Search

This article attempts to provide an overall assessment of the current process of strengthening the human rights treaty body system in the light of the implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 68/268 of 9 April 2014. While demonstrating the positive developments achieved so far, the authors examine the current challenges of the strengthening process, namely the controversial effects of the solution to the system’s under-resourcing, and the unification tendencies that aggravate the existing deficiencies in the treaty bodies’ work and pose new problems for the system’s effectiveness. Through such an examination as well as an analysis of the positions and proposals of the key stakeholders of the system and academics on the functioning of the current and future treaty body system, the authors forecast the potential outcomes of the 2020 UN General Assembly comprehensive review of the progress achieved since the adoption of Resolution 68/268. The article points to the two possible options for the future of the system: (1) the smooth fine-tuning of the resolution with prioritization being given by the treaty bodies to their activities followed by adequate support in the form of financial and human resources, (2) substantial structural changes in the system’s work through the decisions of the meetings of the States parties on amending the treaties. While arguing for the first option, the authors conclude that there is a need for a proper assessment of the current state of affairs in all segments of the system with due regard being given to the views of all stakeholders before reaching any decision on the need for further changes to be introduced in its work.

The article deals with a unique monument of history and culture, dating back to the era of classicism and playing an important role in the historical context and architectural ensemble of Moscow. The restoration processes of facades and interiors in 2013-2016 of the Academic Maly Theater of Russia, which is an object of cultural heritage of federal significance, are studied. The history of construction, the problems of uneven precipitation of the building and its stabilization are considered. In the process of restoration work, within the framework of supervision, scientific and methodological guidance, there is an opportunity for additional research, which in turn allows recreating a single artistic ensemble of the theater's interiors belonging to the so-called "red zone". The issues of recreating the author's coloristic solution of the auditorium, the painting of the ceiling and the auditorium border are reviewed in detail. They are the dominant of interior with unique features and undoubted monument of decorative and applied art of the middle of the XX century. In the process of repair works, the overall coloristic style of the premises has changed to simplification. Apparently, this is due to the fact that repair works were carried out by economic services, often without attaching importance to the coloristic nuances. The significance of interdisciplinary approach in restoration is emphasized.

The 2017 Annual Conference of the Association of Human Rights Institutes (AHRI) held at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Leuven (Belgium) from 27 to 28 April 2017 is the one of the leading events among the professional associations uniting international law scholars in human rights field. The conference focused on issues of monitoring compliance with international human rights obli-gations of States in the activities of universal and regional human rights bodies, particularly UN human rights mechanisms, human rights treaty bodies and regional and sub-regional human rights mechanisms within European, Inter-American and African human rights systems. Within these issues a particular at-tention was paid to the interaction between universal and regional human rights systems, specifically the role of regional mechanisms in the promotion and protection of human rights and enhancing univer-sal human rights standards enshrined in international human rights treaties. The paper provides a brief review of the selected reports presented at the conference, which raised a particular scientific interest of the author. The author describes the reports devoted to: 1) factors de-termining adoption and enforcement of international human rights obligations by States; 2) States’ im-plementation of international human rights norms through the lens of interplay between the internation-al, regional and national levels; 3) the interaction between the universal and European human rights sys-tems (European Court of Human Rights with human rights treaty bodies and special procedures of the UN Human Rights Council).

This chapter attempts to analyze the history of the development and adoption of the Malabo Protocol, focusing especially on identifying the factors that stimulated African States to adopt this document. At the same time, the authors came to the conclusion that the activities of the ICC in Africa did not become the main reason for adopting the Malabo Protocol, but most likely had an indirect effect on its development and adoption. When comparing the content of the Malabo Protocol with the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute of the ICC, the authors identified the innovative and progressive nature of some of the provisions of the Malabo Protocol in terms of the development of international criminal law.

