Back close
Admissions

Course Detail

Course Name Advancing Human Rights Law
Course Code HRTS 510
Program Master of Social Work (MSW)
Credits 3
Campus Amritapuri, Coimatore

Syllabus

Syllabus

Week 1: Introduction

Weekly Objectives: Introduction and overview to the course, going over responsibilities and structure, and touching on some introductory concepts.

Readings:

Assignment 1: Introductory VT – introduce yourself, some background and interests, and why you have chosen to take the MA – so we can get to know one another, and start to create groups (of 3 students), seeking out individuals with like-minded (or not like-minded!) interests.

Title: Introductory VT (please SUBMIT your information within the VT that I have created!).

Please reach out to your fellow students to create a group after watching the VT submissions and NOTIFY ME that you have made a submission AND who is in your group WITHIN the D2L Assignment section. Assignment 1 due by January 17 (2 points).

Rubric: Getting to know one another and forming groups with people YOU would like to get to know even further! PLEASE do let me know who is in your group in the Assignments section of the D2L.

Weeks Two and Three: The United Nations and International Human Rights Treaties

Weekly Objectives: This week we will begin to examine the international system and the manner in which human rights law can be upheld internationally.

Readings:

Suggested Reading:

Guest Speaker: GL1 – January 24 – Kathryne Bomberger, ICMP @ 9.00

Assignment 2: First group assignment – create a summary VT of around 10 minutes (+, -) that will explain a particular international or regional body to the rest of the students. I WILL ASSIGN EACH GROUP WITH A DIFFERENT TOPIC TO BE ANALYZED. The ideahere is that your group will “explain” the role of a particular body in a manner that assists the rest of us to understand your assigned topic. Please LABEL your VT with the TOPIC you are examining and your group names and afterward enter the submission into the Assignments section of the D2L.

Assignment 2 due by January 30 (15 points)

Rubric: The idea here is to engage in a modicum of research that summates the assigned body or organization that relates to human rights law. Think of how best to get across your ideas to your fellow student, and how to explain your assigned topic providing an overview of what the institution actually “does”/its functions, the pluses and minuses (or successes and failures if you prefer) of the institution being examined, and insights into how the particular body might advance human rights law.

Assignment 3 – go to the VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer – I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer.

You all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please.

I will notify which Group is responsible for this weeks guest lecture work. Assignment 3 due by January 30 (3 points)

WEEK 4: Regional Systems

Weekly Objectives: This week we will begin to examine regional systems and the manner in which human rights law can be upheld regionally.

Reading:

Suggested Reading:

  • Caroline Bettinger-López, The Inter-American Human Rights System: A Primer, 42 CLEARINGHOUSE REV. 581-595 (2009).
  • Elsa Stamatopoulou, “Monitoring cultural human rights: The claims of culture on human rights and the response of cultural rights.” Human rights quarterly 34, no. 4 (2012): 1170-1192.

Guest Speaker: GL2 – February 1 – Nawras Layous, CARITAS @ 7.00

Assignment 4 – go to the VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer – I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer.

You all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please).

I will notify which Group is responsible for this weeks guest lecture work. Assignment 4 due by February 6 (3 points)

Assignment 5 – Each group is expected to view and raise a question to EACH OTHER group (within the VT that has been uploaded for Assignment 2). As these queries are raised, each group is to place a response to the queries on the VT as well. Assignment 5 is due February 6 (20 points)

RUBRIC: When observing other presentations – think about the effectiveness of the institutions under examination for actually upholding human rights law (and yes – you CAN compare it to the work that you have done if that assists you to create a question or answer!). Please raise questions and of course, try to answer the questions being raised by the other groups (within reason – I am NOT expecting you all to become world experts,…yet!).

Assignment 6 – The next group project is to choose a human rights issue of interest, and contemplate how best to raise this issue as a legal challenge or as an avenue for legal enforcement and why – using one of the bodies or organizations that were analyzed in the VT by your fellow students. I expect you to choose a body or organization that is DIFFERENT than the one your group analyzed. Please LABEL your VT with the issue you are raising and the names within your group in the D2L Assignment 6 section. Assignment 6 is due February 13 (10 points).

