The soon-to-be completed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will be the largest hydroelectric power plant and among the largest reservoirs in Africa, has highlighted the need for expanding traditional integrated water resources management to better include the cultural, social, and political complexities of large water infrastructure in development projects. The GERD will store a maximum of 74 billion cubic meters of water corresponding to approximately the average annual outflow of the Nile from the Aswan high dam. Undoubtedly, the GERD will be vital for energy production and a key factor for food production, economic development, and poverty reduction in Ethiopia and the Nile Basin. However, the GERD is also a political statement that in one stroke has re-written the hydropolitical map of the Nile Basin. The GERD has become a symbol of Ethiopian nationalism or “renaissance” (hidase in Amharic). A contrasting concept to nationalism is hydrosolidarity. This concept has been put forward to better stress equitable use of water in international water management challenges that would lead to sustainable socioeconomic development. We use the opposing notions of nationalism and hydrosolidarity at three different scales, everyday politics, state policies, and interstate and global politics to analyse some aspects of the new hydropolitical map of the Nile Basin. We argue that nationalism and national interests are not necessarily negative standpoints but that there may instead be a meeting point where regional and national interests join with hydrosolidarity principles. We believe that this meeting point can maximize not only the common good, but also the good from a national interest point of view. For this, it is important not increase collaboration instead of being locked in to the historical narrative of nationalistic culture and historical discourse. This would benefit and improve future sustainability.

The externalisation of migration management has emerged as a complex and controversial phenomenon, with implications for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of refugees. This research study aims to investigate the relationship between the use of biometrics, the externalisation of borders, and the resulting infringements upon migrants' rights. Drawing upon a qualitative approach and data visualization analysis, this research delves into a comprehensive analysis of Frontex’s framing in perpetuating the externalisation process and the use of invasive technologies. The findings reveal that the increased use of technology in border control not only poses potential human rights violations but also serves as a central component in the externalisation process. The research also explores participants' awareness of legal procedures, mistreatment and abuse frequencies, attitudes towards technology, and overall impressions of the migration management system. This research contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on the relationship between technology, securitization, and the human rights of refugees within the European Union. By critically examining the framing strategies employed by Frontex and the resulting infringements upon migrants' rights, this study emphasizes the need for greater scrutiny and reevaluation of policies and practices in the context of migration management. Overall, this research serves as a call to action, urging policymakers, stakeholders, and the wider public to reassess the role of technology, ensure the protection of human rights, and strive for a more balanced approach that prioritizes both security and fundamental freedoms.

This paper constitutes an in-depths examinations of the swedish national council for crime prevention's (BRÅ) report titled "children and youth in criminal networks" with a particular focus on two primary aspects. Firstly i delve into the implications of article 6 of the convention on the rights of the child within the context of the report, despite its absence in explicit form. Through a contextual interpretation, I illuminate how the report inderectly considers and reflects upon children's fundemental rights to life. liberty, and development, aligning with the essence of the convention. Subsecuently, I analyze the identified factors in the report that propel young individuals into criminal networks. Grounded in theoretical frameworks and perspectives, my analysis aims to deepen the understanding of the complexety of these factors and their impact. Through this study, I shed light on the depth of the report and pave the way for a more comprehensive discussion on children's rights and the underlying mechanism behind youth involvment in criminal contexts. 

The City of Stockholm has declared that it will be leading in the implementation of Agenda 2030. The study is based on interviews with political parties, representatives from the administration and civil society actors in the City of Stockholm. It explores how concepts within and the relation between Agenda 2030 and human rights are perceived. The results of the study are based on four themes: to leave no one behind, politics, language and practice, and partnership. A tension between human rights and Agenda 2030 is found, but also commonalities. The study shows that in local administration, Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals are often regarded as more practical than human rights. Yet, respondents believe that human rights can strengthen Agenda 2030. Across all respondent groups, the study finds that there are expectations of Agenda 2030 breaking silos, uniting actors and offering a framework that is stable over policy shifts

This thesis investigates how three high schools based in Stockholm organize their sex education. Do the schools meet the guidelines and policies for sex education or in which way do they not? The study is based on interviews with school staff and is analyzed through a new institutional theoretical perspective. According to the Swedish National Agency for Education, sex education overbridge various subjects; concepts like sexuality, equality, sex and relations are expressed in several high school curriculums. The Swedish National Agency for Education further explain that all teachers are affected by these questions, since it is related to the schools basic principles and values. The main result shows that the quality of sex education is dependent on the commitment from teachers, headmasters and students. Together they create certain norms, values and atmospheres which makes sex education to a very big challenge and sometimes a success. 

