Human Rights

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Human Rights Global Affairs (PSC 354.001)

• February 16, 2009 (M)

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Today

• Events page (Follow-up David Mwambari)
• Hand-outs genocide scenarios, UN, IHRL/IHL
• Response papers how to write a thesis how to
  present evidence, how to address objections
• PPTs Feb 2 and 9
• Readings
• Donnelly, chapters 8-10
• Hafner-Burton/Tsutsui, Empty Promises

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Foreign Policy and Human Rights
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United Nations Membership, 1945-2001
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UN Budget for 2005 (in Million-) the top
contributors

• U.S. 440 (24)
• Japan 346 (19)
• Germany 154 (8)
• UK 109 (6)
• France 107 (6)
• Italy 87 (5)
• Canada 50 (3)
• Spain 45 (2)
• China 37 (2)

• Mexico 34 (2)
• South Korea 32 (2)
• Netherlands 30
• Australia 28 (1)
• Brazil 27 (1)
• Switzerland 21 (1)

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State sovereignty

• The United Nations was created to protect the
  integrity and sovereignty of each member state
  (primary purpose).
• The United Nations was created to promote human
  rights (a secondary purpose).

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UN mandate and HR

• June 26, 1945 50 state representatives present
  in San Francisco sign the UN Charter.
• The Charter contains seven references to human
  rights
• the Preamble, stating the rationales for creating
  the UN
• Art. 1 (3) defining the purposes and principles
  of the organization
• Art. 13 defining the mandate of the General
  Assembly
• Art. 55 defining the role of international
  cooperation
• Art. 62 defining the mandate of the Economic and
  Social Council
• Art. 68 directing ECOSOC to create a human rights
  commission
• Art. 76 defining the mandate of the trusteeship
  system.

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Accomplishments and limits

• Human rights are now internationally recognized
  as universal norms. 
• The UN has a mandate to promote human rights.
• The UN can require the cooperation of member
  states in the promotion of human rights.
• Major limitations
• HR are relegated to the less important area of
  social and economic cooperation (Chapter XI)
• The UN Charter reaffirms the primacy of state
  sovereignty
• Lack of effective enforcement mechanisms

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Two distinct tracks

• The United Nations promotes human rights
  standards on two distinct tracks
• a judicial process (treaty-based) and
• the political process (charter-based) based on
  the human rights mandate contained in the charter

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Evolution of UN efforts

• 1945-1965 Standard-setting only
• 1966-1977 Standard-setting/ monitoring
• 1978-1992 Standard-setting, monitoring
• 1993-today Standard-setting, monitoring, and
  some enforcement

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Charter-based Mechanisms (since 1946)

• Human Rights Council, created in 1946 (as the
  Human Rights Commission) to promote human rights
  (today reports to General Assembly Commission
  of Human Rights reported to ECOSOC).
• Other major charter-based bodies Security
  Council and General Assembly since 1993 High
  Commissioner for Human Rights (Donnelly, p. 135)
• Reach All UN members (universal scope)
• Objectives Promote and (sometimes) enforce human
  rights
• Independence/Members No independence from
  states State representatives/diplomats dominate
• Instruments diplomacy, special raporteurs,
  sanctions, humanitarian intervention

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Treaty-based Mechanisms (since 1966/76)

• Human Rights Committee, created to monitor the
  International Covenant for Civil and Political
  Rights (in force since 1976).
• Others all committees supervising human rights
  treaties.
• Reach Treaties bind only the signatories
  (limited scope). 
• Objectives Promote human rights through
  establishing standards and regular review of
  state reports (well defined, but inflexible).
• Independence High. Members of supervisory bodies
  are human rights experts, not diplomats/state
  representatives.
• Instruments state reports and occasional
  complaints missions of committee members

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Evolution of HR at the UN

• Decolonization Focus on apartheid
• Détente Easing superpower rivalry
• NGOs Pressure by principled actors

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After World War II, 1945-1949

• UN Human Rights Bodies and Instruments
• The Commission for Human Rights, 1946
• The Commission on the Status of Women, 1947
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
  (non-binding, standard-setting)
• The Genocide Convention, 1948 (binding)
• The Commission on Human Rights decides in 1947
  that it "had no power to take any action in
  regard to any complaints concerning human rights"
  (ECOSOC resolution 75 V).

