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.
Navigating Human Rights in a ‘Post-Human Rights’ Era
