New Institutions for Human Rights Protection

• Provides an analysis of the role of human rights institutions in closing the implementation gap that exists between human rights norms and their application to individuals in practice
• Contributions from leading writers in the field of human rights law
• Focuses on recently established institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council and the Fundamental Rights Agency
• Examines the role of other treaty bodies and national institutions and the potential conflict and complementarities between them

This book presents a multi-faceted approach to one of the most crucial challenges facing Human Rights institutions today - the implementation gap that exists between human rights norms and their enforcement by States. Comprising contributions from renowned international scholars in the field of human rights, New Institutions for Human Rights Protection examines how the human rights commitments entered into by States might be translated more effectively into protection for individuals in practice and the crucial role that human rights institutions, at both a national and international level, have to play in this endeavour.

Focusing on recent developments in respect to institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council and the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), these essays present a thorough account of the objectives and challengers facing the international community today with respect to human rights. From an account of the origins and mandate of the UN Human Rights Council to its potential conflict with the missions of the Treaty bodies and from study of the role of institutions in the field of racism and discrimination to the potency of human rights norms and institutions to uphold minority interests, this volume offers original and diverse perspectives on the role of fledgling human rights institutions.

Readership: Human rights lawyers, policy makers, NGOs, academics and researchers studying human rights