Accountability in Global Governance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Hirschmann
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The Right ◽  
Austerity Policy ◽  
Comprehensive Study

How can international organizations (IOs) like the United Nations (UN) and their implementing partners be held accountable if their actions and policies violate fundamental human rights? Political scientists and legal scholars have shed a much-needed light on the limits of traditional accountability when it comes to complex global governance. However, conventional studies on IO accountability fail to systematically analyze a related, puzzling empirical trend: human rights violations that occur in the context of global governance do not go unnoticed altogether; they are investigated and sanctioned by independent third parties. This book puts forward the concept of pluralist accountability, whereby third parties hold IOs and their implementing partners accountable for human rights violations. We can expect pluralist accountability to evolve if a competitive environment stimulates third parties to enact accountability and if the implementing actors are vulnerable to human rights demands. Based on a comprehensive study of UN-mandated operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo, the European Union Troika’s austerity policy, and global public–private health partnerships in India, this book demonstrates how competition and human rights vulnerability shape the evolution of pluralist accountability in response to diverse human rights violations, such as human trafficking, the violation of the rights of detainees, economic rights, and the right to consent in clinical trials. While highlighting the importance of studying alternative accountability mechanisms, this book also argues that pluralist accountability should not be regarded as a panacea for IOs’ legitimacy problems, as it is often less legalized and might cause multiple accountability disorder.

scholarly journals Schermers’ Dilemma

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 565-582
Author(s):  
Jan Klabbers
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
To Come ◽  
Post War

Abstract This article, part of the symposium on ‘theorizing international organizations law’, discusses the work (and a little of the life and influence) of Henry G. (Hein) Schermers, arguably the leading functionalist international organizations lawyer of the post-war era. The article discusses how Schermers’ work solidified and consolidated functionalism and unwittingly laid bare its ‘Achilles heel’. Confronted with the growing popularity of human rights and keenly devoted to human rights, Schermers faced a dilemma when the possible responsibility of international organizations for human rights violations came up – a dilemma his functionalism was unable to solve. Therewith, zooming in on Schermers’ handling of the dilemma confirms that functionalist international organizations law is unable to address the responsibility of international organizations towards third parties. International organizations law will need to find different theoretical resources in order to come to terms with responsibility.

PECULIARITIES OF GUARANTEES OF REALIZATION OF ECOLOGICAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF HUMAN AND CITIZENS IN UKRAINE: QUESTIONS OF THEORY

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Halyna Pryshliak ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Full Range ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Soviet Society ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Rights ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
National Legislation ◽  
The Right

Numerous ideological dogmas and "propaganda struggles" over human rights, which took place for decades, did not make it possible to realistically comprehend and solve the problems of individual rights in Soviet society in full, according to a certain level of progress,say in the European Union. Such dogmas include the assertion that only socialism is able to fully guarantee human rights, that the main socio-economic rights for man and his freedom. Thus, freely or not, political and personal, spiritual and human rights, and even more so, environmental ones were underestimated. Unfortunately, this view reflected the actual practice in the former USSR and other former socialist countries. In the field of political, spiritual and personal rights and freedoms, there were quite a few forbidden topics, and environmental ones were not singled out at all. At the same time, competent jurists, both during the years of stagnation and during the so-called perestroika, consistently developed and defended the idea of human and civil rights. The article considers the problem of realization of human and civil rights and freedoms and guarantees of observance of international standards of ecological human rights in the national legislation. Emphasis is placed on the implementation of international norms in the field of human rights and freedoms in the practice of national legislation. It is proposed to supplement the current legislation with the right of citizens and their associations to control the bodies of state power and local self-government in the environmental sphere. It is concluded that problems with the realization of environmental rights and freedomsin Ukraine, unfortunately, exist. The level of theirimplementation islow, therefore, it can be stated that the level of efficiency is also low. In addition, it should be noted that citizens' awareness of the full range of their environmental rights and freedoms, which are enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine, and their continued application, will lead to their implementation at the appropriate democratic and legal level.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 206-228
Author(s):  
Gisela Hirschmann
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Procedural Control ◽  
Important Means ◽  
Practical Implications

This chapter summarizes the main arguments, discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, and outlines avenues for future research. Moreover, this chapter discusses the normative-theoretical implications of pluralist accountability for international organization legitimacy and demonstrates why pluralist accountability is not a panacea for the (re)legitimation of international organizations. This normative assessment proceeds in two steps. First, I argue that in the absence of vertical accountability in light of human rights violations in global governance, pluralist accountability is an important means of procedural control that restrains the exercise of authority. In a second step, I demonstrate the legitimacy-enhancing potential of pluralist accountability in comparison with vertical accountability. I evaluate pluralist accountability in terms of two criteria, namely, participation and transparency. The book concludes by pointing out potential limitations of pluralist accountability in terms of the danger of “multiple accountability disorder” and the degree of legalization.

scholarly journals The right to education of the refugee girl affected by armed conflict in Kenya: insights from the jurisprudence of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (spe) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Robert Doya Nanima
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
Girl Child ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Refugee Child ◽  
Welfare Of The Child ◽  
The Right

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provides for the protection of children in all environments. Areas that have experienced armed conflict have made the child susceptible to human rights violations including violence through sexual offences and violation of civil and political as well as socio-economic rights. An evaluation of all human rights violations cannot be done comprehensively. This article takes a thematic turn and evaluates the aspects of the right to education of the refugee girl child. It sets the tone by reflecting on the normative framework of the right to education of the refugee child at the international, regional and national levels. This is followed by a discussion of the violation of this right in situations of conflict and host States like Kenya. Drawing on the jurisprudence of the African Committee on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, insights on the improvement of the enjoyment of this right are engaged. A conclusion and recommendations follow.

