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Human Rights Law

The Universal Declaration, the ICC, and the imperfect machinery of international justice.

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About

Human rights — the concept that all persons possess fundamental rights by virtue of their humanity, regardless of citizenship, race, religion, or any other characteristic — was codified in international law primarily through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, adopted by UN General Assembly December 10, 1948, drafted primarily by Eleanor Roosevelt's committee), a direct response to the Holocaust and WWII. The UDHR's 30 articles cover civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights — though it is a declaration, not a binding treaty. The architecture of international human rights law: the UDHR; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, binding treaty); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); Convention Against Torture (CAT); Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC — only 2 countries have not ratified it: USA and Somalia); Rome Statute (International Criminal Court, 1998, 124 member states — US, Russia, China not members). The ICC (International Criminal Court) can try individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression — but enforcement requires state cooperation, creating massive impunity for powerful actors. Major human rights victories: abolition of apartheid; International Ban on Landmines (Ottawa Treaty, 1997); convention against cluster munitions.

# Top 10 human rights facts

  1. 1UDHR (1948, Eleanor Roosevelt)
  2. 230 articles
  3. 3ICCPR (binding treaty)
  4. 4Convention on Rights of the Child (US hasn't ratified)
  5. 5ICC (Rome Statute, 1998)
  6. 6impunity for powerful states
  7. 7Nuremberg Principles
  8. 8Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
  9. 9Amnesty International
  10. 10Human Rights Watch

Fascinating Facts

  • ◆The Convention on the Rights of the Child — which establishes children's rights to protection, education, healthcare, and participation — has been ratified by every UN member state except the United States and Somalia; the US Congress has repeatedly blocked ratification, citing concerns about parental rights and sovereignty
  • ◆The International Criminal Court cannot compel any state to hand over suspects — its entire enforcement mechanism depends on voluntary state cooperation; this is why ICC arrest warrants for heads of state (Al-Bashir of Sudan, Putin of Russia, Netanyahu of Israel) have been largely unenforced; the Court's power is real in some cases but entirely dependent on the political calculations of member states
  • ◆Eleanor Roosevelt, who chaired the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), described the process as '2 years and 1,400 votes' — every word of each of the 30 articles was voted on separately by representatives of 58 countries with radically different legal traditions and political systems, making the final document a genuine multicultural achievement
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