International Human Rights Agreements
Background Materials
Encyclopedias
- The Max Planck Encyclopedias of International LawThe Encyclopedias have a comprehensive collection of articles on every aspect of international law.
Elgar Encyclopedia of Human Rights by ISBN: 9781789903621Publication Date: 2022The Encyclopedia addresses the full range of themes associated with the study and practice of human rights in the modern world. The topics range from substantive human rights to the relevant institutions, legal documents, conceptual and procedural issues of international law and a wide variety of thematic entries.
Encyclopedia of Human Rights (13 Volume Set) by ISBN: 9781536155051Publication Date: 2020The Encyclopedia of Human Rights organizes researchers from around the world in human rights and related disciplines and maintains an up-to-date reference work for readers worldwide.
Dictionaries
Historical Dictionary of Human Rights by ISBN: 9780810858459Publication Date: 2014The Historical Dictionary of Human Rights covers the history of the Human Rights movement through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 1000 cross-referenced entries on terminology, conventions, treaties, intergovernmental organizations in the United Nations family or regional bodies, and the constantly expanding universe of non-governmental organizations, as well as some of the pioneers and defenders.
Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations by ISBN: 9781442276178Publication Date: 2016The Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations, Third Edition, defines the core concepts of human rights and humanitarian law. It relates the major international legal agreements related to human rights and names the diverse intergovernmental organizations which are responsible for implementing and maintaining these legal declarations and treaties.
Other References
- Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI)The UHRI allows to explore observations and recommendations made to countries by the international human rights protection system: Treaty Bodies-Universal Periodic Review-Special Procedures.
International Human Rights in a Nutshell by ISBN: 9781634605984Publication Date: 2017This book provides an] overview of the international, regional and domestic human rights systems. Reviews recent developments in the field, including in the UN, European, OAS, and African human rights systems, and the adoption of new conventions such as those on forced disappearances and persons with disabilities.
Reinventing Human Rights by ISBN: 9781503613300Publication Date: 2022Goodale's proposition to reinvent human rights begins with a deep unpacking of human rights institutionalism and political theory in order to give priority to the "practice of human rights." Rather than a priori claims to universality, he calls for a working theory of human rights defined by "translocality," a conceptual and ethical grounding that invites people to form alliances beyond established boundaries of community, nation, race, or religious identity.
International Human Rights: Law, Policy, and Process by ISBN: 9781531017682Publication Date: 2021This book provides both theoretical and practical context for our current International Human Rights Law (IHRL) Framework. Also, it examines regional differences regarding how IHRL is implemented, and how IHRL intersects with many different fields of law, including humanitarian law, criminal law, and labor law. Finally, this book examines sources of international law to provide a comprehensive review.- Demands of Justice by ISBN: 9781009093545Publication Date: 2022Demands of Justice draws on original interviews and archival research to show how global appeals for human rights began in the 1970s to expand the boundaries of the global neighbourhood and disseminate new arguments about humane concern and law in direct opposition to human rights violations.
The Customary International Law of Human Rights by ISBN: 9780192845696Publication Date: 2021Customary international law is one of the principal sources of public international law. Although its existence is uncontroversial, until now the content of customary international law in the area of human rights has not been analyzed in a comprehensive manner. This book provides an unparalleled account of the customary international law of human rights. It discusses the emergence of this customary law, the debates about how it is to be identified, and the efforts at formulation of customary norms. In doing so, the book provides a useful and accessible introduction to the content of international human rights.
Legal Mobilization for Human Rights by ISBN: 9780192866578Publication Date: 2022The traditionally top-down focus in human rights scholarship on laws, institutions, and courts has begun to turn towards a bottom-up focus on activists, advocacy groups, affected communities, and social movements. The essays collected in Legal Mobilization for Human Rights examine a range of issues including which groups claim rights, what they are mobilizing to protect, the goals they pursue, the forums they use, the obstacles they encounter, and the extent of their success or failure. Case studies reveal key themes such as: the importance of human rights to marginalized communities; how political and societal authoritarianism shapes opportunities for effective mobilization; the importance of the choice of forum for instigating change; the role intermediary actors such as NGOs play in innovating strategies to address challenges; the possibilities for subaltern mobilization to reshape human rights law; and the importance of supporting genuinely community-led legal mobilization.
