A new HORIZON-EUROPE-funded project led by the University of Gothenburg has started its work with a kick-off meeting in Sweden. The Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, is a key member of this research consortium which examines human rights justifications.

The project called “States’ Practices of Human Rights
Justification: a study in civil society engagement and human rights through the lens
of gender and intersectionality” (HRJust) explores how states use human rights
concepts and the language of human rights to justify decisions. Specifically, it
will focus on decisions regarding COVID-19, migration, and climate change.

States claims to human rights are not regulated by international
law, meaning that there are gaps in international human rights law. The HRJust
project seeks to address these regulatory gaps and work out proposals for how they
could be closed. Thematic working groups include researchers from fifteen
institutions in Sweden, Finland, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, the Czech
Republic, India, and Switzerland.

– Our team cooperates
closely with the Taiwanese partners, says Katri-Maaria Kyllönen, a junior researcher
in the research team at the Arctic Centre, led by Prof. Dr. Stefan Kirchner. Their
goal is to map COVID-19-related policies in Finland, Sweden, and Taiwan to compare
the measures and restrictions that were implemented.

–
During the pandemic, many states justified restrictions to freedom of movement and
the collection of people’s data by using human rights narratives. Those restrictions
looked very different in different parts of the world, so a comparison between the
Nordic countries and Taiwan will provide fruitful insights, Kyllönen adds. To
understand the real impacts of COVID-19 measures, they plan to organize meetings
with key groups which were significantly affected by them.

Other human rights-related challenges that will be investigated in the context of
HRJust concern climate change and migration. Together with colleagues from the
Institute of International Relations in Prague, Czech Republic, researchers from the
Arctic Centre will turn the research results that will be created during the project
into practically relevant knowledge for the future.

The
HRJust project aims to develop a theory of human rights justifications and a process
for civil society engagement that is truly inclusive. Furthermore, their data could
help the European Union to work out a multinational human rights system and the
promotion of transnational democratic governance.

– Our
findings will help public authorities, NGOs, and the public to recognize and
understand how policy, regulations, and law can be adapted to better protect
individuals in future crises, says Kyllönen.

The project
is truly diverse as it includes research regarding three different topics in overall
five countries: Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, Taiwan, and India. But gender equality and
intersectionality play an important role in each of the working groups.

– In all our research topics, gender and intersectionality are central
as human rights justifications affect some groups more than others. With a focus on
current state practices, the recommendations and materials provided in this project
strongly promote gender inclusion and intersectionality in society, Kyllönen
explains.

Project has received funding
by the European Commission’s Horizon Europe.