RUBRIC: The VT should range from 5-10 minutes, explaining the issue, why you chose a particular avenue for enforcement, and the expected outcome. The idea here is to allow you all to begin to contemplate the various ways in which particular issues that might be important to you or of interest can actually be raised and protected as “law” within international and regional (or national, if relevant) fora.

Up Close Look at Some Human Rights

WEEK Five – Business and Human Rights/Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Weekly Objectives: This week we will begin to examine specific human rights legal issues, thinking about current issues and how human rights law might assist.

Reading:

  • Nina Seppala, “Business and the International Human Rights Regime: Comparison of UN Initiatives,” Journal of Business Ethics, 87 (2009): 401- 417.
  • SOMO, “How to use the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in company research and advocacy” http://somo.nl/publications– en/Publication_3899;

Review: UN Global Compact; Norms on Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises; the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations.

Guest Speaker: GL3 – February 8 – Katherine Hughes Fraitekh, Solidarity2020 @ 17.00

Assignment 7 – go to the VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer – I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer.

You all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please).

I will notify which Group is responsible for this weeks guest lecture work. Assignment 7 due by February 13 (3 points)

WEEK Six – Human Rights and Humanitarian Law

Weekly Objectives: This week we will begin to examine other legal systems as well, thinking about current issues and how human rights law might assist. How might different legal systems interact and what is the result?

Reading:

Guest Speaker: GL4 – February 15 – Atika Raza, Law and Policy, Pakistan @ 7.00

Assignment 8 – go to the VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer – I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer.

You all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please).

I will notify which Group is responsible for this weeks guest lecture work. Assignment 8 due by February 20 (3 points)

Guest Speaker: GL5 – February 22 – Zhala Azizova @ 7.00

Assignment 9 – go to the VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer – I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer.

You all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please).

I will notify which Group is responsible for this weeks guest lecture work. Assignment 9 due by February (3 points)

Assignment 10 – For the final group project, choose one of the examined specific topics, find an organization working on the particular issue that interests you, consider how and whether the organization is engaging human rights law (if at all!), and analyze their approaches and methods of the organization. Please upload a VT with your analysis, using the name of the topic being analyzed, and the name of people within your group. You also must make an entry to the Assignments section of the D2L. Assignment 10 is due by February 27 (15 points)

RUBRIC: HOW is the organization under examination using the law for the specific topic you have chosen, and what can you suggest as alternative or better approaches (if at all). Do you consent to their approach? Why/why not? In addition, please delineate why you have come to that conclusion.

WEEK SEVEN – Issues of Torture

Weekly Objectives: This week we will begin to examine how human rights law might undergo changes and shifts in perception and application.

Reading:

Suggested Reading:

Guest Speaker: TBD

Assignment 11 – go to the VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer – I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer.

You all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please).

I will notify which Group is responsible for this weeks guest lecture work. Assignment 11 due by TBD (3 points)

Assignment 12 – Each group is expected to view and raise a question to EACH OTHER group (within the VT that has been uploaded) regarding their analysis of the topic and organization that was chosen. As these queries are raised, each group is to place a response to the queries on the VT as well. Assignment 12 is due March 6 (20 points)

RUBRIC: When observing other presentations – think about the difficulties inherent in human rights law enforcement and methods being suggested by your colleagues along with their critique. Do you agree? Are there other effective avenues? Is the organization under examination effective? And, as before, you CAN compare it to the work that you have done if that assists you to create a question. Please also try to answer the questions being raised by the other groups (within reason – I am NOT expecting you all to become world experts,…yet!).

Introduction

Description of Course

This course will provide students with an understanding of human rights law and the means for human rights enforcement as found in international, regional, and national processes. Featuring human rights lawyers and practitioners as guest speakers, the student will acquire the necessary tools for promoting legislative changes, engaging executive actors, and bringing challenges before a range of international bodies.

