LAW - 662S United Nations Human Rights System

(2 hrs.)

The course explores a range of issues arising under the existing Charter-based and treaty-based human rights procedures and mechanisms created by the United Nations. In the first section, the course will review the role of the United Nations Human Rights Council and the mechanisms and procedures created by the Council to assess the respect of human rights in all the state members of the United Nations. In the first section, the course reviews the role of the United Nations Human Rights Council and the mechanisms and procedures created by the Council to assess the respect of human rights in all the sate member of the United Nations. The course focuses on the functioning of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process and questions of its effectiveness. Also includes detailed analysis of the role and work played by the Special Procedures comprised of special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts and working groups that monitor, examine, advice and publicly report on over-arching thematic issues or human rights situations in specific countries. In the second section, the course examines questions of existing human rights treaties and obligations of state parties to those instruments. Special attention is given to procedural aspects of the functioning of the supervisory bodies created by the human rights treaties to monitor state compliance, including the state reporting system and the individual petition system. Finally, the course will explore recent decisions of the United Nations human rights supervisory bodies and their impact on the protection of human rights within the domestic jurisdiction of states. Summer