The Pillar of Glass: Human Rights in the Development Operations of the United Nations

Abstract

In September 2007, Buddhist monks, students, democracy campaigners, and ordinary men, women, and children took their lives into their hands in the streets of Yangon, Myanmar, to protest against the ruling military regime. The protests had begun a month earlier with peaceful calls by the monks for the ruling authorities to reinstate subsidies on fuel and oil and alleviate crippling commodity prices, but quickly snowballed into mass demonstrations for democratic and social reforms and the release of all political prisoners.

The social regulation of transnational migration: Perspectives from the Asia Pacific

“…Since the rights of migrants fall into the responsibility of at least two states – origin country and destination country – one arena of protection is international human rights law. But real or perceived failures of international law on migrants have been amply demonstrated (Darrow and Arbour, ), and Neil and Peterie (this issue) highlight strategies that governments use to flout their international obligations. Human rights have, therefore, been described as having a precarious status within international institutions in general (Charlesworth, ).…”

A regulatory perspective on the international human rights system

“…Human rights also have a precarious status within international institutions. For example, Darrow and Arbour (2009) have examined the way that UN operational activities in development take human rights into account, concluding that human rights have only an insecure and fragile influence on UN practice. A common complaint is that there are great gaps between human rights standards set out in treaties and human rights protection within states.…”

InternationalFinancial Institutions, Transnational Corporationsand Duties of States

“…85 There is also some support for the proposition that international organisations may unilaterally accede to, and as a result be bound by, international human rights treaties. 86 As described above, IFIs are the sum of their parts, and the parts consist of member States, some with more influence than others. All European Union countries have ratified the ICESCR and are obligated to comply with its provisions.…”