Human Rights in International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Rights in International Law - Essay Example Other than these methods, other international human rights instruments also exist that are not legally binding but have an effect on the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights laws. These sources of law have been recognised to have a political obligation1. International human rights laws are enforceable on the domestic, regional and international levels. Any states that are involved in human rights treaties undertake a voluntary obligation to respect the rights recognised in the respective treaties. Furthermore, it is the duty of the state to ensure compliance of domestic laws with the conditions laid down in treaties so that domestic and international law is compatible. Although the primary mechanism of human rights protection and the ensuing legal framework are mostly domestic in nature but the bereaved party may resort to regional or international legal mechanisms to redress concerns. Alternatively, regional or international legal mechanisms ma y enforce themselves on domestic situations in order to deal with human rights abuses. Human rights are protected internationally through the use of two parallel legal mechanisms namely the international human rights laws and the international humanitarian laws. ... For general cases, human rights are taken to regulate the relationship existing between individuals and the state within the context of an ordinary life. In contrast, humanitarian laws are taken to regulate the relationship between a belligerent state and any parties it comes into contact with. These parties could be hostile or neutral when seen in the context of an armed conflict2. This paper will concern itself with the implementation of human rights laws alone on the domestic, regional and international levels. 2. International Law on Human Rights In the post World War Two scenario, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the watershed of international human rights law. The United Nations General Assembly adopted this declaration in 1948 and can be seen as a reaction to the experiences of the Second World War. In itself, this declaration is the first global expression of rights that all human beings are entitled to3. The importance of this declaration stems from the fact that its articles have been used subsequently in international treaties, national constitutions, domestic laws and regional human rights instruments. The declaration is not a treaty in itself but has been adopted explicitly in order to define the words â€Å"human rights† and â€Å"fundamental freedoms† that are listed in the United Nations Charter. In turn, the United Nations Charter is binding on all member states and so the Universal Declaration on Human Rights is a fundamental constitutive document for the United Nations. A large body of international lawyers holds that the Declaration is part of customary international law. This position implies that the Declaration is an