Leiden University Student Repository

van Kralingen, Jasper (2024)

What’s Yours Is Mine and What’s Mine Is, Well, Mine: An exploration into effectiveness the United Nations Human Rights Council in the protection of local communities subject to land-grabs

Master thesis | Political Science (MSc)

In the quest for natural resources, indigenous and underdeveloped communities are often sacrificed as states turn their interests toward bolstering their economies. The Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations stands at the forefront of championing human rights and operates as both norm maker and primary monitor of human rights standards. By using institutionalism as a framework, this thesis considers the robustness of the HRC and seeks to understand its effect in protecting local communities in underdeveloped states subjected to often arguably unfair land grab deals. Through discourse analysis, the research delves into the language, narratives, and discursive strategies deployed within text and content produced by the HRC. Through comparative analysis that considers the two sample cases of Myanmar and Cambodia, the research considers under what conditions the HRC successfully contributes to the protection of these vulnerable communities.

UNHRC, land-grabbing, discourse analysis

Author

van Kralingen, Jasper

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

International Organisation

Supervisors

Hagen, R.

ECTS Credits

60

Language

en