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This paper describes the upper level of a two-tiered sustainability assessment framework (SAF) for determining the optimal synthesis/design and operation of a power network and its associated energy production and storage technologies. The upper-level framework is described, and results for its application to a test bed scenario given by the Northwest European electricity power network presented. A brief description of the lower level of the SAF is given as well. In order to analyze the impact of microgrids (MGs) in the main network, two different scenarios are considered in the analysis, i.e., a network without MGs and a network with MGs. The optimization is carried out in a multi-objective, quasi-stationary manner with producer partial-load behavior taken into account via nonlinear functions for efficiency, cost, and emissions that depend on the electricity generated by each nonrenewable or renewable producer technology. Results indicate for the particular problem posed and for the optimal configurations found that including MGs improves the network relative to reductions in capital and operating costs and to increases in network resiliency. On the other hand, total daily SO2 emissions and network exergetic efficiency are not improved for the case when MGs are included.

In this paper, multiobjective optimization is proposed for evaluating the sustainable synthesis/design and operation of sets of small renewable and non-renewable energy production technologies coupled to power production/transmission/distribution networks via microgrids. The optimization is conducted over a quasi-stationary twenty four hour, winter period. Partial load behavior of the generators is included by introducing non-linear functions for efficiency, costs and emissions as a function of the electricity generated by each technology. A new index for resiliency is included in the multiobjective optimization model in order to account for the capacity of the power network system to self-recover to a new normal state after experiencing an unanticipated catastrophic event. Since sustainability/resiliency indices are typically not expressed in the same units, fuzzy logic and an explicit set of weighting factor methods are employed to calculate a composite sustainability-resiliency index. Results indicate for the particular problem posed that the inclusion of microgrids into the network leads to a better overall network efficiency, a reduction in life cycle costs, and an improved network resiliency. On the other hand, total life SO2 emissions and network reliability are not improved for this particular case when microgrids are included.

This article proposes a critical legal analysis of the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding indigenous peoples' rights to lands, participation, and consultation. It focuses on the role that cultural diversity as a legal standard has played in the recognition of the indigenous peoples' right to consultation and participation in all matters that directly affect them, as a guarantee for the protection of their right to communal property and natural resources traditionally used, and for safeguarding their cultural identity. In analysing the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court, special attention is paid to the interpretative methods applied by the regional tribunal, and to the manner in which a non-restrictive and 'culturally friendly' interpretation of conventionally protected human rights has contributed to the enlargement of their scope of protection, and to their enjoyment by one of the most marginalized and excluded sectors of Latin-American societies.

This paper proposes a critical analysis of the innovative jurisprudential approaches taken by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in integrating the content and scope of protection of the human rights of children, in the context of migration processes. How might one provide an effective protection to unaccompanied children that enter irregularly into the territory of a given country, when the safeguards guaranteed at the national level are elusive or inefficient? By focusing on the pioneering jurisprudence developed by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in recent years, this paper intends to unveil how a systemic integration of children's rights, under the light of the current international law developments, could provide an effective protection for the rights of children in the context of migration processes. In fact, as a result of an evolutive, dynamic and effective interpretation, the regional tribunal has expanded the scope of protection of the American Convention on Human Rights, by taking into consideration and making known, references to instruments and provisions enshrined within the corpus juris of international human rights law, such as the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, and-consequently-improving the level of protection of millions of children in the Americas.