PROMOTING AND ENFORCING HUMAN RIGHTS
WHAT WILL WE LOOK AT?International Community
State Sovereignty
The Roles of UN Intergovernmental Organisations Courts, Tribunals and Independent
statutory authorities NGOs The Media
Australia
Incorporation of Human Rights into Domestic Law
Roles of Constitution
Division of Powers Separation of Powers
Statute Law Common Law Courts and Tribunals NGOs The Media Charter of Rights - arguments for and
agains
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
STATE SOVEREIGNTY Key part of being a nation state
Supreme control over its own territory
Absolute control over its legal system
Right to choose whether or not to recognise other nations or IGOS
Freedom to choose WITHOUT OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE
Each nation must accept and enforce human rights individually – the UN cannot enforce this
ASSESS THE ROLE OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY IN PROMOTING AND ENFORCING HUMAN RIGHTSpros
Nations can choose to adopt covenants and treaties to support human rights – may lead to higher level of compliance than if they were imposed
Promotes equality across nations (no one nation’s values are more important)
States could deal with breaches more efficiently than a global organisation
cons
Not all governments accept and acknowledge human rights
Governments can (and do) justify the mis-treatment of people by claiming “state sovereignty”
Breaches of human rights are difficult to punish – often the UN’s only recourse is to “lecture”
ASSESS THE ROLE OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY IN PROMOTING AND ENFORCING HUMAN RIGHTS “States are simultaneously a threat to human rights and their principal
protector” State Capacity, State Failure, and Human Rights, Journal of Peace Research
INTERNATIONAL ROLES…
THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS
UN General Assembly
Main forum for international discussions, deliberations, declarations and recommendations. Made up of all UN member states (193).
UN Security Council
Responsible for maintenance of international peace and security.Has the power to intervene in the most serious Human Rights abuses by
states.
Economic & Social
Council
Multiple committees which act as a forum to discuss international issues re: economic, social, environmental and humanitarian concerns.
SecretariatProvides information, studies, tasks and facilities needed by the UN.
Comprised of UN Departments and offices. Main administrative body of the UN.
International Court of
Justice
Principal judicial organ; has jurisdiction to deal with international conflicts brought to them by member states and to advise on issues in
International Law.
OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (OHCHR) Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein – current High Commissioner
OHCHR is part of the UN Secretariat, based in Geneva
Established in 1993
Aims to: Promote universal ratification and implementation of UDHR Promote universal enjoyment of human rights and international cooperation Provide support and information for other UN human rights bodies
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (UNHRC) Established in 2006
Responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe
Also aims to address situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them
Works closely with OHCHR
Established to replace the Commission on Human Rights – which was generally agreed to be ineffective
UNHRC has gained the backing of the US, which has strengthened its influence
HOWEVER, some have criticised the UNHRC for being too easily influenced by China and Russia
NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS
NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS Separate & independent from government.
May take the role of observers at the UN, but others are completely separate
No authority to enforce Human Rights
They do often promote - can push & influence people with authority.
In the 1990s, the number & strength of NGOs grew significantly.
NGO ACTIONSDirect action
letters etc, that go directly to people who are able to stop the abuse
Eg:
Indirect action
naming and shaming, eg: reports and press releases
Eg:
NGO EFFECTIVENESS Criticism by NGOs has been found
to be more effective than criticism from IGOs (in Latin America - shame on you 2008)
Different NGOs have different strategies which in turn have different levels of influence.
Eg: if China were to criticise Australia, our government woulld be unlikely to listen because Ti An An Men Square... BUT NGOs are generally not involved in Human Rights Abuses, so governments are more likely to listen to them.
“Human rights criticism does lead governments to reduce repression of subsequent challenges in cases where there are relatively strong economic ties to other countries. However, the duration of this impact is relatively short - less than 6 months. Examination of the source of human rights criticism shows that criticism by NGOs, religious groups, and foreign governments was more effective than criticism from inter-governmental organizations.”
Shame on You: The Impact of Human Rights Criticism on Political
Repression in Latin America 2008
Amnesty International
When was it established?How large is it?Main way of operation?What does it aim to abolish?
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights WatchSince when?Main way of operation?Aims? (Themes)
SO... HOW EFFECTIVE ARE NGOS?LET’S LOOK AT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL.Failures
targets larger nations
indirect action has had limited effect
less successful with disappearances & death penalty
target countries according to "donor interest"... Prioritised based on what people care about, not what's actually worst
Successes
admits this( says it focuses on nations where it can make a difference)
direct action has resulted in changes ("urgent action campaigns")
more successful with torture, prisoners of conscience, arbitrary arrest
THE MEDIA
Role - to report human rights abuses to the public by making them part of the news. Human rights are considered "important" when they're "newsworthy“
May act as a deterrent to the government - they make act (refuse to act) for fear of making the news.
Media may be a conscience trigger. Result in people acting after reading a story and then lobby the government of join an NGO etc.
Supposed to be independent & to report facts. BUT, a media source may be government owned or influenced, or published and influenced by NGOs.
THE GUARDIAN
THE BBC
Click icon to add picture
ABC AUSTRALIA
Click icon to add picture
Although it is getting increasingly difficult for the ABC to report without fear of reprisals from our government
PROBLEMS Some places won't let journalists
publish freely. Eg: North Korea.
Some news channels don't want to report negative stories. “Dumbing down of news.”
Proper journalism is harder to find than it used to be.
Some people aren't allowed to access international news (eg: Myanmar; great firewall of China)
POSITIVESOnline Journalism
Provides access to international stories.
However, it can still be controlled by the government…
Social Media
Instant and global.
Has been largely successful
However, it can still be limited – eg: Syria pulled the plug on net
DOMESTIC LAW
How does Australia incorporate Human Rights into Domestic Law?
The difference sources of Human Rights in Australian Domestic
Law
Statute Law
Common Law
Constitution
THE ROLE OF THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION Only contains a few references to Human Rights
s.116 freedom of religion s.24 right to vote s.51(xxxi) right to acquisition of property on just terms s.117 the right not to be discriminated against as a result of residence in one state
Division and Separation of Powers Division of Powers – distribution of legislative rights between The Commonwealth
and the States Separation of Powers – separation of the Commonwealth into 3 arms: legislature
(parliament), executive (government & its departments), judiciary (court system) – all are equal before the law [“rule of law”]
Some rights have been found to be “implied” in the Constitution Roach v Electoral Commissioner (2007)
THE ROLE OF COMMON LAW AND AUSTRALIAN COURTS AND TRIBUNALS Traditionally, common law was the primary source of protection of
individual and collective rights (although this is changing)
Common law is limited in how much it can protect our rights by the fact that parliament can reverse its decisions through legislation – some people say this is a serious limitation, and this makes common law rights insignificant
Common law has also impeded human rights in Australia Right to legal representation Right to appeal Right to silence Discretion to admit evidence unlawfully gained
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