A Commentary on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by ISBN: 1108599044Publication Date: 2020A new and essential reference work for any international human rights law academic, student , or practitioner, A Commentary on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights spans all substantive rights of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), approached from the perspective of the ICCPR as an integrated, coherent scheme of rights protection. In detailed coverage of the Human Rights Committee's output when monitoring ICCPR compliance, Paul M. Taylor offers extraordinary access to forty years of its Concluding Observations, Views and General Comments organised thematically. This Commentary is a solid and practical introduction to any and all of the civil and political rights in the ICCPR, and a rare resource explaining the requirements for domestic implementation of ICCPR standards. An indispensable research tool for any serious enquirer into the subject, the Commentary speaks to the accomplishments of the ICCPR in striving for universal human rights standards.
- Human Rights Research Hub (SSRN)SSRN’s Human Rights Hub highlights early-stage research focusing on the inalienable rights that every person is entitled to as a human being.
Human Rights Treaty Bodies
Universal Human Rights Treaty Bodies & Access to Cases
Many universal human rights treaties have specialized "treaty bodies" (committees of independent experts) that closely follow their implementation and/or compliance. To learn more about those core treaties and their committees, please visit the links below.
Individuals are entitled to file a complaint mechanism called "communication" alleging a violation of treaty rights by their States (in the assumption their state is a party to a particular treaty). This communication will be decided by the committees, as indicated below.
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Human Rights Committee (CCPR)
Committee against Torture (CAT)
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)
Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families (CMW)
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT)
Regional Human Rights Courts & Caselaw
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
What is the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights?
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) was established in 1998. Its mandate is to complement the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a quasi-jurisdictional body that monitors the implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other instruments ratified by the States concerned. For more information about it, please go to the links indicated below.
Cases
Selected Books
The African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples' Rights in Context by ISBN: 110842273XPublication Date: 2019- Commentaire des Grands Arrêts de la Cour Africaine des Droits de l'Homme et des Peuples by ISBN: 9782140268052Publication Date: 2019
Journals
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
What is the Inter-American Court of Human Rights?
Together with the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) is dedicated to the protection of human rights within the Inter-American system. While the Commission is a quasi jurisdictional body, the IACHR, established in 1979, resolves contentious cases and gives advisory opinions. For more information about it, please go to the links indicated below.
Cases
Selected Books
The Construction of the Customary Law of Peace: Latin America and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by ISBN: 9781800371873Publication Date: 2021
Doctrine, Practice, and Advocacy in the Inter-American Human Rights System by ISBN: 0190900873Publication Date: 2019- Panorama de la Jurisprudencia Interamericana sobre Derechos Humanos by ISBN: 9786070935770Publication Date: 2020
Journals
European Court of Human Rights
What is the European Court of Human Rights?
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) should not be confused with the Court of Justice of the European Union. The ECHR was established in 1959.
The ECHR's responsibility is to rule on applications from either individuals or states concerning alleged violations of either civil or political rights recognized by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Cases & Digest
Selected Books
"Hard Power" and the European Convention on Human Rights by ISBN: 9789004425637Publication Date: 2020- Les Droits couverts par la Cour Européenne des Droits de l'Homme by ISBN: 9782919782994Publication Date: 2021
The European Court of Human Rights: Current Challenges in Historical Perspective by ISBN: 9781839108341Publication Date: 2021
Journals
Reports by Countries
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Directories
Useful Resources
Institutions
Research Guides
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Acknowlegment
Credit
Thank you to Stephen Wiles for his work on the initial version of this guide.