Cycle 38 (2022/2023)
38th Cycle: Ludovica Aricò, Erika Iacona, T. N. Anh Nguyen, Lamia Yasin, Isabella Valbusa
For the best interest of the child? The History of the International Fight Against Child Labour
Curriculum: Human Rights, Society and Multilevel Governance
Supervisor: Lorenzo Mechi
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7074-303X
Summary
This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive account of the historical development of international efforts to address child labour. The objective of this project is to examine the rationale behind the establishment of universal standards to limit the employment of children. The thesis will examine a period spanning from the advent of the First Industrial Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century to the adoption of the ILO Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in 1999. A significant focus will be placed on the framework of the International Labour Organization (ILO), with a particular emphasis on the legal and historical analysis of the ILO Minimum Age Convention of 1973. This analysis will be conducted with a detailed examination of the role, motivations, and objectives of the most active delegations involved in the discussions. It is anticipated that the thesis will illustrate how socio-economic crises, such as a decline in GDP, loss of income and high unemployment rates, have a direct impact on the acceleration of international standards on child employment. Indeed, the evolution of international priorities has a direct impact on the priorities and actions of the ILO, which ultimately shapes the protection of children at work.
To achieve this objective, the thesis will employ a systematic review of existing historiography and literature. In particular, it will be based on archival sources from the International Labour Organisation and European Union archives, respectively located in Geneva and Fiesole, as well as from the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam.
Keywords: child labour, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), minimum age for employment, core labour standards.
Erika Iacona
Right to Dignity until the End: Implementing Law 219/2017 in the Territory between Public Administration and Health Service
Curriculum: Inclusion and psychological growth
Supervisor: Ines Testoni
Iris Page: https://www.research.unipd.it/cris/rp/rp70167
Orcid Number: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9751-6406
Funded by: PNRR DM 351/2022
Summary
Freedom of self-determination is one of the main cornerstones of Inalienable Human Rights and the Italian Constitution. Law 219/2017, inspired by these two normative horizons, applies this principle to the sphere of health and end-of-life choices.
The relationship between the sick person and healthcare system, decision-making autonomy, shared planning of the therapeutic plan and palliative care, and Advance Directives Treatment are some of the nodes that the law regulates.
Despite being a device aimed at extending the individual's right to sovereignty over their own body, little is known about this freedom, and the risk is that its innovative scope will be undermined.
The main critical issues for the application of the law and its dissemination, also highlighted in the literature, therefore concern:
- lack of knowledge of the law among the population and healthcare professionals
- lack of doctor-patient communication on finitude
- censorship of the subject of death .
Together with the main actors involved in the collection of Advance Directives Treatment, I will survey the criticalities they perceive in the application of the law, the technical difficulties encountered, the requests and doubts advanced by citizens, suggestions and advice to encourage awareness of the law. This to define which type of personnel can be considered suitable for the implementation of initiatives promoting the application of the law.
Finally, the activation of community death education paths for citizenship will be accomplished, thanks to the collaboration between the municipal administration and the university. These courses will aim to reduce anxiety towards death through activities that facilitate acceptance and promote understanding of death. The surveys will make it possible to identify the main difficulties encountered in using the device and based on that, to create suitable practices and models to help all the actors involved in the process.
Keywords: Death Education, self-determination, dignity, Law 219/2017, Advance Directives Treatment, human rights
Cyberviolence against women: Toward the human rights obligations of internet intermediaries. Regulatory feasibility of mandatory human rights due diligence.
Curriculum: Human Rights, Society and Multilevel Governance
Supervisors: Paola Degani & Paolo De Stefani
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2401-0591
Summary
Cyberviolence against women (CVAW) is a new dimension of gender-based violence that is deeply rooted in the inequality between women and men that persists in our society. Such violence is carried out utilising various digital technologies, most of which are operated and governed by multinational internet intermediaries or service providers. However, the fact that internet intermediaries are not treated as subjects of international law has created a loophole in the governance of human rights online. The actions (or inactions) of service providers have gone beyond the reach of international human rights law.
