The normative and institutional evolution of international human rights

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 19, Issue 4, 1997, Pages 703-723

  Buergenthal, Thomas ^a,b  

^a GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b U Nations Human Rights Committee ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0039596906     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.1997.0033     Document Type: Article

References (98)

1. For an earlier study of this subject, see HERSCH LAUTERPACHT, INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS 27-47 (1950).
2. U.N. CHARTER, signed 26 June 1945, 59 Stat. 1031, T.S. 993 (entered into force 24 Oct. 1945); see also Louis B. Sohn, The New International Law: Protection of the Rights of Individuals Rather Than States, 32 AM. U.L. REV. 1 (1982).
3. Thomas Buergenthal, Human Rights: A Challenge for the Universities, 31 UNESCO COURIER 25, 28 (1978).
4. Scholarly efforts to develop an international law of human rights predate the UN Charter by many years. See, e.g., André N. Mandelstam, La Declaration des droits internationaux de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 59 (1930); James Brown Scott, La Declaration Internationaux des Droits de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 79 (1930); see also Louis B. Sohn, How American International Lawyers Prepared for the San Francisco Bill of Rights, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 540 (1995); Jan Herman Burgers, The Road to San Francisco: The Revival of the Human Rights Idea in the Twentieth Century, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 447 (1992); PAUL GORDON LAURENS, THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: VISIONS SEEN (forthcoming 1998). For a summary of the historical antecedents of modern international human rights law, see THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL 1-20 (2d ed. 1995).
5. Scholarly efforts to develop an international law of human rights predate the UN Charter by many years. See, e.g., André N. Mandelstam, La Declaration des droits internationaux de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 59 (1930); James Brown Scott, La Declaration Internationaux des Droits de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 79 (1930); see also Louis B. Sohn, How American International Lawyers Prepared for the San Francisco Bill of Rights, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 540 (1995); Jan Herman Burgers, The Road to San Francisco: The Revival of the Human Rights Idea in the Twentieth Century, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 447 (1992); PAUL GORDON LAURENS, THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: VISIONS SEEN (forthcoming 1998). For a summary of the historical antecedents of modern international human rights law, see THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL 1-20 (2d ed. 1995).
6. Scholarly efforts to develop an international law of human rights predate the UN Charter by many years. See, e.g., André N. Mandelstam, La Declaration des droits internationaux de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 59 (1930); James Brown Scott, La Declaration Internationaux des Droits de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 79 (1930); see also Louis B. Sohn, How American International Lawyers Prepared for the San Francisco Bill of Rights, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 540 (1995); Jan Herman Burgers, The Road to San Francisco: The Revival of the Human Rights Idea in the Twentieth Century, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 447 (1992); PAUL GORDON LAURENS, THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: VISIONS SEEN (forthcoming 1998). For a summary of the historical antecedents of modern international human rights law, see THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL 1-20 (2d ed. 1995).
7. Scholarly efforts to develop an international law of human rights predate the UN Charter by many years. See, e.g., André N. Mandelstam, La Declaration des droits internationaux de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 59 (1930); James Brown Scott, La Declaration Internationaux des Droits de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 79 (1930); see also Louis B. Sohn, How American International Lawyers Prepared for the San Francisco Bill of Rights, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 540 (1995); Jan Herman Burgers, The Road to San Francisco: The Revival of the Human Rights Idea in the Twentieth Century, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 447 (1992); PAUL GORDON LAURENS, THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: VISIONS SEEN (forthcoming 1998). For a summary of the historical antecedents of modern international human rights law, see THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL 1-20 (2d ed. 1995).
