Sara De Vido

Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Europe and Asia

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the evolution of the protection of women’s rights in Europe and Asia (Asean countries and Japan). The chapter will focus on violence against women and on trafficking of women, and on two regional legal instruments, namely the Council of Europe Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the ASEAN Convention against trafficking in persons, especially women and children. The contribution does not purport to compare two systems which present specific characteristics, but rather to show how the protection of human rights, and in particular women’s rights, can benefit from a dialogue between regional experiences. We will therefore support the trend toward ‘regionalisation’ in the protection of women’s rights, encouraging, at the same time, a dialogue between the systems themselves.

Mainstreaming gender in the protection of cultural heritage

The purpose of this contribution is to reflect on the relationship between gender equality and CH, from a human rights law perspective. We will demonstrate that the two elements are not conflicting, but mutually reinforcing. Provided that some practices can never be condoned under human rights law, the approach followed in the article is twofold. On the one hand, it should be acknowledged the contribution given by women in the preservation of traditional practices and heritage sites. On the other hand, gender should be mainstreamed in the protection of CH – provided that the participation of local communities is ensured in order to empower women and gradually combat discrimination against them. Summary

The future of the draft UN Convention on international terrorism

Purpose The paper is meant to analyse the debate over the revival of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that a United Nations (UN) Convention on international terrorism is still necessary – provided that it is updated considering the new challenges that have recently emerged – and could be complemented by an annex containing the list of terrorist organisations, the determination of which is of common concern of the entire international community. Design/methodology/approach The analysis is conducted from an international law perspective. The paper uses a comparative perspective – counter-terrorism, Antarctic and ICAO system - to support the main argument. Findings The paper proposes an annex to the convention including a list of terrorist organisations. Some terrorist organisations are unanimously labelled as terrorist and therefore this list will be useful in developing cooperation among States. A system of revision is also presented; a system which emphasises the role of the UN Ombudsperson. Research limitations/implications The proposal presented does not delve into the content of the convention which should be based on the draft prepared by the UN General Assembly ad hoc Committee and should take into account the most recent forms of terrorism. The paper does not provide an answer to all the questions, and it does not linger over the tragedy of civilians living in Syria and Iraq who have been deprived – starting long before the rise of the Islamic State – of their land and lives. Practical implications Revival of the debate on the draft convention – proposal for a renewed role of the Ombudsperson – legal implications of a list annexed to a convention on international terrorism – importance of multilateral cooperation in the field. Originality/value The paper is innovative in changing the perspective of the problem. The point of view regarding the definition of international terrorism has usually been the following: to find a common definition of international terrorism trying to overcome all the differences regarding general exceptions. The proposed perspective is to find the lowest common denominator for the definition and to identify organisations on which States cannot but agree on their condemnation.

Culturally Motivated Crimes Against Women in a Multicultural Europe: The Case of Criminalization of FGM in the 2011 CoE Istanbul Convention

The so-called ‘culturally motivated crime’ is a phenomenon related to multiculturalism, that can be analysed with a special focus on a conduct committed against women: female genital mutilation. The choice of dealing with such sensitive topic derives from a provision of the recent CoE Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (hereinafter CoE Istanbul Convention), in force as of August 2014, which obliges States parties to criminalize female genital mutilation, and from the practice of European States mainly related to asylum and refugee status. An attempt to explain why the protection of core rights, like the prohibition of inhuman treatment and the protection of the physical integrity of a person, prevails in Europe over other considerations related to the (human) right to cultural diversity will be presented. Nevertheless, it will be also argued that, due to the growing presence of immigrant communities, the mere repression is not enough, but it should be accompanied by measures aimed at developing the knowledge of human rights.

Moving beyond the collateral effects of the Patrimonialisation: The Faro Convention and the ‘Commonification’ of Cultural Heritage

How can the potentialities of the Faro Framework Convention be improved if they are put in relation to the paradigm of the ‘commons’ and to its innovative democratic capacity in terms of social justice and inclusive principles and values? After having underlined the main elements of innovation which characterize the Faro Convention, especially with respect to the intangible cultural heritage, the diverse risks which can affect the patrimonialization of cultural heritage are taken into account, paying particular attention to the processes of identitarian instrumentalization; folklorization and museification; urban and social disaggregation. In order to avoid these risks, the ‘commons’ approach is proposed as a different way to recognize, implement and transmit cultural heritage through its ‘commonification’. This process is already at work in many different contexts, fields and sectors, as it will be illustrated by some concrete examples of commonification of cultural heritage throughout Europe. Sommario