The United Nations And Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal

Description

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. cover Half Title The United Nations and Human Rights Copyright Contents List of Contributors Introduction: Appraising the United Nations Human Rights Regime Part 1 1. The Security Council 2. The General Assembly 3. The Economic and Social Council 4. The International Court of Justice Part 2 5. The Human Rights Council 6. A Critical Appraisal of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee 7. The Commission on the Status of Women 8. The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Part 3 9. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) 10. The Human Rights Committee 11. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women 12. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 13. The Committee against Torture and the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture 14. The Committee on the Rights of the Child 15. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 16. The Committee on Enforced Disappearances 17. The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 18. Reform of the UN Human Rights Treaty Body System Part 4 19. The High Commissioner for Human Rights 20. Human Rights Co-​Ordination Within the UN System Index