8. Scholarly efforts to develop an international law of human rights predate the UN Charter by many years. See, e.g., André N. Mandelstam, La Declaration des droits internationaux de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 59 (1930); James Brown Scott, La Declaration Internationaux des Droits de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 79 (1930); see also Louis B. Sohn, How American International Lawyers Prepared for the San Francisco Bill of Rights, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 540 (1995); Jan Herman Burgers, The Road to San Francisco: The Revival of the Human Rights Idea in the Twentieth Century, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 447 (1992); PAUL GORDON LAURENS, THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: VISIONS SEEN (forthcoming 1998). For a summary of the historical antecedents of modern international human rights law, see THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL 1-20 (2d ed. 1995).
9. Scholarly efforts to develop an international law of human rights predate the UN Charter by many years. See, e.g., André N. Mandelstam, La Declaration des droits internationaux de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 59 (1930); James Brown Scott, La Declaration Internationaux des Droits de l'homme, 5 REV. DE DROIT INT'L 79 (1930); see also Louis B. Sohn, How American International Lawyers Prepared for the San Francisco Bill of Rights, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 540 (1995); Jan Herman Burgers, The Road to San Francisco: The Revival of the Human Rights Idea in the Twentieth Century, 14 HUM. RTS. Q. 447 (1992); PAUL GORDON LAURENS, THE EVOLUTION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: VISIONS SEEN (forthcoming 1998). For a summary of the historical antecedents of modern international human rights law, see THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL 1-20 (2d ed. 1995).
10. There is vast literature on this subject. See, e.g., THE UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL (Philip Alston ed., 1992) [hereinafter A CRITICAL APPRAISAL]; RUDOLF BERNHADT & JOHN ANTHONY JOLOWICZ, INTERNATIONAL ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (1987);
11. There is vast literature on this subject. See, e.g., THE UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL (Philip Alston ed., 1992) [hereinafter A CRITICAL APPRAISAL]; RUDOLF BERNHADT & JOHN ANTHONY JOLOWICZ, INTERNATIONAL ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (1987);
12. BUERGENTHAL, supra note 4; 1 & 2 HECTOR GROS ESPIELL, ESTUDIOS SOBRE DERECHOS HUMANOS (1985 & 1988);
13. LOUIS HENKIN, THE AGE OF RIGHTS (1990);
14. THEODOR MERON, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW-MAKING IN THE UNITED NATIONS (1986).
15. See generally PEDRO NIKKEN, LA PROTECCION INTERNACIONAL DE LOS DERECHOS HUMANOS: SU DESARROLLO PROGRESIVO (1987).
16. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (entered into force 23 Mar. 1976), G.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966); International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted 16 Dec. 1966, 993 U.N.T.S. 3 (entered into force 3 Jan. 1976), C.A. Res. 2200 (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966).
17. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted 10 Dec. 1948, G.A. Res. 217A (III), 3 U.N. GAOR (Resolutions, part 1) at 71, U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948), reprinted in 43 AM. J. INT'L L. SUPP. 127 (1949).
18. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 9 Dec. 1948, 78 U.N.T.S. 277 (entered into force 12 Jan. 1951) (entered into force for U.S. 23 Feb. 1989).
19. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted 21 Dec. 1965, 660 U.N.T.S. 195 (entered into force 4 Jan. 1969).
20. European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, opened for signature 4 Nov. 1950, Eur. T.S. No. 5, 213 U.N.T.S. 221 (entered into force 3 Sept. 1953).
21. American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, signed 2 May 1948, O.A.S. Off. Rec. OEA/Ser.L/V/II.23, doc. 21, rev. 6 (English 1979).
22. Convention against Discrimination in Education, adopted 14 Dec. 1960, 429 U.N.T.S. 93 (entered into force 22 May 1962), reprinted in RICHARD B. LILLICH, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS 330.1 (1990).
23. Convention Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation (ILO No. 111), adopted 25 June 1958, 362 U.N.T.S. 32 (entered into force 15 June 1960), reprinted in RICHARD B. LILLICH, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTRUMENTS 320.1 (1990).
