Book Review: Secrecy and liberty: national security, freedom of expression and access to information
| DOI | 10.1177/092405190001800221 |
| Published date | 01 June 2000 |
| Date | 01 June 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Documentation
This book provides acomprehensive investigation
of
reproductive freedom in the light
of
contemporary international law. The author discusses reproductive freedom in the context
of
feminist legal theory, international human rights and humanitarian law. This holistic
approach makes the book unique and enhances its value as a comprehensive resource on
the most challenging and contentious issues
of
our time, i.e., legal abortion, medically
assisted reproduction, surrogate motherhood, forced pregnancy'during armed conflicts, and
many others. The author's aim is to advance current debates about gender equality and
reproductive rights, and to deepen the analysis
of
the legal concepts involved. In surveying
the international commitment to women's rights and by examining critically the way in
which international global and regional human rights bodies and ad hoc international
tribunals deal with issues pertaining to reproductive freedom and sexual violence, this
volume makes clear to what extent contemporary international law norms
may
be used as
a tool for change, and how they need to be adapted to meet the speeial needs
of
girls and
women worldwide. Finally, the book explores what improvements are necessary to prevent
and protect adolescents, women and men, against violation
of
their reproductive freedom.
Secrecy and liberty: national security, freedom
of
expression and access to information /
ed. by Sandra Coliver .. , [et al.]. - The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1999. - xiv, 575 p. -
(International studies in human
rights;
no. 58)
ISBN: 90-411-1191-3
The tension between national security and freedom
of
expression and information is both
acute and multifaceted. Without national security, basic human rights are always at risk.
On the other hand, the tendency
of
governing elites to confuse 'the life
of
the nation' with
their own survival has often resulted in exeessive restrictions on expression and
information, as well as other fundamcntal rights. A proper balance between secrecy and
liberty requires avigilant press and an independent judiciary. It also requires greater
clarity than currently exists as to how competing rights and interests should be weighed.
This book addresses that gap. Its centerpiece is a set
of
Principles
('the
Johannesburg
Principles') drafted by a group
of
international and national law experts, many
of
whom
contributed chapters, to guide governments, courts and international bodies in how to
strike a proper balance. The Principles have been widely endorsed, among others by
United Nations experts on freedom
of
expression and independence
of
judges and lawyers.
Sixteen country studies explore the diversity
of
national security doctrines and the penal
and other measures aimed at suppressing allegedly secret information and speech claimed
to, be subversive, separatist or otherwise dangerous. Five chapters examine the cases
considered and approaches taken by the UN Human Rights Committee, three regional
human rights bodies, and the European Court
of
Justice. A Commentary draws on the
other chapters to support and elucidate the Principles, noting where they reflect an existing
consensus and the points at which they attempt to elicit a more rights-protective approach.
Sexual abuse
of
children: a human rights perspective /Roger J.R. Levesque. -
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. - x, 350 p.
ISBN: 0-253-33471-3
The world community has recently recognised every child's fundamental human right to
protection from sexual maltreatment. Yet the many ways in which children are sexually
abused, and the different responses these events evoke, still raise several difficult issues.
Roger Levesque addresses these issues as he considers how human rights law can help
elucidate what can and should be done to protect children from sexual maltreatment. He
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