Politics and human rights

1. Politics and human rights Kathalijne Buitenweg Laurien Koster

2. Politics and human rights • History of human rights • Main trends in promotion and protection of human rights • Forward-looking: challenges for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) • Future trends? – your input

3. Human rights: • A moral concept • A legal concept Fundamentalfor human dignity.

4. History since 1945 • Main activities at international level • Standard setting • Development of international monitoring machinery • Focus on national implementation

5. Standard setting • Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) • Contains civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights

6. Indivisibility of human rights • 1993 World Conference on Human Rights => Vienna Declaration, article 5 • ‘All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated.’

7. Standard setting • General instruments • Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) • Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) • Controversies during drafting • Emphasis CPR – ESCR • Acceptability of monitoring procedures

8. Different human rights?

9. Different human rights? • Alleged differences CPR – ESCR • No state action necessary – Requiring state action • Cheap – Expensive • Clear - Vague • Justiciable – Non-justiciable

10. Standard setting • Treaties dealing with specific issues or groups • Racial discrimination (1965) • Discrimination against women (1979) • Torture (1984) • Children’s rights (1989) • Migrant workers (1990) • Persons with disabilities (2006) • Enforced disappearance (2006)

11. International accountability • Accountability of States • UN human rights treaty bodies • Political mechanisms • Regional Courts • Towards a World Court?? • Accountability of individuals • Combating impunity • International accountability (ICC)

12. National implementation • National Preventive Mechanisms (OPCAT, CRPD) • Technical assistance programmes • National Human Rights Institutions

14. Realisation of socio economic rights • Role of independent National Human Rights Institutions • The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights

16. Realisation of rights • State fulfills its obligations • Enforceability

17. The UN treaty body System • Monitoring of state obligations • Clearifying of the norms • Political peer review • Recommendations • Individual complaints • Domestic Political debate • Follow up

18. European Convention Human Rights: • Binding judgements European Court • Supervision of executionof judgments Domestic acces to justice • The judiciary • Semi judicial function of NHRI; non discrimination

19. Non discrimination • Equal acces to socio-economic rights • No guarantee for core minimum

20. Paris Principles • Competence to promote and protect h. r. • Broad and effective mandate and responsabilities i.a. advice, reports on the national situation, encourage ratification of internat. hr-instruments,, hr education,investigative powers • Interaction with International HR system, • Cooperation with other hr institutions and NGO’s • Independence from the state, adequate funding • Pluralist composition • Protected position of commissioners • Own staff, independent housing

21. Netherlands Institute for Human rights • Strategic priorities:- Older people in caring homes & human rights - Migration and human rights - Discrimination and access to the labour market - Human Rights education - Inhabitants of the Carribean part of NL & human rights - National yearly report on HR in NL - A-accreditation at UN level/Cmttee of NHRI’s

22. Netherlands Institute for Human Rights