Coherent laws enforced by a central authority are part of the reason why human rights protection works at the national level in Europe. But when it comes to the EU these dimensions are lacking. The present system for protecting fundamental rights emerged on an ad hoc basis, with measures being improvised to respond to particular problems. In the next couple of years, however, this situation is likely to change very significantly. The proposed European Constitution incorporates the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and a specialized EU Fundamental Rights Agency is likely to be established. As a result, the situation of the EU will more closely resemble that of its Member States. Fundamental rights will occupy a central role, and coherent and systematic arrangements will be in place to protect rights, using both judicial and non-judicial means. The Fundamental Rights Agency, in particular, has immense potential to ensure effective monitoring of fundamental rights in the EU, and to ensure a unified strategy for their promotion in EU law and policy. This volume is the first to critically examine the proposals put forward by the European Commission in October 2004 on the creation of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. Leading scholars in the field of European and international human rights law analyse the potential significance of this innovative Agency, and seek to locate it in relation to various other human rights mechanisms, both in the EU's constitutional structure and within Member States. They review the tasks which the Agency could be called upon to perform, and make proposals as to how it can function most effectively. The relationship of EU law to the international law of human rights emerging from both the United Nations and the Council of Europe is examined. The authors also address the challenge of ensuring improved coherence between EU law and the other human rights obligations undertaken by the Member States. Taken together, these contributions address urgent questions facing the EU at a time when the central unifying function of fundamental rights has been recognized but the way forward remains largely uncharted.

Fact-finding is at the heart of human rights advocacy, and is often at the center of international controversies about alleged government abuses. In recent years, human rights fact-finding has greatly proliferated and become more sophisticated and complex, while also being subjected to stronger scrutiny from governments. Nevertheless, despite the prominence of fact-finding, it remains strikingly under-studied and under-theorized. Too little has been done to bring forth the assumptions, methodologies, and techniques of this rapidly developing field, or to open human rights fact-finding to critical and constructive scrutiny. The Transformation of Human Rights Fact-Finding offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of fact-finding with rigorous and critical analysis of the field of practice, while providing a range of accounts of what actually happens. It deepens the study and practice of human rights investigations, and fosters fact-finding as a discretely studied topic, while mapping crucial transformations in the field. The contributions to this book are the result of a major international conference organized by New York University Law School's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. Engaging the expertise and experience of the editors and contributing authors, it offers a broad approach encompassing contemporary issues and analysis across the human rights spectrum in law, international relations, and critical theory. This book addresses the major areas of human rights fact-finding such as victim and witness issues; fact-finding for advocacy, enforcement, and litigation; the role of interdisciplinary expertise and methodologies; crowd sourcing, social media, and big data; and international guidelines for fact-finding.

This Major Reference series brings together a wide range of key international articles in law and legal theory. Many of these essays are not readily accessible, and their presentation in these volumes will provide a vital new resource for both research and teaching. Each volume is edited by leading international authorities who explain the significance and context of articles in an informative and complete introduction.

The imperatives of sovereignty, human rights and national security very often pull in different directions, yet the relations between these three different notions are considerably more subtle than those of simple opposition. Rather, their interaction may at times be contradictory, at others tense, and at others even complementary. This collection presents an analysis of the irreducible dilemmas posed by the foundational challenges of sovereignty, human rights and security, not merely in terms of the formal doctrine of their disciplines, but also of the manner in which they can be configured in order to achieve persuasive legitimacy as to both methods and results. The chapters in this volume represent an attempt to face up to these dilemmas in all of their complexity, and to suggest ways in which they can be confronted productively both in the abstract and in the concrete circumstances of particular cases.

For several decades after the UN Charter insisted that the promotion of development and human rights were central to post-World War II conceptions of world order, the two fields remained in virtual isolation from one another. Only in the past 15 years or so, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the realization that freedom and economic well-being are empirically linked, have the professional communities dealing with development and human rights issues really begun to communicate effectively. But too much of the dialogue has been confined to an abstract or theoretical level. This volume addresses highly specific but crucial aspects of the human rights and development interface, including the economics of social rights; land rights and women's empowerment; child labour and access to education; reform of legal and judicial systems; the human rights role of the private sector; and building human rights into development planning, especially the Poverty Reduction Strategy process. Contributors include lawyers, economists, and both scholarly and practitioner perspectives are presented. Several chapters are written by Senior World Bank officials, including the Bank's President and the head of the International Finance Corporation.

