National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) – human rights commissions and ombudsmen – have gained recognition as a possible missing link in the transmission and implementation of international human rights norms at the domestic level. They are also increasingly accepted as important participants in global and regional forums where international norms are produced. By collecting innovative work from experts spanning international law, political science, sociology and human rights practice, this book critically examines the significance of this relatively new class of organizations. It focuses, in particular, on the prospects of these institutions to effectuate state compliance and social change. Consideration is given to the role of NHRIs in delegitimizing – though sometimes legitimizing – governments' poor human rights records and in mobilizing – though sometimes demobilizing – civil society actors. The volume underscores the broader implications of such cross-cutting research for scholarship and practice in the fields of human rights and global affairs in general.

This book offers a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative research arguing for the persistent power of human rights norms.

This open access book presents a discussion on human rights-based attributes for each article pertinent to the substantive rights of children, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It provides the reader with a unique and clear overview of the scope and core content of the articles, together with an analysis of the latest jurisprudence of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. For each article of the UNCRC, the authors explore the nature and scope of corresponding State obligations, and identify the main features that need to be taken into consideration when assessing a State’s progressive implementation of the UNCRC. This analysis considers which aspects of a given right are most important to track, in order to monitor States' implementation of any given right, and whether there is any resultant change in the lives of children. This approach transforms the narrative of legal international standards concerning a given right into a set of characteristics that ensure no aspect of said right is overlooked. The book develops a clear and comprehensive understanding of the UNCRC that can be used as an introduction to the rights and principles it contains, and to identify directions for future policy and strategy development in compliance with the UNCRC. As such, it offers an invaluable reference guide for researchers and students in the field of childhood and children’s rights studies, as well as a wide range of professionals and organisations concerned with the subject.

This book offers an up-to-date, comprehensive interdisciplinary analysis of the multifaceted and evolving experiences of human rights in Sierra Leone between the years 1787 and 2016. It provides a balanced coverage of the local and international conditions that frame the socio-cultural, political, and economic context of human rights: its rise and fall, and concerns for the broader engendered issues of the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, women’s struggle for recognition, constitutional development, political independence, war, and transitional justice (as well as "contributive justice," which the author introduces to explain the consequences of the problems of the temporal nature of transitional justice, and the crisis of donor fatigue towards peacebuilding activities), local government, democracy, and constitutional reforms within Sierra Leone. While acknowledging the profound challenges associated with the promotion of human rights in an environment of uncertainty, political fragility, lawlessness, and deprivation, John Idriss Lahai sheds light on the often-constructive engagement of the people of Sierra Leone with a variety of societal conditions, adverse or otherwise, to influence constitutional change, the emergent post-coflict discourse on "contributive justice," and acceptable human rights practice. This book will be of interest to scholars in West African history, legal history, African studies, peace and conflict studies, human rights and transitional justice.

The SAGE Handbook of Human Rights will comprise a two volume set consisting of more than 50 original chapters that clarify and analyze human rights issues of both contemporary and future importance. The Handbook will take an inter-disciplinary approach, combining work in such traditional fields as law, political science and philosophy with such non-traditional subjects as climate change, demography, economics, geography, urban studies, mass communication, and business and marketing. In addition, one of the aspects of mainstreaming is the manner in which human rights has come to play a prominent role in popular culture, and there will be a section on human rights in art, film, music and literature. Not only will the Handbook provide a state of the art analysis of the discipline that addresses the history and development of human rights standards and its movements, mechanisms and institutions, but it will seek to go beyond this and produce a book that will help lead to prospective thinking.

The European system of human rights protection faces institutional and political pressures which threaten its very survival. These institional pressures stem from the backlog of applications before the European Court of Human Rights, the large number of its judgments that remain unimplemented, and the political pressures that arise from sustained attacks on the Court's legitimacy and authority, notably from politicians and jurists in the United Kingdom. This book addresses the theme which lies at the heart of these pressures: the role of national parliaments in the implementation of judgments of the Court. It combines theoretical and empirical insights into the role of parliaments in securing domestic compliance with the Court's decisions, and provides detailed investigation of five European states with differing records of human rights compliance and parliamentary mobilisation: Ukraine, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. How far are parliaments engaged in implementation, and how far should they be? Do parliaments advance or hinder human rights compliance? Is it ever justifiable for parliaments to defy judgments of the Court? And how significant is the role played by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe? Drawing on the fields of international law, international relations, political science, and political philosophy, the book argues that adverse human rights judgments not only confer obligations on parliamentarians but also create opportunities for them to develop influential interpretations of human rights and enhance their own democratic legitimacy. It makes an authoritative contribution to debate about the future of the European and other supranational human rights mechanisms and the broader relationship between democracy, human rights, and legitimate authority.

The Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (the Paris Principles) were adopted by National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and endorsed by both the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Commission. Since their adoption, they have become the standards applicable to these institutions with a mandate to promote and protect human rights. This book offers a complete study of the Paris Principles, which includes an appraisal of their establishment, evolution and potential for the future; a comprehensive commentary on each provision; and a practical guide to their interpretation, including the implications they have for the implementation of the competencies of NHRIs. This is the first book to thoroughly analyse the Paris Principles and will be essential reading for a global audience of both practitioners working for NHRIs and the UN as well as human rights scholars.

This interdisciplinary volume brings together leading scholars in international and constitutional law, social sciences, and international relations to present a systematic as well as critical analysis of the impact of the Inter-American System of Human Rights and the legal mechanisms that allow for that impact.

National Human Rights Institutions: Rules, Requirements, and Practice is an authoritative guide to National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) in their important role as promoters and protectors of human rights at the national level. This book serves as both the first ever 'casebook' on the findings of the SCA, as well as a comprehensive reference for the requirements for compliance of NHRIs with the Paris Principles, and is a vital source of information on the actual practice of NHRIs. Since its earliest assessments of NHRIs in 1998, the Global Alliance of NHRIs' (GANHRI) Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) has developed a substantive body of work that has examined the operation and practice of over 128 institutions in countries and territories from every part of the globe. Analysed and catalogued in their entirety into an accessible format for the first time, and covering all aspects of NHRIs' structure and functioning, as well as providing a thorough overview of how the SCA works in practice, this book is an indispensable resource for scholars and practitioners who wish to understand and learn how NHRIs operate at the national level, as well as what problems they face and ultimately, how they can be strengthened. Benefitting from the unique insight of David Langtry, a member of the SCA for 11 years, this book is an essential source for all those interested in the role of NHRIs, and more broadly, of all state-established institutions intended to function independently.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 199-265) and index.