scholarly journals United Nations endorsement and support for human rights: An experiment on women’s rights in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
pp. 002234332091283
Author(s):  
Gulnaz Anjum ◽  
Adam Chilton ◽  
Zahid Usman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
New Policies

The United Nations is one of the organizations charged with developing and promoting international human rights law. One of the primary ways that the United Nations tries to do that is by regularly reviewing the human rights practices of member states and then recommending new policies for that state to implement. Although this expends considerable resources, a number of obstacles have made it difficult to empirically assess whether the UN’s review process actually causes countries to improve their human rights practices. To study this topic, we conducted an experiment in Pakistan that tested whether respondents were more likely to support policies aimed at improving women’s rights when they learned that the reforms were proposed by the United Nations. Our results indicate that the respondents who were randomly informed of the United Nations endorsement not only expressed higher support for the policy reforms, but also were more likely to express willingness to ‘mobilize’ in ways that would help the reforms be implemented. Our treatment did not have any effect, however, on respondents that did not already have confidence in the United Nations. This suggests that the international human rights regime may only be able to aid domestic reformers when there is already faith in those institutions.

scholarly journals Refugee Protection as Human Rights Protection: International Principles and Practice in India

Refuge ◽  
1997 ◽  
pp. 39-44
Author(s):  
Brian Gorlick ◽  
Sumbul Rimi Khan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
National Human ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations

This article focuses on the relationship between international human rights standards and refugee protection. The foundational status of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights treaties are surveyed in light of India's international legal obligations. The authors argue that international human rights law and practice have had a significant impact on the protection activities of the Ofice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) both in countries of asylum, countries of origin and in relation to the United Nations and other human rights actors. In this context, courts and national human rights institutions are important players in safeguarding the rights of refugees. As none of the countries of South Asia is party to the international refugee instruments nor have any of them adopted a national refugee law or procedure, the activities of the Indian National Human Rights Commission stand out as a positive example of national institution expanding the legal protection of refugees in the region.

The Idea of International Human Rights Law

2019 ◽  
pp. 189-204
Author(s):  
Steven Wheatley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Moral Concept ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations

Chapter 7 summarizes and clarifies the argument in the book, explaining the distinctive nature of International Human Rights Law. It reminds us that states invented human rights in 1945 with the inauguration of the United Nations Charter. They explained the meaning of the term ‘human rights’ three years later with the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, although the concept evolved in a radically different direction than originally expected as states responded to events in apartheid southern Africa. The central insight of this final chapter is that the moral concept of human rights, which emerges from the legal practice, then influences the legal practice. We see this with the introduction, without debate, of the system of Universal Periodic Review, in the pro homine approach to the interpretation of human rights treaties, and in the modern methodology for customary international law formation, which looks first to the communication acts of the United Nations General Assembly. The book concludes by showing how the influence of the idea of human rights on the legal practices can explain the fragmentation of international law and, relatedly, the special nature of International Human Rights Law.

International Human Rights Law

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The Subject ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

International Human Rights Law provides a concise introduction for students new to the subject. Clearly written and broad in scope, this popular text gives a concise introduction to international human rights, including regional systems of protection and the key substantive rights. The author skillfully guides you through the complexities of the subject, making it accessible to those with little or no prior legal and/or international knowledge. Key cases and areas of debate are highlighted throughout, and a wealth of references to cases and further readings are provided at the end of each chapter. The book continues to be relied upon by students worldwide as the first book to turn to for clear and accurate coverage. It discusses the United Nations; the United Nations’ organizational structure; regional protection of human rights; Europe; the Americas; Africa; key treaties and mechanisms for monitoring, implementing, and enforcing human rights; substantive rights; equality and non-discrimination; the right to life; freedom from torture; cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment; the rights to liberty of person; equality before the law; the right to a fair trial; the right to self-determination; freedom of expression; the right to work; the right to education and human rights education; minority rights; and group rights.

Human Rights Universalism in Practice: What the Iranian Women’s Rights Movement Can Teach Us

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-479
Author(s):  
Nicole Nickerson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Global Network ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Women's Rights Movement ◽  
International Human

Abstract Does practice demonstrate the legitimacy of international human rights law? This article explores this question via a case study of the women’s rights movement in Iran. Current human rights sceptics question the system’s legitimacy because of a lack of universality and an excessive top-down approach. However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has a remarkable community of grassroots activists. The bottom-up women’s rights initiative of the One Million Signatures Campaign utilised human rights discourse in combination with local, indigenous values in pursuit of gender equality. The article argues—via the case study of this movement—that there is practical evidence to support a theory of human rights universalism, as positive human rights law empowers the existing subjectivity of individuals. The universal legitimacy of international human rights law does not primarily come from a global network dictating common values, but from members of civil society mobilising their status as rights holders.

International Human Rights Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhona K. M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The Subject ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

International Human Rights Law provides a concise introduction for students new to the subject. Clearly written and broad in scope, this popular text gives a concise introduction to international human rights, including regional systems of protection and the key substantive rights. The author skillfully guides you through the complexities of the subject, making it accessible to those with little or no prior legal and/or international knowledge. Key cases and areas of debate are highlighted throughout, and a wealth of references to cases and further readings are provided at the end of each chapter. The book continues to be relied upon by students worldwide as the first book to turn to for clear and accurate coverage. It discusses the United Nations; the International Bill of Human Rights; the United Nations’ organizational structure; regional protection of human rights; Europe; the Americas; Africa; monitoring, implementing, and enforcing human rights; substantive rights; equality and non-discrimination; the right to life; freedom from torture; cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment; the rights to liberty of person; equality before the law; the right to a fair trial; the right to self-determination; freedom of expression; the right to work; the right to education and human rights education; minority rights; and group rights.

Complementarity between the ICRC and the United Nations and international humanitarian law and international human rights law, 1948–1968

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (888) ◽  
pp. 1433-1454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Committee ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
The United Nations

AbstractThis article shows that between the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and the Tehran conference in 1968, international human rights law and international humanitarian law and their respective guardian institutions, the United Nations (UN) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), were not so conceptually far apart as is sometimes suggested. Its purpose is to give further legitimacy to the role of human rights law in armed conflict and show that cooperation between the UN and the ICRC has a long history.

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