Human Rights Tracks

HRT No. 5: The EU Omnibus Simplification Initiative and what it means for corporate sustainability practices

In this episode, CHREN postdoctoral researcher Dr Caroline Lichuma guides us through the potential effects - and fall-out - of the "EU Omnibus Simplification Initiative" recently proposed by the European Commission. While the names of the EU directives concerned might sound deterring, do not fear: Carol manages to explain the what’s what in a very comprehensible, even entertaining manner. This way, we get to learn a lot about the progress and regress in the EU's struggle for better corporate sustainability.
 
Carol's research critically analyses regulatory developments in Business and Human Rights, with a particular focus on how mandatory human rights due diligence laws such as the German Lieferkettengesetz (LkSG) and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) impact Global South stakeholders.
 
Sources:
 
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/statement_25_629
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_614
https://www.institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de/fileadmin/Redaktion/PDF/Sonstiges/Letter_of_European_NHRIs_on_the_omnibus_proposal.pdf
ennhri-statement-on-the-omnibus-proposal-i.pdf
https://www.ethicaltrade.org/insights/blog/eti-responds-to-eu-commissions-omnibus-proposal
 
 

HRT No. 4: Tackling poverty: the link between (in)equality and poverty

In this episode, we are diving a little into legal theory while also discussing the very real, very visible implications and effects of poverty. CHREN postdoctoral researcher Dr Tainá Garcia Maia is sharing insights from her interdisciplinary work at the intersection of (in)equality and poverty with a focus on the practice of Latin American apex courts. Tainá's research interests, furthermore, include democracy and autocratisation, inequality and social stratification, and human rights and technology. 
Tainá's book "Inequality and Poverty in Brazil: A Judicial Response to a Socio-Political Challenge" is going to be coming out this year. Stay tuned!
 
Sources:
https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1176/index.do
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/732765/files/A_HRC_21_39-EN.pdf?ln=en
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/659980/files/E_C.12_GC_20-EN.pdf?ln=en
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/10/ban-povertyism-same-way-racism-and-sexism-un-expert
Fact Sheet: An Adjustment to Global Poverty Lines
Poverty - Our World in Data
Population below the international poverty line
Understanding global poverty: What does being poor mean?
Multidimensional Poverty Measure
 

HRT No. 3: Empowering communities at the intersection of climate justice, migration and human rights

This is the second episode of a mini-series exploring the connection between the climate crisis, migration and human rights. This time, Dr Oluwatoyin Adejonwo and Jocelyn Perry help us get to the bottom of how climate change drives displacement and enhances other crises, such as poverty, loss of livelihood, and tensions relating to dwindling resources. We, then, also discuss what is being done in terms of advocacy, litigation, and policy responses to mitigate these effects.
 
Dr Oluwatoyin Adejonwo is the founding and executive director of the Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Development (3CSD), a senior lecturer in the Department of Public Law at University of Lagos, Nigeria, and a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. She holds a PhD in International environmental law.
 
Jocelyn Perry is the senior advocate and program manager of the climate displacement program at Refugees International. She is also completing a Doctorate in Public Policy at the University of Oxford focusing on stakeholder involvement in climate adaptation planning across the United States.
 
Jocelyn Perry and Oluwatoyin Adejonwo were both speakers at the 2024 FFVT Summer School on Forced Migration and Governance. The collaborative project "Forced Migration and Refugee Studies: Networking and Knowledge Transfer” (FFVT) aims to strengthen interdisciplinary research on forced migration and refugees in Germany. 
 
Sources:
'Climate change is the defining crisis of our time and it particularly impacts the displaced' | UNHCR
Climate change and displacement: the myths and the facts - World | ReliefWeb
Enhancing protection and empowerment of migrants and communities affected by climate change and disasters in the Pacific region (Kiribati, Tuvalu, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji) | International Labour Organization
Global Compact on Refugees – booklet | UNHCR
Advisory Board Members | The Global Compact on Refugees | UNHCR
ETR-2024-web.pdf
How Climate Migration Will Reshape America - The New York Times
 

HRT No. 2: Explaining the nexus: the climate crisis, migration and human rights

We are diving into a mini-series exploring the connection between the climate crisis, migration and human rights. During the first of these episodes, we have the pleasure to talk to Walter Kälin, professor emeritus of international and constitutional law, at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Walter Kälin is the present Envoy of the Chair of the Platform on Disaster Displacement. With his help, we are aiming to get the numbers and facts right, and to understand the big concepts that govern the discussion, for example "forced displacement". We are also taking a look at political responses at the international, regional and national levels.
 
Walter Kälin was a speaker at the 2024 FFVT Summer School on Forced Migration and Governance. The collaborative project "Forced Migration and Refugee Studies: Networking and Knowledge Transfer” (FFVT) aims to strengthen interdisciplinary research on forced migration and refugees in Germany. 
 
Sources:
“Intolerable tide” of people displaced by climate change: UN expert | OHCHR
Climate change and displacement: the myths and the facts
Data reveals impacts of climate emergency on displacement | UNHCR
Climate change could become the biggest driver of displacement: UNHCR chief | UNHCR Asia Pacific
IDMC_GRID_2023_Global_Report_on_Internal_Displacement_HQ.pdf
Groundswell Report
Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
2023 Session of the UNHCR Executive Committee - A Statement by Argentina - Platform on Disaster Displacement
Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility | Global Forum on Migration and Development
Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change | UNFCCC

HRT No. 1: Going against torture. How to hold powerful states accountable?

We are proud to launch our new podcast "Human Rights Tracks" with an episode on combatting torture featuring CHREN postdoctoral researcher Dr Janina Heaphy.
Janina’s research predominantly revolves around diplomacy, security studies and human rights with one of my projects exploring for instance strategic accountability campaigns against the use of torture and targeted killings in Western counterterrorist operations. She has interviewed a lot of people that are usually very hard to talk to – for instance former high-ranked CIA and military investigators, the former legal advisor to George W. Bush, or the former Attorney General of England and Wales. So – against common believe – Janina’s work very much shows: Research never gets boring.
Enjoy listening and stay true to human rights!
 
Audio file at 00:17 by CNN "⁠Obama: We tortured some folks⁠'"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBLNohqquRk
 
Other sources
PhD project: https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/entities/publication/ed166714-e73a-4e0f-a588-35c15f929402
Senate Select Committee Intelligence Report (USA) on Torture: https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CRPT-113srpt288.pdf
BND Untersuchungsausschuss: https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/16/134/1613400.pdf ISC
Report (UK) Detainee Mistreatment and Rendition 2001-2010: https://isc.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20180628-HC1113-Report-Detainee-Mistreatment-and-Rendition-2001-10.pdf
Example for Human Rights First Campaign : https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/top-interrogators-declare-torture-ineffective-in-intelligence-gathering/