Instructor Contact Information

Office Hours – upon request. I am available through my UA email or Zoom/Skype if you need to talk (but best to notify me that you desire to do so). If several students want to meet at the same time about similar topics, I’ll set up a videoconferencing room on Zoom and we can then move there and meet via audio or video.

Course Technology

You will need to know how to work with the UA’s classroom management system or portal – D2L (https://d2l.arizona.edu). Several helpful links are on the class D2L page, including tips on using D2L, netiquette, and tech support links. Also, please register on the GHRD web platform at www.globalhumanrightsdirect.com. If there are ANY problems or questions about these links, contact me or Mette Brogden, the Program Manager for the Human Rights Practice program and we will work with you to sort these issues out.

Objectives and Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Discussgeneral principles, sources and structures of international humanrights law;
  2. Describethe role of the United Nations, regional systems, states, and private actors, in the context of international human rights law;
  3. Locate,evaluate, and synthesize primary and secondary sources in human rights law;
  4. Compare and evaluatethe mechanisms, procedures and systems for human rights monitoring and enforcement;
  5. Criticallyassess human rights issues and identify avenues of redress; and
  6. Improveresearch and advocacy

Course Activities

During this course students will:

  1. Becomefamiliar with the founding documents and major institutions of human rights
  2. Participate in,view and discuss videoconference lectures from major figures in human rights law.
  3. Complete short assignments such as searching for relevant human rights resourcesand engaging in an issue spotting
  4. Participate in discussions on critical issues in humanrights law with
  5. Write papersthat outline current human rights problems and present advocacy strategies for effective
  6. Dialoguewith colleagues through Voice Thread

Course Structure

  • Readings, Lectures and Discussions: Each week’s content is available through D2L, which will provide access to the readings, lectures and opportunities for discussion. The lectures will also be recorded so that you may watch or review at will.
  • Assignments and Projects: – Submit your completed assignments to the D2L through the Assignments section on the site. Assignment numbers are noted for each week and are listed on the D2L site.

NOTE: Group assignment submissions allows for ONE group member to submit on behalf of the entire group!

When submitting required work for the course (such as in a discussion VT) please also submit the work (or make a statement that you submitted such work) within the relevant Assignment number in the D2L. Failure to do so will result in a loss of points so please do not forget.

As MA students, please remember to submit your work in a timely fashion as I desire you to receive full credit for the hard work you put in.

Students are expected to:

  • Viewlectures and other course inputs;
  • Completeassigned readings;
  • Participatein discussions/Voice Threads (VT);
  • Attendlive guest lectures (when can) AND respond to said lectures through Voice Thread (VT) discussions (as explained below).

We will use Voice Threads (hereinafter: VT) for introducing our interests and ourselves, for some of the assignments, and then following EACH guest lecture.

NOTE that the idea of the VT following the guest lectures is to allow us all to discuss thoughts and reactions (both from the lecture as well as the guest lecturer) and shape relevant/valid questions for each guest lecture. I expect you all to emerge with at least 2 relevant questions that can be used as a follow-up to our guests (when commenting in the VT). The thank you note writers will collate the questions for us and send them to the guest lecturer (all as explained below).

How to participate in discussions: Students are expected to participate interactively in discussions with the guest lecturers AND with other fellow student groups.

A productive approach in becoming part of a discussion is to first appreciate what it is that the author or speaker is trying to accomplish with their work before taking a critical look at the material offered and:

  • Suggestadditional considerations,
  • Askquestions of the arguments from your experience and perspectives, and/or
  • Suggesthow the material can be inserted into larger conversations/actions taking place in the world around the topic.

You should also feel free to ask questions if there are parts of the presentation/ commentary that you do not understand.