During 2020, the human rights movement Black Lives Matter, BLM, gathered new momentum after the eight minute recorded murder of George Floyd by an American police officer caught widespread global attention. By the end of the year the BLM protests had spread internationally, with a purpose to most of all bring the issues of structural racism in their own country to the surface. This sparked a debate in Sweden and earlier research show that the dominant understanding of racism is that of racism as individual, caused by certain deviant individuals. The structural understanding of racism, the one where racism is a global power structure, has been on the outer margins of the Swedish debate since the 90’s, but gathered more spread from 2012 and forward thanks to academics and journalists studying post-colonialism, but the individual understanding of racism is still the dominant one. This study aims to analyze and gain a deeper understanding of how ideas are constructed around the understanding of racism in Sweden in relation to BLM and to analyze main arguments and patterns to see if gaslighting is exercised. With structural racism and gaslighting as theoretical frames together with Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis as method, the study finds that the debate was still in those two different understandings; questioning discourse and reproducing discourse. Within the questioning discourse, postcolonial ideas and theories were being made, while the reproducing discourse would admit to structural racism in America, but denied its existence in Sweden. They denied structural racism by accusing BLM and the antiracists of importing American “race ideas”, importing a “made up history” to Sweden which are all patterns aligned with gaslighting. Which one of these discourses that will “win” will have an impact on our view of racism and will thus have political, judicial, structural and social consequences along with changes for systems of knowledge and meaning. 

In Sweden, the web-TV channel Riks which is a media initiative on YouTube by nationalist political party Sweden Democrats, has gained popularity contributing to the normalization of nationalist discourses. The aim of this study is to analyze how the discursive and visual construction and representation of women on Riks are created in nationalist discourse. Investigating this issue provides insight into the values that are being promoted and their potential consequences. The study was conducted through an intersectional theory and Stuart Hall’s representation theory with a multimodal critical discourse analysis methodology. The study found that women who are assigned the category as ’immigrants’ and ’Muslim’ were portrayed as deviant, having their voices erased and overlooked while simultaneously being portrayed as victims. ’White’ women were also portrayed as victims of the ’mass immigration’, but they were distinctively assigned agency, with the role of doing something about the situation, while ’immigrant women’ were told to ’repatriate’, reflecting their role as not acceptable within the nation.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the discrepancies between theory and practice when it comes to humanitarian interventions in refugee camps. In order to contextualize the result it will be applied onto the work with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and young women in the world’s biggest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The research questions are as follow: What discrepancy does relief worker experience when it comes to theory and practice in humanitarian interventions in refugee camps?; what kind of difficulties and challenges do relief workers meet in their work in refugee camps and how do they prepare?; what is the best way to work with SRHR questions and young women in the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh?

The study is built on interviews with five relief workers from western relief organizations. In order to be able to answer the three research questions, the interviews focused on the following themes; discrepancies of theory and practice; use of theoretical guidelines like The Sphere Handbook; difficulties during humanitarian interventions in refugee camps; and lessons learned. Some of the respondents had experience from Cox’s Bazar and/or SRHR and were therefor asked questions due to that specific experience.

Conclusions to be drawn from the results of the interviews are that it is possible to prepare one self to work in humanitarian conditions but only to a certain extent. Relief workers do need a great deal of experience but there will always be unexpected situations impossible to prepare for. It’s also clear that some basic methods, such as actually talking to the people in need and not only acting on previous experiences, still need to be highlighted. In the specific context of Cox’s Bazar and SRHR questions, relief workers need to understand the culture in order to pursue their work in a suitable way. SRHR questions are for example highly stigmatized and the women’s previous knowledge about their own body is in general very low. 

