Religion and Human Rights. Profesor David Hawk.

 

1-     What regional intergovernmental organizations are mentioned by Gunn?

The Council of Europe which has 45 member states in Europe (not Belarus) as well as Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan

-The Organization of American states which has created the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948) and the American Convention on Human Rights (1969)

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe made up of NATO members former Warsaw pact members former members of the Soviet Union and neutral countries like Switzerland and Monaco

The Organization of African Unity created in 1963 includes more than 50 countries

The Arab League consisting of more the 20 countries with populations of greater than 50% Arab and

The Organization of the Islamic Conference which has more than 50 countries with a population of more than 55% Muslim majority

 

2-      According to the UN Human Rights System Handbook, what are "treaty bodies"?

 

Human rights treaty bodies are committees that monitor UN member states for human rights violations and discrimination

Each committee contains 10-23 individuals who are established experts in the field of human rights

The committees express concerns of violations and recommendations for improvement

 

3. According to Beitz in "The Practice", why did governments at the UN accept or recognize "rights" that were being violated or not respected in their home countries?

 

  -there is a built in conflict between the promotion of human rights and freedom by the UN charter and another provision protecting the “domestic jurisdiction” of a member state of the UN

The declaration of human rights is a nonbinding concept rather than a legal treaty which is at odds with recognized sovereign rights of UN member states