Health Rights

The major problems experienced by the Rooigrond community are the lack of and/or poor basic services delivery which include housing, water, sanitation, health services and access to economic opportunities. These are mainly due to a failure of governance and the lack of appropriate channels for communities to voice their needs. No proper community engagement and participation had been evident. The only visible communication had been procedural and had not been intended to incorporate ideas and demands put forward by the participants. These problems have become part of the daily lives of the residents of Rooigrond informal settlement.

The word "circumcision" comes from Latin circum (meaning "around") and caedere (meaning "to cut"). Cultural and religious justifications are employed to convince members of the community as well as outsiders that circumcision is reasonable and just. The purpose of the discussion is to suggest some cardinal changes to the practice of male circumcision in order to make it more humane and less painful to its subjects. Balancing between group rights and the rights of the child, it is essential to avoid unnecessary suffering. It is one of the liberal state's obligations to protect the best interests of vulnerable third parties. The article opens with some preliminary data about male circumcision and then explains its importance in Judaism. It examines the medical reasons for male circumcision and the risks involved in the practice; subsequently, it discusses the critique of male circumcision. The article also highlights the points of agreement and disagreement between those supporting and opposing the ritual and insists that male circumcision should be performed by using anaesthesia. The final part of the article includes a proposal for humane male circumcision that considers religious sentiments and the rights of the child, aiming to strike a reasonable balance between competing interests. I hope the proposal will be debated in parliaments in the western world. If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse gift will find a fitting place.

"The Law Department of the University of Groningen will host a Seminar Series on the topic: "Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision". The Seminar Series will explore the role of human rights law in regulating adequate provision of essential public services (including access to water, electricity and healthcare services), from a ‘law and governance’ perspective. A ‘law and governance’ perspective encourages to consider the potentially wide range of available hard and soft regulatory instruments and mechanisms through which various (competing) public and private interests in the delivery of services can be simultaneously assessed, appraised and balanced, including on the basis of human rights.
The purpose of the Seminars is as much to present on-going research, as it is to foster cooperative academic communities for furthering the understanding of how human rights law can play a role in guiding essential service provision. Researchers from other disciplines are very much welcomed to attend.

The Series will consist of, at least, of the following topics, with the first dates and Seminars now confirmed (see further programmes attached):

1) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: "Governing Access for All" (12 December 2013)
2) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: "Accountability" (23 January 2014)
3) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: "Participation" (20 March 2014)
4) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: "Dealing with Private Actors" (April 2014 tbd)
5) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: Selected Issues: Universal Access to Energy in International and European Perspective (May 2014 tbd)
6) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: Selected Issues: Call for Papers (September 2014 tbd)
7) Human Rights in Public Essential Service Provision: Lessons from a Law and Governance Perspective (tbd)

The results of all the events together will be published in a special
issue of an international law journal or an edited book, including relevant submissions from the Call for Papers  which will be circulated around June 2014.

For more information on the Seminars, and/or to register for a Seminar, please contact stair@rug.nl. Generally the programme of the Seminar will allow for ample discussion time and networking opportunities as well.

Please see attached for  further details on the programme, and our website for ongoing updates.
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