This paper delves into the significance of land disposal to indigenous rights and Settler-Colonies. Specifically, it examines land use regulations for forestry management and Forest Sami villages. Through interviews with practicing forest reindeer herders, it has been revealed that forestry practices in Sweden have dramatically altered the landscape, posing significant challenges to the continuation of reindeer herding. In the context of Settler-Colonialism, the analysis of these findings shows that land use regulations align with the "logic of elimination," which seeks to remove the native population to secure settlers’ access to land.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) from 1989 remains the most widely ratified treaty on human rights and functions as a normative frame for myriads of actors working to promote the rights of children. The scholarship on the convention recognises that non-governmental organisations were crucial to the drafting of the treaty. Some of these accounts also single out the Swedish Save the Children Federation (Radda Barnen) as significant for facilitating non-governmental cooperation and shaping the drafting group discussions. Drawing on archival and published first-hand sources, the paper adds to the available accounts, first by outlining some of the developments that led Radda Barnen to embrace the concept of children's rights in the 1970s and become involved in drafting of UNCRC in the 1980s. The paper then reveals how the organisation engaged creatively with the concept of children's rights in the drafting process and succeeded in framing children in armed conflict and female genital mutilation as rights issues, effectively challenging some of the conventional boundaries of international human rights law. But the paper also points to the limits of Radda Barnen's influence and suggests that its creative engagement took place within a relatively conventional framework of child protection.

Through an argumentation analysis and gender jurisprudence theory, this essay examines the complexity of masculinity norms and their connection with the legal system in western cultures. The analysis  investigates how this connection affects equality and justice within the framework of the right to a fair trial. The results show that courts and juries' values regarding "appropriate" masculinity influence decision-making processes. The conclusion of the essay shows that depending on how men, in relation to masculinity norms, are evaluated by the legal system, as well as factors such as class, social position, ethnicity, age, and sexuality, there will be an impact on how men are judged in relation to acts of violence and crime.

This research examines the impacts and implications of the Philippine labor export migration policy on the human rights conditions of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Kuwait, Hungary, and Poland with the specific objectives of determining the adequacy of legal protections provided by the policy. Through the use of a mixed-methods approach, which included qualitative field interviews and quantitative analysis, along with policy examination and an interdisciplinary approach, this research has uncovered alarming patterns of “alienation” and “systematic precarization” of migrant workers. This has resulted in the deterioration of the employment conditions of OFWs. The study, as extensively discussed in Chapters 6 and 7, has shown that the precarization of migrant workers is continuously occurring in Central Europe, specifically in Hungary and Poland. Meanwhile, OFWs in both contexts, Kuwait and Central Europe, have been subjected to highly exploitative and oppressive working conditions comparable to historical servitude and state-induced debt bondage. Notwithstanding the Philippine labor export migration law (RA 10022) designed to protect OFWs, this study has found that it falls short of providing complete protective measures, especially with regard to abusive treatment, systematic alienation, and precarization of migrant workers. The study also shows that OFWs are trapped in a vicious cycle, where the breakdown of employee-employer relationships and enslavement-like treatment result in a violent crackdown on their fundamental rights, leading to their unfortunate fate. Therefore, there is an urgent need for policy reforms to improve the legal dimension of OFWs’ protection abroad. This calls for reconsidering the Philippine labor export migration policy absorbed toward the promotion of just, fair, and inclusive international and national labor migration regulation to meet the challenges posed by neoliberal policies.

This thesis examines the effectiveness of India's National Green Tribunal (NGT) in safeguarding the environment, mitigating climate change, impacting environmental justice, and protecting human rights. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research focuses on the Indian dedicated environmental court, the NGT as the primary case together with two nested case studies of an Indigenous tribe, the Idu Mishmi people of Arunachal Pradesh in addition to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan and the forest dwellers who have lived with-in the reserve's territory for generations. 

