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This paper uses Australia as a case study to analyse restrictions on international movement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Restrictions on inbound and outbound travel have been a key tool deployed by governments across the globe to suppress the COVID-19 pandemic. We use 'COVID zero' Australia as a case study to assess an extreme response to restricting international movement. We look at the recent complaint launched before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The action was raised with the support of a group of Australian citizens stranded abroad with the assistance of the expert in Australian constitutional law who is the second author of this paper. We argue that the measures implemented by Australian governments to effectively eliminate COVID-19 domestically have provided insufficient consideration of, and alternatives to, the current system's failure to facilitate essential international travel. For this reason, Australia's framework for restricting international movement lacks proportionality and necessity from the perspective of human rights and freedoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What decides naming and shaming behavior of states? In the present paper I examine state recommendations in the Universal Periodic Review and show that naming and shaming is inherently a social phenomenon and network analysis can contribute to the better understanding of this broader social context. Using original qualitative data collected from Geneva, Switzerland, I develop a theory of the interdependent nature of state shaming, mainly through the work of non-governmental organizations. I argue that states are more likely to name and shame other states if many other countries have also named and shamed the same states. As non-governmental organizations contribute to revealing information about reviewer states' interests to one another, states believe their costs are lower when states shame together than when they shame alone. The empirical analyses of Exponential Random Graph Models of the Universal Periodic Review shaming network from 2012 to 2016 find evidence of bandwagon effects even after controlling for the effects of other network structures, dyadic geopolitical relations, and state level attributes. This paper helps us better understand the decision of state-to-state shaming by incorporating social relations and networks. ¿Qué hace que un Estado decida usar el recurso de citar por el nombre a otros estados con el propósito de avergonzarlos? En el presente documento examinamos las recomendaciones estatales en el Examen Periódico Universal y mostramos que citar por el nombre a otros estados con el propósito de avergonzarlos es, intrínsecamente, un fenómeno social y que el análisis de redes puede contribuir a comprender mejor este contexto social más amplio. Utilizando datos cualitativos originales recogidos en Ginebra (Suiza), desarrollamos una teoría sobre la naturaleza interdependiente del avergonzamiento por parte del Estado, principalmente a través de la labor de las organizaciones no gubernamentales. Sostenemos que es más probable que los Estados citen por el nombre a otros Estados con propósito de avergonzarlos si algunos otros países también han citado y avergonzado a los mismos Estados. Como las organizaciones no gubernamentales contribuyen a revelar información sobre los intereses de los Estados revisores entre sí, los Estados creen que sus costes son más reducidos cuando los Estados se avergüenzan juntos que cuando se avergüenzan solos. Los análisis empíricos de los modelos gráficos aleatorios exponenciales de la red de avergonzamiento del Examen Periódico Universal de 2012 a 2016 encuentran pruebas de efectos de arrastre, incluso después de controlar los efectos de otras estructuras de red, de relaciones geopolíticas diádicas y de atributos a nivel estatal. Este artículo nos ayuda a comprender mejor la decisión de un Estado de avergonzar a otro incorporando las relaciones y redes sociales. Pourquoi les États en dénoncent-ils d'autres ? Dans cet article, j'analyse les recommandations des États dans l'Examen périodique universel, puis je montre que la dénonciation est un phénomène social par nature et que l'analyse des mécanismes peut permettre de mieux comprendre ce contexte social dans son ensemble. À l'aide de données qualitatives originales issues de Genève, je théorise l'interdépendance naturelle de la dénonciation des États, principalement grâce au travail des organisations non gouvernementales. Selon moi, les États en dénoncent plus facilement d'autres quand ils sont déjà nombreux à l'avoir fait. Comme les intérêts qui unissent les États examinateurs sont mis au jour par des ONG, les États sont convaincus qu'ils courent moins de risques si la dénonciation est collective. En analysant empiriquement des modèles de graphes aléatoires exponentiels des mécanismes de dénonciation de l'Examen périodique universel entre 2012 et 2016, on observe que les États prennent souvent « le train en marche », et ce, même après avoir neutralisé les effets d'autres structures de mécanisme, relations géopolitiques dyadiques et attributs nationaux. En intégrant les relations sociales et les mécanismes, cet article facilite notre compréhension des décisions de dénonciation interétatique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of post‐war Sri Lanka has seen an escalation of nationalisms that constantly collide. Post‐2009, with the end of the war, the reproduction of narratives around nationalisms has become intense, with home‐grown protests for accountability of minority injustices continuing to sustain its fervour over time. Within the context of Switzerland these events in Sri Lanka are invariably aligned with diasporic engagement. Dominant spaces such as the United Nations (UN) in Geneva, Switzerland become transnational sites for the performance of long‐distance nationalism by Tamil diaspora groups, raising questions around legitimacy and claims‐making. This paper presents empirical insights as to how long‐distance Tamil nationalism is manifested as political engagement, by groups, and/ or individuals, in formal and informal transnational sites within the socio‐political landscape of Switzerland. It argues that modes of political engagement are manifested through rituals of performance and performativity such as scripting and iteration of claims‐making processes that enable legitimacy in transnational sites of lobby and protest within the UN arena in Geneva during the Human Rights Council (HRC) sessions. The paper situates its analysis within a shift in post‐war Tamil diaspora claims‐making narratives from a separatist stance to that of victimhood and human rights producing narratives that present the Tamil diaspora as a singular actor albeit with complex heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some cities have clear connotations: The Hague is regarded as the global capital of justice the Hague is regarded as the global capital of justice (sometimes of justice and peace), Brussels as the centre of the European Union (EU), transatlantic relations (NATO) and European diplomacy, and Geneva is closely associated with human rights (Human Rights Council), International Labor Organization (ILO) and humanitarian protection (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent). The aim of this paper is to examine the correlation between the cities' image/connotations and their position in international relations. Do such connotations increase cities' influence? Has this image been planned and shaped by cities themselves or was it rather a coincidence? Or have other actors – i.e. foreign States cooperating with the host State (the latter means the nation-State of the city) – contributed to it? This research objective will be achieved through an analysis of municipal legislation and strategies exploiting these connotations and associations, and content analysis of the most representative literature. The authors will also take into account the relevant cities' participation in cities' networks (including the profiles of such networks) and the placement of headquarters of international organizations (governmental and non-governmental) in the cities in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pre-colonial African communities had a well-established system of human rights protection applicable to armed conflicts, which became lost as a result of the break-up of traditional societies. This paper will show that traditional rules can be revived and integrated into future conflict management efforts. The ancient authentically African roots of international humanitarian law (IHL) could serve as receptors forming the basis for IHL and human rights law dissemination. Listening to local communities and learning about their aspirations and cultural practices should inform the peacebuilding programmes which need to be introduced before the cessation of hostilities. In the long run, engaging the armed non-state actors in the development of norms, could help improve certainty and predictability of IHL. Recent efforts by Geneva Call comprising a study of indigenous cultural norms relating to civilians' protection in Mali underline the growing importance of integrating local approaches in IHL dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]