24. Although Article 2(7) of the Charter, which deals with non-intervention in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states, was frequently invoked in the early days of the UN by some states seeking to limit UN discussion of human rights cases, this provision has gradually faded away as a major obstacle to UN consideration of human rights issues. See HENKIN, supra note 5, at 51; see also Felix Ermacora, Human Rights and Domestic Jurisdiction (Art. 2(7) of the Charter), 124 REC. D. COURS 371 (1968); Thomas Buergenthal, Domestic Jurisdiction, Intervention, and Human Rights: The International Law Perspective, in III HUMAN RIGHTS AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS (Peter C. Brown & Douglas MacLean eds., 1979).
25. Although Article 2(7) of the Charter, which deals with non-intervention in matters that are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states, was frequently invoked in the early days of the UN by some states seeking to limit UN discussion of human rights cases, this provision has gradually faded away as a major obstacle to UN consideration of human rights issues. See HENKIN, supra note 5, at 51; see also Felix Ermacora, Human Rights and Domestic Jurisdiction (Art. 2(7) of the Charter), 124 REC. D. COURS 371 (1968); Thomas Buergenthal, Domestic Jurisdiction, Intervention, and Human Rights: The International Law Perspective, in III HUMAN RIGHTS AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY: PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS (Peter C. Brown & Douglas MacLean eds., 1979).
26. As early as 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his famous "Four Freedoms" speech, called for "a world founded upon four essential freedoms." These he identified as freedom of speech and expression, freedom for every person to worship God in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Roosevelt's vision of "the moral order," as he characterized it, became the clarion call of the nations that fought the Axis in the Second World War. See Address by the President, 87 CONG. REC. 44, 46-47 (1941), reprinted in 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 384 (1984); ARTHUR N. HOLCOMBE, HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE MODERN WORLD 4-5 (1948); Louis B. Sohn, The Human Rights Movement: From Roosevelt's Four Freedoms to the Interdependence of Peace, Development and Human Rights (Harvard Law School Human Rights Program, Edward A. Smith Lecture, 1995).
27. As early as 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his famous "Four Freedoms" speech, called for "a world founded upon four essential freedoms." These he identified as freedom of speech and expression, freedom for every person to worship God in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Roosevelt's vision of "the moral order," as he characterized it, became the clarion call of the nations that fought the Axis in the Second World War. See Address by the President, 87 CONG. REC. 44, 46-47 (1941), reprinted in 6 HUM. RTS. Q. 384 (1984); ARTHUR N. HOLCOMBE, HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE MODERN WORLD 4-5 (1948); Louis B. Sohn, The Human Rights Movement: From Roosevelt's Four Freedoms to the Interdependence of Peace, Development and Human Rights (Harvard Law School Human Rights Program, Edward A. Smith Lecture, 1995).
28. The United States still had de jure racial discrimination, the Soviet Union its Gulag, and France and the United Kingdom their colonies.
29. See Paul Gordon Lauren, First Principles of Racial Equality: History and the Politics and Diplomacy of Human Rights Provisions in the United Nations Charter, 5 HUM. RTS. Q. 1 (1983).
30. For the drafting history of these provisions, see JACOB ROBINSON, HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: A COMMENTARY 17-50 (1946); Louis B. Sohn, A Short History of United Nations Documents on Human Rights, in THE UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 39, 43-59 (18th Report of the Comm'n to Study the Organization of Peace, 1968).
31. For the drafting history of these provisions, see JACOB ROBINSON, HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: A COMMENTARY 17-50 (1946); Louis B. Sohn, A Short History of United Nations Documents on Human Rights, in THE UNITED NATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS 39, 43-59 (18th Report of the Comm'n to Study the Organization of Peace, 1968).