By analyzing the NGT's functioning, its impact on specific cases, and the experiences of affected communities, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with achieving environmental justice in India. The study also explores the interplay between environmental legislation, the role of the NGT, and NGT's contribution to India's sustainability commitments. 

Key findings reveal that while the NGT has played a vital role in addressing environmental issues, its effectiveness is constrained by factors such as limited resources, non-compliance with judgments, and an uneven power balance. The study highlights NGT's role in balancing development with ecological sustainability. 

There are also several barriers to climate justice in India, both practical and ideological challenges. Starting with the practical barriers, according to the findings of this study, the biggest obstacle to climate justice in India is not a lack of laws or court rulings, but a failure to implement them. Despite NGT’s fines and guidelines, there is often a lack of resources and incentives for companies and government agencies to comply. The study further emphasizes that regulatory agencies like state pollution control boards often lack the staff and capacity to monitor and enforce environmental laws. This undermines the possibility of achieving climate justice, as violations go undetected or unaddressed. Corporations, particularly in the energy and mining sectors, also actively oppose stricter environmental laws through lobbying, often portraying environmental protection as an obstacle to economic development and arguing that it hinders job creation and economic growth. Continuing further to the ideological barriers, there is a widespread belief, among both politicians and the public, that environmental protection conflicts with economic development. This perspective hinders progress in climate justice, as it creates a false dichotomy between economic and environmental goals. 

Recommendations include increasing the NGT's capacity, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and fostering greater collaboration between the NGT, government agencies, and civil society organizations. These measures are essential for ensuring the NGT's continued effectiveness in safeguarding the environment, mitigating climate change simultaneously, and promoting environmental justice and sustainable development in India. 

Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - hit or miss? And how is CSRinterlinked with Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? India became the first country in the world to write Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intolegislation, in April 2014, making it mandatory for companies to invest in sustainable development programs and activities. Even though this may sound great, India's business leaders are doubtful. India has a long tradition in the field of Human Rights and CSR and in line with that tradition, India is also committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), after signing the Agenda 2030 in 2015 which came into force at the beginning of 2016. (2021:UN in India). Historically, Human Rights have been deeply embedded in the Indian culture and religious belief systems to such an extent that many of the articles already existed or have been legislated or incorporatedinto national law, when the international declarations, conventions, and treaties were formed. CSR was also historically philanthropy deeply rooted in religious belief in the 1800s. Social Business practices inthe 1900s took a different form of philanthropic donations to charity, service to the community, enhancing employee welfare, and promoting religious conduct. The concept of CSR has then evolved from being regarded as damaging to a company’s profitability, to being considered as beneficial to the company as a whole, at least if done right. This essay aims to analyze the CSR status in India and focuses on finding, describing, and explaining the issues and challenges faced in India today through a human rights lens. How are Human Rights and the SDGs in India and Indian companies' relationship with CSR interlinked and which are the main factors that need to be taken into consideration by foreign companies, when investing in India and making partnerships with Indian companies, without unintentionally breaking laws or violating human rights? There is a trend of studies on CSR out there in the world, but very few have looked at the correlation to Human Rights and the Indian mandatory aspect of CSR and how it's working. Human Rights plays an important part in CSR activities in India as well as the SDGs, which include both social and environmental sustainability. This mix may look complex at first sight, but the concepts are all intertwined and may enhance each other. Respect for Human Rights or reaching the SDGs are good but not good enough if not complied with or verified. And to make that happen businesses and not only States need to review both the social and the ecological criteria as well as the due diligence process and the related assessment and compliance verification requirements to make sure they are on track. This essay will also point to important factors that need to be addressed and hopefully be very helpful in this aspect.

China's relations with African states have attracted much attention in recent years. Between the 1990s and today, China has developed into one of the most important players in the world system. During this period China has also grown to be the largest trading partner for all African states. There are diverging opinions as to whether China, in pursuit of natural resources, is taking advantage of the need for investments and infrastructure in African states, or if they are enabling possibilities of realistic and equitable development in African states. This study examines the compatibility of Sino-African trade with African guidelines for pan-African ownership, sustainable development, and human rights, by analyzing the African Union Agenda 2063 and the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights.

