International Women's Human Rights (de Silva de Alwis)
Faculty
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| Rangita de Silva de Alwis Senior Adjunct Professor of Global Leadership rdesilva@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Yes
Class meets in person.
Meeting Times/Location
T 12:50PM - 2:50PM
Tanenbaum Hall 145
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Overview
Securing the protection and promotion of the human rights of women globally remains one of the major challenges of the 21st century. Notwithstanding the significant advances in international human rights norms relating to women, systemic discrimination and violence against women remain pervasive. This class will focus on the international human rights system as it relates to the protection and promotion of women, the intersectionality of human rights conventions, treaty bodies, UN Security Council Resolutions, UN special procedures, the Sustainable Development Goals. The seminar will critically analyze the theoretical debates about securing the human rights of women, with a focus on critical new developments and movements to combat structural violence and discrimination against women. The seminar will include debates about discrimination, equality, the public-private divide, cultural practices/cultural relativism and a new generation of legal reform in violence against women (including technology facilitated violence, violence against women in politics and the media, period shaming, obstetric violence and cultural forms of violence) and sexual violence and consent. The readings will critically comment on the international law-based approaches to securing the rights of women; and the analysis of domestic application and implementation of international norms and the mechanisms for enforcing the human rights of women, including gaps in treaty body reporting, strengths and weaknesses in lawmaking and challenges in women’s rights litigation. Students will examine relevant United Nations treaties, Security Council Resolutions and comparative laws as analytical tools to draft a paper that will explore new developments in gender equality in international, transnational and comparative law.
Pedagogical Approach
• On a weekly basis, students will be assigned to present the required reading on the class
• The class engages with global policymakers
Requirements
• Students in the seminar will draft a 10- page research paper on new challenges and how the UN treaty- The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other international law frameworks can be used to combat these challenges.(90% of grade)
• Class Participation (10% of grade)
• All readings and films will be made available on canvas
NOTE: Since I am a member of the UN treaty on the Convention on the elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) I will be in Geneva participating in constructive dialogues with governments at the 87th Session of the State Parties to the CEDAW for two weeks. For those two weeks, I will be leading the class virtually and will discuss on the ground development globally.
International and Comparative Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of international and comparative law, both substantively and procedurally; Perform legal analysis in the context of international and comparative law; Communicate effectively on topics related to international and comparative law; Demonstrate an understanding of the role of international and comparative law, and their interconnection with domestic law.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.