scholarly journals Guarding the guards: Pluralist accountability for human rights violations by international organisations

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Hirschmann
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
International Organisations

AbstractHuman rights violations committed by international organisations (IOs) have raised demands that IOs should be held accountable for their decisions, policies, and actions. However, traditional forms of accountability have often failed in the context of global governance. This article introduces pluralist accountability as a form of accountability whereby third parties hold IOs and their implementing partners accountable for human rights violations. In pluralist accountability, third parties set the standards for IOs’ actions in relation to human rights, review their behaviour and impose normative or material sanctions in case of misbehaviour. The article further reveals two conditions that foster the development of pluralist accountability, namely the competition among third parties and the degree of vulnerability of the implementing actors or the mandating authority with regard to human rights demands. This argument is illustrated with empirical insights from peace operations in Bosnia and Kosovo, which were accused of human trafficking and the violation of the rights of detainees.

The right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuliya Samovich
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Educational Organizations ◽  
European Court ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
Judicial Procedure ◽  
The Right ◽  
Judicial Protection

The manual is devoted to making individual complaints to the European Court of human rights: peculiarities of realization of the right to appeal, conditions of admissibility and the judicial procedure of the European Court of Human Rights. The author analyses some “autonomous concepts” used in the court's case law and touches upon the possibility of limiting the right to judicial protection. The article deals with the formation and development of the individual's rights to international judicial protection, as well as the protection of human rights in universal quasi-judicial international bodies and regional judicial institutions of the European Union and the Organization of American States. This publication includes a material containing an analysis of recent changes in the legal regulation of the Institute of individual complaints. The manual is recommended for students of educational organizations of higher education, studying in the areas of bachelor's and master's degree “Jurisprudence”.

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz Leisering
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Security ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Social Cash Transfers ◽  
The Right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) proclaimed the equality of all human beings in dignity and rights. The right to social security, however, has been taken more seriously only since the 2000s, through calls for ‘Social security for all’ and ‘Leaving no one behind’. The book investigates a major response, social cash transfers to the poor. The idea of simply giving money to the poor had been rejected by all major development organizations until the 1990s, but since the early 2000s, social cash transfers have mushroomed in the global South and on agendas of international organizations. How come? What programmes have emerged in which countries? How inclusive are the programmes? What models have international organizations devised? Based on unique quantitative and qualitative data, the book takes stock of all identifiable cash transfers in all Southern countries and of the views of all major international organizations. The author argues that cash transfers reflect broader changes: new understandings of development, of human rights, of global risks, of the social responsibility of governments, and of universalism. Social cash transfers have turned the poor from objects of charity into rights-holders and agents of their own lives and of development. A repertoire of cash transfers has evolved that has enhanced social citizenship, but is limited by weak political commitments. The book also contributes to a general theory of social policy in development contexts, through a constructivist sociological approach that complements the dominant approaches from welfare economics and political economy and includes a theory of social assistance.

The Obligation to Afford Reparation to Injured Individuals

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Ferstman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter considers the consequences of breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law for the responsible international organizations. It concentrates on the obligations owed to injured individuals. The obligation to make reparation arises automatically from a finding of responsibility and is an obligation of result. I analyse who has this obligation, to whom it is owed, and what it entails. I also consider the right of individuals to procedures by which they may vindicate their right to a remedy and the right of access to a court that may be implied from certain human rights treaties. In tandem, I consider the relationship between those obligations and individuals’ rights under international law. An overarching issue is how the law of responsibility intersects with the specialized regimes of human rights and international humanitarian law and particularly, their application to individuals.

Child appropriations and irregular adoptions: Activism for the “right to identity,” justice, and reparation in Argentina and Chile

Childhood ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 090756822110286
Author(s):  
Soledad Gesteira ◽  
Irene Salvo Agoglia ◽  
Carla Villalta ◽  
Karen Alfaro Monsalve
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
The Right

In this article we examine the process of construction and transformation of the meanings surrounding the serious violations of the Right to Identity in Argentina and Chile, which encompass from child appropriations during dictatorships to so called “irregular adoptions.” We inquire about how activists have built their public claims of justice and reparation. We discuss the singularities and differences of these processes in both countries and the current challenges, particularly in the construction of those affected as victims of human rights violations.

scholarly journals The Right to Dignity of Refugees: A Response to Fleur Johns

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 193-195
Author(s):  
Elspeth Guild
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Protection ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Mass Migration ◽  
International Refugee Law ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right

Fleur Johns' thesis about the increasing role of data in the verification of the condition of the world and how this impacts on international law is stimulating and bears reflection. This is an extremely interesting and innovative approach to the issue of data and its role in state engagement with mass migration. From the perspective of a scholar on international refugee law, a number of issues arise as a result of the analysis. One of the contested aspects of mass migration and refugee protection is the inherent inconsistency between two ways of thinking about human rights—the first is the duty of (some) international organizations to protect human rights in a manner which elides human rights and humanitarian law, and the second is the right of the individual to dignity, the basis of all human rights according to the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1949. The first enhances the claims of states to sovereign right to control their borders (mediated through some international organizations), while the second recognizes the international human rights duties of states and international organizations to respect the dignity of people as individuals (including refugees). Fleur is completely correct that human rights abuses are at the core of refugee movements. While there are always many people in a country who will stay and fight human rights abuses even when this results in their sacrifice, others will flee danger trying to get themselves and their families to places of safety; we are not all heroes. Yet, when people flee in more than very small numbers, state authorities have a tendency to begin the language of mass migration. The right to be a refugee becomes buried under the threat of mass migration to the detriment of international obligations. Insofar as mass migration is a matter for management, the right of a refugee is an individual right to international protection which states have bound themselves to offer.

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