Every state in the world has undertaken human rights obligations on the basis of United Nations treaties. Today's challenge is to enhance the effectiveness of procedures and institutions established to promote the accountability of governments. This volume contains detailed analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of the system, written by leading participants in the work of the treaty bodies. Their recommendations provide a blueprint for far-reaching reform of a system of major importance for the future of international efforts to protect human rights.

In Tax, Inequality, and Human Rights, experts in human rights law and in tax law debate the linkages between the two fields and highlight how each can help to tackle rapidly growing inequality in the economic, social, and political realms. Against a backdrop of systemic corporate tax avoidance, widespread use of tax havens, persistent pressures to embrace austerity policies, and growing gaps between the rich and poor, this book encourages readers to understand fiscal policy as human rights policy, and thus as having profound consequences for the well-being of citizens around the world. Prominent scholars and practitioners examine how the foundational principles of tax law and human rights law intersect and diverge; discuss the cross-border nature and human rights impacts of abusive practices like tax avoidance and evasion; question the reluctance of states to bring transparency and accountability to tax policies and practices; highlight the responsibility of private sector actors for shaping and misshaping tax laws; and critically evaluate domestic tax rules through the lens of equality and nondiscrimination. The contributing authors also explore how international human rights obligations should influence the framework for both domestic and international tax reforms. They address what human rights law requires of state tax policies and how tax laws and loopholes affect the enjoyment of human rights by people outside a state's borders. Because tax and human rights both turn on the relationship between the individual and the state, neo-liberalism's erosion of the social contract threatens to undermine them both.

The right to self-determination has been a driving force in international law and politics through much of the post World War II period. In the 1970s it was joined by a number of other human rights attributed to peoples rather than to individuals, including rights to development, peace, a clean environment, and humanitarian assistance. In this volume, the current and future significance of these so-called `third generation solidarity rights' are examined by leading experts.

Are efforts to protect workers' rights compatible with the forces of globalization? How can minimum standards designed to protect labour rights be implemented in a world in which national labour law is more and more at the mercy of international forces beyond its control? And does it make any difference if we see rights such as the right to freedom of association, to non-discrimination in the workplace, to freedom from child labour, and to safe and healthy working conditions in terms of international human rights law? Or are they more appropriately seen as 'principles' to be promoted as and where appropriate? The contributors to this volume argue that international agreements and institutions are of central importance if labour rights are to be protected in a globalized economy. But the report cards they give to the World Trade Organization, the European Union, NAFTA, and the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas are generally very critical. While there is a strong rhetorical commitment to labour rights, at least on the part of the US and the EU, the substance of what has been achieved to date is hardly impressive. The role of the International Labour Organization is central and the authors explore some of the options that are open to governments, civil society, and the labour movement in the years ahead.

Fact-finding is at the heart of human rights advocacy, and is often at the center of international controversies about alleged government abuses. In recent years, human rights fact-finding has greatly proliferated and become more sophisticated and complex, while also being subjected to stronger scrutiny from governments. Nevertheless, despite the prominence of fact-finding, it remains strikingly under-studied and under-theorized. Too little has been done to bring forth the assumptions, methodologies, and techniques of this rapidly developing field, or to open human rights fact-finding to critical and constructive scrutiny. The Transformation of Human Rights Fact-Finding offers a multidisciplinary approach to the study of fact-finding with rigorous and critical analysis of the field of practice, while providing a range of accounts of what actually happens. It deepens the study and practice of human rights investigations, and fosters fact-finding as a discretely studied topic, while mapping crucial transformations in the field. The contributions to this book are the result of a major international conference organized by New York University Law School's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. Engaging the expertise and experience of the editors and contributing authors, it offers a broad approach encompassing contemporary issues and analysis across the human rights spectrum in law, international relations, and critical theory. This book addresses the major areas of human rights fact-finding such as victim and witness issues; fact-finding for advocacy, enforcement, and litigation; the role of interdisciplinary expertise and methodologies; crowd sourcing, social media, and big data; and international guidelines for fact-finding.

