Part II Historical and Legal Sources, Ch.12 Social Justice, Rights, and Labour

Author(s):  
Diller Janelle M

This article examines the issues of social justice, social rights, and the international labour movement in relation to international human rights. It traces the history of the emergence of international labour law and describes the action and innovation of the International Labor Organization (ILO). It suggests that the ILO�s structural machinery and guiding principles served as the global reference point for setting and supervising standards on workers� rights, freedoms, and entitlements.

Author(s):  
Michael Freeman

This chapter examines the concept of human rights, which derives primarily from the Charter of the United Nations adopted in 1945 immediately after World War II. It first provides a brief account of the history of the concept of human rights before describing the international human rights regime. It then considers two persistent problems that arise in applying the concept of human rights to the developing world: the relations between the claim that the concept is universally valid and the realities of cultural diversity around the world; and the relations between human rights and development. In particular, it explores cultural imperialism and cultural relativism, the human rights implications of the rise of political Islam and the so-called war on terror(ism), and globalization. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the new political economy of human rights.


This volume explores the principle and history of international human rights law. It addresses questions regarding the sources of human rights, its historical and cultural origins and its universality. It evaluates the effectiveness of procedures and international institutions in enforcing and ensuring compliance with human rights. This volume investigates the underlying structural principles that bind together the internationally-guaranteed rights and provide criteria for the emergence of new rights. It also evaluates whether the international human rights project has made a difference in the lives and well-being of individuals and groups around the world.


1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-275
Author(s):  
Tom Clark ◽  
Jan Niessen

The article discusses the fundamental role played by the notion of equality and shows that a general promise of equality is a hallmark of the UN system to which non-citizens’ may lay claim. Recent international juridical practice shows a progressive move towards equality between citizens and non-citizens in civil and social rights. An international human rights doctrine and norms have been established for distinguishing between differentiation which is legitimate and discrimination. The article examines the effect of the international test and doctrine of equality for some of the key rights at issue in practice for several categories of non-citizens. The article reflects on the interpretative power of the texts of regional human rights treaties on State obligations under a ratified human rights treaty. When States enter into treaties involving human beings for whatever purpose, for example the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Treaty on European Union (EU), they do not do so in a legal vacuum. Human beings attract human rights from treaties at the international and regional level. Many States have entered one or more of these human rights treaties so that any other additional treaty must be consonant with the existing human rights treaty obligations. One of the human rights treaty promises is that of human rights in equality. The article argues that when States jointly grant rights or benefits under a further treaty, the further treaty must ensure that the rights jointly granted must be granted in equality. The article concludes that to ensure the promise of non-discrimination for non-citizens requires further initiatives and suggests efforts to ensure treaties impacting non-citizens are ratified (especially those relating to economic and social rights and migrant workers), a review of existing treaties involving non-citizens, a more careful application of non-discrimination provisions by human rights treaty bodies and further efforts to establish the equality doctrine and norms in international human rights law by seeking to use the doctrine in complaints and reporting mechanisms.


Author(s):  
Aryeh Neier

This chapter traces the history of the international human rights movement back to the anti-slavery movement that took hold in England in the second half of the eighteenth century. It details how the anti-slavery movement was instrumental in securing the abolition of slavery in many countries. It also reviews ways in which the human rights cause became an important force in world affairs in the mid-to-late 1970s. The chapter looks into the favorable development in the recent years for human rights, such as the readiness of a number of leading business corporations to take stands on human rights issues. It also suggests that the progress in the human rights movement is to keep building the public constituency for rights, until the dynamic that resulted in significant improvements that that took place in the 1980s and 1990s is re-created.


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