Human Rights in Theory and Practice

This course introduces learners to the complex debates concerning human rights, examining the critical interrelationship between human rights theory and practice.

While human rights represents one of the most powerful normative frameworks of our time, it remains the subject of intense scholarly and political debate.

The course explores the philosophical foundations of universal human rights, the political and legal development of modern human rights norms, key issues and trends since the establishment of the UN human rights system, the impact of human rights on international relations, and contemporary challenges facing both the theory and practice of human rights in our interconnected world.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Historical and Theoretical Analysis: Analyze the historical, philosophical, and legal foundations of international human rights and critically evaluate the evolution of the international human rights regime from both Western and non-Western perspectives.
2. Institutional Knowledge: Identify and critically evaluate key actors, institutions, and mechanisms involved in the promotion and protection of human rights at international, regional, and domestic levels, including their strengths and limitations.
3. Contemporary Challenges: Understand and assess contemporary challenges and emerging trends in human rights, including mass atrocities, humanitarian intervention debates,  climate change, and global health crises.
4. Critical Engagement: Identify and define core concepts and debates within human rights scholarship, demonstrating ability to critically engage with diverse theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence from relevant literature.
5. Theory-Practice Nexus: Articulate and analyze the complex relationship between human rights theory and practice, including implementation processes, enforcement challenges, vernacularization dynamics, and the gap between aspiration and reality.
6. Applied Analysis: Analyze and critically discuss specific human rights norms, relevant case law, and their application in various contexts, including foreign policy, domestic governance, and transnational advocacy.

Course Structure (8 Modules)

Module 1: Conceptual Foundations and Philosophical Debates

• Introduction to human rights: definitions, characteristics, and core principles
• Historical and philosophical origins: natural law, Enlightenment thought, and religious traditions
• Non-Western philosophical traditions and alternative approaches to human dignity (Ubuntu, Confucianism, Islamic perspectives)
• Constitutionalism and the development of bills of rights
• Critical debates: universalism vs. cultural relativism, individual vs. collective rights
• Key Question: Are human rights truly universal, or are they Western constructs imposed globally?
• Discussion Topic: Cultural relativism debate using specific case examples

Module 2: Historical Development of the International Human Rights Regime

• Pre-WWII antecedents: slavery abolition, minority protection, humanitarian law
• Post-WWII transformation: Holocaust impact and the UN Charter
• Key foundational instruments: UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR, and specialized conventions
• Decolonization and the expansion of human rights discourse
• Cold War impacts on human rights development

Module 3: International and Regional Human Rights Architecture

• UN human rights system: Charter-based bodies (HRC, Special Procedures) and treaty-based bodies (committees)
• Regional systems comparison: European (ECHR), Inter-American (IACHR), African (ACHPR), and emerging Asian mechanisms
• Monitoring, reporting, and complaint procedures
• The role of international courts and tribunals
• Civil society organizations and their advocacy strategies
• Case Study: Comparative effectiveness of regional human rights systems
• Guest Speaker: Representative from local human rights NGO

Module 4: Implementation, Compliance, and Vernacularization

• From international norms to domestic implementation: incorporation strategies
• The role of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and domestic courts
• “Vernacularization” of international human rights law: local adaptation and translation
• Compliance mechanisms and their effectiveness
• Challenges: state sovereignty, resource constraints, political will
• Practical Exercise: Analyze vernacularization in specific country contexts 
• Country-specific implementation analysis

Module 5: Human Rights in Foreign Policy and International Relations

• The rise of human rights in diplomatic practice
• Tools and strategies: diplomacy, sanctions, conditionality, aid linkage
• Critiques: selectivity, double standards, and instrumentalization
• Humanitarian diplomacy and quiet diplomacy approaches
• The tension between realpolitik and human rights advocacy
• Case Studies: EU human rights policy, US human rights diplomacy, China’s approach, emerging powers’ perspectives
• Policy Simulation: Designing human rights foreign policy responses

Module 6: Mass Atrocities: Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and Ethnic Cleansing

• Legal definitions under international criminal law (Rome Statute)
• Historical case studies: Holocaust, Rwanda, Srebrenica, Myanmar (Rohingya)
• Prevention mechanisms: early warning systems, diplomatic intervention
• The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine: evolution and application
• International criminal justice: ICC operations, jurisdiction, and challenges
• Contemporary ICC Cases: Israel-Palestine investigations, Ukraine situation, African cases
• Contentious Issues: ICC jurisdiction over non-state parties, enforcement challenges, accusations of bias
• Case Study Focus: ICC preliminary examinations and investigations in Palestine (2021-present) and debates over Israeli settlements and Gaza operations
• Simulation: International response to emerging atrocity situations

Module 7: Humanitarian Intervention and the Protection of Civilians

• Conceptual foundations and legal debates
• The sovereignty vs. human rights dilemma
• UN Charter framework: Chapter VII and authorization debates
• Unilateral humanitarian intervention: legal and ethical perspectives
• Contemporary challenges: Libya (2011), Syria, Ukraine, and selective intervention
• Regional Conflicts: Israel-Palestine as case study of competing narratives on protection of civilians
• Debate: Resolving the tension between sovereignty and protection

Module 8: Contemporary Challenges and Future Directions

• Digital rights and artificial intelligence: privacy, surveillance, algorithmic bias, social media regulation
• Climate change and environmental rights: displacement, resource conflicts, intergenerational justice
• Global health and human rights: pandemic responses, vaccine equity, right to health
• Business and human rights: corporate accountability, supply chains, extractive industries
• Protracted conflicts and human rights:
  • Israel-Palestine: occupation, settlement expansion, civilian protection
  • Kashmir, Western Sahara, and other long-term conflicts
• Emerging rights claims: rights of future generations, digital personhood, AI rights
• Critical perspectives: decolonizing human rights, feminist critiques, Global South perspectives, indigenous rights movements
• Technology and surveillance: NSO Group/Pegasus spyware cases, digital authoritarianism