This essay examines the implementation of the Swedish government's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights by two Swedish companies. The study is conducted using a qualitative method in combination with a comparative approach. The data analyzed consists of the UN's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Swedish government's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights from 2015, and the Swedish legal framework on business including human rights in there sustainability report. The study also looks at the government's follow-up of the Action Plan to determine if the measures taken had any effect. The study does not take into account any new developments in the issue presented by the current government. The study finds that the two companies have implemented some of the recommendations made in the Action Plan, but not all. The analysis shows that the companies' reporting on human rights is inadequate and not in line with the Action Plan's requirements. The study concludes that more needs to be done by companies to ensure the respect for human rights and the implementation of the Action Plan.

This study aims to analyze the underlying factors and barriersinfluencing undocumented adults' access to healthcare in Sweden. By focusing on the experiences of five respondents associated with the Swedish Red Cross, the essay seeks to shed light on and enhance the understanding of the limitations faced by undocumented adults, regarding their access to healthcare in Sweden. This study has a qualitative research approach with semi-structured interviews. The studyaddresses three theories for understanding the factors and barriers that affect the access to healthcare by using Goffman (1963) stigma, Young (2011) social justice and Rothstein (2003) trust and social contract theory. The result of the study shows insights information from five respondents of the factors affecting undocumented adults' healthcare access in Sweden. The study ultimately reveals that stigmatization, trust, fear, and social networks are underlying factors that impact the access to healthcare for undocumented adults in Sweden. Additionally,socio-economic barriers are identified as limiting the opportunities for undocumented adults to access healthcare in Sweden. The research highlights that these challenges are not merely individual choices or priorities but rather a result of complex factors and structural impediments. Therefore, addressing the obstacles and underlying factors requires a collective approach to observe and understand the root causes affecting the access to healthcare in Swedenfor undocumented adults.

Sexual violence perpetrated against women during armed conflicts represents a severe violation of their fundamental human rights. This heinous act not only inflicts significant harm on the women themselves but also results in the birth of children conceived due to wartime rape. Previous research has marked that children born of war encounter various forms of discrimination, stigma, neglect, abuse, and sometimes limited access to education and healthcare. As a vulnerable group, children born of war often have single mothers who have experienced sexual violence, resulting in potential lack of support from their family and communities. This paper investigates the circumstances and obstacles faced by children born of war but also what is necessary to properly support these children, according to the five organisations interviewed. It shines light on the need for comprehensive support systems to address their specific needs in the future, such as the urgent need for early interventions and psychological support, along with providing children born of war the opportunity to connect with their biological heritage to foster a sense of identity amongst others.

This thesis examines national name changes in terms of democratic and participatory rights. The research is divided into two sections; one compiles the information on several historic and contemporary name changes and analyses the common traits, the other investigates the eSwatini name change through case study interviews. The thesis is theory building on national name changes and settles on a conclusion on name changes being reasoned by either pragmatic sentiments or in terms of collective identity and that the processes of such name changes can be either democratic, organic, or undemocratic.

In this thesis the objective has been to identify differences in judgements between female and male offenders in legal cases about rape against children in Swedish courts.

Female offenders are often seen as victims or mentally ill by judicial courts/institutions. By analyzing the cases from a theoretic perspective that gender is constructed by victimization the thesis will investigate how the offenders motivate their act. The thesis has investigated cases from 3 angles; the relationship with the child, the sexual act and their explanations to the committed crime/acts. There are some indications that construction of sex is identifiable.

The relationship with the plaintiff in the cases is assumed from the feelings the child has towards the male offender, and when the offender is a woman it is assumed from her feelings and not the relationship with the child. Judgements with male offenders is more detailed with the sexual act and therefore also much more explained in the documents from the court. The female offender is often described as a vulnerable, manipulated or victimized and therefore given reason for not taking responsibilities for their acts. This is often used by the lawyer who represents the female offender.

