Human Rights Doctrines

• UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)


  1948
• UDHR


  • Provided a baseline for future human rights documents
  • Has influenced future treaties that are binding
  • Eg. ICESR
  • First international consensus on human rights
  • Focused mainly on first and second generation human rights
  • Did not really specifically focus on certain, vulnerable minority groups
  • Outdated: does not take into account contemporary problems
  • Not ratified, states can (and have) freely violated it
  • Imposes a western of judeochristian viewpoint of human rights
• European convention on human rights

  1950
• European convention on human rights

  • The first regional convention on human rights
  • Final court of appeal of last resort once citizens have exhausted their own state governments and legal processes
  • Regional: only applies to Europe
  • Whilst the decisions of the court are binding, there is no means of enforcement
  • Sovereignty may come under pressure is the court disagree with national governments and legislators
• International covenant on economic and social rights (and civil and political rights)

  1966
• International covenant on economic and social rights (and civil and political rights)

  • First legally binding international human rights laws
  • Clarified rights set out in the UDHR
  • Economic and social rights are more difficult for LEDCs to deliver on
  • No international enforcement body
• Convention against torture and other cruel inhuman and degrading treatment

  1984
• Convention against torture and other cruel inhuman and degrading treatment


  • Builds on UDHR and ICCPR
  • Offers specific definitions of what constitutes torture
  • Prohibits nations from relying on evidence gained through torture
  • Applicable to all human beings, not just from a state's own citizens
  • Cannot be enforced and states that have ratified the the convention can still carry out torture
  • Eg. Obama administration in aftermath of 9/11
• African charter on human and people's rights


  1986
• African charter on human and people's rights


  • Has provided a process for African Union states to agree on new human rights
  • Eg. addressed FGM in 2003
  • Recognises collective and individual rights
  • Difficult to enforce the decisions on member states, because the commission does not have any formal enforcement powers and recommendations are not legally binding on member states
• Beijing Declaration


  1995
• Beijing Declaration


  • Uses basis of the UDHR, but specifically relates it to women → historically marginalised community
  • Non-binding so countries may not follow it
  • Lack of enforcement power
  • Cultural relativism
• Kyoto Protocol


  1997
• Kyoto Protocol


  • Legal commitment
  • Environmental development
  • Criticised for being unfair to developing countries who needed to economically developed
  • Did not hold countries accountable
  • Unrealistic expectations
• Rome Statute


  1998
• Rome Statute


  • Creates the foundations of the ICC
  • Powers to issue arrest warrants
  • Countries that have not signed the Rome Statue can be investigated if the UN Security Council agrees to it
  • Not all member states have signed/ratified the rome statute, hence, cannot be held accountable
  • As of 2015 only 2 breaches of international law were convicted
• Paris Agreement


  2015
• Paris Agreement


  • Near universal participation 200 members
  • Japan, China, and the EU to set carbon neutrality goals and embrace net zero targets
  • Lack of enforcements and lack of penalties
  • US pulled out