Human Rights and Ethics
The Human Rights Regime in the Americas
The rise of human rights regimes within the Americas has significantly altered the traditional understandings of state sovereignty, as the human rights practices of states are increasingly subject to various normative, political and legal constraints. However, achievements seem to be at risk these days since some states and key institutions within a regime may attempt to buck the trend, both re-asserting sovereignty and lashing back against human rights.
Accordingly, the relation between human rights and democratization has become an inescapable theme in the Americas corresponding to the call for a standing Human Rights Council issued by the International Commission on State Sovereignty, the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change as well as Secretary General's report on 21 March 2005. This research will focus on some major questions concerning:
- How democratization serves as a barrier to human rights violations? And how democratization serves as a catalyst for human rights protection?
- Why some of the comparative politics literature tends to downplay and even question the potential relation between democratization and the strengthening of the human rights regime?
This research aims to identify the significance of the regional human rights regimes in the Americas as well as strengthen the comparative perspective with specific regard to regionalisation issues.
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Page last modified 2019.04.16.
