A comparative socio-legal examination of three recent controversies in four countries, this book provides a foundation for finding answers to many of the questions surrounding the universality of human rights values.

Encouraging new thinking about conventional understandings of human rights, this book will strongly appeal to international lawyers, legal and political philosophers, as well as graduate students and upper-level undergraduate students in law and philos

Less Than a Roar

Violations - Judith Dueck.

Human rights are much talked about and much written about, in academic legal literature as well as in political and other social sciences and the general political debate. This book argues that the universality of basic human rights is one of the values of the concept of rights. It points out the risk of a certain “inflation” caused by the current habit of talking so much and so often about human rights and of using them as a basis for claims of various kinds. These rights, their understanding and interpretation may need to become more “purist” to ensure that universal human rights as a concept survive. Another chapter concentrates on the analysis of the frames of “EU protected human rights” from the perspective of effective implementation. Further, the book not only deals with the complicated relations between the EU and international law, but also seeks to show the horizontal effect. To that end, the fears and hopes of the member states and interest groups are categorized and commented on. Lastly, the gaps in theory and practice are addressed, current trends related to implementation are pointed out, and suggestions are made concerning how to make the best out of the Charter.

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 comprehensive and up-to-date encyclopedia on human rights issues from 1945 to the present includes more than 400 entries on incidents and violations, instruments and initiatives, countries, and human rights activities. Its scope is global, and its purpose is both to sum up the accomplishments in human rights in our time and also to point out and describe the violations that continue to be perpetrated around the world. Entries cover major issues; incidents and violations; concepts and terms; activists; organizations; and human rights instruments. Entries cover more than 50 countries, from Afghanistan to Yugoslavia. Entries conclude with suggestions for further readings; and a timeline of significant dates since 1945 and the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are also included.