Part VII Assessments, Ch.39 Human Rights Make a Difference: Lessons from Latin America

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Méndez Juan E ◽  
Cone Catherine
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Military Dictatorship ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
History Of ◽  
Human Rights Norms

This article discusses the lessons that can be learned from the history of the enforcement of human rights law in Latin America. It explains that there were mass human rights violations in the region during the 1970s under military dictatorship and describes how the Latin American communities have adopted the language of international human rights to advance the construction of more just and free societies with accountable governments. It highlights the role of civil society in the gradual process of incorporating human rights norms into the domestic legal systems.

International Human Rights Law and Practice in Latin America

2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen L. Lutz ◽  
Kathryn Sikkink
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
International Consensus ◽  
State Compliance ◽  
International Human ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
The Right

Human rights practices have improved significantly throughout Latin America during the 1990s, but different degrees of legalization are not the main explanation for these changes. We examine state compliance with three primary norms of international human rights law: the prohibition against torture, the prohibition against disappearance, and the right to democratic governance. Although these norms vary in their degree of obligation, precision, and delegation, states have improved their practices in all three issue-areas. The least amount of change has occurred in the most highly legalized issue-area—the prohibition against torture. We argue that a broad regional norm shift—a “norms cascade”—has led to increased regional and international consensus with respect to an interconnected bundle of human rights norms, including the three discussed in this article. These norms are reinforced by diverse legal and political enforcement mechanisms that help to implement and ensure compliance with them.

The Evolving Role of Nationality in the Protection and Enjoyment of Human Rights

2019 ◽  
pp. 50-90
Author(s):  
Michelle Foster ◽  
Hélène Lambert
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Treaty Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
International Human

Chapter 3 considers the role of nationality in the protection and enjoyment of human rights. It examines the history of international law’s involvement in and regulation of matters concerning nationality, thereby providing a crucial link between Chapter 2 and Chapters 4, 5, and 6. It begins by reviewing the traditional position whereby considerations of nationality, including the practice of re-admission for non-nationals, fell within the reserved domain of states through their own nationality laws. The chapter outlines the evolution of international human rights law and its impact on state discretion, such that in many instances, deprivation of nationality (i.e. denial of nationality and/or withdrawal of nationality) may now well violate norms of international law. The chapter therefore examines deprivation of nationality, and the consequences for the persons concerned, in treaty law, UN documents, and the jurisprudence of international and regional courts.

The Influence of the Two Covenants on States Parties Across Regions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Besson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Domestic Institutions ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Human ◽  
Domestic Influence ◽  
Domestic Law

As a companion to the five regional reports in this volume, this chapter’s aim is a double one: first, to bring the comparison up to the regional level, and second, to analyse the international and domestic institutions, procedures, and mechanisms that affect how international human rights instruments influence domestic law. The chapter is therefore both a study in comparative international human rights law and a contribution to its methodology. Its structure is four-pronged. The first section clarifies the aim, object, and method of the comparison. The second section presents a comparative assessment of the Covenants’ domestic influence across regions and develops a grid of comparative analysis. The third section addresses the authority of the Committees’ interpretations of the Covenants, relying on a bottom-up comparative law argument. The fourth section discusses the role of human rights comparison and of regional human rights law in enhancing the legitimacy of the Committees’ future interpretations.

Municipal Courts and the International Interpretive Principle: Al-Kateb v Godwin

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Kirby
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Common Law ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Global Problems ◽  
The Common ◽  
International Human ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Constitutional Adjudication

This article examines the decision in Al-Kateb v Godwin (2004) 219 CLR 562. It revisits the suggested ‘heresy‘ that international human rights law may influence the interpretation of the Australian Constitution and other legal texts. Accessing universal human rights law, including in constitutional adjudication, was endorsed in the Bangalore Principles on the Domestic Application of International Human Rights Norms 1988. The author suggests that interpreting statutory language in this way is not dissimilar to the common-law principle of interpreting statutes so as to uphold basic rights. But should an analogous approach be permissible in deciding the meaning of constitutional language? Although arguably invoked by the majority of the High Court in Mabo v Queensland [No 2] (1992) 175 CLR 1, in the context of declaring the common-law, so far this approach has not been accepted for constitutional elaboration in Australia. But should this be so in the age of global problems and internationalism?

Human rights obligations of non-state actors in conflict situations

2006 ◽  
Vol 88 (863) ◽  
pp. 491-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Clapham
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Private Military Companies ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Human Rights Norms

AbstractThe threat to human rights posed by non-state actors is of increasing concern. The author addresses the international obligations of belligerents, national liberation movements and insurgent entities, looks at the growing demands that such armed groups respect human rights norms and considers some of the options for holding private military companies accountable with regard to human rights abuses. The argument developed throughout this article is that all sorts of non-state actors are increasingly expected to comply with principles of international human rights law.

The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
History Of ◽  
Structural Principles ◽  
International Human ◽  
Cultural Origins

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.

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