For all its achievements in integrating Europe, the EU lacks a human rights policy which is coherent, balanced and professionally administered. The introduction of a single currency, the problems of racism and xenophobia, the need for a humane refugee policy, the growing powers of the EU in many fields, and the Unions imminent eastward expansion, all make it urgent to adopt such policies. In this volume the leading experts in the field, including individuals from every EU country, provide an insightful critique of current policies and detailed recommendations for the future. This includes: access to justice, racial and disability discrimination, multinationals, environmental rights and European Citizenship. Other chapters focus on the role of the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights

The imperatives of sovereignty, human rights and national security very often pull in different directions, yet the relations between these three different notions are considerably more subtle than those of simple opposition. Rather, their interaction may at times be contradictory, at others tense, and at others even complementary. This collection presents an analysis of the irreducible dilemmas posed by the foundational challenges of sovereignty, human rights and security, not merely in terms of the formal doctrine of their disciplines, but also of the manner in which they can be configured in order to achieve persuasive legitimacy as to both methods and results. The chapters in this volume represent an attempt to face up to these dilemmas in all of their complexity, and to suggest ways in which they can be confronted productively both in the abstract and in the concrete circumstances of particular cases.

Can transnational corporations ignore human rights as long as governments don't hold them accountable? If the UN is put in charge of a territory, is it bound by human rights law? Does that body of law apply to private security contractors who use torture to achieve their goals? Does the right to freedom of speech apply in a private shopping mall which has become the modern-day town centre? Under traditional approaches to human rights, non-State actors are beyond the direct reach of international human rights law. They cannot be parties to the relevant treaties and so they are only bound to the extent that obligations accepted by States can be applied to them by governments. The result is that entities including Non-Governmental Organizations, international organizations such as the UN and the IMF, private security contractors, and transnational corporations, along with many others, are generally considered not to be bound directly by human rights law. This situation threatens to make a mockery of much of the international system of accountability for human rights violations. As privatization, outsourcing, and downsizing place ever more public or governmental functions into the hands of private actors, the human rights regime must adapt if it is to maintain its relevance. The contributors to this volume examine the different approaches that might be taken in order to ensure some degree of accountability. Making space in the legal regime to take account of the role of non-State actors is one of the biggest and most critical challenges facing international law today.

Every state in the world has undertaken human rights obligations on the basis of United Nations treaties. Today's challenge is to enhance the effectiveness of procedures and institutions established to promote the accountability of governments. This volume contains detailed analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of the system, written by leading participants in the work of the treaty bodies. Their recommendations provide a blueprint for far-reaching reform of a system of major importance for the future of international efforts to protect human rights.

This book offers a collection of original essays by a leading group of contributors which examine the role played by international human rights instruments and agendas in shaping domestic provisions for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

For all its achievements in integrating Europe, the EU lacks a human rights policy which is coherent, balanced and professionally administered. The introduction of a single currency, the problems of racism and xenophobia, the need for a humane refugee policy, the growing powers of the EU in many fields, and the Unions imminent eastward expansion, all make it urgent to adopt such policies. In this volume the leading experts in the field, including individuals from every EU country, provide an insightful critique of current policies and detailed recommendations for the future. This includes: access to justice, racial and disability discrimination, multinationals, environmental rights and European Citizenship. Other chapters focus on the role of the European Parliament, the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights

The very concept of human rights implies governmental accountability. To ensure that governments are indeed held accountable for their treatment of citizens and others the United Nations has established a wide range of mechanisms to monitor compliance, and to seek to prevent as well as respond to violations. The panoply of implementation measures that the UN has taken since 1945 has resulted in a diverse and complex set of institutional arrangements, the effectiveness of which varies widely. Indeed, there is much doubt as to the effectiveness of much of the UN's human rights efforts but also about what direction it should take. Inevitable instances of politicization and the hostile, or at best ambivalent, attitude of most governments, has at times endangered the fragile progress made on the more technical fronts. At the same time, technical efforts cannot dispense with the complex politics of actualizing the promise of human rights at and through the UN. In addition to significant actual and potential problems of duplication, overlapping and inconsistent approaches, there are major problems of under-funding and insufficient expertise. The complexity of these arrangements and the difficulty in evaluating their impact makes a comprehensive guide of the type provided here all the more indispensable. These essays critically examine the functions, procedures, and performance of each of the major UN organs dealing with human rights, including the Security Council and the International Court of Justice as well as the more specialized bodies monitoring the implementation of human rights treaties. Significant attention is devoted to the considerable efforts at reforming the UN's human rights machinery, as illustrated most notably by the creation of the Human Rights Council to replace the Commission on Human Rights. The book also looks at the relationship between the various bodies and the potential for major reforms and restructuring.

