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Guide to International Human Rights Practice (Fourth Edition)

Author(s): Hannum, Hurst

Hardcover - 391 pages (2004)
ISBN: 1-557105-320-4

Current Price: US $95.00 (US $25.00 Paperback)

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About This Publication

Human rights has assumed a major role in the activities of intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Council of Europe, and Organization of American States. In addition, human rights now plays a part in the foreign policy of practically every country in the world, whether that country is promoting human rights or seeking to protect itself from criticism.

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of the standard work in its field continues the original focus on the "nuts and bolts" of international human rights law and practice. Hurst Hannum and the contributors to this volume describe in detail regional and global regimes and evaluate the relative effectiveness of the many human rights procedures that are available to today's practitioner and nongovernmental organization.

The sixteen contributors, each a specialist in his or her field, offer a panoramic yet meticulously detailed survey of the many techniques now available for the protection of human rights at global, regional and national levels. The volume includes a bibliographic essay which serves as a mini-guide to the burgeoning literature on human rights, both in print and available electronically on the World Wide Web. Other appendices provide practical information sometimes difficult to obtain elsewhere, such as a model human rights complaint form, the addresses of major human rights organizations, and lists of ratifications and citations for major human rights instruments.

Since publication of the third edition of this Guide, Africa has created a new African Court for Human and Peoples' Rights; an optional protocol that offers individuals the posssibility of complaining about violations of women's rights has entered into force; new mechanisms for the protection of minorities are being actively implemented in Europe; and an International Criminal Court has been estalished. All but two countries have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As we know too well, however, gross violations of rights continue — from increasing economic disparity to ethnic cleansing to the repression of political and religious dissidents.

Full implementation of human rights norms may not be achieved without advances on a broad range of legal, social, economic, and political issues. In the meantime, however, this Guide remains an essential tool for lawyers, NGOs, and other aedvocates who are working toward making the promotion and protection of human rights a reality for all.

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About The Author(s)

Hurst Hannum is Professor of International Law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. A graduate of Boalt School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, he served as Executive Director of The PAIL Institute from 1980 to 1989 and was a Jennings Randolph Peace Fellow of the United States Institute of Peace. He has served as counsel in cases before the European, Inter-American, and UN human rights bodies and has been interviewed frequently by national and international media on human rights and international legal issues.

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Reviews

International Journal of Legal Information
This is destined to become the Bible of the human rights activists. Guide to International Human Rights Practice is a first-rate, how-to-do-it examination of procedures for the promotion and protection of human rights. . . . The most important and useful human rights book published in many years.

International Lawyer
An excellent one-volume road map to the available procedures and techniques for enforcing international human rights law. . . . A significant and timely contribution to the 'global struggle for human rights.'

New York University Journal of International Law and Politics
As a practitioner's tool, the Guide is excellent. . . . Besides offering a general overview of major human rights laws and organizations, it outlines strategies and policies for selecting specific cases or issues to pursue. The authors take into account political as well as legal considerations and recognize the need to make the most efficient use of limited resources.

American Society of International Law
A work of great distinction.

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Availability

Guide to International Human Rights Practice is available from:

Transnational Publishers, Inc.
Ardsley Park Science & Technology Center
410 Saw Mill River Road
Ardsley, New York 10502-2615

(914) 693-5100
(800) 914-8186 (toll free)
(914) 693-4430 (fax)
email: info@transnationalpubs.com
http://www.transnationalpubs.com/showbook.cfm?bookid=10273

Guide to International Human Rights Practice is also available from Amazon.com.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments (Hurst Hannum)			xiii
PART I.   Preliminary Considerations
1.	An Overview of International Human Rights Law (Richard Bilder)		1
2.	Implementing Human Rights: An Overview of NGO Strategies and Available Procedures (Hurst Hannum)		19
PART II.   International Procedures for Making Human Rights Complaints                    Within the UN System
3.	Treaty-Based Procedures for Making Human Rights Complaints Within the UN System (Sian Lewis-Anthony and Martin Scheinin)		43
4.	United Nations Non-Treaty Procedures for Dealing with Human Rights Violations (Nigel Rodley and David Weissbrodt)		65
5.	Human Rights Complaint Procedure of the International Labor Organization (Lee Swepston)		89
6.	The Complaint Procedure of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Stephen P. Marks)		107
PART III.   Regional Systems for the Protection of Human Rights
7.	The Inter-American Human Rights System (Dinah L. Shelton)		127
8.	Council of Europe, OSCE, and European Union (Kevin Boyle)		143
9.	The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Cees Flinterman and Evelyn Ankumah)		171
PART IV.   Other Techniques and Forums for Protecting Rights
10.	International Reporting Procedures (Stephanie Farrior)		189
11.	Quasi-Legal Standards and Guidelines for Protecting Human Rights (Jiri Toman)		217
12.	The International and National Protection of Refugees (MaryEllen Fullerton)		245
13.	The Role of Domestic Courts in Enforcing International Human Rights Law (Ralph Steinhardt)		267
Appendices
A.	Bibliographic Essay		291
B.	Checklist to Help Select the Most Appropriate Forum		327
C.	Model Communication		331
D.	Addresses of Intergovernmental Organizations		337
E.	Ratifications of Selected Human Rights Instruments		341
F.	Citations for Major International Human Rights Instruments		357
Contributors			357
Index			363