Use of International Law to Protect Human Rights - 1814 Words

1. Introduction Treaties are the highest source of international law besides jus cogens norms that have binding effect on the parties that ratify them.2 International human rights treaties rely on the â€Å"name and shame† mechanisms to pressure states to improve practices.3 However with â€Å"toothless† international human rights norms, moral coercion is not always effective. An empirical study conducted by Professor Oona Hathaway assessing the effect of human rights treaty ratification on human rights compliance, maintains in its findings that ratification of human rights treaties has little effect on state practices.4 States do not feel pressured to comply and change their practices, rather, signing treaties is â€Å"more likely to offset†¦show more content†¦The question as to why States continue to set up international institutions and ratify treaties remains unanswered and is an ongoing debate. Gerb Oberleitner notes that: with idealists and neoliberals pointing out their significance and necessity, functionalists invoking their usefulness, institutionalists and constructivists asserting their influence, realist being skeptical about all that, and normative theories dissecting their foundations, there is no shortage of analytical engagement .20 Kenneth Abbott and Duncan Snidal reject that any of the above theories give any insight as to why States use formal international organizations to advance human rights.21 While opponents of international law argue that it is all â€Å"mere window dressing.†22 According to Hathaway, States ratify treaties symbolically to show other States that they accept the principles of human rights but they rarely change their practices because of their obligations in the treaty.23 Based on a study of the ICCPR, Linda Keith argued that, â€Å"it may be overly optimistic to expect that being a party to this international covenant will produce an observable direct impact†. 24These findings raise the question as to whether human rights law regime is at all effective in protecting individual human rights. Whether the lack of adherence to human rights obligations indicatesShow MoreRelatedTrade Between Human And Human Rights1428 Words   |  6 Pages1 Introduction Thesis: Today,the trade is changing our life,and fair trade is very important to us. It terms of the human rights history, the impact from globalization, the trade with different countries,and to solve how can keep balance between trade and human rights. 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