International Protection of Human Rights

Teacher(s)

De Schutter Olivier;

Language

English

Main themes

The course of international protection of human rights is divided in two parts. First, it examines the international mechanisms for the protection of human rights, particularly those established at the universal and European levels and, in lesser detail, those created within other regional organizations. Second, the course examines the substantive law of human rights, on the basis of the main international treaties which implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and of the concepts these treaties rely upon (restrictions to rights and freedoms, derogations, absuse of rights, progressive realization, etc.). Specific attention will be paid to the United Nations core human rights treaties and to the instruments of the Council of Europe. Thus, the course aims at introducing the participants to the international and European law of human rights (sources, interpretation, control mechanisms, and actors).

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	- To acquire a good understanding of international mechanisms for the protection of human rights and of its main actors ; - To familiarize oneself with the sources of international human rights law ; - To gain a good knowledge of the main concepts on the basis of which the international law of human rights develops and is built. This course forms part of a coherent option of three courses. The professors in this option form a teaching team : they seek to ensure that the contents and methods of each course offer a consistent set of teachings and that they are complementary. This course uses participatory teaching methods (learning through case studies, discussion of the case-law, debates with outside invitees, field experience ) allowing the students to develop an approach which is at once critical, prospective, and inventive. The participants are encouraged to be actively involved in learning the subject, both individually and as a group. In this perspective, the professors from different options permanently exchange about their teaching experiences with a view to constantly improving them.

Content

This course seeks to introduce the students to international human rights law, in both its substantive dimensions (sources and general principles) and its institutional dimensions (mechanisms of protection). The substantive part presents the emergence of a 'jus commune" of international human rights, resulting from comparative human rights law. The institutional part is largely dedicated to understanding the mechanisms established within the UN to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights.
In order to move beyond generalities and to ground the teaching in concrete issues, the focus will be on how human rights law is relevant to people in poverty. It will address issues such as the role of human rights in combating child poverty and the perpetuation of poverty from one generation to the next; the practical issue of non-take-up of rights in the field of social protection; the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of socio-economic disadvantage and the fight against "povertyism"; and the role of human rights in economic globalization, by examining how global supply chains can be monitored and how low-income countries can be supported in their effort to realize economic and social rights. 

Teaching methods

This course relies on lectures, but also on the MOOC version of the course (available on the edX platform) and on the organisation of 'working labs' for the development of collective projects, allowing the students to use, on practical issues, the theoretical understanding they have gained.

Evaluation methods

The assessment for this course will be based on two tools, which will have en equivalent grade in the final grade (50/50):
a) a continued assessment is based on participation in presenting certain questions examined in the course: this requires preparing a short briefing note (between 1,200 and 1,500 words), and being ready to present the main arguments in class discussions (for this purpose, students will be assigned roles starting on week 2);
b) a final exam, during the session, in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire.

Bibliography

Ouvrage de référence (facultatif): Olivier De Schutter, International Human Rights Law (Cambridge University. Press, 3rd ed., 2019).

Faculty or entity

> BUDR