International Journal on Human Rights: Call for contributions

Sur – International Journal on Human Rights welcomes contributions to be published in its coming issues. The Journal is published twice a year,
distributed free of charge to approximately 3,000 readers in over 100
countries. It is edited in three languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish
and can also be accessed through the internet at http://www.surjournal.org

The journal is especially aimed at academics and activists dedicated to the
study and the defense of human rights. Our main purpose is to divulge the
viewpoints of the Global South, stressing their specificity, and
facilitating the contact among its members, without ignoring the important
contributions of the more developed countries. The journal is published by
SUR HUMAN RIGHTS UNIVERSITY NETWORK (www.surnet.org).

The issues of the journal are not thematic, thus permitting the publication
of articles dealing with human rights from multiple perspectives. For our
next issue – No. 5 – however, we will prioritize articles which,
preferentially – not exclusively – deal with the following topics:

Innovative mechanisms to protect HR in countries with federative systems In
cases of countries that have a federative system, the “union” or the
“federal government” is responsible at the international level for human
rights violations. Some countries have created mechanisms to prevent and
solve at the national level potential cases that could be brought to the
international arena. Ways to nationally implement decisions of international
bodies are also in debate in many countries.
Sur invites authors to submit articles that provide for a deep analysis of
these mechanisms. Comparative articles are especially welcomed.
Racism and the impact of the World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and related Intolerance (WCAR) – Durban In
September 2001, in the third World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR), States adopted
concrete commitments for ending racism. UNLIKE other World Conferences,
Durban will not have an official UN global +5 event, although Chile and
Brazil will organize a regional follow up Conference in July 2006. Sur
invites academics, activists and specialists to submit articles that analyze
the impact of the conference on the definition racial discrimination,
continuing manifestations around the world, and the implementation of
commitments adopted by the States at Durban.
UN Reform: New Human Rights Council and the OHCHR Last March 15, the UN
General Assembly approved the main characteristics of the new Human Rights
Council. The new Council will develop the modalities of the new “universal
periodic review” within a year of its first session. It will also review and
rationalize the system of special procedures of the Commission on Human
Rights in the same time period. Concomitantly, the OHCHR has gone through a
deep reform and has decided to produce yearly a “Global Report” about human
rights in the world. Sur invites authors to submit articles that identify
new ways for governments and NGOs to influence the human rights organs and
activities of the UN, such as by making proposals about the characteristics
of this new global report, or to identify the weaknesses and strengths of
the “old” Human Rights Commission.

These themes, as has been pointed out, are not exclusive – they are
preferential.

Format
Contributions should be sent as electronic files in the MS Word format, to
[email][email protected] containing:
-Between 7,000 and 10,000 words. -Footnotes that are concise and objective. (Please find at the end of this
text the rule for citation.
-Short biography of author with a maximum of 50 words.) -Abstract with no
more than 150 words, including keywords for the required bibliographical
classification.
-Date when the paper was written.
Articles can be sent in at any time, though only submissions received before
June 30, 2006, may be included in issue number 5. Articles received after
that date will be considered for subsequent issues.

Ideally articles should be original and unpublished. Exceptionally, however,
relevant contributions already published elsewhere may be accepted, provided
the required authorizations are granted. Please inform if, where and when
the paper has been published before.

The selection of articles and all other editorial matters are the exclusive
responsibility of the Editorial Board made up of the following members:
Christof Heyns, Pretoria University, South Africa Emílio Garcia Méndez,
Universidade de Buenos Aires, Argentina Fifi Benaboud, Centro Norte-Sul do
Conselho da União Européia, Portugal Fiona MacAulay, Bradford University,
United Kingdom Flavia Piovesan, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São
Paulo, Brasil J. Paul Martin, Columbia University, USA Kwame Karikari, Ghana
University, Ghana Mustapha Kamel Al-Sayyed, Cairo University, Egypt Richard
Pierre Claude, Maryland University, USA Roberto Garretón, UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Chile

Contributions will be evaluated by at least two members of the Editorial or
Consultative Board and, whenever necessary, also by external specialists.
Any suggested changes will be submitted to the authors and published only
with their express authorization.
Since the journal is distributed free of charge, unfortunately we are unable
to remunerate our contributors.