"International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels."
Covers the main international instruments and institutions focused on protecting human rights, including the UN system, regional human rights mechanisms, and international criminal law.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): This is the cornerstone of human rights law and sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone is entitled to.
Human Rights Treaties: This includes various international treaties that outline the specific human rights that governments are obliged to protect and promote.
International Humanitarian Law: This is the body of law that applies during armed conflicts, including the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.
Regional Human Rights Systems: These are systems of human rights protection that exist at the regional level, such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
International Criminal Law: This includes the crimes that international law considers to be the most serious, such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
International Human Rights Institutions: This covers organizations such as the United Nations Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court, which aim to promote and protect human rights at the international level.
Human Rights Advocacy and Activism: This includes the work of non-governmental organizations, human rights defenders, and other actors who advocate for the rights of individuals and groups at risk of human rights violations.
Comparative Human Rights Law: This involves comparing the human rights law and practices of different countries, including both legal and practical aspects.
Gender and Human Rights: This explores the intersections between gender and human rights, including the impact of gender-based discrimination and violence on human rights.
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: This covers the right to education, health, housing, and other social and economic rights that are often neglected in discussions of human rights law.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): A non-binding, foundational document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, establishing the basic principles and standards of human rights.
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT): A treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984, prohibiting torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): A treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979, prohibiting discrimination against women in all areas of life, including education, employment, and political participation.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC): A treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, recognizing the rights of children to education, healthcare, protection from abuse and exploitation, and other basic rights.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD): A treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1965, prohibiting racial discrimination in all areas of life, including education, housing, and employment.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD): A treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006, recognizing the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, and requiring States parties to eliminate barriers and provide equal opportunities for participation in all aspects of life.
International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions: A series of conventions adopted by the ILO since its creation in 1919, establishing basic principles and standards concerning labour rights, including the right to work, freedom of association, and the elimination of forced labour and child labour.
Regional Human Rights Conventions: Various human rights conventions have been adopted by regional organizations, including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the American Convention on Human Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, among others. These conventions establish regional standards and mechanisms for protecting and promoting human rights.
"International human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them; and customary international law."
"Other international human rights instruments, while not legally binding, contribute to the implementation, understanding and development of international human rights law and have been recognized as a source of political obligation."
"International human rights law, which governs the conduct of a state towards its people in peacetime, is traditionally seen as distinct from international humanitarian law which governs the conduct of a state during armed conflict."
"Although the two branches of law are complementary and in some ways overlap."
"A more systemic perspective explains that international humanitarian law represents a function of international human rights law."
"It includes general norms that apply to everyone at all time as well as specialized norms which apply to certain situations such as armed conflict."
"Specialized norms apply to certain groups of people including refugees (e.g., the 1951 Refugee Convention), children (the Convention on the Rights of the Child), and prisoners of war (the 1949 Third Geneva Convention)."
"The body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels."
"Agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them."
"Customary international law is a component of international human rights law."
"International human rights instruments contribute to the implementation, understanding, and development of international human rights law."
"Customary international law refers to the practices and beliefs that are considered legally binding for states, even if they are not explicitly stated in treaties."
"Treaties are agreements between sovereign states intended to have binding legal effect between the parties that have agreed to them."
"While not legally binding, other international human rights instruments contribute to the implementation, understanding, and development of international human rights law."
"Examples of international human rights instruments include treaties, agreements between sovereign states, and specialized conventions."
"While international human rights law governs the conduct of a state towards its people in peacetime, international humanitarian law governs the conduct of a state during armed conflict."
"Other international human rights instruments have been recognized as a source of political obligation."
"The two branches of law are complementary and, in some ways, overlap with each other."
"International humanitarian law includes norms that apply to certain situations such as armed conflict, state military occupation, and the treatment of prisoners of war."