The four pieces in this Issue were written by exceptional academics and practitioners who have presented views on a wide range of topics, including due diligence obligations in human and labor rights, the potential legal personhood of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, the role of museums in furthering human rights, and the effects of displacement on the indigenous women of Ethiopia. Available at HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
Due Diligence “Hard Law” Remedies for MNC Labor Chain Workers, by Ronald Brown. 22 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 119.
Professor Ronald Brown discusses the effectiveness of due diligence requirements imposed on multinational corporations to ensure their adherence with international labor rights. Professor Brown traces the evolution of traditional due diligence soft law into hard law, and discusses relevant standards, processes, and remedies. He argues that while the prevailing approach should continue to play a role in enforcement, the best way to ensure that multinational corporations adhere to due diligence demands is to expand their due diligence obligations and legislate enforceable remedies for failure to comply.
Land Grabs in Ethiopia: Effects of Displacement on Women and Potential Remedies, by Mahlet Makonnen. 22 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 155.
Ms. Mahlet Makonnen describes the role of Ethiopia’s land-tenure system in displacing Ethiopia’s indigenous population. The threats of displacement, Makonnen argues, are borne disproportionately by indigenous women, who face less access to assistance, education, healthcare, training, and work, as well as an increased prospect of sexual and gender-based violence. Ms. Makonnen sketches a collaborative approach involving transnational activism, economic pressure, and a strong political campaign in order to counter the Ethiopian government’s human rights abuses and ameliorate the effects of displacement on indigenous women.
Blurring the Boundaries of International Human Rights Law: The Human Rights Work of Museums, by Jennifer Orange. 22 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 188.
Ms. Jennifer Orange considers the ways in which museums are capable of furthering the project of international human rights beyond the confines of the law. International human rights law is often criticized for its subjugation to state sovereignty, its problems translating universal principles to local communities, and its limited effect on the lives of those it intends to help. As spaces that act at arm’s length from government and combine local experiences with those of people living in days past and abroad, museums may provide alternative practices for improving the human rights project in individual communities.
Lethal Autonomous Robotics: Rethinking the Dehumanization of Warfare, by Aiden Warren & Alek Hillas. 22 UCLA J. Int’l L. & Foreign Aff. 218.
Professor Aiden Warren and Mr. Alek Hillas deal with the difficult legal questions arising from the increasing prevalence of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, using Military Working Dogs as a recent historical analog. Robots’ increasing autonomy, power, and prominent role in warfare call for legal developments that, in the absence of international action, will take place on a state-by-state basis. Due to its great influence as a world superpower, Warren and Hillas focus on the present and future of the law in the United States. They argue that American military justice tribunals and their civil counterparts will be forced to one day treat machine intelligence as nearing that of humans.
Available at HeinOnline, Westlaw, and LexisNexis.
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