Failing to protect : the UN and the politicization of human rights / Rosa Freedman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Freedman, Rosa, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights.

United Nations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, [England] ; New York, New York : Oxford University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Every year tens of millions of individuals suffer grave abuses of their human rights. These violations occur worldwide, in war-torn countries and in the wealthiest states. Despite many of the abuses being well-documented, little seems to be done to stop them from happening. The United Nations was established to safeguard world peace and security, development, and human rights yet it is undeniable that currently is it failing to protect the rights of a great many people from the victims of ethnic cleansing, to migrants, those displaced by war and women who suffer horrendous abuse. This book looks at the reasons for that failure. Using concrete examples intertwined with explanations of the law and politics of the UN, Rosa Freedman offers clear explanations of how and why the Organisation is unable, at best, or unwilling, at worst, to protect human rights. Written for a non-specialist audience, her book also seeks to explain why certain countries and political blocs manipulate and undermine the UN s human rights machinery. Failing to Protect demonstrates the urgent need for radical reform of the machinery of human rights protection at the international level.

Contents:

Cover

Half-Title

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgements

Author's Note

Prologue

1. International Law: What Law?

2. The Un: A Brief Explanation

Membership

Powers

Politicisation

Regionalism And Politics

3. International Humanitarian Law, Criminal Law, Human Rights Law

International Humanitarian Law

International Criminal Law

International Human Rights Law

Protection Problems

4. Universal Rights Or Cultural Relativism?

5. Un Human Rights Machinery

6. Look! We Did Something: South Africa And Israel

South Africa

Israel

7. Stop Shouting, Start Helping: Post-Colonialism, Human Rights And Development

Darfur

Cuba

Conclusion

8. Human Rights Of Migrants: What Rights?

The Question Is, Why?

9. The 'Great' Powers

10. Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Hidden Abuses Across The World

Belarus

Democratic People'S Republic Of Korea (North Korea)

Equatorial Guinea

The Gambia

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Turkmenistan

Concluding Remarks

11. The 'Good Guys'

Canada Indigenous Rights And Shifting The Spotlight

Ireland: Women'S Reproductive Rights And Cultural Relativism

Where Have All The Good Guys Gone?

12. It Is Not All Doom And Gloom

13. Alternatives: A Radical Proposal

14. Alternatives: A Less Radical Alternative

Europe

The Inter-Americas

Africa

Conclusions

15. Alternatives: Reform

But What Else Can Be Done At The Un?

Concluding Observations

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed January 23, 2015).

ISBN:

0-19-025741-5

1-322-60865-2

0-19-025713-X

OCLC:

903974999