This book analyses collective punishment in the context of human rights law. Collective punishment is a concept deriving from the law of armed conflict. It describes the punishment of a group for an act allegedly committed by one of its members and is prohibited in times of armed conflict. Although the imposition of collective punishment has been witnessed in situations outside armed conflict as well, human rights instruments do not explicitly address collective punishment. Consequently, there is a genuine gap in the protection of affected groups in situations outside of or short of armed conflict. Supported by two case studies on collective punishment in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and in Chechnya, the book examines potential options to close this gap in human rights law in a way contributing to the empowerment of affected groups. This analysis centres on the European Convention on Human Rights due to its relevance to the situation in Chechnya. By questioning whether human rights instruments can encompass a prohibition of collective punishment, the book contributes to the broader academic debate on rights held by collectivities in general and on collective human rights in particular. The book will be of interest to students, academics and policy makers in the areas of International Human Rights Law, International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law.

This book is the first comprehensive examination of UN efforts to protect Palestinian human rights in the territories occupied by Israel more than 50 years ago in the 1967 War. Working through the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, three top international legal experts served for six consecutive years as unpaid Special Rapporteurs with a UN mandate to report on Israeli violations of international humanitarian law and human rights standards. Being outside the discipline that controls UN bureaucrats, they enjoyed a high measure of political independence in carrying out their factfinding and reporting missions. Strikingly, despite their differences in background and political outlook, they came to a unanimous consensus confirming the routine and various Israeli violations of Palestinian basic rights. This book recounts their frustrations, their trials, their experiences, and their conclusions. This joint effort breaks new ground in studies by the UN in several respects. It demonstrates both the positive role played by the UN in a politically controversial area and its blockage by geopolitical forces preventing it from securing the implementation of international law. However, the intense reactions of Israel and pro-Israeli NGOs to this UN work, most notably by UN Watch, attest to the significance of a reliable accounting of Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights Their consistent evasion of the substantive charges made by careful reporting, and recourse by Israeli supporters to discrediting, defamatory attacks on the persons of these Special Rapporteurs, with charges of anti-Semitism, the core of which is subtly shifted from its proper usage as hatred of Jews to justifiable criticism of the state of Israel. While some might argue that the UN inability to enforce international law as futile, or worse, view the UN as merely a vehicle of power politics, this book proves that international public opinion and international solidarity politics are influenced by persuasive expert findings as to international law. Such well-evidenced conclusions encourage transnational activism, as is evident from increased worldwide support for the BDS Campaign and other nonviolent external pressures. This brilliant and authoritative account of the manner in which Israel has administered the Occupied Palestinian Territory during the past 20 years should be regarded as the definitive assessment of that situation

Collective Responsibility and Accountability under International Law examines the extent to which the basic principle of individual responsibility accommodates liability for the acts of others. It examines the debates and legal developments surrounding collective responsibility under international law. The philosophical debates on collective responsibility provide an introduction to the examination of whether collective responsibility is ever appropriate or even lawful under international law. As the international criminal justice project begins to flourish, it is of paramount importance that the extent of the potential liability of individuals for the acts of others is clarified and held up to rigorous scrutiny. It is of equal importance that there is a clear understanding of whether the means of responding to ongoing violations of international humanitarian law can include measures based on collective responsibility. Global events have created an impetus for the parameters of responsibility to be clearly defined. The rise of non-State actors within the international legal regime raises complex questions surrounding their status, power and the means for holding them accountable. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

The many terms and legal expressions in the discourse of human rights are often unknown or misunderstood in their international context. Yet human rights have their ultimate expression in the international legal context: in international treaties, declarations, country-specific or thematic reports, decisions of administrative or quasi-judicial bodies, and court judgments, all of which employ legal terminology. The same is increasingly so in the national legal context, which looks to the international context as a source of law and legal interpretation. A Handbook of International Human Rights Terminology is a much-needed tool that provides access to the developing language of human rights and aids in full comprehension of human rights theory and issues. In this convenient handbook almost eight hundred key terms and acronyms commonly used in international and national human rights discourse are defined in non-technical language. Included are definitions of foreign language terminology, including many Latin terms. A useful appendix contains the full text of the four principal international human rights instruments that constitute the International Bill of Rights, along with an internationally accepted list of the specific substantive human rights contained in those instruments. An accessible introduction for students and newcomers to the field of human rights, this handbook will also serve as an indispensable reference for specialists.

'Human rights and conflict' is divided into three parts, each capturing the role played by human rights at a different stage in the conflict cycle.

Entries address topics related to genocide, crimes against humanity and peace, and human rights violations; profile perpetrators including Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, and Idi Amin; and discuss institutions set up to prosecute these crimes in countries around the world.

When does international law allow a State or group of States to adopt trade measures in order to "coerce" another State to comply with its international obligations to ensure respect for human rights? In answering this question this book draws together complex areas of international law which include the rules prohibiting interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States, the rules regulating extra-territorial exercises of jurisdiction, the law of State responsibility and the international legal rules requiring the protection of human rights and regulating international trade. The literature on "Trade "and" ..." issues invariably focuses on a limited number of these areas, or approaches the issues from an international relations or economic perspective. This book will assist specialists in international human rights law and international trade law, academic and government lawyers who advise on or implement international trade policy and those studying the use of human rights related trade measures.

This book is a guide to international human rights law as it applies to situations of armed conflict, to counter-terrorism measures and to any other situation of actual or potential violence requiring security measures. These situations can lead to some of the most fundamental human rights being put in danger of being violated. These include the right to life, the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, enforced disappearance, all the rights relating to detention and due process of law, and the freedoms most commonly affected by armed conflict and counter-terrorism. The book begins with a presentation on the application of human rights to such situations and an explanation of the regime of limitations and derogations. After an overall description of the relationship between human rights law, on the one hand, and international humanitarian law and international counter-terrorism measures, on the other, the book concentrates on the rights themselves. Each chapter presents the relevant treaty provisions and explains the interpretation of the rights by reference to the case law and general comments of these treaty bodies. The book concludes with a section on how international human rights law protects certain vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in such situations.

Re-Framing the International insists that, if we are to properly face the challenges of the coming century, we need to re-examine international politics and development through the prism of ethics and morality. International relations must now contend with a widening circle of participants reflecting the diversity and uneveness of status, memory, gender, race, culture and class.