For several decades after the UN Charter insisted that the promotion of development and human rights were central to post-World War II conceptions of world order, the two fields remained in virtual isolation from one another. Only in the past 15 years or so, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the realization that freedom and economic well-being are empirically linked, have the professional communities dealing with development and human rights issues really begun to communicate effectively. But too much of the dialogue has been confined to an abstract or theoretical level. This volume addresses highly specific but crucial aspects of the human rights and development interface, including the economics of social rights; land rights and women's empowerment; child labour and access to education; reform of legal and judicial systems; the human rights role of the private sector; and building human rights into development planning, especially the Poverty Reduction Strategy process. Contributors include lawyers, economists, and both scholarly and practitioner perspectives are presented. Several chapters are written by Senior World Bank officials, including the Bank's President and the head of the International Finance Corporation.

Can transnational corporations ignore human rights as long as governments don't hold them accountable? If the UN is put in charge of a territory, is it bound by human rights law? Under traditional approaches to human rights, non-state actors cannot be parties to the relevant treaties and so they are only bound to the extent that obligations accepted by States can be applied to them by governments. This situation threatens to make a mockery of much of the international system of accountability for human rights violations. The contributors to this volume examine the different approaches that might be taken in order to ensure some degree of accountability. Making space in the legal regime to take account of the role of non-State actors is one of the biggest and most critical challenges facing international law today.

Are efforts to protect workers' rights compatible with the forces of globalization? How can minimum standards designed to protect labour rights be implemented in a world in which national labour law is more and more at the mercy of international forces beyond its control? And does it make any difference if we see rights such as the right to freedom of association, to non-discrimination in the workplace, to freedom from child labour, and to safe and healthy working conditions in terms of international human rights law? Or are they more appropriately seen as 'principles' to be promoted as and where appropriate?The contributors to this volume argue that international agreements and institutions are of central importance if labour rights are to be protected in a globalized economy.

The definitive work in the field, International Human Rights provides a comprehensive analysis of this wide and diverse subject area. Written by world-renowned scholars Philip Alston and Ryan Goodman, this book is the successor to the widely acclaimed International Human Rights in Context. Alston and Goodman have chosen a wide selection of materials from primary and secondary sources--legislation, case law, and academic writings--in order to demonstrate and illuminate key themes. They carefully guide students through each extract with thoughtful and lucid commentary. Questions are posed throughout the book in order to encourage deeper reflection and critical enquiry. A Companion Website features additional resources, including the first three chapters of the book, available for download.

The right to self-determination has been a driving force in international law and politics through much of the post World War II period. In the 1970s it was joined by a number of other human rights attributed to peoples rather than to individuals, including rights to development, peace, a clean environment, and humanitarian assistance. In this volume, the current and future significance of these so-called `third generation solidarity rights' are examined by leading experts.

In Tax, Inequality, and Human Rights, experts in human rights law and in tax law debate the linkages between the two fields and highlight how each can help to tackle rapidly growing inequality in the economic, social, and political realms. Against a backdrop of systemic corporate tax avoidance, widespread use of tax havens, persistent pressures to embrace austerity policies, and growing gaps between the rich and poor, this book encourages readers to understand fiscal policy as human rights policy, and thus as having profound consequences for the well-being of citizens around the world. Prominent scholars and practitioners examine how the foundational principles of tax law and human rights law intersect and diverge; discuss the cross-border nature and human rights impacts of abusive practices like tax avoidance and evasion; question the reluctance of states to bring transparency and accountability to tax policies and practices; highlight the responsibility of private sector actors for shaping and misshaping tax laws; and critically evaluate domestic tax rules through the lens of equality and nondiscrimination. The contributing authors also explore how international human rights obligations should influence the framework for both domestic and international tax reforms. They address what human rights law requires of state tax policies and how tax laws and loopholes affect the enjoyment of human rights by people outside a state's borders. Because tax and human rights both turn on the relationship between the individual and the state, neo-liberalism's erosion of the social contract threatens to undermine them both.

The public profile of human rights law has risen dramatically over the past decade. Many states have adopted human rights bills or acceded to regional systems in Europe, Africa and the Americas. What role then is there for the UN? This completely revised edition of the book first published in 1991 provides a comprehensive analysis of the UN's work in the field of Human Rights. The essays critically examine the functions, procedures, and performance of each of the major UN organs dealing with human rights, including the Security Council and the International Court of Justice, as well as the more specialized bodies such as the Commission on Human Rights and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.