Research Papers

Engendering Haiti’s Reconstruction: The Legal and Economic Case For Mainstreaming Women in Post-Disaster Programming

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:08:46 PDT

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake of devastating magnitude shook Haiti, killing over 250,000, reducing much of the country’s infrastructure to rubble—including its government—and leaving millions of people without homes and livelihoods. As Haiti lurches toward an era of rebuilding and renewal, the ways in which priorities are set and resources spent can either accelerate the rate at which Haitians are able to emerge from poverty and achieve economic development—or they can substantially inhibit the country’s path toward recovery. One of the most critical factors that will determine which path Haiti takes is the extent to which gender concerns are brought to the fore in the reconstruction process. Gender mainstreaming, as a technical term in the development field, involves ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities, from policy development to legislative drafting. Such a women-focused approach is not only imperative from a moral justice and human rights perspective, but also a vital component of a successful economic development strategy.

Progress or Unfulfilled Promises? Reaffirming Rights, Reinventing Society

Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:13:40 PST

Dropouts to Diplomas: Closing the Attainment Gap in Connecticut High Schools

Richard A. Wilson — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:50:07 PST

The Connecticut Advisory Committee submits this report, Dropouts to Diplomas: Closing the Attainment Gap in Connecticut High Schools, as part of its responsibility to advise the Commission on civil rights issues in Connecticut. Based on the briefings, the Connecticut Advisory Committee offers this report and findings and recommendations with the aim of improving high school graduation rates in economically disadvantaged school districts and across the state. In distilling best practices, the report focuses on school culture, school leadership, teacher evaluation, teacher retention, parental involvement, data collection, English language learners, and the General Educational Development test.

Surveying History at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

Richard Ashby Wilson et al. — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 12:36:29 PST

Symbolic Closure through Memory, Reparation and Revenge in Post-conflict Societies

Brandon Hamber et al. — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:35:44 PDT

Countries going through democratic transition have to address how they will deal with the human rights crimes committed during the authoritarian era. In the context of amnesty for perpetrators, truth commissions have emerged as a standard institution to document the violent past. Increasingly, claims are made that truth commissions have beneficial psychological consequences; that is, that they facilitate 'catharsis', or 'heal the nation', or allow the nation to 'work through' a violent past. This article draws upon trauma counseling experience and anthropological fieldwork among survivors to challenge these claims in the context of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It argues that nations are not like individuals in that they do not have collective psyches, that nation-building discourses on reconciliation often subordinate individual needs, and that truth commissions and individual processes of healing work on different time lines. Calls for reconciliation from national leaders may demand too much psychologically from survivors, and retribution may be just as effective as reconciliation at creating symbolic closure.

The Origins of the West German Human Rights Movement, 1945-1961

Lora Wildenthal — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:22:43 PDT

How Not to Promote Democracy and Human Rights

Aryeh Neier — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:19:14 PDT

Globalization, International Law and Human Rights

David Held — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:16:11 PDT

Children’s Rights in Turkey

Kathryn Libal — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 13:13:09 PDT