University of Lancaster, Britain

Consider how internationalinstitutions
can help in the protection of human rights

by

 Gisela Haege

This essay focuses on the United Nations (UN). First, a definition of human rights and of protection
of human rights is given. Then the different aspects of protection of human rights are exemplified
by describing concrete activities undertaken by the UN. Eventually, the impact of the UN′s human
rights activities is considered and a conclusion is drawn thereon.

Definition of human rights 3

Aspects of protection of human rights 4

Legitimisation of the UN intervening in human rights matters  4

Links between human rights and the other activities of the UN  5

Ambivalence of member states and thus the UN facing human rights  6

How the United Nations can protect human rights 8

a) Prevention 8

i) Standard-setting 8
ii) Promotion  9
iii) Changes in national law 10
iv) Monitoring  11
v) Assistance, training and technical cooperation  11
vi) Institution building  12

b) Implementation 13

i) Justice done to the victims of human rights violations  14
ii) Redress of damage done to the victims of violations of human rights  14
iii) Protection of victims from further damage 15

Impact of human rights law 17

Conclusion  18

Bibliography 20

Definition of human rights

Human rights are¹ rights to which all human beings are equally entitled, independently of acts of law. The foundation of this entitlement is human dignity. Human rights are not only to be respected by public authorities (vertical dimension of human rights), but also by private parties (horizontal dimension of human rights) as human rights law increasingly admits.² The latter dimension is to be implemented first of all by the national criminal law.

Human rights law distinguishes two sets of human rights:³ first, civil rights (for example the right to life and physical integrity) and political rights (for example the right to participate in politics) and second, social rights (for example the rights of children, women, ethnic groups and the right to social security), economic rights (for example those referring to labour conditions, health and safety at the workplace) and cultural human rights. The realisation of both sets of rights depends on each other.⁴ Extreme poverty or illiteracy, for example, makes the exercise of civil and political rights difficult. That it is more expensive to realise social and economic than civil and political human rights, cannot be upheld generally, because mechanisms to monitor and enforce the respect of human rights are needed. Press⁵ gives some examples on this. Better working conditions, more occupational safety and social security are examples for costly economic rights.⁶

Aspects of protection of human rights

The protection of human rights encompasses first the prevention of violations of human rights. Respect and ensuring of human rights are a part of prevention.⁷ Further aspects⁸ of protection are the investigation of human rights violations, the conviction of those responsible for human rights abuses in order to foster the future respect of human rights, the provision of appropriate remedies to the victims respectively their relatives and the protection of the victim, if alive, and his or her relatives from further violations of their human rights. All this is done by legal, diplomatic, and enforcement measures, for which examples will be given in this essay.

Legitimisation of the UN intervening in human rights matters

The UN is legitimised to intervene directly in the protection of human rights according to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993, if states fail to do so.⁹ This solves the controversy about whether human rights are a mainly domestic matter or an issues of international law.¹⁰ In case of being an essentially domestic matter, Article 2(7) of the UN Charter would apply which prohibits the UN from intervening in such matters, unless they became a threat to international peace and security as stated by the Security Council.

A further argument in favour of the international system intervening in human rights matters in member states is that the latter, by becoming a member of the UN, accept the respect of human rights as one of the fundamental purposes of the UN laid down in the UN Charter in Article 1(3), which is realised through standard-setting and implementation.¹¹

[...]

1 P. J. Flood, The effectiveness of United Nations human rights institutions, Westport, Praeger, 1998; M. Piechowiak, ′What are Human Rights? The Concept of Human Rights and Their Extra-Legal Justification′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999

2 K. Drzewicki, ′The United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999

3 A. Rosas & M. Scheinin, ′Categories and beneficiaries of human rights′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999

4 Drzewicki, op. cit.

5 E. Press, ′Human Rights - The Next Step′, The Nation, 25 December, 2000

6 K. T. Samson & K. Schindler, ′The standard-setting and supervisory system of the International Labour Organisation′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999

7 Article 2(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

8 See the terminology used by Amnesty International in its Urgent Actions

9 M. Scheinin, ′International mechanism and procedures for implementation′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999; C. Flinterman & C. Henderson, ′Special human rights treaties′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999; F. Coomans, ′UNESCO and human rights′, in R. Hanski & M. Suksi, eds., An introduction to the international protection of human rights: a textbook, 2nd ed., Turku / Åbo, Åbo Akademi University, 1999

10 S. D. Bailey, The UN Security Council and Human Rights, Houndsmills, Macmillan Press, 1994

11 Drzewicki, op. cit.