Unit 4 of Human Rights Law (syllabus: Module IV — CEDAW 1979, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; LGBT persons, refugees and aliens; and the European, American and African regional arrangements). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- How is discrimination against women defined, and why is the definition drafted as it is?
- What are the four pillars of the Convention on the Rights of the Child?
- How does the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities define disability and discrimination?
- Are special measures for women, or for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, an exception to equality?
- What is the National Commission for Women, and what can it do that the other commissions cannot?
- How does the European regional system differ institutionally from the American and African systems?
- What makes the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights different from the other regional instruments?
- What protection do older persons have under the instruments available on this course?
- What does the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 cover, and whom does it protect?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 1979, s. Arts. 1, 2 and 18
- Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989, s. Arts. 2, 3, 6 and 12
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006, s. Art. 1 purpose and Art. 2 definitions
- Constitution of India, s. Arts. 14, 15(3), 15(4), 16(4) and 17
- National Commission for Women Act 1990, s. ss. 3, 4, 10 and 16
- European Convention on Human Rights 1950, s. Arts. 19, 20, 33, 34, 35 and 46
- African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights 1981, s. Arts. 19 to 24, with Arts. 58(1), 59 and 62
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; Constitution of India, s. UDHR Art. 25(1); Constitution Art. 41
- Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, s. ss. 2(a), 3 and 4, read with Art. 17 of the Constitution
Leading cases
- Vishaka v State of Rajasthan
- M.C. Mehta v State of Tamil Nadu
- Javed Abidi v Union of India
- State of Andhra Pradesh v P.B. Vijayakumar
- National Commission for Women Act 1990
- Ireland v United Kingdom
- Centre for Minority Rights Development and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v Kenya
- African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
- Safai Karamchari Andolan v Union of India
Full case summaries
- Atala Riffo and Daughters v Chile - a judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
- Centre for Minority Rights Development and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council v Kenya (2009) - a decision of the African Commission