Human rights and their protection on the international level is a complex topic that requires additional attention. Even though various institutions, for instance, the International Criminal Court (ICC) are concerned with ensuring that legislation protecting the rights is followed, the reality reflects a need for further improvements. This paper will analyze the international and domestic tribunals, economic sanctions, ICC, and institutions that can promote human rights successfully.
The relative merits of domestic institutions versus international tribunals are in the fact that in most cases ICC or other institutions have to consider the regional specifics and local laws. Voeten states that international organizations were successful at developing legislation and systems of human rights, while on the regional level states prosecuted criminals for their actions (119). Criminal prosecution in comparison to civil litigation refers to the sides between which disputes occur, in the first case it is the state versus an individual or an organization. The former allows a country’s officials to ensure that human rights are followed within a specific territory on a large scale while the latter enables individuals to protect their rights.
The decisions of treaty bodies shaped the interpretation of human rights by defining and developing specific standards, for instance, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Economic sanctions should be imposed when a country commits political, military, or other actions that violate international treaties and human rights. The ICC can be depended upon for enforcing global standards because this organization was established to protect a variety of human rights internationally. The jurisdiction of this court allows it to decide on cases of international importance, however, due to the nature of the prosecution process and a need to adhere to specified conditions under which the ICC is cable of working on the case. If human rights were considered more seriously, the institution that would have a significant likelihood of success would be the United Nations due to the institution’s contribution to the development of the human rights system globally. Overall, the topic of human rights and their protection through economic sanctions and other strategies requires additional attention from the states and international institutions.
Work Cited
Voeten, Erik. “Competition and Complementarity Between Global and Regional Human Rights Institutions.” Global Policy, vol. 8, no. 1, 2017, pp. 119-123.