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Self-Determination In Regional Human Rights Law: From Kosovo To Cameroon, Dinah L. Shelton
Self-Determination In Regional Human Rights Law: From Kosovo To Cameroon, Dinah L. Shelton
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This article discusses the right to self-determination in Africa and America and begins by examining the right to self-determination in regional human rights treaties. No treaty in the Inter-American system provides a right to self-determination; however, the African Charter provides a right to self-determination, which I attribute to its history of colonization and apartheid. Next, the article describes secession claims made in Africa, starting in 1995 and discusses self-determination of indigenous and tribal groups by analyzing case law from the Inter-American system and the African Commission. The article concludes that these regions have established the framework for self-determination and must …
Human Rights And The Environment: Substantive Rights, Dinah L. Shelton
Human Rights And The Environment: Substantive Rights, Dinah L. Shelton
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This chapter focuses on the relationship between human rights and the environment. The chapter describes multiple sources of human rights and environmental obligations, including international treaties, national law, and the judicial decisions of international courts. Human rights that indirectly call for environmental conservatism include the rights to life, health, privacy, and standard of living. This chapter concludes by noting that governments must balance human rights related to the environment with other concerns such as economic advancement.
The Legal Status Of Normative Pronouncements Of Human Rights Treaty Bodies, Dinah L. Shelton
The Legal Status Of Normative Pronouncements Of Human Rights Treaty Bodies, Dinah L. Shelton
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This essay examines international human rights treaties and the statements that tribunals and other organizations make about them. Next, the essay discusses the general non-binding nature of treaties and describes use of General Comments and other interpretive statements. The essay concludes that increasing unofficial commentary on human rights organs’ decisions and increased compliance will encourage more states to comply and make it “increasingly difficult for a single state to hold out.”
Environmental Protection And Human Rights, Dinah L. Shelton, Donald K. Anton
Environmental Protection And Human Rights, Dinah L. Shelton, Donald K. Anton
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
This book concentrates on the relationship between human rights and the environment. The first chapter provides the framework for the book’s analysis and begins by defining “environment” and noting recent changes to environmental conditions and their causes, such as reduced biodiversity and increased population and resource consumption. The first portion of the chapter concludes by suggesting actions such as removing financial incentives for over-consumption of limited economic resources, that could improve the current environmental trends.
International Human Rights: Problems Of Law, Policy, And Practice, Dinah L. Shelton, Hurst Hannum, S. James Anaya
International Human Rights: Problems Of Law, Policy, And Practice, Dinah L. Shelton, Hurst Hannum, S. James Anaya
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
The introductory chapter of this book discusses how a unifying concern for human dignity led to the establishment of human rights as part of the body of international law. Next, the chapter includes excerpts from multiple writers’ works to employ slavery as a case study to demonstrate how the international community has used the notion of human rights to create binding law. Third, this chapter discusses the philosophical drivers of human rights by including writings from other scholars and the history of the presence of human rights in international law. The chapter concludes that increasing concern for human rights may …