INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS IN A NUTSHELL

The fifth edition of this book follows the basic format of the previous editions. The purpose of the book remains the same: hoth to serve as a self-contained introduction to the international law of human rights and to complement other course materials by providing the reader with a concise overview of human rights norms and the institutional context within which they evolve. The book continúes to grow in size, however, to take account of many new developments in the field.

The fourth edition was published in 2009. While the geo-political changes that have occurred in the past seven years have heen less dramatic than those that took place during the interval between the first and second editions (which saw the collapse of the Soviet empire, the end of the Cold War, and the abolition of apartheid in South Africa), they are nonetheless important in the evolution of international human rights law. As was the case for the interval between the third and fourth editions, continuing internal and international armed conflicts have brought increased attention to the interaction of humanitarian law and international human rights law. In particular, the disastrous civil war in Syria and other conflicts in the Mid-East, Africa and Central Asia) have created humanitarian crises unparalleled since the end of World War II. Human rights and fundamental freedoms remain under threat in every córner of the globe, and the international community continúes to struggle to hold individuáis accountable for wartime and peacetime atrocities.

Chapter 1. Historical Antecedents of International Human Rights Law
I. Introduction
II. Pre-World War II Law

Chapter 2. The United Nations Human Rights System
I. Introduction
II. The UN Charter
III. The International Bill of Human Rights
IV. Other Core UN Human Rights Treaties
V. UN Charter-Based Institutions
VI. Specialized Agencies

Chapter 3. The European System for the Protection of Human Rights
I. Introduction
II. The European Convention on Human Rights: An Overview
III. The Enforcement Mechanism of the Convention
IV. The European Social Charter
V. Other Council of Europe Human Rights Treaties
VI. The European Union
VII. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

Chapter 4. The Inter-American Human Rights System
I. Introduction
II. The OAS Charter-Based System
III. The Convention-Based System
IV. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
V. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Chapter 5. The African and Other Regional Systems
I. Overview of the African System
II. The Rights and Duties
III. State Obligations and Measures of Implementation
IV. Arah and ASEAN Developments

Chapter 6. Incorporation and Application of Human Rights in the United States
I. Introduction
II. The United States and Human Rights Treaties
III. Human Rights Legislation
IV. International Human Rights Law in U.S. Courts

Chapter 7. Non-State Actors
I. Introduction
II. Non-Governmental Organizations
III. Corporations
IV. Other Entities