Between Principle and Practice: Human Rights in North-South Relations PDF
Preview Between Principle and Practice: Human Rights in North-South Relations
Between Principle and Practice Human Rights in North-South Relations Between Principle and Practice examines the human rights diplo- macy of three prosperous industrial democracies with international reputations for protesting human rights abuses - Canada, the Netherlands, and Norway. David Gillies reveals that even these countries were seldom prepared to sacrifice short-run economic or political interests in order to protest gross and systematic human rights abuses beyond their borders. Based on case studies of five Third World countries (Sri Lanka, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, and Suriname), Gillies explores the extent to which principles were followed in practice and shows that consistent, coordinated, and principled action is elusive even for countries that have a reputation for internationalism. He high- lights the growing rift between the North Atlantic democracies and emerging Asian economic powers, the effectiveness of using aid sanc- tions to defend human rights, and the vicissitudes of human rights programming in emerging democracies. On a theoretical level, Gillies examines the explanatory power of political realism and the scope available for ethical conduct in a world of states. Linking policy assertiveness with perceived costs to other national interests, he constructs a framework for analysing policy actions and applies it to his various case studies. He con- cludes that when it comes to human rights, the gap between principle and practice is still far too wide. DAVID GILLIES is manager, development policy and research, Aga Khan Foundation Canada. This page intentionally left blank Between Principle and Practice Human Rights in North-South Relations DAVID GILLIES McGill-Queen's University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Buffalo © McGill-Queen's University Press 1996 ISBN 0-7735-1413-9 (cloth) ISBN 0-7735-1414-7 (paper) Legal deposit third quarter 1996 Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Social Science Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press is grateful to the Canada Council for support of its publishing program. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Gillies, David, 1952.- Between principle and practice: human rights in north-south relations Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7735-1413-9 (bound) - ISBN 0-7735-1414-7 (pbk.) i. International relations, z. Human rights, i. Title. 1x1569.054 1996 327 0-96-900073-1 Typeset in Sabon lo/iz by Caractera inc., Quebec City For Elizabeth and Arthur This page intentionally left blank Contents Tables and Figures ix Abbreviations xi Preface xiii PART ONE THEORY i Human Rights and Foreign Policy 3 z Frameworks for Human Rights Analysis 3Z PART TWO PRACTICE 3 Dutch Aid to Suriname, 1975-1990: The Litmus Test for Political Conditionality 57 4 The Philippines: Foreign Aid and Human Rights in an Uncertain Democracy 76 5 Principled Intervention: Norway, Canada, and the Sri Lankan Conflict 101 6 Riding the Tiger: Western Responses to Tiananmen Square 140 7 Defending Rights in East Timor: Canadian and Dutch Relations with Indonesia 174 viii Contents PART THREE POLICIES 8 Between Discretion and Participation: Institutional Frameworks for Human Rights Policy 2.01 9 Between Principle and Practice: Ends and Means of Human Rights Statecraft 2.23 10 Between Ethics and Interests: Human Rights in North-South Relations 2.57 Notes 281 Index 337 Tables and Figures TAB LES 1.1 Western Donors Discussed in Case Studies 15 z.i A Framework for Evaluating National Human Rights Performance 37 2.2 An Index for Evaluating National Human Rights Performance 40 2.3 A Third World Regime-Society Matrix 41 2.4 A Hierarchy of Human Rights Policy Options 49 2.5 A Hierarchy of Human Rights Instruments: Channels, Objectives, Intended Impact 51 2.6 A Hierarchy of Human Rights Instruments: Respect for International Law 52 2.7 A Hierarchy of Human Rights Instruments: Bureaucratic Complexity 52 4.1 Human Rights Abuses under Presidents Marcos and Aquino (selected years) 84 5.1 Canadian Bilateral ODA to Sri Lanka, 1980-1988 130 5.2 Canadian and Norwegian Human Rights Statecraft: Policy Options, Levels of Assertiveness, and Timing 136
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