These course expectations will help you and others to learn and advance a topic/practice/”case” through contributing to discussions constructively, a very important skill to develop in working on teams and coalitions to advance human rights. Skillfully done, your contributions to discussions support the person(s) presenting in their future work, and lay the groundwork for developing your network of supporters and colleagues. It takes practice to offer constructive feedback in a way that can be heard by the presenter and the rest of a team or coalition.

ASSIGNMENTS:

There are a number of “sets“ of assignments in this course. They are also noted throughout the syllabus.

IMPORTANT – for ALL assignments – you MUST also NOTE that you (for individual work) or your group has made a VT submission so that you can receive a grade/marks for your work.

If there is NO submission by you or by a group member to the Assignments section for each VT submission (it need only be one member for group work), I cannot enter a grade for the group work(!).

The Assignment breakdown is roughly as follows:

  • Introductory VT- so we can get to know one another, and start to create groups (of 2-3 students) – seeking out individuals with like-minded (or not like-minded!) interests. Title: Introductory VT (please SUBMIT within the VT I have created!).
  • PLEASE reach out to your fellow students to create a group after watching the VT submissions and NOTIFY ME that you have made a submission AND who is in your group WITHIN the D2L Assignment section.
  • Rubric: Getting to know one another and forming groups with people YOU would like to get to know even further! PLEASE do let me know who is in your group in the Assignments section of the D2L
  • Guest lectures and attendance/VT – after every guest lecture, there will be a VT set up under the name of the guest lecturer where I expect you all to comment and raise 2 questions for the guest lecturer. These assignments are noted throughout the syllabus and you all ALSO must enter your submission into the D2L Assignments section (individually please).

Further, I will be assigning a different group each time to “attend” the guest lecture and serve as the thank you writer to the guest lecturer. Preferably, the entire group but at LEAST 1 member should attend for the actual guest lecture. The group members also will communicate with the guest lecture by composing a proper thank you letter to the guest AFTER the group has collated student questions that have been entered onto the VT. The student questions are to be placed into a coherent whole (NOT cutting and pasting, but editing and making sense of the questions raised) and then providing student comments that were made.

Group work:

