Human Rights and the Universal Periodic Review
Rituals and Ritualism
Published on 22. January 2015
Book
Hardback
314 pages
978-1-107-08630-2 (ISBN)
Description
The Universal Periodic Review is an intriguing and ambitious development in human rights monitoring which breaks new ground by engaging all 193 members of the United Nations. This book provides the first sustained analysis of the Review and explains how the Review functions within the architecture of the United Nations. It draws on socio-legal scholarship and the insights of human rights practitioners with direct experience of the Review in order to consider its regulatory power and its capacity to influence the behaviour of states. It also highlights the significance of the embodied features of the Review, with its cyclical and intricately managed interactive dialogues. Additionally, it discusses the rituals associated with the Review, examines the tendency of the Review towards hollow ritualism (which undermines its aspiration to address human rights violations comprehensively) and suggests how this ritualism might be overcome.
Reviews / Votes
'... the first comprehensive published study of the UPR. ... Consequently ... the position of this book is constructive. Using different lenses to consider the phenomenon of why states embrace the language and rituals of human rights but routinely ignore the obligations they have accepted helps towards understanding and improving where international human rights law lacks implementation. The book aimed to highlight the presence of ritual in the UPR and to fill the gap on how the UPR functions as a regulatory mechanism. The aim is met: the book demonstrates that the UPR is potentially capable of mere ritualism and being able to transcend it. While this nuanced picture denies an appeal to the simplicity of a panoptic approach, it fits readily with the complex nature of the mechanism with its multitude of actors, issues and attitudes.' Lucy Richardson, Human Rights Law Review 'There can be little doubting the contribution this book makes to the literature on the universal periodic review process, the UN Human Rights Council and more generally international human rights. ... [it will] inevitably be perused with interest by academics, students, civil society organisations, and governments.' Rhona K. M. Smith, Nordic Journal of Human RightsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
608 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-107-08630-2 (9781107086302)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2015
Cambridge University Press
€72.99
Available for download
Hilary Charlesworth | Emma Larking
Human Rights and the Universal Periodic Review
Rituals and Ritualism
E-Book
12/2014
Cambridge University Press
€85.99
Available for download
Persons
Hilary Charlesworth is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Professor of International Law in RegNet at the Australian National University, Canberra, where she is also Director of the Centre for International Governance and Justice. Emma Larking is an Australian Research Council Laureate postdoctoral fellow in the Centre for International Governance and Justice at the Australian National University.
Content
Introduction: the regulatory power of the Universal Periodic Review Hilary Charlesworth and Emma Larking; Part I. Ritual, Ritualism and the Universal Periodic Review: 1. Ritual and ritualism at the Universal Periodic Review: a preliminary appraisal Walter Kaelin; 2. The Universal Periodic Review as a public audit ritual: an anthropological perspective on emerging practices in the global governance of human rights Jane Cowan; 3. Keepers of the truth: producing 'transparent' documents for the Universal Periodic Review Julie Billaud; Part II. Assessing and Engaging with the Universal Periodic Review: 4. The Universal Periodic Review's first cycle: successes and failures Roland Chauville; 5. Rituals and implementation in the Universal Periodic Review and the human rights treaty bodies Heather Collister; 6. Effective NGO engagement with the Universal Periodic Review Ben Schockman and Philip Lynch; 7. Global media coverage of the Universal Periodic Review process Sarah Joseph; Part III. State and Regional Engagement with the Universal Periodic Review: 8. Representation and suspicion in Canada's appearance under the Universal Periodic Review Benjamin Authers; 9. The Universal Periodic Review: building a bridge between the Pacific and Geneva? Natalie Baird; 10. The effects of the Universal Periodic Review on human rights practices in the United States Constance de la Vega and Cassandra Yamasaki; 11. Africa's engagement with the Universal Periodic Review: commitment or capitulation? Takele Soboka Bulto; 12. Indonesia and the Universal Periodic Review: negotiating rights Yuyan Wahyuningrum.