Background Adaptive immune responses to newly encountered pathogens depend on the mobilization of antigen-specific clonotypes from a vastly diverse pool of naive T cells. Using recent advances in immune repertoire sequencing technologies, models of the immune receptor rearrangement process, and a database of annotated T cell receptor (TCR) sequences with known specificities, we explored the baseline frequencies of T cells specific for defined human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-restricted epitopes in healthy individuals. Methods We used a database of TCR sequences with known antigen specificities and a probabilistic TCR rearrangement model to estimate the baseline frequencies of TCRs specific to distinct antigens epitopespecificT-cells. We verified our estimates using a publicly available collection of TCR repertoires from healthy individuals. We also interrogated a database of immunogenic and non-immunogenic peptides is used to link baseline T-cell frequencies with epitope immunogenicity. Results Our findings revealed a high degree of variability in the prevalence of T cells specific for different antigens that could be explained by the physicochemical properties of the corresponding HLA class I-bound peptides. The occurrence of certain rearrangements was influenced by ancestry and HLA class I restriction, and umbilical cord blood samples contained higher frequencies of common pathogen-specific TCRs. We also identified a quantitative link between specific T cell frequencies and the immunogenicity of cognate epitopes presented by defined HLA class I molecules. Conclusions Our results suggest that the population frequencies of specific T cells are strikingly non-uniform across epitopes that are known to elicit immune responses. This inference leads to a new definition of epitope immunogenicity based on specific TCR frequencies, which can be estimated with a high degree of accuracy in silico, thereby providing a novel framework to integrate computational and experimental genomics with basic and translational research efforts in the field of T cell immunology. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13073-018-0577-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The ability to decode antigen specificities encapsulated\ud in the sequences of rearranged T-cell receptor\ud (TCR) genes is critical for our understanding of\ud the adaptive immune system and promises signifi-\ud cant advances in the field of translational medicine.\ud Recent developments in high-throughput sequencing\ud methods (immune repertoire sequencing technology,\ud or RepSeq) and single-cell RNA sequencing\ud technology have allowed us to obtain huge numbers\ud of TCR sequences from donor samples and link them\ud to T-cell phenotypes. However, our ability to annotate\ud these TCR sequences still lags behind, owing\ud to the enormous diversity of the TCR repertoire and\ud the scarcity of available data on T-cell specificities. In\ud this paper, we present VDJdb, a database that stores\ud and aggregates the results of published T-cell speci-\ud ficity assays and provides a universal platform that\ud couples antigen specificities with TCR sequences.\ud We demonstrate that VDJdb is a versatile instrument\ud for the annotation of TCR repertoire data, enabling a\ud concatenated view of antigen-specific TCR sequence\ud motifs. VDJdb can be accessed at https://vdjdb.cdr3.\ud net and https://github.com/antigenomics/vdjdb-db.

Background/Objectives: In 2015 the international community adopted a new agenda for sustainable development for the period of 2016–2030- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the article, authors critically analyzed some of SDGs. Methods: The article used scientific methodological approach, which facilitates to determine the whole canvas of the research, identify the main aspects and concepts of the study. The research used scientific methods of cognition, i.e., dialectics, analysis, and synthesis, the method of generalization and system-structural method. The article also practiced special methods of science such as legal and technical, historical and forecasting methods. Findings: In this article, the authors critically analyze the SDGs with a view to determine problematic aspects of their implementation in the field of human rights protection, environmental protection, disaster risk reduction and management of migration and suggest ways to overcome these obstacles. Authors made many recommendations in these spheres. At the present stage, in the framework of global efforts aimed at the implementation of the SDGs, it is important to pay more attention to the mechanisms for monitoring the achievement of the goals. In this sense, a compliance review at the level of inter-regional, regional and sub-regional organizations can make a significant contribution and provide diversified, reliable and proven tools to assess progress in achieving the SDGs. Such reviews will identify regional trends, causes of problems, and similarities; they will facilitate the exchange of best practices, lessons learned and development of solutions and measures of mutual support at the global level, taking into account specific regional and sub-regional needs. Application/Improvements: The results could be used by UN bodies, inter-regional, regional and sub-regional organizations, ministers of States and other relevant stakeholders, which implements SDGs.