Postgraduate coursework

LAWS6974 - Development, Law & Human Rights (12 Credit Points)

Objectives

The role and limits of law in addressing acute problems of socio-economic development and human rights in developing countries, through an interactive field school conducted over two weeks in Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries.
Reflect upon the influence of, and resistance to, human rights and international law in developmental processes.

Content

The transition from armed conflict to peace in the aftermath of a Maoist insurgency and the end of the monarchy in Nepal (including issues of transitional criminal justice, the drafting of a new constitution, and building a new legal and political system in light of Nepalese legal traditions and foreign legal influences); the protection of socio-economic rights (including rights to food, water, housing, and livelihoods), minority rights (of 'tribals', and 'dalits' in the caste system), and the 'right to development' under constitutional and international law; the interaction between local disputes over natural resources, human displacement caused by development projects, environmental protection and climate change in the context of fragile Himalayan ecologies; the legal protection of refugees (Tibetan or Bhutanese) in camp or mass influx situations, in the context of the limited resources of a developing country and the causes of, and solutions to, human displacement; the experience of women in development and human rights processes.

Session

To register, please visit the Himalayan Field School website

Semester 1 Intensive
21 January - 3 February 2013

The timetable is subject to frequent changes. Please refer to the latest version of the Postgraduate Timetable.