32. U.N. Charter, supra note 2 art. 56
33. For the relevant UN practice under articles 55(c) and 56, see THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: A COMMENTARY 776-95 (Bruno Simma ed., 1994); see also JEAN-PIERRE COT & ALAIN PELLET, LA CHARTE DES NATIONS UNIES 865-93 (2d ed. 1991); Hurst Hannum, Human Rights, in I UNITED NATIONS LEGAL ORDER 319 (Oscar Schachter & Christopher C. Joyner eds., 1995).
34. For the relevant UN practice under articles 55(c) and 56, see THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: A COMMENTARY 776-95 (Bruno Simma ed., 1994); see also JEAN-PIERRE COT & ALAIN PELLET, LA CHARTE DES NATIONS UNIES 865-93 (2d ed. 1991); Hurst Hannum, Human Rights, in I UNITED NATIONS LEGAL ORDER 319 (Oscar Schachter & Christopher C. Joyner eds., 1995).
35. For the relevant UN practice under articles 55(c) and 56, see THE CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS: A COMMENTARY 776-95 (Bruno Simma ed., 1994); see also JEAN-PIERRE COT & ALAIN PELLET, LA CHARTE DES NATIONS UNIES 865-93 (2d ed. 1991); Hurst Hannum, Human Rights, in I UNITED NATIONS LEGAL ORDER 319 (Oscar Schachter & Christopher C. Joyner eds., 1995).
36. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supra note 8.
37. For the different theories that explain the normative status of the Universal Declaration, see Sohn, supra note 2, at 16-17; Bruno Simma & Philip Alston, The Sources of Human Rights Law: Custom, Jus Cogens, and General Principles, 12 AUSTL. Y.B. INT'L L. 82 (1992); BUERCENTHAL, supra note 4, at 33.
38. The International Bill of Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenants on Human Rights. See generally BUERGENTHAL, supra note 4, at 28-57.
39. U.N. Charter, supra note 2.
40. See generally Louis B. SOHN, RIGHTS IN CONFLICT: THE UNITED NATIONS AND SOUTH AFRICA (1994).
41. ESC Res. 1235 (XLII) (1967), reprinted in part in HENRV J. STEINER & PHILIP ALSTON, INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONTEXT: LAW, POLITICS, MORALS 389 (1996) [hereinafter HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONTEXT].
42. ESC Res. 1503 (XLVIII) (1970), reprinted in part in HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONTEXT, supra note 27, at 377. For the legislative history of these instruments, see Louis B. SOHN & THOMAS BUERGENTHAL, INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 746-855 (1973).
43. See HOWARD B. TOLLEY, JR., THE U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (1987); Philip Alston, The Commission on Human Rights, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 126, 138; Asborjn Eide, The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 211.
44. See HOWARD B. TOLLEY, JR., THE U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (1987); Philip Alston, The Commission on Human Rights, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 126, 138; Asborjn Eide, The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 211.
45. See HOWARD B. TOLLEY, JR., THE U.N. COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (1987); Philip Alston, The Commission on Human Rights, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 126, 138; Asborjn Eide, The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 211.
46. See DOMINIC MCGOLDRICK, THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE (1991); MANFRED NOWAK, U.N. COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS: CCPR COMMENTARY (1993).
47. See DOMINIC MCGOLDRICK, THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE (1991); MANFRED NOWAK, U.N. COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS: CCPR COMMENTARY (1993).
48. See generally Karl Josef Partsch, The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5, at 339.
49. American Convention on Human Rights, opened for signature 22 Nov. 1969, O.A.S.T.S. No. 36, reprinted in 9 I.L.M. 673 (1970) (entered into force 18 July 1978). Although it is true that an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was established by the Organization of American States in 1960, that body did not begin to play a significant role until the mid to late-1960s. See Thomas Buergenthal, The Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights, in II HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: LEGAL AND POLICY ISSUES 439 (Theodor Meron ed., 1984); BUERGENTHAL, supra note 4, at 181-86.
