LAWS605 - International Human Rights Law

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Nil

Teaching organisation

4 hours per week for twelve weeks or equivalent.

Unit rationale, description and aim

This unit is designed to introduce students to the principles and doctrines of human rights and its international framework, including legal instruments, the United Nations system of human rights, treaty bodies and regional systems.

Throughout the semester, students will learn to identify the relevance of human rights, the social and ethical implications of their violations; and to analyse international human rights standards, agreements and legislation in theory and practice, to critically identify global and contemporary human rights-related problems.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Content

Topics will include:

• Introduction to Human Rights. A historical approach
• Civil and Political Rights / Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• The United Nations Human Rights System. Charter Bodies / Treaty System and Bodies
• Regional Systems of Human Rights
• Human Rights in Australia
• Human Rights Limitations and Mechanisms of enforcement
• The Human Rights of Vulnerable Groups, including children, women, indigenous peoples & people with disabilities.
• Global issues and Human Rights, including human rights in armed conflicts (International Humanitarian Law); refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons; and climate change.
• Human Rights and Social Change

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

Students will be led from a historical basis to a contemporary practical and critical approach.

During the first three weeks the foundations will be covered (history and first and second generations of human rights); creating in students a sense of curiosity of their role in guaranteeing the respect and prevalence of human rights. Then, students will be immersed in the United Nations System to understand the treaties and bodies created for the protection of human rights, including regional systems and mechanisms of enforcement. Once students are familiar with concepts, principles and institutional framework, they will be introduced to the critical aspect of the unit, where they will examine the correspondence between global issues and human rights; to finalise with a critical analysis on social change.

Assessment strategy and rationale

Assessments are closely linked to the learning and teaching strategy.

The first assessment seeks to help students understand the main concepts, principles and doctrines related to human rights, from the international, regional and domestic perspectives (LO1) and develop their ability to identify human rights violations, their ethical implications and their impact on society (LO2).

Once the foundational knowledged has been assessed, students will work in groups to critically analyse international human rights standards, agreements and legislation in theory and practice (LO3), to identify contemporary - global and local - problems related to human rights (LO4), evaluate the mechanisms for their enforcement (LO5), and actively engage in creating a statement to present their arguments for the respect and preponderance of human rights (LO7).

Overview of assessments

AT1 – Presentation, 15%

During class on Weeks 4 and 5

This assignment students will be allocated a specific human right from the first or second generation. Their task is to study and create a summary of this right, including the history of its acknowledgement, contemporary issues, and an analysis of the aspects that may jeopardise its respect and implementation by States.

Presentations are 7-10 minutes long and may or may not include a slides’ presentation with no more than 5 slides.

AT2 – Group Written Submission, 35%

Due date 11:59pm on the Friday of Week 8

The task is to prepare a submission to the Committee of a Treaty Body (CEDAW, CCPR, CAT, CERD, for example) as allocated by the tutor, referring observations on potential human rights violations in a specific country for the purposes of State reporting under that treaty. 

Students can work in pairs or groups of three. They are expected to write 750 - 1,000 words each, to present an organised document, aligned with the last published report on their specific country from the UN Treaty Body Committee.

AT3 – Research Essay, 50%

Due date 11:59pm on the Friday of Week 13

Students must develop a research essay on a human right issue (from a global or local perspectives). They must state a specific research question and develop an argument to answer it. Their essay must include a clear claim, reasoning, evidence, counter-argument and conclusion.

Representative texts and references

·        McBeth, A, Nolan, J and Rice, S, The international law of human rights (Oxford University Press, 2nd ed, 2017)

·        Pisillo Mazzeschi, R, International human rights law: theory and practice (Springer, 2021)

·        Gerber, Paula and Castan, Melissa eds, Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Law in Australia Vol 1 (Thomson Reuters, 2021)

·        Costello, Cathryn, Foster, Michelle and McAdam Jane eds, The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law (Oxford Handbooks, 2021)

·        Meyer, William H, Human Rights and Global Governance: Power Politics Meets International Justice (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019)