Alexandra Xanthaki

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Alexandra Xanthaki
Academic background
Alma mater University of Keele
Thesis Indigenous rights in the United Nations system : self-determination, culture, land  (2001)

Alexandra Xanthaki is known for her work on the rights of indigenous peoples and international law. She is a Professor of Law at Brunel University London, United Kingdom. She was appointed the United Nations special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights in 2021.

Contents

Education

Xanthaki completed her LLB at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece in 1994. [1] She undertook an LLM in Human Rights and Emergency Law (Law) at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, the following year. [1] She moved to Keele University in Staffordshire in the United Kingdom to pursue a Ph.D. where she wrote her thesis on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the United Nations. [2]

Career

Xanthaki took up her first academic post at the University of Keele where she became a lecturer in law in 2000. [1] She joined the University of Liverpool in 2001. In 2004, she moved to Brunel University London. [1] As of 2024 she is the director of research at the Brunel Law School. [3]

In 2021, Xanthaki was appointed the United Nations special rapporteur in the field of cultural rights. [2] [4] In this role, she advised the International Olympic Committee about whether Russian soldiers should be allowed to compete in the Olympic games in Paris in 2024, [5] and discussed the impact of war on cultural identity in Ukraine. [6] She has also considered the implications of teaching children in Tibet Mandarin Chinese, [7] cultural isolation by young aboriginal Australians, [8] and funding for cultural works in Chile. [9]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples</span> Peoples who identify as Indigenous and have a special attachment to their traditional territory

There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territory, and an experience of subjugation and discrimination under a dominant cultural model.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human right to water and sanitation</span> Human right recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 2010

The human right to water and sanitation (HRWS) is a principle stating that clean drinking water and sanitation are a universal human right because of their high importance in sustaining every person's life. It was recognized as a human right by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 July 2010. The HRWS has been recognized in international law through human rights treaties, declarations and other standards. Some commentators have based an argument for the existence of a universal human right to water on grounds independent of the 2010 General Assembly resolution, such as Article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); among those commentators, those who accept the existence of international ius cogens and consider it to include the Covenant's provisions hold that such a right is a universally binding principle of international law. Other treaties that explicitly recognize the HRWS include the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

A people is any plurality of persons considered as a whole. Used in politics and law, the term "a people" refers to the collective or community of an ethnic group or nation. The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duodji</span> Traditional Saami handicraft

Duodji is a traditional Sami handicraft, dating back to a time when the Sami were far more isolated from the outside world than they are today. Duodji tools, clothing, and accessories are intended to primarily be functional, but may also incorporate artistic elements. Some examples include knives, cases, ladies' bags, wooden cups, and articles of clothing. Duodji items were made to be used in an everyday work environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to food</span> Human right

The right to food, and its variations, is a human right protecting the right of people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individual's dietary needs. The right to food protects the right of all human beings to be free from hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition. The right to food implies that governments only have an obligation to hand out enough free food to starving recipients to ensure subsistence, it does not imply a universal right to be fed. Also, if people are deprived of access to food for reasons beyond their control, for example, because they are in detention, in times of war or after natural disasters, the right requires the government to provide food directly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</span> Declaration adopted in 2007 by the United Nations General Assembly

The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples, including their ownership rights to cultural and ceremonial expression, identity, language, employment, health, education, and other issues. Their ownership also extends to the protection of their intellectual and cultural property. The declaration "emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations." It "prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples," and it "promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them and their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development".

Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land, language, religion, and other elements of cultural heritage that are a part of their existence and identity as a people. This can be used as an expression for advocacy of social organizations, or form a part of the national law in establishing the relation between a government and the right of self-determination among its indigenous people, or in international law as a protection against violation of indigenous rights by actions of governments or groups of private interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Anaya</span> American lawyer and professor

Stephen James Anaya is an American lawyer and the 16th Dean of the University of Colorado Boulder Law School. He was formerly the James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law and previously served for more than ten years on the faculty at the University of Iowa College of Law. In March 2008, he was appointed by the United Nations as its Special Rapporteur on the situation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, replacing Rodolfo Stavenhagen. He was elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Scheinin</span> Finnish professor of law

Martin Scheinin is an international law scholar who served as the first United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism in 2005–2011. He was selected for this position after serving for eight years (1997–2004) as member of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the independent expert body monitoring states' compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. While on the committee, he was known as a defendant of the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples and opponent of capital punishment, as well as the drafter of the committee's General Comment No. 29 on states of emergency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yogyakarta Principles</span> Document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity

The Yogyakarta Principles is a document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity that was published as the outcome of an international meeting of human rights groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in November 2006. The principles were supplemented and expanded in 2017 to include new grounds of gender expression and sex characteristics and a number of new principles. However, the Principles have never been accepted by the United Nations (UN) and the attempt to make gender identity and sexual orientation new categories of non-discrimination has been repeatedly rejected by the General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felice D. Gaer</span> American activist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights and climate change</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Tauli-Corpuz</span> Filipino development consultant and activist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Francisco Calí Tzay</span> Guatemalan lawyer and diplomat

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Tonya Gonnella Frichner was an American activist and lawyer, known for her Indigenous international work, particularly for her contributions to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesca Albanese</span> International lawyer and academic (born 1977)

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ORCID". orcid.org.
  2. 1 2 "Alexandra Xanthaki". OHCHR.
  3. "Professor Alexandra Xanthaki | Brunel University London". Brunel University London People.
  4. "Professor named UN Special Rapporteur in rare double for Brunel". October 12, 2021.
  5. Ingle, Sean (27 March 2023). "Russian soldiers should be allowed to compete at Olympics, says UN expert". The Guardian.
  6. Farago, Jason; Willis, Haley; Kerr, Sarah; Tiefenthäler, Ainara (2022-12-20). "A Culture in the Cross Hairs". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  7. Bristow, Micky (2024-03-10). "Tibet boarding schools: China accused of trying to silence language" . Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  8. Payet, Abigail (2016-09-22). "Australia's Aboriginal youth: Young life in our oldest civilisation". BBC Three. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  9. Araneda, Fernanda (5 April 2024). "Tras visita de 12 días a Chile: relatora ONU llama aumentar el presupuesto del Ministerio de las Culturas « Diario y Radio Universidad Chile". radio.uchile.cl (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  10. Reviews of Indigenous rights and United Nations standards
  11. Review of Indigenous peoples' Cultural Heritage: Rights, Debates, Challenges