Research on the factors and considerations which drive human rights shaming focuses on non-governmental organizations (NGO). This article analyzes an intergovernmental organization's (IGO) shaming. The article reviews the factors associated with NGO human rights shaming. The article then considers the potential association between these factors and IGO shaming, and the differences between IGOs and NGOs in this context. The potential associations are tested empirically using newly compiled data on the UN's convention against torture (CAT) committee's concluding observations country reports, and various specifications and regression methods. The results indicate that voting with the U.S. in the United Nations' General Assembly (UNGA) is significantly associated with getting a more positive review from the CAT committee and this result is robust in various specifications. Results also indicate that the UN CAT committee's shaming is associated with media coverage of human rights issues in the reviewed country and with trade and FDI volumes. The article draws conclusions regarding the linkages between funding, information sources and membership structures on the one hand and shaming approaches on the other.
Does it matter whether human rights (HR) shaming is accompanied by acknowledgments of reforms and progress? Do such acknowledgments weaken or strengthen the impact of shaming? Rulers decide whether to oppress or to comply with HR treaty obligations by considering what compliance entails and by weighing the internal and external costs and benefits of oppression. Research shows that HR shaming alters such considerations and is associated with changes in HR protection levels. Can the same be said of faming? This article examines three forms of HR reporting: faming, which focuses on positive developments; shaming, which focuses on problematic HR practices; and scrutiny, which combines shaming and faming. The article analyzes the association between shaming, faming, and scrutiny by UN treaty bodies, on the one hand, and oppression on the other. The potential associations are conceptualized as mitigation, backsliding, and specification. The analysis finds that shaming with no faming and faming with no shaming are each negatively associated with HR protection. Scrutiny, the combination of shaming and faming, is positively associated with subsequent HR protection levels, and the higher the level of scrutiny the higher the subsequent level of HR protection. The article argues that the reason for this association is that the combination of shaming and faming helps policymakers understand how to properly implement their treaty obligations and how to improve HR protection. The article draws policy and theoretical implications including the need for balanced and detailed HR reporting, and the importance of learning in HR advocacy.
Shaming is an increasingly common practice. However, empirical evidence suggest that it does not always induce human rights (HR) reforms, and its effect is conditioned by intervening factors. This article hypothesizes that the combination of shaming and incentives induces policy changes in targeted countries. The hypothesis is tested using newly coded data that include 15 countries from Europe, Asia, and Africa that have been subject to the combination of shaming and incentives, as part of the European Neighborhood Policy. The article analyzes changes in the studied countries' HR policies. The results confirm the hypothesis that shaming and incentives enhance one another's effects on HR policies and induce policy reforms in targeted countries.
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Looking East. . “Towards a New European Neighbourhood Policy.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr6EhULtzQ4
IPPA Public Policy. . “Guy Peters on New Institutionalism.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkY5qQxpdPU
Council of the European Union. . “Protection and Promotion of Human Rights.” http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/human-rights/
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