Therefore, this research aims to address the human rights obligations of internet intermediaries in relations to CVAW happening on their platforms. It is argued that altering the existing regulative dimension is necessary to accommodate a new information society. The study seeks to understand if human rights are adequate as the primary normative framework in platform governance, and if it is not, how could we overcome the obstacles to improve the effectiveness of international human rights laws in regulating the digital world.
The methodology used includes doctrinal legal research to analyse existing laws and regulations and content analysis of platform policy documents to understand how intermediaries moderate the content on their platforms based on the existing laws. The study uses primary and secondary sources such as academic literature, legal regulations, and policy documents from digital platforms, to thoroughly examine the legal and regulatory structures that oversee digital platforms to address CVAW.
Keywords: cyberviolence against women, digital platforms, digital laws, human rights obligations.
Identity and citizenship in a divided society: the implications of the Israeli educational system toward the Palestinian citizens of Israel
Curriculum: Human Rights, Society and Multilevel Governance
Supervisor: Pietro De Perini, co-supervisor Alberto Lanzavecchia
ORCID number: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-9801-3203
Summary:
This research examines how the Israeli education system conveys notions of citizenship and identity to Palestinian citizens of Israel, with a particular focus on the Arab education sector.
The theoretical frameworks underpinning this research include Gramsci's Theory of Hegemony, which explores the dominance of ruling classes through ideological means, and Social Reproduction Theory, which examines how social inequalities are perpetuated through institutions such as schools. These frameworks highlight how education can serve as a tool for maintaining social structures and dominant ideologies, particularly in conflict-ridden or divided societies.
The core research question is: How do Palestinian teachers' and headmasters' conceptions of citizenship and identity influence the implementation of Israeli education policies in their schools? This question is crucial because it addresses the intersection of education, identity and citizenship within a specific socio-political context, highlighting the role of education in either perpetuating or challenging existing power dynamics.
By focusing on educators rather than students, the study aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how those within the education system negotiate their identity and citizenship, and how they influence the educational experiences of future generations. This approach will contribute to a broader understanding of the role of education in social inclusion and the potential for educational settings to be sites of resistance to hegemonic ideologies.
Keywords: Israel, Palestinian, Citizenship, Identity, Education Policies, Educational System, Divided Societies, Conflict ridden societies.
Isabella Valbusa
Fostering inclusive school contexts: The role of participatory rights and inclusive social skills to foster Inclusion in children
Curriculum: Inclusion and psychological growth
Supervisor: Maria Cristina Ginevra
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1509-8482
Summary
Today's school environments are diverse, with children from various ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, and different abilities (Juvonen et al., 2019). This diversity can lead to situations of bullying, discrimination, marginalisation, and social exclusion, which violate the participatory rights of children. In this perspective, school inclusion is seen as a mean of fostering positive social relationships and intergroup harmony (Burke et al., 2023). Therefore, it is crucial for schools to adopt intervention programs that promote knowledge of rights associated with inclusion and the development of inclusive social skills (Howe & Covell, 2021; Sancassiani et al., 2015).
This research project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that aims to promote school inclusion in primary and pre-school children. In particular, the intervention developed in this research project aims to foster knowledge and respect of the rights associated with inclusion, to recognise situations in which human rights are violated. It also aims to develop social skills to counteract situations of discrimination and conflict assertively, and initiate positive social relationships with all students.
Designing and evaluating the effectiveness of this intervention could be relevant for the training of teachers that could implement this intervention program in the future to foster inclusion and attention to human rights. This study could favour a complex idea of inclusion that provides for the involvement of everyone and more social consciousness of human rights and inclusion to get out of an individualistic perspective and think from a social point of view for a better quality of life for all.
Keywords: school inclusion, social skills, participatory rights, intervention