CALL FOR PAPERS

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 surjournal@surjournal.org 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.