This book investigates what normative justification can be provided for economic, social and cultural rights guaranteed under international law and how this justification can or should impact the State obligations emerging from these rights.

Ever since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 there has been a debate on the issue of universality and cultural diversity. The UN human rights treaty bodies have an important role to play in ensuring a proper balance between safeguarding the universality of the rights, while at the same time leaving room for cultural particularities. This book examines how the UN treaty bodies, in particular the Human Rights Comm...

The term ‘vulnerability’ is often used in law and policy to refer to disadvantaged, marginalized or excluded human beings. This book explores how a vulnerability focus in basic assistance policies can contribute to substantive equality and therefore to the realization of universal human rights in the migration context. It concentrates on the potential that such a vulnerability focus can have to mitigate stigmatization and stereotyping and to f...

Armed groups have played a predominant role in violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed in conflict settings. The aim of this book is to examine how the principles of international responsibility could be developed and adjusted to account for armed groups as collective entities.

This book offers a human rights perspective of the phenomenon of marital captivity within Christian, Jewish, Hindu and Muslim communities in both secular and non-secular States.

Courts often rely on process-based fundamental rights review. This means that they examine the diligence, fairness, and quality of legislative, administrative, and judicial procedures to determine whether fundamental rights have been violated. This book offers an in-depth and nuanced understanding of process-based fundamental rights review which will support courts in developing well-balanced procedural approaches, and will assist scholars in ...

Recognition of the right to water and sanitation is an important and global issue. This book investigates how this right can be realised from the context of Nigeria and other States in similar circumstances.

Towards a Sustainable Human Right to Water is a timely examination of a critical and time-sensitive subject in the field of human rights law. The book poses the critical question how the concept of sustainable development can contribute to the sustainable realisation of the human right to water for vulnerable people. It takes a three step approach in providing an answer to this fundamental question of our time.

Advancing the Right to Health Care in China analyses the role of accountability, a Western concept that has recently been introduced to China, in advancing the right to health care in light of China’s unique political, legal and social background.