Overview

A deep dive into the mechanics of national human rights institutions and the forces that make or break their success. In the years since World War II, the endeavor to promote human rights has gained momentum and become increasingly important within international relations. Yet these efforts often run into serious problems of enforcement. Many countries formed national human rights institutions (NHRIs) with independent mandates to support and monitor government compliance with international human rights law. Be they commissions, ombudsmen, or tribunals, these institutions vary in their power and impact. For this book, Corina Lacatus surveyed NHRIs in Europe and around the world to determine their effectiveness and explain why some succeed while others fail. The Strength of Our Commitments explores the relationship between the domestic and international support an institution receives and its ability to secure resources, credibility, and tangibly improve human rights conditions. Lacatus shows that NHRIs can be models of resilience, even in the face of opposition from political elites. Although their impact on human rights is difficult to measure, The Strength of Our Commitments shows how NHRIs' strength comes from clearly defined formal powers, strong institutional leadership, and independence from political interference.

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9780226831398

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Reviews

“Lacatus argues that government decisions to adopt and give varying strength to NHRIs shed important light on human rights outcomes. The Strength of Our Commitments will be useful to political scientists, legal scholars, and sociologists—and is particularly useful to anyone interested in human rights, whatever their discipline.” -- Jana von Stein | Australian National University “Using an eclectic mix of quantitative and qualitative methods, The Strength of Our Commitments is a thoughtful, detailed analysis of the role that national human rights institutions (NHRIs) are playing in debates about human rights in European states.” -- Brian Greenhill | University at Albany, SUNY

“Lacatus argues that government decisions to adopt and give varying strength to NHRIs shed important light on human rights outcomes. The Strength of Our Commitments will be useful to political scientists, legal scholars, and sociologists—and is particularly useful to anyone interested in human rights, whatever their discipline.” -- Jana von Stein | Australian National University

Author Information

Corina Lacatus is associate professor of global governance at Queen Mary University of London. She is the author of The (In)visibility Complex.

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