  • The first group assignment will be creating a summary VT of around 10 minutes (+, -) that willexplain a particular international or regional body to the rest of the students. I WILL ASSIGN EACH GROUP WITH A DIFFERENT TOPIC TO BE ANLAYZED. The idea here is that your group will “explain” the role of a particular body in a manner that assists the rest of us to understand your assigned topic. Please LABEL your VT with the TOPIC you are examining and your group names and afterward enter the submission into the Assignments section of the D2L.
  • Potential topics include: the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (scope and utility of work); Universal Periodic Review (include a summation of one UPR); the HRC under the ICCPR (include a summation of one general comment and one decision); CESC under the ICESCR (include a summation of one general comment and one decision); CAT under the Convention Against Torture (include a summation of a decision); CERD under CERD (include a summation of a decision); the ECHR court (include a summation of one decision); The African Commission on Human Rights (include a summation of one decision); ECOWAS (include a summation of one decision); the UN Human Rights Council (include an analysis of a resolution); National Human Rights Commissions (at least 2 states and include scope of their work);
  • Rubric: The idea here is to explain your assigned topic providing an overview of what the institution actually “does”/its functions, the pluses and minuses (or successes and failures if you prefer) of the institution being examined, and insights into how the particular body might advance human rights law.
  • Following your VT submissions, each group is expected to view and raise a question to EACHOTHER group (within the VT that has been uploaded). As these queries are raised, each group is to place a response to the queries on the VT as well.
  • RUBRIC: When observing other presentations – think about the effectiveness of the institutions under examination for actually upholding human rights law (and yes – you CAN compare it to the work that you have done if that assists you to create a question or answer!). Please raise questions and of course, try to answer the questions being raised by the other groups (within reason – I am NOT expecting you all to become world experts,…yet!).
  • The next group project is to choose a human rights issue of interest, and contemplate how best to raise this issue as a legal challenge or as an avenue for legal enforcement and why – using one of the bodies or organizations that were analyzed in the VT by your fellow I expect you to choose a body or organization that is DIFFERENT than the one your group analyzed. Please LABEL your VT with the issue you are raising and the names within your group.
  • RUBRIC: The VT should range from 5-10 minutes, explaining the issue, why you chose a particular avenue for enforcement, and the expected outcome. The idea here is to allow you all to begin to contemplate the various ways in which particular issues that might be important to you or of interest can actually be raised and protected as “law” within international and regional (or national, if relevant) fora.
  • The final group project will be to take one of the specific topics that we will be examining at theend of this semester (there are three choices – torture/ corporate social responsibility/ or humanitarian law and human rights) find an organization working on the particular issue that interests you, consider how and whether the organization is engaging human rights law (if at all!), and analyze their approaches and methods of the organization. Please upload a VT with your analysis, using the name of the topic being analyzed, and the name of people within your group. You also must make an entry to the Assignments section of the D2L.
  • RUBRIC: HOW is the organization under examination using the law for the specific topic you have chosen, and what can you suggest as alternative or better approaches (if at all). Do you consent to their approach? Why/why not? In addition, please delineate why you have come to that conclusion.
  • Each group is expected to view and raise a question to EACH OTHER group (within the VT that hasbeen uploaded) regarding their analysis of the topic and organization that was chosen. As these queries areraised, each group is to place a response to the queries on the VT as well.
  • RUBRIC: When observing other presentations – think about the difficulties inherent in human rights law enforcement and methods being suggested by your colleagues along with their critique. Do you agree? Are there other effective avenues? Is the organization under examination effective? And, as before, you CAN compare it to the work that you have done if that assists you to create a question. Please also try to answer the questions being raised by the other groups (within reason – I am NOT expecting you all to become world experts,…yet!).
  • The COMPLETE weekly schedule of Assignments is listed in the syllabus AND the Assignments section of the D2L

Student standards can be found here:

  • https://academicaffairs.arizona.edu/syllabus-policies
  • Students are expected to “attend” all sessions – either live or via recorded video feed. This MUST be done in a timely fashion pursuant to the dates provided in the online D2L system. Students will have a window of time in which to watch and react to class sessions. It is imperative to follow the course and the discussions along with the assignments.

Required Readings

  • Book chapters, law review articles, and cases as posted on D2L and available on the internet (links provided).

Grading Scale and Policies

Grading scale:

  • 90-100% A
  • 80-89% B
  • 70-79% C
  • 60-69% D
  • 59% or below E

Grading Group Work:

Some of the project assignments will require students to work in groups. We grade group assignments by first giving a grade to the completed work of the group. Students will then be asked to complete a short survey form that outlines their contributions to the group’s final product and evaluates each member of the group. We then examine the survey responses and look closely at the draft work of the group by looking at discussion boards, Google Docs, and any other material we have access to. From this perception of each student’s contribution to the group, we decide whether to adjust the “group grade” up or down when awarding individual grades

Workload Expectations

At the University of Arizona, in a semester-long course—one that lasts 15 weeks— students are expected to have at least 9 hours of workload each week. Since this is a 7.5 week course, students are expected to have at least 18 hours of workload each week. This is an online class with a mix of guest lectures, a few lectures bythe instructor, readings, assignments, and group work; all of which will vary each week. Thus, expect a workload average of about 22 hours per week.

Reasonable Accommodations

The instructor will be happy to work with students who require reasonable accommodations for disabilities or other circumstances.

It is the University’s (and the Instructor’s) goal that learning experiences be as accessible as possible. If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability or pregnancy, please let me know immediately so that we can discuss options. You are also welcome to contact Disability Resources (520-621-3268) to establish reasonable accommodations.

Subject to Change Statement

Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policy, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

DISCLAIMER: The appearance of external links on this web site does not constitute endorsement by the School of Biotechnology/Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities, the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. These links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this web site.

Admissions Apply Now