Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights

vLex
Publisher:
Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:
2021-09-06
ISBN:
0924-0519

Issue Number

Latest documents

  • De-centring inclusion: Discussing the meaning and place of inclusive education in international and European law through the case of children with autism

    This paper aims to contribute to the current legal reflections on the meaning and place of inclusive education within the conception of the right to education. While the recent progress on inclusive education have contributed to enhance the realisation of the right to education for many disabled children, it has had mixed results for others. Autistic children in particular appear to still suffer from poor educational experience and outcomes. This paper argues that better fulfilling the right to education of autistic children will entail abandoning the conception of inclusive education as exclusively realised in mainstream schools. Instead, it appears important to offer a variety of settings and to refocus the discussions on the notions of non-discrimination and substantial equality, quality education, and children's rights.

  • Recent publications
  • Editorial
  • Roma vulnerability before the European Court of Human Rights: Towards a structural account

    It is well-recognised in human rights law and discourse that the Roma community is one of the most ‘vulnerable’ groups in Europe today, but what remains less developed is why and how the Roma are recognised as vulnerable, and what ‘Roma vulnerability’ means. This article posits that a structural account of Roma vulnerability may help in answering these questions. Such a structural account captures the vulnerability of Roma in the past and the present, as taking economic and cultural forms, spread across laws, policies, and actions, and fundamentally linked to the role of the State. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is, however, yet to acknowledge the structural nature of Roma vulnerability. Without such a structural engagement, there is a risk that human rights violations committed by the State will go unaddressed. The article thus seeks to introduce this structural account in the Court's jurisprudence to better capture the nature, causes, and extent of the vulnerability experienced by the Roma community.

  • Excluded and left behind: Racial discrimination and structural inequalities in the right to health

    Racial discrimination is a structural social determinant of health and a separate health risk leading to preventable negative health inequities. This column introduces the recently adopted (2024) general recommendation by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which focuses on racial discrimination and structural inequalities in the enjoyment of the right to health. This column provides insight into the comprehensive and intersectional approach of the Committee in clarifying the right to equality and freedom from racial discrimination in the enjoyment of the right to health. Recalling that it does not suffice to prohibit and refrain from racial discrimination under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the column briefly explains what measures must be taken to ensure that equality in the enjoyment of the right to health does not remain an empty promise for millions of people around the globe.

  • ‘Change here for…’: Understanding progress in business and human rights through legal entanglement

    Progress in the business and human rights space can be quite a fickle thing to assess. Despite intensive norm development, many observers emphasise elements of stagnation within the field. This article argues that much of the frustration is caused by the dominance of a linear understanding of progress which is fixated on the dichotomy between soft and hard forms of regulation. This, in turn, obscures much of the dynamism within the field. To better account for progress within the business and human rights space, the article suggests a shift of framing from a linear conception of regulatory change to one that understands the field as an entangled normative network characterised through the connections between norms. By using the norm of human rights due diligence as an example, the article highlights the nuanced developments and linkages between various instruments, systems, and actors that evidence intense norm-making activity within the business and human rights space. The on-going normative-discursive exchange between stakeholders produces a norm that is constituted through an iterative process of entanglement.

  • Religious dress in the healthcare setting: Unpacking legal arguments and balancing individual rights

    This article explores the complex debate surrounding healthcare providers seeking to express their religious beliefs through the wearing of religious attire considering critical legal, ethical, and practical aspects. Drawing insights from the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice, it sheds light on the implications for healthcare settings. The study highlights the sensitivity of the healthcare context, where specific arguments surface, such as the debated significance of religious neutrality given the vulnerability of patients and concerns about health and safety. Difficulties may arise when patients feel discomfort when treated by visibly religious healthcare providers. However, patients’ preferences regarding the religious neutrality of healthcare providers cannot be generalised, especially when considering the needs of certain minoritised communities. Furthermore, questions can be raised about the admissibility of potentially accommodating prejudice through prohibitions on religious dress. The article further examines hygiene and safety arguments used by healthcare institutions to restrict religious attire, arguing that while health and safety standards are crucial, scientific support for outright bans is limited, especially considering the possibility of reasonable adjustments. The central theme is the necessity for balanced considerations while upholding religious freedom and prioritising patient care, with particular emphasis going on the idea that the needs of patients cannot be generalised.

  • Is it time for a European Convention against Racial Profiling?

    Four years after the murder of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter protests, racial profiling not only remains prevalent in law enforcement practices in- and outside Europe, but takes on new forms in the wake of technological developments enabling large scale data analysis and the use of algorithmic risk profiles. A few years ago, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) first dealt explicitly with the issue of racial profiling in the twin cases of Basu v. Germany and Muhammad v. Switzerland. More recently, the ECtHR held in Wa Baile c. Suisse that Switzerland had violated the prohibition of discrimination by subjecting the applicant to racial profiling at Zürich train station, as part of a police action to apprehend persons without a valid residence permit. 1 While these judgments, especially in Wa Baile, go some way towards securing international State accountability for racial profiling, they also illustrate the difficulties of fighting such profiling as a form of structural discrimination under the ECHR. Meanwhile other human rights bodies, at the European and international levels, have both acknowledged the structural nature of racial profiling and published numerous policy guidelines and recommendations for positive State action to ensure non-discriminatory law enforcement. Yet, to date all of these instruments remain at the level of soft law. Despite the ECtHR's recent efforts, European human rights law thus does not impose legal obligations on States to actively prevent and combat racial profiling. This column signals this gap, and considers some of the pros and cons of adopting a European Convention against Racial Profiling.

  • Recent publications September 2024
  • Sounding the alarm for digital agriculture: Examining risks to the human rights to science and food

    Digital agriculture is described as a solution to population growth and climate change. It entails technologies such as robots, drones, sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) and AI. However, with the adoption of digital agriculture comes the concern that existing power asymmetries may deepen, and inequalities between farmers may be exacerbated. This article focuses on small farmers due to the correlation between a large farm size and the adoption of digital agriculture, cautioning that digital agriculture may progressively drive more and more farmers out of agriculture. This article examines the risks that digital agriculture poses to the human rights to science and food. On the right to science, this article covers access to technology, especially in relation to barriers for small farmers in adopting digital agriculture. It also explores the obligation to protect from the negative effects of (digital agricultural) technology. On the right to food, the article analyses the impacts on its elements, such as availability and accessibility. Finally, the article presents State obligations under the right to food, alongside an examination of potential measures to ensure State compliance with this right.

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