Human rights frameworks

Class Structure1. What are the concepts of human rights and

human-rights based development (HRBD)?

2. Role of the UN

3. Role of Amnesty International

4. Seminar presentation: Caroline

5. Assignment #2 Role playing exercise Workgroup discussion designing new constitutions in Tunisia,

Libya and Egypt

Types of strategies

Capacity development

With civil society

With government

Monitoring

Elections

Human rights

Corruption

Brokerage

Dialogue

Diplomacy

Legal conventions

International

Regional

Aid Conditionality

Negative

Positive

Financial

Trade sanctions

Debt relief

Military

PeacekeepingForce

External intervention

Pros and cons of each?

Strategic options

HR Resources1. www.amnesty.org

2. CIRI.binghampton.edu

3. Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org

4. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights www.ohchr.org

5. www.universalhumanrightsindex.org/

1. Concepts

DefinitionUNIVERSALITY: Human rights are rights inherent

to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status.

EQUALITY: We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination.

COHESION: These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

www.ohchr.org

Types of HR instrumentsCovenants, statutes, protocols and conventions are

legally-binding for those States that ratify or accede to them.

Declarations, principles, guidelines, standard rules and recommendations have no binding legal effect, but they have an undeniable moral force and provide practical guidance

Growth in international instruments (Elliott 2011)

Core legally-binding treaties1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 2. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 19663. International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 19664. Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 19765. Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights 19896. International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination

(CERD) 19667. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women

(CEDAW) 19798. Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment (CAT) 19849. Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 198910. Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of their

Families 1990All UN Member States have ratified at least one core international human rights treaty, and 80 percent have ratified four or more.Source: http://www.ohchr.org

Rights-holders and duty-bearers Human rights entail both rights and obligations.

States assume obligations and duties under international law to respect, to protect and to

fulfill human rights.

The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the

enjoyment of human rights.

The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights

abuses.

The obligation to fulfill means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment

of basic human rights.

At the individual level, while we are entitled our human rights, we should also respect the

human rights of others.

HR indicators

Impact of signature to HR instruments?O. Hathaway (2002) Do Human Rights Treaties Make a

Difference? Yale Law ReviewTreaty ratification is not infrequently associated with worse

human rights ratings than otherwise expected. My findings do not necessarily tell us that treaties lead to

worse human rights practices. Countries with worse practices may be more inclined to ratify treaties Or we may simply know more about violations committed by countries that sign

human rights treaties, making countries that ratify look worse than they are. Countries that take the relatively costless step of treaty ratification may thereby

offset pressure for costly changes in policies. Because monitoring and enforcement are usually minimal, the expression by a country of commitment to the treaty's goals need not be consistent with the country's actual course of action.

2. Role of the UN

UN RolesOffice of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Dialogue and cooperation on international agreements on normative standards and legally-binding instruments

Conventions, core treaties, declarations Monitor state ratification and accession Monitor legal implementation within countries

Human Rights Council Established 2006 Aims to monitor implementation of treaties and major cases of HR violations in international

law, develop capacity and offer technical assistance 46 members elected by the General Assembly by absolute majority (96 votes). “members elected to the Council shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and

protection of human rights” 13 from Africa; 13 from Asia; 6 from the Eastern Europe; 8 from Latin American and Caribbean;

and 7 from the Western European and Other States. HRW: Major weaknesses in composition and record ‘Favor cooperation over condemnation’

HR Council MembershipIn accordance with paragraph 7 of General Assembly resolution 60/251 “the Council shall consist of forty-seven Member States, which shall be elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the General Assembly; the membership shall be based on equitable geographical distribution, and seats shall be distributed as follows among regional groups: Group of African States, thirteen; Group of Asian States, thirteen; Group of Eastern European States, six; Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, eight; and Group of Western European and other States, seven; the members of the Council shall serve for a period of three years and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms”.

HR Council MembershipAfrican States Asian States Eastern European States Latin American & Caribb

ean StatesWestern European & Other States

Angola (2010) Bangladesh (2009) Azerbaijan (2009) Bolivia (2010) Canada (2009)

Cameroon (2009) China (2009) Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010) Brazil (2008) France (2008)

Djibouti (2009) India (2010) Romania (2008) Cuba (2009) Germany (2009)

Egypt (2010) Indonesia (2010) Russian Federation (2009) Guatemala (2008) Italy (2010)

Gabon (2008) Japan (2008) Slovenia (2010) Mexico (2009) Netherlands (2010)

Ghana (2008) Jordan (2009) Ukraine (2008) Nicaragua (2010) Switzerland (2009)

Madagascar (2010) Malaysia (2009) Peru (2008) United Kingdom (2008)Mali (2008) Pakistan (2008) Uruguay (2009)Mauritius (2009) Philippines (2010)Nigeria (2009) Qatar (2010)Senegal (2009) South Korea (2008)

South Africa (2010) Saudi Arabia (2009)

Zambia (2008) Sri Lanka (2008)

UN effectiveness?Establishing international agreement and

conventions?Monitoring compliance and implementation?Highlighting cases of human rights abuses?Mobilizing international actionsRef Oona Hathaway “Do human rights treaties make

a difference?” Yale Law Journal 2002

3.Amnesty International

AmnestyAims

Our purpose is to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

Strategies We investigate and expose abuses, Educate and mobilize the public, and Help transform societies to create a safer, more just world.

Structure Founded in 1961 2.2+ million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150

countries Complete independence from government, corporate or national

interests

AI Issue priorities UDHR: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Women: 15 Steps to Protect Women's Human Rights Torture: 12-point Program for the Prevention of Torture Disappearances: 14-Point Program for the Prevention of "Disappearances" Extrajudicial Executions: 14-point Program for the Prevention of

Extrajudicial Executions Peacekeepers: 15-Point Program for Implementing Human Rights in

International Peace-keeping Operations Health Professionals: Amnesty International's Declaration on the Role of

Health Professionals in the Exposure of Torture and Ill-treatment Medical Investigations: Amnesty International's Principles for the Medical

Investigation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment Internal Displacement: Amnesty International's guiding principles for

addressing the specific needs of internally displaced persons worldwide.

2007 AI activities 330 Urgent Actions issued on behalf of more than 5,000 people, communities,

human rights organizations and families

700 Human Rights Defenders and human rights organisations trained globally

473 briefings and reports produced

153 countries featured in Amnesty International’s Report 2007

121 campaigning projects launched

120 visits made to 77countries and territories

57countries documented as holding prisoners of conscience or possible prisoners

of conscience

Source: Amnesty International

Types of HR interventions?For UN agencies and organizations?For NGO Human Rights watchdogs?

Assignment #2

Assignment 2 The aim of this assignment is to build upon the first section of the class

by applying insights into constitutional design to specific cases. You are asked to break into three workgroups to develop an integrated

set of recommendations designed for the constitutions in either Tunisia, Egypt or Libya

Think of your client as a parliamentary group seeking advice and technical assistance

You need to give persuasive reasons for and against constitutional options, citing evidence from your readings to support your arguments whenever possible.

You will also get credit for this in the individual briefing memo due Mon 26th March

More resources are on the class website