"Transnational Human Rights Violations: Addressing the Evolution of Globalized Repression through National Human Rights Institutions" - by CWP alum Andrew Chubb
Transnational Human Rights Violations (THRV) are infringements of individual rights that originate outside the jurisdiction in which they take effect. Ranging from violent and criminal forms of transnational repression through to coercion against targets’ family members abroad, digital surveillance, and legal intimidation, THRVs today generate widespread and systemic constraints on the exercise of human rights in jurisdictions around the world. At present, however, targets of THRVs typically find few avenues through which to raise complaints, receive assistance or pursue redress. This article proposes a new domestic institutional mechanism to directly address this situation. It first examines the mutually reinforcing, additive effects of transnational surveillance, coercion and censorship in the digital era. Next, it identifies relevant human rights standards showing state responsibilities to monitor and counter THRVs within their jurisdiction, and the growing recognition of additive, systemic effects of THRVs on broad populations. The third section examines policy responses in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, and international organizations, noting that none has adequately addressed the contemporary nature and scope of THRVs as international standards require. The final section argues that to meet their obligations, states should establish Transnational Rights Protection Offices (TRPOs) to provide a clear contact point for targets to raise complaints and receive support; monitor and report on the situation of THRVs taking effect within the state’s jurisdiction; advise and inform government departments on THRV issues; and develop evidence-based policy recommendations. We conclude by laying out the rationale for its institutional status within National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs).
Andrew Chubb, Kirsten Roberts Lyer - Journal of Human Rights Practice, huae017, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huae017 Published: 13 August 2024
Dr. Andrew Chubb is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University, Director of the Lancaster University China Centre, and a Fellow at the Asia Society’s Center for China Analysis. A graduate of the University of Western Australia, Andrew’s academic research examines the linkages between Chinese domestic politics and international relations, maritime and territorial disputes, strategic communication, political propaganda, and Chinese Communist Party history. The author of Chinese Nationalism and the Gray Zone: Case Analyses of Public Opinion and PRC Foreign Policy (Naval War College Press, 2021) and PRC Overseas Political Activities: Risk, Reaction and the Case of Australia (Routledge and Royal United Services Institute, 2021), Andrew is principal investigator of the project Domestic Public Opinion and International Crisis Escalation: Perceptions and Crisis Control in the Shadow of Networked Nationalism, funded by the British Academy. Andrew is a member of the UKbased Academic Freedom and Internationalisation Working Group, which developed a model code of conduct for universities to protect academic freedom while pursuing internationalisation.
Photo Credit: By Predrag Stakić, released by http://humanrightslogo.net/ - http://humanrightslogo.net/, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16682816