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1949-1965 Cold War

• Cold War rivalry ends further progress in human
  rights area.
• Creation of two separate treaties for
  civil/political and economic/social rights. Each
  side of the Cold War got their human rights
  document (by 1966).

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1966-1977 Decolonization and Detente

• Charter-based activities
• ECOSOC-Resolution 1235 (1967)
• ECOSOC-Resolution 1503, Procedure for dealing
  with communications relating to violations of
  human rights and fundamental freedoms (1970,
  confidential)
• Significance ECOSOC empowers the Commission on
  Human Rights to investigate gross violations of
  human rights. While this mandate was initially
  limited to cases of "apartheid" and "colonial
  practices, it was slowly expanded to cover
  other human rights abuses (in public).

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Decolonization, Détente, and NGOs
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HR treaties growing acceptance

• 1975 only 33 states had ratified the ICCPR
  (equaling 23 per cent of the UN membership of 144
  at that time).
• 2006 156 states have ratified the ICCPR (2004
  152 2001 147) equaling 81 per cent of 192
  member states.
• Childrens Rights Convention, 2006 192 (2001
  191)
• CEDAW, 2006 183 states (2001 168)
• CERD, 2006 170 states (2001 157)
• CAT, 2006 141 states (2001 125)

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Human Rights Council old wine in new bottles?

• Human Rights Commission, 1946-2006
• Reports to ECOSOC
• 53 members
• One session per year
• Election of members based on geographic
  representation
• Permanent membership possible

• Human Rights Council, 2006-
• Reports directly to GA
• 47 members
• Three sessions per year
• Election of members based on geographic
  representation and HR record
• Two consecutive terms only (three years)

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Hafner-Burton/Tsutsui Key claims

• Human Rights in a Globalizing World. The Paradox
  of Empty Promises
• States increasingly ratify human rights
  agreements, but fail to live up to their
  obligations.
• The increasing legitimacy of global human rights
  institutions allows NGOs (global civil society)
  to more effectively mobilize against abuses.
• Paradox HR institutions allow states to get
  away with murder, but also empower NGOs.

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The Evidence

• States (on average) steadily increase their
  ratification of human rights treaties (table 1,
  p. 1375).
• The number of repressive states is increasing as
  well.
• What can explain this growing gap? What good are
  human rights treaties if they do not improve
  human rights practices?, p. 1377

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The Explanation

• Realism not surprising treaties do not matter
• Liberalism/constructivism treaties do matter.
• World society approach treaties lead to radical
  decoupling of rhetoric and practice.
• Explanations for non-compliance
• Weak enforcement of UN treaties, p. 1378
• Alternative explanation (hps) Improvements in
  detecting abuses

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The Paradox

• If not treaties, what then improves human rights?
  
• NGOs and transnational links (next week!)
• Increasing legitimacy of human rights leads to
  embarrassment for violators, if..
• .states are well integrated into global society.
  

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Conclusions, Hafner-Burton/Tsutsui

• Human rights treaties have a negative impact on
  human rights conditions.
• Ratification of human rights treaties combined
  with a strong transnational civil society leads
  to human rights improvements.

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Bottom line

• Growth in standard-setting and monitoring but
  UN remains ineffective in enforcing human rights.
  
• Growth in institutions and mandates not matched
  by growth in power and funding.
• Growth in mechanisms to punish past violations
  lack of progress in areas of prevention/victims
  assistance.
• Donnelly, 138 a regime with extensive,
  coherent, and widely accepted norms but extremely
  limited international decision-making powers
  that is, a strong promotional regime

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How to empower the UN

• Increase funding
• Extend meeting periods for HR Council
• Enable HR Council to respond to immediate crises
• Make membership in HR Council contingent on human
  rights record
• United States must support HR Council