International human rights

1. I. Introduction

1.1. Introduction: what are

1.2. Starting from home: international human rights in Canada.

1.3. The history of international human rights.

1.4. The philosophy of human rights: do rights

1.5. Critiques of international human rights.

2. V. Cross-cutting issues:

2.1. Terrorism and human rights: of

2.2. Strategizing international human rights?: the case of the death penalty.

2.3. Religion, tolerance and human rights: the case of the veil and the case of the caricatures.

2.4. Rights of persons with disabilities

2.5. rights of sexual minorities

2.6. Rights of indigenous persons or the rights of children or a combination

2.7. The problem of massive human rights violations?

3. II. Structural issues

3.1. The sources of international human rights law: differences with public international law.

3.2. The subjects of international human rights: do non-state actors have human rights obligations?

3.3. The territorial scope of human rights obligations: do states owe human rights obligations beyond their borders?

3.4. The

3.5. International human rights law and domestic law: problems of applicability and incorporation.

4. III. The Substantive Dimension:

4.1. Are human rights universal? The theory and the practice.

4.2. The intensity of human rights obligations: what do states commit to?

4.3. The protection of integrity: torture, detention, disappearances.

4.4. Political rights: exploring the links between human rights and democracy.

4.5. The case for and against economic and social rights.

4.6. Dealing with diversity: equality, discrimination, plurality and group rights.

5. IV. The Implementation/Enforcement Dimension:

5.1. Theories and modes of implementation: the formal and the informal.

5.2. The UN system: political v. expert bodies.

5.3. Regional systems compared: Inter-American, European and African.

5.4. Litigating international human rights 1: the law of state responsibility and the problem of sovereign immunities.

5.5. Litigating international human rights 2: from exhaustion of local remedies to reparations.

6. VI. Conclusion