Women's Human Rights : Issues of Implementation in Sri Lanka
This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held.In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation.Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process.International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building.Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.
Politics of Human Rights in Southeast Asia
1. International Human Rights: Theory and Practice 2. Human Rights, Democracy and Development in Southeast Asia 3. ASEAN and Interantional Human Rights 4. Malaysia: 'Illiberal Democracy' and Human Rights 5. Indonesia: Democratic Transition and Human Rights 6. East Timor, Indonesia and the United Nations 7. Australia, Southeast Asia and Human Rights
Therapist-case managers: more than brokers of services.
For satisfactory adjustment into the community, the long-term patient often needs assistance in dealing with a bureaucracy of agencies and departments. Some professionals have suggested establishing the role of case manager, but the case manager system is susceptible to becoming an impersonal bureaucracy itself. The author suggests that case management functions are part of the normal duties of a conscientious therapist, and that only through significant therapeutic involvement does a case manager acquire the in-depth knowledge of the patient to adequately assess his needs and facilitate the processes for meeting them. Thus the case manager should be not simply an intermediate broker of services but the patient's primary therapist. With the "therapist-case manager," the functions of therapy and case management would be combined. If therapists fail to do case management or to treat long-term patients altogether, this problem should be dealt with directly rather than simply by adding another member to the team.