50. On the European Convention of Human Rights, see generally JOCHEN A. FROWEIN & WOLFGANG PEUKERT, EUROPÄISCHE MENSCHENRECHTSKONVENTION: EMRK-KOMMENTAR (2d ed. 1996); THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (R.St.J. Macdonald et al. eds., 1993). See also J.C. MERRILLS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (2d ed. 1993).
51. On the European Convention of Human Rights, see generally JOCHEN A. FROWEIN & WOLFGANG PEUKERT, EUROPÄISCHE MENSCHENRECHTSKONVENTION: EMRK-KOMMENTAR (2d ed. 1996); THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (R.St.J. Macdonald et al. eds., 1993). See also J.C. MERRILLS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (2d ed. 1993).
52. On the European Convention of Human Rights, see generally JOCHEN A. FROWEIN & WOLFGANG PEUKERT, EUROPÄISCHE MENSCHENRECHTSKONVENTION: EMRK-KOMMENTAR (2d ed. 1996); THE EUROPEAN SYSTEM FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (R.St.J. Macdonald et al. eds., 1993). See also J.C. MERRILLS, THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BY THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS (2d ed. 1993).
53. UNESCO 104 EX/Decision (1978). On this subject, see Philip Alston, UNESCO's Procedure for Dealing with Human Rights Violations, 20 SANTA CLARA L. REV. 665 (1980).
54. See generally Francis Wolf, Human Rights and the International Labour Organisation, in II HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW: LEGAL AND POLICY ISSUES 273 (Theodor Meron ed., 1984).
55. See Cees Flinterman & Evelyn Ankumah, The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, in GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICE 152 (Hurst Hannum ed., 2d ed. 1992); U.O. Umozurike, Six Years of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF BERNHARDT 635 (Ulrich Beyerlin et al. eds., 1995); Claude E. Welch, Jr., Human Rights and African Women: A Comparison of Protection Under Two Major Treaties, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 549 (1993); Burns H. Weston et al., Regional Human Rights Regimes: A Comparison and Appraisal, 20 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 585 (1987).
56. See Cees Flinterman & Evelyn Ankumah, The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, in GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICE 152 (Hurst Hannum ed., 2d ed. 1992); U.O. Umozurike, Six Years of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF BERNHARDT 635 (Ulrich Beyerlin et al. eds., 1995); Claude E. Welch, Jr., Human Rights and African Women: A Comparison of Protection Under Two Major Treaties, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 549 (1993); Burns H. Weston et al., Regional Human Rights Regimes: A Comparison and Appraisal, 20 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 585 (1987).
57. See Cees Flinterman & Evelyn Ankumah, The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, in GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICE 152 (Hurst Hannum ed., 2d ed. 1992); U.O. Umozurike, Six Years of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF BERNHARDT 635 (Ulrich Beyerlin et al. eds., 1995); Claude E. Welch, Jr., Human Rights and African Women: A Comparison of Protection Under Two Major Treaties, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 549 (1993); Burns H. Weston et al., Regional Human Rights Regimes: A Comparison and Appraisal, 20 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 585 (1987).
58. See Cees Flinterman & Evelyn Ankumah, The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, in GUIDE TO INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICE 152 (Hurst Hannum ed., 2d ed. 1992); U.O. Umozurike, Six Years of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF BERNHARDT 635 (Ulrich Beyerlin et al. eds., 1995); Claude E. Welch, Jr., Human Rights and African Women: A Comparison of Protection Under Two Major Treaties, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 549 (1993); Burns H. Weston et al., Regional Human Rights Regimes: A Comparison and Appraisal, 20 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 585 (1987).
59. See BUERGENTHAL, supra note 4, at 318-26; HOWARD B. TOLLEY, JR., THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS: GLOBAL ADVOCATES FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (1994).
60. For a most useful assessment of this subject within the UN framework, see the individual articles on different UN institutions in A CRITICAL APPRAISAL, supra note 5.
