Essays On Human Rights In The Helsinki Process

Has there always been an inalienable 'right to have rights' as part of the human condition, as Hannah Arendt famously argued? The contributions to this volume examine how human rights came to define the bounds of universal morality in the course of the political crises and conflicts of the twentieth century. Although human rights are often viewed as a self-evident outcome of this history, the essays collected here make clear that human rights are a relatively recent invention that emerged in contingent and contradictory ways. Focusing on specific instances of their assertion or violation during the past century, this volume analyzes the place of human rights in various arenas of global politics, providing an alternative framework for understanding the political and legal dilemmas that these conflicts presented. In doing so, this volume captures the state of the art in a field that historians have only recently begun to explore.

Two of the most pressing questions facing international historians today are how and why the Cold War ended. Human Rights Activism and the End of the Cold War explores how, in the aftermath of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, a transnational network of activists committed to human rights in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe made the topic a central element in East-West diplomacy. As a result, human rights eventually became an important element of Cold War diplomacy and a central component of détente. Sarah B. Snyder demonstrates how this network influenced both Western and Eastern governments to pursue policies that fostered the rise of organized dissent in Eastern Europe, freedom of movement for East Germans and improved human rights practices in the Soviet Union - all factors in the end of the Cold War.

2 The United Nations

What role do human rights play in the development of regional organizations? What human rights obligations do states assume upon joining regional bodies? Regional Protection of Human Rights, Second Edition is the first text of its kind devoted to the European, Inter-American and African systems for the protection of human rights. It illustrates how international human rights law is interpreted and implemented across international organizations and offers examples of political, economic, social problems and legal issues to emphasize the significant impact of international human rights law institutions on the constitutions, law, policies, and societies of different regions. Regional Protection of Human Rights provides readers with access to the basic documents of each legal system and their inter-relationships, enabling readers to apply those documents to ever-changing global situations, and alerting them to the dynamic nature of regional human rights law and institutions. The jurisprudence of the European and Inter-American Courts and decisions of the Inter-American and African Commissions are emphasized, including decisions on the interpretation and application of various human rights, procedural requirements and remedies. Prospects for regional systems in the Middle East and Asia are also discussed. The relevant basic texts are reproduced in a documentary supplement. Together, Regional Protection of Human Rights and its accompanying Documentary Supplement provide comprehensive access to the basic documents of each legal system and their inter-relationships, enabling readers to apply those documents to ever-changing global situations, and alerting them to the dynamic nature of regional human rights law and institutions. In addition to serving as a text for courses on human rights law, the book will be useful for courses in international law, international relations, and political science. It is also be a helpful resource for lawyers and policy-makers concerned with the protection of human rights.

Claude E. Welch, Jr.

Less Than a Roar