The Value of Human Rights Treaties and Their Supervisory Bodies

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, it was intended that the United Nations and other international and regional organizations would follow up on its provisions by adopting legally binding human rights treaties for the practical implementation and protection of human rights on the ground, inside countries. A solid corps of United Nations and regional treaties now exist, representing a veritable international code of human rights. It is crucial that they be implemented and applied both in letter and in spirit, and in good faith, in the countries that have ratified or acceded to them.

The human rights treaties are living instruments, and their supervisory bodies apply them in the light of evolving conditions and circumstances nationally, regionally, and internationally. The treaties and the jurisprudence they generate represent living international human rights law. It is important that governments and the general public understand their provisions and the protections they provide.

This is a defining work on the value of human rights treaties adopted by the United Nations and regional organizations. Comprehensive, and written by leading authorities, the book brings out dramatically the policy roles and practical value of the treaties in protecting fundamental human rights and the international human rights jurisprudence they generate.

The book is rich in its discussions of the case law developed by supervisory bodies established under the human rights treaties. It also has informed and illuminating discussions of contemporary challenges to the implementation of international and regional human rights conventions. This is a historic and defining discussion of the value of human rights treaties and their supervisory bodies.