61. See Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, U.M. GAOR, World Conf. on Hum. Rts., 48th Sess., 22nd plen. mtg., U.N. Doc. A/CONF.157/24 (Part I) (1993) ¶ 18 [hereinafter Vienna Declaration]; see also Antonio Cançado Trindade, Memoria da Conferencia Mundial de Direitos Humanos (Viena, 1993), BOLETIM DA SOCIEDADE BRASILEIRA DE DIREITO INTERNACIONAL, Nos. 87/90 (1993), at 9.
62. See Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, U.M. GAOR, World Conf. on Hum. Rts., 48th Sess., 22nd plen. mtg., U.N. Doc. A/CONF.157/24 (Part I) (1993) ¶ 18 [hereinafter Vienna Declaration]; see also Antonio Cançado Trindade, Memoria da Conferencia Mundial de Direitos Humanos (Viena, 1993), BOLETIM DA SOCIEDADE BRASILEIRA DE DIREITO INTERNACIONAL, Nos. 87/90 (1993), at 9.
63. Vienna Declaration, supra note 39. The Fourth (Beijing) World Conference on Women adopted even stronger language on this subject. Fourth World Conference on Women: Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, U.M. Doc. A/CONF.177/20 (1995),
64. reprinted in REPORT OF THE FOURTH WORLD CONFERENCE ON WOMEN (1995). Id. at Annex II, ¶ 9.
65. Vienna Declaration, supra note 39 ¶ 8.
66. See Thomas Buergenthal, The CSCE Rights System, 25 GEO. WASH. J. INT'L L. & ECON. 333, 355-56 (1991); Thomas Buergenthal, The Copenhagen CSCE Meeting: A New Public Order for Europe, 11 HUM. RTS. L.J. 217 (1990).
67. See Thomas Buergenthal, The CSCE Rights System, 25 GEO. WASH. J. INT'L L. & ECON. 333, 355-56 (1991); Thomas Buergenthal, The Copenhagen CSCE Meeting: A New Public Order for Europe, 11 HUM. RTS. L.J. 217 (1990).
68. See generally Thomas M. Franck, The Emerging Right to Democratic Governance, 86 AM. J. INT'L L. 46 (1992).
69. See Menno T. Kamminga, Is the European Convention on Human Rights Sufficiently Equipped to Cope with Gross and Systematic Violations?, 12 NETH. Q. HUM. RTS. 153 (1994).
70. See, e.g., Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras (Merits), Case 7920, Inter-Am. C.H.R. 35, OEA/Ser.L/V./III.19, doc. 13 (1988). See also Dinah Shelton, The Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 10 AM. U. J. INT'L L. & POL'Y 333 (1994); Reed Brody & Felipe Gonzalez, Nunca Más: An Analysis of International Instruments on "Disappearances," 19 HUM. RTS. Q. 365 (1997).
71. See, e.g., Velasquez Rodriguez v. Honduras (Merits), Case 7920, Inter-Am. C.H.R. 35, OEA/Ser.L/V./III.19, doc. 13 (1988). See also Dinah Shelton, The Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, 10 AM. U. J. INT'L L. & POL'Y 333 (1994); Reed Brody & Felipe Gonzalez, Nunca Más: An Analysis of International Instruments on "Disappearances," 19 HUM. RTS. Q. 365 (1997).
72. See generally THOMAS BUERCENTHAL & DINAH SHELTON, PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE AMERICAS: CASES AND MATERIALS (4th ed. 1995).
73. See generally Yoram Dinstein, International Humanitarian Law, in INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: THEORY AND PRACTICE 203 (Irwin Cotler & F. Pearl Eliadis eds., 1992); M. CHERIF BASSIOUNI, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (1992); Theodor Meron, War Crimes in Yugoslavia and the Development of International Law, 88 AM. J. INT'L L. 78 (1994); Payam Akhavan, The Yugoslav Tribunal at a Crossroads: The Dayton Peace Agreement and Beyond, 18 HUM. RTS. Q. 259 (1996); Payam Akhavan, Punishing War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia: A Critical juncture for the New World Order, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 262 (1993).