Karl Barth famously objected to National Socialism by confessing Christ as the only Lord. The same can be said about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. No doubt, Bonhoeffer was just as centred on Christ as Barth and this christocentrism was the basis for Bonhoeffer’s rejection of Nazism, as exemplified in his early denunciation of the Aryan clause. Yet, opinions differ on whether Bonhoeffer maintained the Lutheran division of labour between state and church. Did Bonhoeffer’s rejection of Nazism also reject the idea of a ‘Christian ruler’ over all? Was a genuine Christian culture preferred over a secular one? But Bonhoeffer’s own question was also, who is Christ, really, for us today? So what does that mean in the context of a growing ‘christianist’ populism today?

This text explores what is known as the immunization effect in relation to the growing useage of Christian imagery in populist movement. The immunization effect holds that high church attendence appears to "immunize" against edherence to populist movements. This is partly true, yet I argue that the immunization effect cannot write the church free from Christianityäs connection to populism in Europe.

Joseph Sverker explores the division between social constructivism and a biologist essentialism by means of Christian theology. For this, Sverker uses a fascinating approach: He lets critical theorist Judith Butler, psycholinguist Steven Pinker, and systematic theologian Colin Gunton interact. While theology plays a central part to make the interaction possible, the context is also that of the school and the effect of institutions on the pupil as a human being and learner.

In order to understand what underlies the division between nature and nurture, or biology and the social in school, Sverker develops new central concepts such as a kenotic personalism, a weak ontology of relationality, and a relational and performative reading of evolution. He argues that most fundamental for what it is to be human is the person, vulnerability, bodiliness, openness to the other, and dependence.

Sverker concludes that the division between constructivism and essentialism discloses a deeper divide, namely that between fundamentally vulnerable persons on the one hand and constructed independent individuals on the other.

This essay examines how the children of the Finnish Winter War were treated in the process. It focuses on three questions which are about the children’s’ situation and responsibility in the war. It also examines to what extent the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as a tool can interpret what risks the children's situation put them in. These questions are being answered through an interview with a Finnish war child and a literature study.    The interview is reinforced by stories from other children who were repositioned during the war and also from those who were adopted to Sweden. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is used as the theory for understanding the children's situation. It is a tool to describe what needs children have and their needs to have a stable childhood. The essay finds that many children were exposed to events that affected how much time they had to be children and they were forced to take on a role of responsibility in their families. The situation can therefore clearly be said as not optimal for them. Many were forced to grow up too early because of this and were not allowed to participate in decisions or to consider their own feelings. A lot of them ended up falling behind in school and sources at the time were concerned that it could have consequences for their development which is also considered in this essay.

The thesis of this essay explores if there is a causation in youth (15-25 years) partnerrelationships between pornography consumption and sexual violence. The analysis includedperspectives of human rights, gender and consent. It has also been examined how to counteractthese issues and who’s responsibility it is to do so. These questions have been asked to sevenprofessionals in non-profit organizations through an interview study. A survey with 19-yearolds in high school about their experiences with pornography and sexual violence was alsomade. Because of low participation in the survey only part of it will be shown in the analysis.To process all the data of the studies, theories of gender and consent have been used. The resultsshowed that youths that contacts the non-profit organisations feel that they need to do whateversexual act that their partner wants them to. They could not always see themselves thatpornography was affecting their relationships and that the acts they were forced to do wasinspired from pornography. The questions asked to the youths played a role in how much of acausation the organisations could see. Pornography is not the only reason that sexual violencehas increased among youths, there are other things contributing, like how the whole society isvery sexualized and is very tolerant to violence in general. The youths had a hard timedetermining what sexual violence is and how complex consent is. Gender norms put pressureon them to act a certain way in their partner relationships and talk a special way about violence,sex and pornography. To see the causation, you need to have the knowledge about violence,gender and how to talk to youths. We cannot stop the use of pornography, but we can learn howto talk to young people about it and work pre-emptive to prevent more issues to evolve. Sexualviolence is a rights issue, but those rights that protect you from violence is not helpful inrestricting pornography. Conventions can be used to put more pressure on the state of Swedento act against these issues. Harmful standards must be prevented and there needs to be supportand openness to talk to youths about these issues.