Human Rights Diplomacy

This incisive book provides an unparalleled insight into the ways in which international human rights law functions in a real world context across cultural, religious and geopolitical divides. Written by a professor, former ambassador and international judge, the book demonstrates how power, diplomacy, tactics and processes operate within the human rights system from the perspective of a non-Western insider with more than three decades’ experience in the field.

This collection of essays explores the notion, tools and challenges of human rights diplomacy. Human rights diplomacy is understood as the utilisation of diplomatic negotiation and persuasion for the specific purpose of promoting and protecting human rights. This book builds on discussions at a high-level workshop on the topic, organised by the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre, the European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation and the Adam Mickiewicz University of Pozna?, that was held in Venice.

In this insightful analysis of human rights diplomacy Rein Mullerson examines the way foreign policy instruments are used to promote human rights abroad as well as how human rights issues are used for the sake of other foreign policy aims. The book explores the relationship between human rights and international stability, the role of non-governmental organisations, the business community and mass media in formulating human rights agendas for governments and inter-governmental organisations. Also addressed are issues such as the universality of human rights in a multi-cultural world and the impact of religious and nationalistic extremism. Rein Mullerson concludes by looking at the role of the UN and other international bodies engaged in the promotion of human rights and how military force can be an option in settling violations The author argues that it tends to be regimes that are hostile to human rights which in turn cause instability in the international community. Throughout the work it is demonstrated that a concern for human rights is legitimate because of the impact they have on international relations and because of the common bonds that link all people.

In this insightful analysis of human rights diplomacy Rein Mullerson examines the way foreign policy instruments are used to promote human rights abroad as well as how human rights issues are used for the sake of other foreign policy aims. The book explores the relationship between human rights and international stability, the role of non-governmental organisations, the business community and mass media in formulating human rights agendas for governments and inter-governmental organisations. Also addressed are issues such as the universality of human rights in a multi-cultural world and the impact of religious and nationalistic extremism. Rein Mullerson concludes by looking at the role of the UN and other international bodies engaged in the promotion of human rights and how military force can be an option in settling violations The author argues that it tends to be regimes that are hostile to human rights which in turn cause instability in the international community. Throughout the work it is demonstrated that a concern for human rights is legitimate because of the impact they have on international relations and because of the common bonds that link all people.

The European Union uses a confidential, institutionalized Dialogue to raise human rights concerns with China, but little is publicly known about its set-up, its substance, its development over time and its impact. This book provides the first detailed reconstruction and assessment of the EU’s responses to human rights violations in China from 1995 to the present day. Using classified documents in the EU’s historical archives and interviews with diplomats, officials and human rights experts in Europe, China and the United States, Kinzelbach lifts the veil of secrecy on the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue and provides a rare insight into how the European Union and China conduct quiet diplomacy on human rights. The book reconstructs the evolution of the Dialogue and the EU’s internal debate on the merits of quiet diplomacy, and draws comparisons with the approach of other actors, notably that of the United States. In doing so, the EU’s relative impact is concluded to be tenuous if not counter-productive. The book also chronicles and analyzes numerous human rights concerns that were raised in the period, ranging from structural issues to individual cases. This ground-breaking, in-depth case study will be of interest to students and scholars of international politics, human rights, international law, EU politics, especially the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Chinese politics.

Human rights diplomacy provides an up to date and accessible overview of the field, and serves as a practical guide to those seeking to engage in human rights work. Kelly-Kate Pease uses clear language and practical examples to teach readers the difficult skill of systematically looking athuman rights and humanitarian negotiations. After a brief overview of human rights and what is meant by diplomacy, Pease argues that while human rights are internationally recognized, important disagreements exist on definition, priority and implementation. With the help of Human rights diplomacy,these differences can be bridged, and a new generation of human rights professionals will build better relationships.

A small group founded Amnesty International in 1961 to translate human rights principles into action. Diplomacy of Conscience provides a rich account of how the organization pioneered a combination of popular pressure and expert knowledge to advance global human rights. To an extent unmatched by predecessors and copied by successors, Amnesty International has employed worldwide publicity campaigns based on fact-finding and moral pressure to urge governments to improve human rights practices. Less well known is Amnesty International's significant impact on international law. It has helped forge the international community's repertoire of official responses to the most severe human rights violations, supplementing moral concern with expertise and conceptual vision. Diplomacy of Conscience traces Amnesty International's efforts to strengthen both popular human rights awareness and international law against torture, disappearances, and political killings. Drawing on primary interviews and archival research, Ann Marie Clark posits that Amnesty International's strenuously cultivated objectivity gave the group political independence and allowed it to be critical of all governments violating human rights. Its capacity to investigate abuses and interpret them according to international standards helped it foster consistency and coherence in new human rights law. Generalizing from this study, Clark builds a theory of the autonomous role of nongovernmental actors in the emergence of international norms pitting moral imperatives against state sovereignty. Her work is of substantial historical and theoretical relevance to those interested in how norms take shape in international society, as well as anyone studying the increasing visibility of nongovernmental organizations on the international scene.

This new textbook provides an introduction to human rights in international relations at the turn of the Twenty-First Century. The book examines the policy-making process that establishes and tries to apply human rights norms through the UN, regional organizations, state foreign policy, human rights groups, and transnational corporations. It documents the many changes in international human rights during the past half-century, and considers the future of universal human rights. Containing chapter-by-chapter guides to further reading and discussion questions, this book will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students of human rights, and their teachers.