The paper examines the following questions: Which of the international instruments actually form binding human rights law, thereby imposing obligations under international law for State Parties to the conventions to comply with those... more
The paper examines the following questions: Which of the international instruments actually form binding human rights law, thereby imposing obligations under international law for State Parties to the conventions to comply with those agreements? Is there a pattern of how State Parties interpret their implementation obligations, encompassing new or existing national legislation, so that treaties impose actual obligations on individuals and create rights in national law? Turning to a case study, how does Malawi interpret/implement its obligations, as a State Party bound by international human rights treaties including The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights? How often are complaints lodged by citizens in Malawi regarding such treaties? What is the typical result in terms of low-high enforceability? Do judges recognize the justiciability of all or just particular categories of rights, and does this encompass economic social and cultural rights beyond the right to work, health and education? What particular national conditions enhance and /or impede citizens’ success, in terms of the following issues: independence of national human rights oversight institutions; capacity of the judiciary in relation to the field of human rights; the capacity and independence of national civil society actors; the health of the executive-parliament-bureaucracy relationship; the policy influence of multilateral organisations related to participation/ community level capacity to pursue claim-rights.
PREAMBLE The GNH paradigm is rich on a number of fronts. One of them, on which I will write, is its suggestiveness about the kinds of changes on the ground that the GNH anticipates, and which need to be developed in order for the GNH to... more
PREAMBLE The GNH paradigm is rich on a number of fronts. One of them, on which I will write, is its suggestiveness about the kinds of changes on the ground that the GNH anticipates, and which need to be developed in order for the GNH to be operative or implementable within particular sectors. I'm interested in the sectors that provide the core services – the social goods – needed to enjoy wellbeing. We can't say that the GNH is explicit on the sociology of organisations, or on questions of governance like the incentivisation of frontline providers in our schools, healthcare clinics and social protection units. At the same time, GNH is highly suggestive about how we should approach challenges that lie ahead, to help ensure implementability on the ground.
