so that by means of these rights, they can
professor and faculty member of
differentiate themselves from other creatures; although the extent
the Research Center of Islamic
and limits of this differentiation may vary according to the
Sciences and Culture. Besides
temperament and the position defined by the philosophical and
having been studying seminary
divine schools of thought for human being. The author of the
courses up to post (Kharij) Usul and
present article, following the same point of view, claims that
Fiqh, he is a graduate at Ph. D.
international humanitarian law in Islam enjoys a strong basis and
degree in political sciences, in the
stability. The reason for such strength lies in the theoretical and
academic orientation of political
practical principles of Islam. In the following, the mentioned
thoughts. He has published a
principles are studied. International humanitarian law refers to
number of books and tens of
the rights considered by the international society for the
articles and has presented a
casualties, women, children and prisoners of war, who are not
number of papers in international
conferences.
directly involved in the enmities and fights between countries or
in civil wars. The origin of making such laws is the conscience of
the human society supporting the people who are incapable of
fighting in wars, however like soldiers they suffer from the
injuries and damages of war. Such a judgment by human
conscience has turned into a general and international
requirement, so that civil and international wars by means of this could be restricted to the military people and
centers which are actively involved in war. Therefore, humanitarian law is the law for supporting people at the
time of war and its originator is human dignity, in which all human communities believe and it is expected that
governments and authorities at wartime consider these laws and follow them. Such a consideration in Islam is
stronger.
Keywords: international humanitarian law, Islam, innate dignity, divine dignities, philosophical principles.
Human Rights in Imam Ali’s Government
Abstract
The present paper aims to find out the realistic origin of Human
Rights. It is necessary to get into it without any partial views and
policy. Regarding to this point, Human Rights will not be
observed unless by paralleling the Human Rights context in the
native cultures. It will be expressed what kind of view the
various and diffuse cultures all over the world in respect to the
Human Rights context have. As a result it can be found effective
enforcement to observe and enforce the rules of the Human
Rights by customizing the Human Rights context so that it can
prevent extensive violations of the Human Rights.
Masoumeh Solgi was born in Varamin,
Iran. She holds her MA degree in
International Law from Islamic Azad
University , Damghan branch.
She
teaches English in The Ministry of
Education. She is the international law
manager in an Iranian Corporation. Her
specialization is in International Law of
Islam. Her paper was appreciated in the
National Conference on Civil Rights, IRAN
2011.
The Islamic institutes and principles can be the effective factors
in the existence of Human Rights context because Islam is the
most effective religion to affect the native cultures of the most countries around the world. Hence it is necessary
to investigate the samples of the Human Rights especially in Islamic countries. Imam Ali’s government is a
noticeable government in Islamic world but unfortunately most of the Islamic countries don’t follow his
procedure in observing Human Rights.
This research tries to investigate the samples of Human Rights in
Imam Ali’s government fairly and honestly without any
prejudice and policy.
Key words: Human Rights, Islamic government, Imam Ali’s
government, existence of Human Rights context.
Gholamreza Zakizadeh was born in
Tehran, IRAN. He is the lecturer of
law at Ershad-e
Damavand
University, Tehran branch. He holds
his MA degree in International Law
from Islamic Azad University,
Damghan branch. His main
specialization is in International
Law of Islam. His paper was
appreciated in the National
Conference on Civil Rights, IRAN
2011.
The Right to Participate in Cultural Life as a Human Right: A New Exception to
International Sanctions
Abstract
Dr S.Ghasem Zamani is Assistant
Professor in Allameh Tabataba'i
University and Editor-in-Chief of the
Journal of Legal Research.
The right to participate in cultural life has been recognized in
international human rights law. The universal declaration of human
rights in article 27 declares that everyone has the right to participate
in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in
scientific advancement and its benefits. Article 15 of the ICESCR
(1966) also proclaims the right to participate in cultural life as an
acceptable right in the framework of human rights law.
In the case of international sanctions the international community
has been confronted with the question of some new exceptions of the
right to participate in cultural life, such as travel of artists, scientists
or athletes to and from the targeted countries.
To be able to connect with the challenges ahead, international
community has to systematize and formalize the exceptions of
international sanctions and the right to participate in cultural life. It
will finally depend on respecting and recognizing the fundamental
value of cultural participation of human in the context of
international human rights law.
Challenges Facing Synergy and Concomitance of Culture and Human Rights in
the Contemporary World: The Iranian Experience
Abstract
Dr. Mohammad Hassan Ziaeefar is the Head
of
the
Iranian
Commission.
Islamic
Human
Rights
In the contemporary world, synergy and co-existence of culture
and human rights face various challenges. Challenges as such
often occur at universal level and also within regional, national
and local contexts. For human rights activists who are engaged in
promotion of human rights in different aspects of life,
identification of such challenges and taking appropriate measures
with a view to removing them are of great importance. My
presentation concisely provides some remarks in this regard, and
also reveals the experience of religious society of Iran in
conciliating national culture and international human rights
norms. This presentation attempts to answer a number of major
questions: 1) whether synergy between culture and human rights
is necessary? 2) What will be the main challenges in the
contemporary world if these two coexist? 3) What kind of
measures and initiatives can be adopted in order to respond such
challenges? 4) What are the main features of the experience of
religious society of Iran in this regard?
Acknowledgments
The Non-aligned Movement Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity would like to thank the
members of the administration team for their support over the past year:
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Ms. Mahrou Ghadiri
Ms. Zahra Shojaei
Ms. Mina Farzam
Ms. Sara Bayani
Mr. Mostafa Sadeghi Maibodi
Ms. Zahra Alvandi
Ms. Nooshin Teymourpour
Mr. Jafar Yaghoubi
Ms. Tahereh Jalili
Ms. Hamaneh Karimikia
Mr. Mohsen Farahbar
Mr. Seyyed Mehdi Parsaei
NAMCHRCD, Tehran
Non Aligned Movement for Human Rights
and Cultural Diversity
Phone: (+98) 9127130979
Fax: (+9821) 66703177
Postal Address: P.O.Box:11365-631, Tehran – Iran
Website: WWW.NAMCHRCD.COM

NAM Center for Human Rights and Cultural Diversity.Annual Report

Transcription

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