About this Course
Postgraduate Laws programme:
Master of Laws (LLM), Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate
Course outline
| United Nations protection of human rights |
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| Students are advised that this course demands some previous knowledge of public international law. |
| Section A: Mechanisms for human rights protection by United Nations bodies |
| · Historical development of international human rights law |
| · Mechanisms established by UN human rights treaties: general comments by treaty bodies; reporting system and concluding observations; individual complaints; inter-state complaints; visits |
| · Special Procedures established by the UN Commission on Human Rights: country mandates and thematic mandates |
| · Mechanisms under UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 1235 and ECOSOC resolution 1503 |
| Section B: Substantive rights under United Nations Human Rights Treaties 1 |
| · International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) |
| · Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty |
| · Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) |
| Section C: Substantive rights under United Nations Human Rights Treaties 2 |
| · International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) |
| · International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) |
| · Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) |
| Section D: Selected United Nations human rights bodies and specialised agencies |
| · United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) |
| · International Labour Organization (ILO) |
| · World Health Organization (WHO) |
| · United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) |
| Sequence: Section A first. |
| Textbooks: Henry J. Steiner, Philip Alston and Ryan Goodman, International Human Rights in Context: Law, Politics, Morals 3rd ed (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007), ISBN: 9780199279425 |
| Javaid Rehman, International Human Rights Law: A Practical Approach 2nd ed (London: Longman 2009), ISBN: 9781405811811 |