Buergenthal Shelton and Stewart's International Human Rights in a Nutshell, 3D

An excellent introduction to International Human Rights. I enjoyed the extensive bibliography and the objectivity (not neutrality) of the author's commentaries.

This book describes in great detail the instruments that exist to codify and protect human rights but which illustrates all too clearly the problem of inadequate enforcement instruments and procedures. The "law" empowers the UN or other bodies to "do a study" on complaints of non-compliance or violations. The creation of so many of these tools has been so politicized as to make many functions of the laws and treaties virtually useless and sometimes, apparently, contradictory (or at least open to debate and interpretation). What good is a "thorough study"? With no teeth, no authority and a backdrop of outside interfering factors (economic and political especially), these "norms" might be interpreted as existing in name only. In a section on gross violations of human rights and the UN Charter, one reads, "The required magnitude of the concept of `massive' or `gross' violations may also gradually require a lower threshold of severity as the international community becomes less tolerant of what is lawful behavior under the Charter. Viewed in this light, the human rights provisions of the Charter are `elastic clauses' whose expansion is tied to the evolving standards of international legality and decency." It is interesting to note that there are so many different systems for presumably one basic set of human rights and principles, though again this makes sense because each nation (politicized again) has its own principles and interpretations of what is a "right". For example, European countries refuse to extradite criminals to the United States if a criminal will face the death penalty. I would also not have imagined the very extensive provisions of the African Charter on Human Rights. It differs markedly from European and American conventions and is more extensive-proclaiming not only rights but also duties. Interestingly but perhaps not as surprisingly it provides the ability for States Parties to restrict and limit the rights it proclaims at will/liberally. Overall this is an excellent overview and convenient presentation on the subject matter, with an extensive array of information and a source for finding more in-depth information for further reading/study/examination.