International Law and Human Rights

International Law and Human Rights

Effectiveness of International Law in Restraining State Behavior

  • Overview of International Law

    • Derives from:

    • Tradition

    • Agreements signed by states

    • Lacks a central authority or legislative branch.

    • Varies in enforcement difficulty based on:

    • Reciprocity

    • Collective action

    • International norms

Sources of International Law

  • Declarations of the UN General Assembly

    • Do not constitute binding laws for members.

  • Treaties and Written Conventions

    • Most crucial source of international law.

    • Binding on successor governments regardless of changing circumstances.

  • Custom

    • Recognized as the second major source of international law.

  • Great Principles of Law

    • Serve as a source of international law.

  • Legal Scholarship

    • Fourth source, involving academic contributions.

Enforcement of International Law

  • Challenges in Enforcement

    • Difficult to enforce for the following reasons:

    • Reciprocity: States may only comply if others do the same.

    • General or Long-Term Costs: Consequences of disregarding international law can affect future relations and stability.

    • Collective Response: Effectiveness often requires a united front from multiple states.

Laws of Diplomacy

  • Respect for Diplomatic Rights:

    • Fundamental to international law.

    • Includes several key aspects:

    • Diplomatic Recognition: Validates credentials of diplomats.

    • Occupancy Rights: Diplomats can treat embassies as their own territory.

    • Diplomatic Immunity: Protection from legal prosecution in the host country (e.g., Espionage scenarios).

Just-War Doctrine

  • Wars Distinction

    • Differentiates between:

    • Just wars (legal)

    • Wars of aggression (illegal).

  • Legal Framework

    • Defined by the UN Charter which:

    • Outlaws aggression while permitting "international police actions."

  • International Norm

    • States possess the right to respond to aggression, sanctioned use of military force.

    • The doctrine excludes uses of war for:

    • Changing policies or governments

    • Ethnic or religious conflicts.

Individual Rights Versus Sovereignty

  • Human Rights Implications

    • Human rights notion conflicts with state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

    • Lack of consensus on key human rights, derived from:

    1. Religion: Embodies dignity and respect for individuals.

    2. Political and Legal Philosophy: Roots in natural law.

    3. Political Revolutions of the 18th Century: Examples include revolutions in the U.S. and France.

  • Categorization of Human Rights

    • Divided into two primary types:

    • Civil-Political Rights (Negative Rights): Focus on freedoms from interference.

    • Economic-Social Rights (Positive Rights): Entitlement to certain benefits or standards of living.

  • Global Instruments:

    • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

    • Convention Against Torture (CAT, 1987).

    • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1990): Widely ratified with exceptions (Somalia, the U.S.).

Role of International Organizations in Human Rights

  • Importance of International Organizations (IOs):

    • Facilitate the protection of human rights globally.

    • Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) increasingly crucial in advocating for basic political rights in authoritarian states.

Global Human Rights Regime

  • Concept Definition

    • Human rights as inalienable rights transcend state boundaries.

  • Historical Context

    • World War II marks a pivotal moment—ideology employed to emphasize rights and freedoms.

    • The Holocaust significantly influenced human rights discourse.

Tension Between Universal Rights and State Sovereignty at the UN Level

  • Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

    • Rooted in UN Charter; balances state sovereignty with international norms.

    • Encounters enforcement challenges.

  • Creation of Human Rights Treaties:

    • Steps include:

    • Drafting language

    • Signing of treaty

    • Ratification of treaty

    • Formation of treaty committee.

  • Prevalence of Treaty Ratification

    • Most states have ratified key treaties, but American exceptionalism remains significant.

Ratification Statistics (e.g., CEDAW)

  • Represented graphically (spec numbers not depicted here) showing incremental increase in ratification over years.

UN Human Rights Institutions

  • Key Entities:

    • Human Rights Council.

    • Special Rapporteurs.

    • Commissions of Inquiry.

    • High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    • International Criminal Court (ICC): Governed by the Rome Statute with principles of complementarity.

Regional Approaches to Human Rights

  • Advantages:

    • Collaboration among like-minded states.

    • Enhanced state control over enforcement mechanisms.

  • Disadvantages:

    • Lack of universality.

    • Regional organizations can act as shields against critique.

Regional Systems Overview

  • European Human Rights System:

    • Council of Europe.

    • European Court of Human Rights.

    • European Union.

  • Latin American Human Rights System:

    • Organization of American States.

    • American Convention on Human Rights.

    • Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

    • Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

  • African Human Rights System:

    • African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.

    • African Court on Human and People’s Rights.

  • Southeast Asian Human Rights System:

    • Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    • ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

Human Rights Risk Analysis

  • Human Rights Risk Index:

    • High-risk regions correlate with weaker regional human rights organizations.

Roles of Non-State Human Rights Actors

  • Domestic Human Rights Organizations:

    • Utilization of both broad and specific focus strategies; often engage in “naming and shaming.”

  • International Human Rights Organizations:

    • Similar naming and shaming tactics, broader or targeted focus, sometimes provide local expertise.

  • Transnational Advocacy Networks:

    • Coalitions working toward change, e.g., campaigns like “Save Darfur,” “Kony 2012.”

  • Engagement Strategies:

    • Engaging global forces to facilitate change: Enhancing credibility and serving communication purposes.

Challenges of Human Rights Enforcement

  • Issues of Enforcement:

    • Delivery of enforcement often weak with violators evading punishment.

    • Necessities for states to comply with International Criminal Court orders.

  • Issues of Compliance:

    • Compliance incentives differ from other international treaties, relying on mutual benefits.

    • Risks of human rights commitments becoming “cheap talk.”

  • Differential Powers of Human Rights Systems:

    • Effectiveness contingent on specific political conditions.

    • Highlights importance of political opposition and civil society.

  • Social Norm Internalization:

    • Cultivating normative standards leads to gradual internalization and behavioral change in governments and citizens.