The Belgrade Minimal Rules of Procedure for International Human Rights Fact-Finding Missions

1981 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Franck
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
International Human ◽  
Fact Finding

The Unintended Consequences of the Goldstone Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Organizations in Israel

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 877-901
Author(s):  
Hala Khoury-Bisharat
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Organizations ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Human Rights Advocacy ◽  
Commissions Of Inquiry ◽  
International Human ◽  
Fact Finding

Abstract Scholarly writings on internationally constituted commissions of inquiry (COIs), as outlined in the introduction to this symposium, give inadequate attention to the effects that they might have on local disputes that these bodies are often created to address. The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (2009), popularly known as the Goldstone Commission, had unintended and unforeseen consequences at the domestic level. Specifically, the Commission caused a severe backlash against human rights organizations in Israel (IsHROs). This article analyses the backlash against the Commission and the effect of that backlash on human rights organizations and human rights advocacy in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in the first few years after the release of the Goldstone report. This case study reveals how a government can use a COI intervention in an ongoing conflict to deflect criticism against it and to delegitimize local human rights organizations and, as a result, to intensify enemy–friend dynamics within a conflict. The findings of this case study thus challenge the assumption of much of the socio-legal literature that the interaction of international human rights institutions with domestic actors leads to positive human rights change. But the case study also adds a new dimension to the academic and policy literature that has been critical of the international human rights enterprise in recent years. Despite delegitimization campaigns, international funding has increased for many IsHROs, and, eventually, some groups have become even more visible and have enjoyed, internationally, a higher reputation and greater credibility. The Commission’s experience thus demonstrates that the establishment of COIs in deeply divided conflict societies can have negative, as well as positive, implications on human rights.

scholarly journals The Jurisprudence and Approaches of Constitutional Interpretation by the House of Federation in Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-441
Author(s):  
Anchinesh Shiferaw Mulu
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Constitutional Interpretation ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Political Body ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
International Human ◽  
Key Terms

This article examines the jurisprudence of the Council of Constitutional Inquiry (CCI) and the House of Federation (HoF) in resolving constitutional disputes with a view to identifying the principles/approaches utilized in their decisions and its human rights implication. These organs are entrusted with the power to interpret the Constitution upon application by private parties or court referral of cases. The article also examines patterns in the judiciary’s referral of cases for constitutional interpretation, and it discusses the methods and principles used by CCI/HoF in constitutional interpretation. Although the CCI/HoF has not expressly adopted distinct principles/approaches of constitutional interpretation, they can be inferred from the jurisprudence of the CCI and the HoF. I argue that there is inconsistent application of principles of constitutional interpretation. This is related with the incoherence observed in the constitutional interpretation of fundamental human rights recognized under the FDRE Constitution and ratified international human rights conventions. This shows that the HoF –which is a political body– has failed to protect basic human rights through its decisions that involve politically sensitive cases. There is thus the need to develop and adopt rules of procedure and principles of constitutional interpretation that can ensure predictability, consistency and coherence in HOF/CCI decisions towards the protection of human rights. Key terms Human rights, Constitutional interpretation, House of Federation, Council of Constitutional Inquiry

Gross Violations of Human Rights: Invoking the European Convention on Human Rights in the Case of Turkey

1997 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisling Reidy ◽  
Françoise Hampson ◽  
Kevin Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Violent Conflict ◽  
European Convention ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Human Rights Treaties ◽  
International Human ◽  
Fact Finding ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legal Procedures

Situations of gross violation of human rights require a larger response than is possible through the invocation of complaints mechanisms in international human rights treaties. Nevertheless such international legal procedures can have an influence through the impartial establishment of disputed facts and international accountability. The European Convention on Human Rights has been invoked against Turkey by a large number of citizens of Kurdish origin claiming to be victims of practices of violation by the security forces in the emergency region of the South East. The experience of these cases before the Commission and Court to date demonstrates the hurdles that an individual complainant faces in seeking to prove alleged patterns of gross violation. These cases which have involved a major role for the Commission in fact-finding have also produced a new emphasis on the importance of the right to a domestic remedy as part of a State's commitments under the Convention. Alter the coming into force of Protocol 11 the new Court may well be faced with new situations of violent conflict or of minority tensions which may necessitate radical changes to its powers, procedures and practice.

6 The Emergence of Ad Hoc or Special Procedures (1966)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pace John P
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
International Human Rights ◽  
Fundamental Freedoms ◽  
Initial Work ◽  
Rules Of Procedure ◽  
International Human ◽  
Human Rights Norms

This chapter traces the origins of ad hoc or special procedures, and the evolution that led to one of the two main systems of implementation of international human rights norms—alongside the treaty system. Although the initial work on human rights had not taken up situations in specific countries, it was a matter of time until the Commission would find itself having to do so. The Commission added ‘the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms including policies of racial discrimination and segregation and of apartheid, in all countries’ to its agenda in 1966. The power to investigate was thoroughly discussed in 1966 and 1967. As the Commission added the study of violations of human rights as a standing item on its agenda, it came up with an interesting range of proposals, some of which served to enhance its role and responsibilities in the future. Following the International Conference on Human Rights in 1968, the Commission decided ‘to prepare model rules of procedure for ad hoc bodies of the United Nations entrusted with the study of particular situations alleged to reveal a consistent pattern of violations of human rights’. The chapter then describes the Commission’s action in respect of human rights situations in countries and thematic procedures and mandates.

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