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

 Human rights:  A moral concept  A legal concept Fundamental for human dignity. 3

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  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

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 Realisation of socio economic rights  Role of independent National Human Rights Institutions  The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights

Realisation of rights  State fulfills its obligations  Enforceability

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

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

Non discrimination  Equal acces to socio-economic rights  No guarantee for core minimum

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

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

Netherlands Institute for Human Rights