Sexual Orientation and Human Rights (Paperback)

Robert Wintemute

ISBN 10: 0198264887 / ISBN 13: 9780198264880

Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1997

About this Item

Paperback. "Lesbian and gay rights are human rights!" Is this just a political slogan to be chanted outside legislatures? Or are there legal arguments to support the claim that the right to be free from sexual orientation discrimination is a human right? In particular, can national constitutions or international human rights treaties be interpreted as prohibiting discrimination against same-sex activity, gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals, and same-sex couples? RobertWintemute attempts to answer these questions by examining three of the most commonly used arguments in favour of such an interpretation: sexual orientation is an "immutable status", sexual orientation is a"fundamental choice" (or part of "privacy"), and sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination. To assess their merits, he looks at their relative success and failure in cases argued under three of the world's most influential human rights instruments: the United States Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He also considers the potential impact of the United Nations Human Rights Committee's recent interpretation of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Toonen v. Australia. `Lesbian and gay rights are human rights!' Is this just a political slogan to be chanted outside legislature or are there legal arguments to support the claim that the right to be free from sexual orientation discrimination is a human right? Robert Wintemute attempts to answer this question by favour of this claim under three of the world's most influential human rights instruments. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780198264880

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sexual Orientation and Human Rights (Paperback)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198264887
• ISBN 13: 9780198264880
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

"Lesbian and gay rights are human rights!" Is this just a political slogan to be chanted outside legislatures, or are there legal arguments to support the claim that the right to be free from sexual orientation discrimination is a human right? In particular, can national constitutions or international human rights treaties be interpreted as prohibiting discrimination against gays, lesbians, and bisexuals? Robert Wintemute attempts to answer these questions by examining three of the most commonly used arguments in favor of such an interpretation: sexual orientation is an "immutable status", sexual orientation is a "fundamental choice" (or part of "privacy"), and sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination. To assess their merits, he looks at the relative success and failure in cases argued under three of the world's most influential human rights instruments: the United States Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He also considers the potential impact of the United Nations Human Rights Committee's recent interpretation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Toonen v. Australia.

About the Author

Robert Wintemute has been a Lecturer in the School of Law at King's College, University of London since 1991.