Essays

The Human Rights Council has mandated the High Commissioner for Human Rights to undertake a study on the effects of globalisation on the enjoyment of human rights. As an officer in the responsible branch, you have been assigned to carry out the necessary research and draft the study. You are aware that the resolution mandating the study was a contentious one, with every word hotly debated along regional lines. One delegate called globalisation the most important modern force for human rights, in its potential for creation of economic opportunities. Another identified it as the greatest threat to human rights since colonialism, in its potential for marginalizing and excluding so many. You also know that human rights groups around the world have been increasingly vocal in their calls for integrating human rights in the processes of globalisation. For her part, the High Commissioner has called for the articulation of a “rights-based approach to the processes of globalisation, in which international norms and standards serve as the rules of the game.” In a search of existing UN documents, you find plenty of political debate, but virtually nothing to define the issues associated with globalisation in human rights terms.

1. What would be the principal sources to which you would turn to establish the legal/normative framework for the study? Please list these in order of importance.
2. What key principles of international human rights law would you invoke in your study?
3. Propose an outline for the study, listing the various chapters to be included.
4. Propose a one-paragraph summary of the basic thesis or line of argument of the study.

Questions

1. Describe the role and mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

2. Explain the legal differences between a declaration, a covenant, and a convention adopted by the United Nations organs.

3. List the seven principal (UN) international human rights treaties currently in force.

4. What do you know about current endeavours to reform the principal UN human rights mechanisms? What do you see as the challenges and the political pitfalls of reform?

5. Recent years have brought important developments in strengthening the judicial enforcement of international human rights and humanitarian law. Name three (3) such developments since the 1990s.

6. One aspect of the Secretary-General’s Reform programme of 1997 called for integrating the human rights programme into a broad range of the organisation’s activities, including in the peacekeeping, development and humanitarian areas. Discuss the objectives of this process and provide three examples of how it is being accomplished.

7. Describe the “Global Compact” and discuss its importance for human rights.

   The examination deals with international human rights law and the United Nations mechanisms aimed at their promotion and protection. As the questions are based upon both substantive and procedural human rights law and mechanisms, familiarity with the Charter of the United Nations, international human rights law, relevant UN procedures and mechanisms are essential.

List of topics

• Children’s Rights
• Civil and Political Rights
• Discrimination
• Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Human Rights Bodies
• Human Rights Council
• Human Rights in Development
• Indigenous People
• International Human Rights Instruments
• Migrant Workers
• Minorities
• Racism and Racial Discrimination
• Right to Development
• Right to Education
• Slavery
• Special procedures mechanisms (Human Rights Council)
• Technical Cooperation
• War Crimes
• Women’s Rights/gender mainstreaming

Reference Materials

A Handbook of International Human Rights Terminology. By H. Victor Condé, University of Nebraska Press.

Human Rights: A Compilation of International Instruments. UN/DPI. / Droits de l'homme : recueil des instruments internationaux. ONU/DPI.

Integrating Human Rights with Sustainable Human Development. UN, 1998. / Intégrer les droits de l'homme au développement durable.1998.

The United Nations and Human Rights, 1945-1995. UN/DPI, 1995 / Les Nations Unies et les droits de l'homme, 1945-1995. Série "Livres bleus des Nations Unies", Volume VIII. ONU /DPI. 1996. 536 pages.

United Nations Action in the Field of Human Rights. UN / Les activités de l'ONU dans le domaine des droits de l'homme. ONU.

World Conference on Human Rights: The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. DPI, New York, 1995

Examination Sample: General Paper (P2)
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