Untitled Notes

Overview of topics covered:
- Introducing criminological engagement with human rights
- Human rights, criminology, and the global war on terror
- Human rights and criminology concerning state-corporate harm
- Genocide criminology
- Atrocity crime
- Green criminology
- Human rights, criminology, and courts
- Human rights, criminology, and policing
- Human rights, criminology, and prisons
- Final word of caution

David Garland's assertion: "An engagement with human rights is essential for 21st-century criminology that aspires to depth and relevance."

Criminological engagement with human rights post-9/11:
- Notable extension and abuse of state power following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
- Emergence of practices such as increased state surveillance
Implications of post-9/11 context:
- Guantanamo Bay has become a symbol of human rights abuses and injustice
- Incarceration of terrorism suspects without due process, operating under unlawful detention
  - Statistics: Since 2002, 779 Muslim men and boys imprisoned, most without charge or trial
  - Interrogation practices noted include those without constraints leading to torture and brutality, both physical and psychological
  - Concept of black sites where individuals are “disappeared”
Critical quotes:
- Hamilton (2018): Post-9/11 actions dealt a "hammer blow" to global human rights.
- Amnesty International: "Brick by brick, the edifice of rights protection that was so carefully constructed after the Second World War is being dismantled."

Use of human rights to evidence state and corporate harms:
- Violations of human rights are instrumental in holding perpetrators accountable
- Example: The Grenfell Tower fire illustrates inadequacies in corporate and state accountability.

Definition of Genocide:
- Considered a gross violation of human rights, particularly concerning life, liberty, and security.
- Defined as causing social and physical death of a group characterized by their traits rather than actions.
- Features a gendered analysis of crime.
Prominent example:
- Indigenous Australians (Rafter, 2016).

Understanding of atrocity crime:
- Comprises particularly heinous crimes such as:
  - War crimes: E.g., murder of prisoners of war, sexual violence against civilians, and conscription of child soldiers.
  - Crimes against humanity: Such as murder, enslavement, and other inhumane acts perpetrated as part of widespread attacks.
  - Genocide itself is included here.
- Orthodox criminology's blind spot:
  - Has historically focused on crimes by the powerless rather than those by the powerful.
- Relevant quotes:
  - Hagan & Rymond-Richmond (2009) emphasize the delay in addressing crucial topics like genocide and war crimes in criminology.

Focus of green criminology:
- Studies harms and crimes against the environment from numerous aspects.
  - Environmental law and policy.
  - Corporate crimes impacting the environment.
  - Interrelation between environmental justice and human rights.
- Key conclusion: Environmental harms can impede the realization of human rights (Hope, Nigel & Walters, 2016).

John Knox's assertion:
- "All human beings depend on the environment… A safe, clean, healthy environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights… Without a healthy environment, we are unable to fulfil our aspirations or even live at minimum standards of human dignity." (Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, 15 March 2015)
Justice Weeramantry: Environmental protection is essential for fundamental human rights like health and life, as environmental degradation can affect the rights documented in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Rights guaranteed in judicial contexts:
- Right to due process, fair and public trials, and equality before the law.
Practical challenges:
- These rights often remain unrealized in practice.

Role of police:
- Police serve both as protectors and violators of human rights (McCulloch, 2016)
- They hold the power to prevent abuses but, conversely, also commit violations.
- Quote from Crawshaw et al. (2007): Police are uniquely placed to alleviate suffering and protect integrity, yet also possess coercive power to commit abuses.
- In western societies, police are primary agents of domestic human rights violations (Green & Ward, 2004).

References to international legal frameworks:
- United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights emphasizes protection from torture, arbitrary deprivation of life, and excessive police force.
- Issues arise with police interference in individuals' freedoms and discriminatory practices.
  - Examples include disproportionate arrest and stops of minorities and the issue of racialized identities being perceived as suspicious.
- Concern: Police routinely engage in systematic human rights violations targeting lower social strata (McCulloch, 2016).

Vulnerability of prisoners:
- Prisoners face a multitude of potential human rights violations including restrictions on liberty, dignity, and rights against cruel treatment.
- International rules:
  - The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights affirms that imprisoned individuals must be treated humanely, reflecting their inherent dignity.
  - Custodial sentences should serve to punish not further punish post-arrest.
- Reference to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1977), aka the Nelson Mandela Rules (2015):
  - Require respect for prisoners' inherent dignity.

Necessity for special vigilance:
- UN Guidelines: The Bangkok Rules outline provisions for the treatment of women prisoners.
Importance of ongoing education through provided video resources for practical understanding.

Contemporary concerns:
- Tensions between human rights and western capitalist neoliberalism.
- Issues regarding potential co-opting of human rights by the state.
- The ethnocentric view that human rights are predominantly derived from Western capitalist ideologies.

Focus: Pulling it all together and integrating social justice into criminology.