74. See generally Yoram Dinstein, International Humanitarian Law, in INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: THEORY AND PRACTICE 203 (Irwin Cotler & F. Pearl Eliadis eds., 1992); M. CHERIF BASSIOUNI, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (1992); Theodor Meron, War Crimes in Yugoslavia and the Development of International Law, 88 AM. J. INT'L L. 78 (1994); Payam Akhavan, The Yugoslav Tribunal at a Crossroads: The Dayton Peace Agreement and Beyond, 18 HUM. RTS. Q. 259 (1996); Payam Akhavan, Punishing War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia: A Critical juncture for the New World Order, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 262 (1993).
75. See generally Yoram Dinstein, International Humanitarian Law, in INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: THEORY AND PRACTICE 203 (Irwin Cotler & F. Pearl Eliadis eds., 1992); M. CHERIF BASSIOUNI, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (1992); Theodor Meron, War Crimes in Yugoslavia and the Development of International Law, 88 AM. J. INT'L L. 78 (1994); Payam Akhavan, The Yugoslav Tribunal at a Crossroads: The Dayton Peace Agreement and Beyond, 18 HUM. RTS. Q. 259 (1996); Payam Akhavan, Punishing War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia: A Critical juncture for the New World Order, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 262 (1993).
76. See generally Yoram Dinstein, International Humanitarian Law, in INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: THEORY AND PRACTICE 203 (Irwin Cotler & F. Pearl Eliadis eds., 1992); M. CHERIF BASSIOUNI, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (1992); Theodor Meron, War Crimes in Yugoslavia and the Development of International Law, 88 AM. J. INT'L L. 78 (1994); Payam Akhavan, The Yugoslav Tribunal at a Crossroads: The Dayton Peace Agreement and Beyond, 18 HUM. RTS. Q. 259 (1996); Payam Akhavan, Punishing War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia: A Critical juncture for the New World Order, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 262 (1993).
77. See generally Yoram Dinstein, International Humanitarian Law, in INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW: THEORY AND PRACTICE 203 (Irwin Cotler & F. Pearl Eliadis eds., 1992); M. CHERIF BASSIOUNI, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW (1992); Theodor Meron, War Crimes in Yugoslavia and the Development of International Law, 88 AM. J. INT'L L. 78 (1994); Payam Akhavan, The Yugoslav Tribunal at a Crossroads: The Dayton Peace Agreement and Beyond, 18 HUM. RTS. Q. 259 (1996); Payam Akhavan, Punishing War Crimes in the Former Yugoslavia: A Critical juncture for the New World Order, 15 HUM. RTS. Q. 262 (1993).
78. See IMPUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICE (Naomi Roht-Arriaza ed., 1995); Juan E. Méndez, Accountability for Past Abuses, 19 HUM. RTS. Q. 255 (1997).
79. See IMPUNITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW AND PRACTICE (Naomi Roht-Arriaza ed., 1995); Juan E. Méndez, Accountability for Past Abuses, 19 HUM. RTS. Q. 255 (1997).
80. See Theodor Meron, International Criminalization of Internal Atrocities, 89 AM. J. INT'L L. 554 (1995).
81. See Committee on International Law & Committee on International Human Rights, Report on the Proposed International Criminal Court, 52 THE REC. OF THE ASS'N OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF N.Y. (1997).
82. See Thomas Buergenthal, The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador, 27 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 497 (1994). See generally Jo M. Pesqualucci, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth: Truth Commissions, Impunity and the Inter-American Human Rights System, 12 B.U. INT'L L.J. 321 (1994).
83. See Thomas Buergenthal, The United Nations Truth Commission for El Salvador, 27 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 497 (1994). See generally Jo M. Pesqualucci, The Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth: Truth Commissions, Impunity and the Inter-American Human Rights System, 12 B.U. INT'L L.J. 321 (1994).
