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Measuring human rights performance and assessing the quality of democracy

Summary of the impact

Essex research on developing quantitative indicators for assessing countries' performance on human rights and democracy has informed the work of a number of international organisations. Professor Todd Landman's research has been used by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in its provision of assessment frameworks and by the UN Development Programme in its work on democratic governance and sustainable development. Landman's research on democracy underpins the main resources employed by the inter-governmental organisation, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), based in Sweden. These resources have been translated into four languages and are used to assess the quality of democracy throughout the world. He also provides training for International IDEA's 150 members of staff on the measurement and assessment of democratic performance.

Submitting Institution

University of Essex

Unit of Assessment

Politics and International Studies

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Protecting Human Rights in Global Investment

Summary of the impact

Professor Sheldon Leader has worked on assessing the impact of foreign direct investment on human rights and sustainable development. This research has analysed investment contracts that have been damaging for human rights in developing countries, and Leader's work has resulted in recommendations for better human rights protection in future investment contracts. His recommendations have been adopted in new contracts, such as that between BP and the government of Turkey. His analyses of damaging investment, through his work as Director of the Essex Business and Human Rights Project, have informed the work of NGOs such as Amnesty International and Global Witness, and his consultations have contributed advice to the work of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office to develop a government strategy on business and human rights.

Submitting Institution

University of Essex

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Shaping the political debate regarding the development of a British Bill of Rights

Summary of the impact

Research conducted by Dr Liora Lazarus and colleagues at Oxford helped shape public and parliamentary debate on the merits of a domestic Bill of Rights for Britain. Some had argued that if Britain were to replace the Human Rights Act (HRA), which allows rights in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to be argued before domestic courts, with a British Bill of Rights, the government would gain greater flexibility, e.g. in addressing terrorist threats. The research showed that to be incorrect. This finding informed Reports to the Ministry of Justice, was influential in hearings of the Joint Committee on Human Rights and among human rights professionals, and was later used in Ministry of Justice training materials for judges on the nature of `proportionality' in human rights adjudication. It has situated one of the most controversial debates in British politics on a more secure evidential foundation, and provided reliable information to governments and others on the way courts can be expected to handle certain human rights cases.

Submitting Institution

University of Oxford

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

Human Rights and Equality Impact Assessments: Critical Evaluation and Methodological Leadership

Summary of the impact

The research examines how the use of norms and standards of human rights and equality law are used to measure human rights performance through `human rights and equality impact assessment'. The work has been directly used by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Pacific and Geneva), the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the Canadian Government, and the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), and has been influential both in developing and in changing policy. It has also been used by a wide range of civil society organisations in the UK, Europe, Pacific, India and Canada, and has informed debates at all levels of government.

Submitting Institution

University of Warwick

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Law and Legal Studies: Law

Incorporating Socio-Economic Group Rights Within Global Development Goals

Summary of the impact

Emerging from investigations of social exclusion during the 1990s, the Unit's research into minority rights has led to outputs and consultancy ranging across political participation, identity, rights protection and international criminal law. The impact claimed here falls in two main channels. Firstly, research on socio-economic group rights, amplified by Castellino's work as co-chair of the relevant UN delegated group, has made a significant input into the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-30. Secondly, research has been incorporated into practice and capacity- building through projects involving judiciaries, advocates, statutory bodies, and NGOs. Beneficiaries include the public across 194 states who will benefit from implementation of SDGs over their 15 years lifespan; and civil society bodies and their users.

Submitting Institution

Middlesex University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Understanding competing rights: impact on Lord Leveson’s report on the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press.

Summary of the impact

Rowan Cruft's work on how a right's moral importance reflects the nature of its grounds had a significant impact on Lord Leveson's report, in particular on the principles which Leveson takes to ground a free press. Cruft was an expert witness at the Inquiry, and his evidence is cited (pp. 62- 4, 71, 84, 88, 1684), forming a major part of the report's theoretical underpinnings. Cruft's evidence drew together research, presented in previous publications, on what can be learnt about the weight of different rights — e.g. individual citizens' rights, the rights of journalists and media organisations — by examining their grounds.

Submitting Institution

University of Stirling

Unit of Assessment

Philosophy

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Philosophy

Shaping Reform of the UN Human Rights Treaty Body System

Summary of the impact

Sustained published research in the area of UN human rights treaty body reform has positioned O'Flaherty as the principal international specialist in the area. He led the 'Dublin Process on the Strengthening of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty Body System', a process that is acknowledged globally as the primary context/forum for the reform of the treaty body system. A number of specific proposals made by the Dublin Process on reforming the human rights treaty body system draw directly from his research.

Submitting Institution

University of Nottingham

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Political

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Human Rights Advocacy and Training

Summary of the impact

The European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), led by Leach, has combined research and litigation over ten years, to achieve access to justice for individuals in the former Soviet Union. It has mentored and trained lawyers and non-governmental organisations; raised awareness about human rights violations; and improved the functioning of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Impact on public policy is evidenced by: (i) justice for individuals; (ii) compensation secured through the ECtHR; and (iii) consequential changes in national law and policy. To date, EHRAC's impact includes 98 ECtHR judgments against Russia, Georgia and Ukraine, on behalf of 1,100 victims.

Submitting Institution

Middlesex University

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Medical and Health Sciences: Public Health and Health Services
Law and Legal Studies: Law

Informing Approaches to Improving Human Rights in South Sudan and Foreign Policy in the UK (Mashood Baderin)

Summary of the impact

The predominant perception of the relationship between Islamic law and international human rights law is that of one grounded in conflict, with Islamic law often presented as fundamentally incompatible with the tenets of international human rights. Mashood Baderin's research challenges this notion, arguing that, while the two legal systems operate differently in terms of scope and application, they also share important commonalities that facilitate the fulfilment of human rights obligations in Muslim states. The research has resulted in Baderin's appointment to a number of high-profile advisory roles that have enabled a significant contribution both to the guaranteeing of human rights in Islamic countries, and to the shaping of UK foreign policy.

Submitting Institution

School of Oriental & African Studies

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Legal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law
Philosophy and Religious Studies: Religion and Religious Studies

International law, human rights and constitution making

Summary of the impact

Beyani's research on the protection of refugees' human rights demonstrably underpins his work as a drafter of the Kenyan Constitution, as a United Nations Special Rapporteur, and as an expert advisor on the content of international treaties concerning protections to be accorded to internally displaced persons. The impacts specifically ascribable to his research relate to:

  • promoting the protection of human rights by treaty and constitution making;
  • denying refugee status to those accused of international crimes;
  • protecting displaced populations from genocide, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing; and
  • protecting the right to seek and obtain asylum.

Submitting Institution

London School of Economics & Political Science

Unit of Assessment

Law

Summary Impact Type

Societal

Research Subject Area(s)

Studies In Human Society: Policy and Administration, Political Science
Law and Legal Studies: Law

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