84. A number of decisions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights point in that direction. For some of these cases, see BUERGENTHAL & SHELTON, supra note 46, at 560-74.
85. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, supra note 8 art. 7.
86. Compare Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Articles 1(3) and 55(c) of the UN Charter.
87. See International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, supra note 7 art. 27 ("In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language."). For an analysis of this provision, see Louis B. Sohn, The Rights of Minorities, in THE INTERNATIONAL BILL OF RIGHTS: THE COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS 270 (Louis Henkin ed., 1981).
88. See Yoram Dinstein, Collective Human Rights of Peoples and Minorities, 25 INT'L & COMP. L.Q. 102, 105 (1976).
89. See LAUTERPACHT, supra note 1, at 424; HURST HANNUM, AUTONOMY, SOVEREIGNTY, AND SELF-DETERMINATION: THE ACCOMMODATION OF CONFLICTING RIGHTS 56-57 (1990).
90. See Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, G.A. Res. 47/135 (18 Dec. 1992), reprinted in part in HUMAN RIGHTS IN CONTEXT, supra note 27, at 1001-03. See generally Patrick Thomberry, The UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities: Background, Analysis and Observations, in THE UN MINORITY RIGHTS DECLARATION 11 (Alan Phillips & Allan Rosas eds., 1993).
91. Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, opened for signature 1 Feb. 1995, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, reprinted in 16 HUM. RTS. L.J. 98 (1995). See Heinrich Klebes, The Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 16 HUM. RTS. L.J. 92 (1995); see also Daniel Thürer, Region und Minderheitenschutz - Aufbauelemente einer europäischen Architektur?, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF, supra note 36, at 1337.
92. Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, opened for signature 1 Feb. 1995, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, reprinted in 16 HUM. RTS. L.J. 98 (1995). See Heinrich Klebes, The Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 16 HUM. RTS. L.J. 92 (1995); see also Daniel Thürer, Region und Minderheitenschutz - Aufbauelemente einer europäischen Architektur?, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF, supra note 36, at 1337.
93. Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, opened for signature 1 Feb. 1995, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, reprinted in 16 HUM. RTS. L.J. 98 (1995). See Heinrich Klebes, The Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, 16 HUM. RTS. L.J. 92 (1995); see also Daniel Thürer, Region und Minderheitenschutz - Aufbauelemente einer europäischen Architektur?, in RECHT ZWISCHEN UMBRUCH UND BEWAHRUNG, FESTSCHRIFT FÜR RUDOLF, supra note 36, at 1337.
94. See Diana Chigas, Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice: The CSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, 5 HELSINKI MONITOR 27 (1994); FOUNDATION ON INTERETHNIC RELATIONS, THE ROLE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER ON NATIONAL MINORITIES IN OSCE CONFLICT PREVENTION (1997).
95. See Diana Chigas, Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice: The CSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, 5 HELSINKI MONITOR 27 (1994); FOUNDATION ON INTERETHNIC RELATIONS, THE ROLE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER ON NATIONAL MINORITIES IN OSCE CONFLICT PREVENTION (1997).
96. U.N. Charter, supra note 2 art. 39.
97. See Jost Delbrück, A More Effective International Law or a New "World Law"? - Some Aspects of the Development of International Law in a Changing International System, 68 IND. L.J. 705, 707-11 (1993); ROSALYN HIGGINS, PROBLEMS AND PROCESS: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HOW WE USE IT 254-56 (1994).
98. See Jost Delbrück, A More Effective International Law or a New "World Law"? - Some Aspects of the Development of International Law in a Changing International System, 68 IND. L.J. 705, 707-11 (1993); ROSALYN HIGGINS, PROBLEMS AND PROCESS: INTERNATIONAL LAW AND HOW WE USE IT 254-56 (1994).