Committed to Rights: Volume 1: UN Human Rights Treaties and Legal Paths for Commitment and Compliance

244 Pages·2021·3.977 MB·English

by  Audrey L. Comstock

COMMITTED TO RIGHTS
Internationaltreatiesaretheprimarymeansforcodifyingglobalhuman
rights standards. However, nation-states are able to make their own
choices in how to legally commit to human rights treaties. A state
commits to a treaty through four commitment acts: signature,
ratification,accession,andsuccession.Theseactssignifydiverginglegal
pathswithdistinctcontextsandmechanismsforrightschangereflecting
legalization, negotiation, sovereignty, and domestic constraints. How
astatemovesthroughtheseactionsdetermineshow,when,andtowhat
extentitwillcomplywiththehumanrightstreatiesitcommitsto.Using
legal,archival,andquantitativeanalysisthisimportantbookshowsthat
disentanglinglegalpathstocommitmentrevealsdistinctandsignificant
compliance outcomes. Legal context matters for human rights and has
importantimplicationsfortheconceptualizationoftreatycommitment,
theconsiderationofnon-bindingcommitment,andanoptimisticoutlook
fortheimpactofhumanrightstreaties.
audrey l. comstock isanAssistantProfessorofPoliticalSciencein
theSchoolofSocialandBehavioralSciencesatArizonaStateUniversity.
Her research focuses on international law, human rights, and inter-
national organizations, including the punishment of peacekeepers
accusedofsexualexploitationandabuseofcivilians.

C O M M I T T E D T O R I G H T S
UN Human Rights Treaties and Legal Paths for
Commitment and Compliance
AUDREY L. COMSTOCK
ArizonaStateUniversity
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781108830072
DOI:10.1017/9781108908979
©AudreyL.Comstock2021
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CONTENTS
ListofFiguresandTables pagevi
Acknowledgments ix
ListofAbbreviations xii
1 Introduction 1
2 OnRatification:RethinkingaRatification-Centered
ApproachtoInternationalLaw 23
3 LegalPathsforHumanRightsTreatyCommitmentand
Compliance 46
4 Signature:AFirstStepinaTwo-StepCommitment
Process 63
5 Accession:LateCommitmentandTreaty
Negotiations 108
6 Succession:NewStates,OldLaws,and
Legitimacy 148
7 Conclusion 188
Appendix 196
WorksCited 199
Index 218
v
FIGURES AND TABLES
Figures
3.1 CommitmenttocoreUNhumanrightstreatiesbycommitmenttype,
1966–2010 page47
3.2 CommitmentactiontypesbycoreUNhumanrightstreaty,
1966–2010 48
3.3 CERDcommitment,1965–2010 49
3.4 ICCPRcommitment,1966–2010 50
3.5 ICESCRcommitment,1966–2010 50
3.6 CEDAWcommitment,1980–2010 51
3.7 CATcommitment,1985–2010 51
3.8 CRCcommitment,1990–2010 51
3.9 CMWcommitment,1990–2010 52
3.10 CRPDcommitment,2006–2010 52
3.11 CEDcommitment,2006–2010 52
3.12 NumberofnewUNmemberstatesperyearandcorehumanrights,
1945–2010 57
3.13 Commonapproachestohumanrightstreatycommitment 57
3.14 Legalpathstocommittingtohumanrightstreaties 58
4.1 Commitmenttohumanrightstreatiesbytype,1966–2010 66
4.2 AveragedemocracyscoresforICCPRsignatureandratification
states 68
4.3 ICCPRsignaturebyregion 69
4.4 AverageyearsofsigningwithoutratifyingICCPRbyregion 69
4.5 YearswithICCPRsignaturebutnotratification,bystate 71
4.6 Ratificationapprovalprocessmap 79
5.1 AccessionandratificationofcoreUNhumanrightstreaties,
1966–2010 111
5.2 TotalaccessionstotheICCPRbylateandearlyUNmembershipcompared
withratifications 114
5.3 AveragedemocracyscoresforICCPRaccessionandratification
states 116
5.4 AccessionstotheICCPRbyregion 118
vi
list of figures and tables vii
5.5 RatificationstotheICCPRbyregion 118
5.6 ICCPRaccessionandratificationbystatelegaltradition 119
5.7 CumulativehazardofICCPRaccession 122
5.8 CumulativehazardofICCPRratification 123
5.9 NumberofofficialICCPRmeetingsandreports,1947–1966 129
5.10 AnnualcountICCPRaccessionandratification,1966–2010 132
5.11 GlobalratificationandaccessionoftheICCPR,1966–2010 137
5.12 PlottedcoefficientsofModels1,2,and3 139
6.1 TotalannualsuccessioncountstoallUNtreaties,1945–2010 155
6.2 Annualandcumulativehumanrightstreatysuccessioncounts,
1966–2010 159
6.3 SuccessionandratificationofcoreUNhumanrightstreaties,
1966–2010 159
6.4 CoreUNhumanrightstreatysuccessionasproportionofratification,
1966–2010 160
6.5 PlottedcoefficientsofModel1 176
6.6 ScatterplotofHumanRightsProtectionScoresforsuccession
states 176
6.7 ScatterplotofHumanRightsProtectionScoresforratification 177
6.8 Two-wayscatterplotofHumanRightsProtectionScoresintheCzech
Republic 184
6.9 Two-wayscatterplotofHumanRightsProtectionScoresin
Slovakia 185
7.1 Commitmentactionsandhumanrightsoutcomes 191
Tables
1.1 CoreUNhumanrightstreaties 13
1.2 Typesoftreatycommitment 16
3.1 Commitmentactionsandhumanrightsexpectations 59
4.1 Humanrightschangesandsignatureexpectations 78
4.2 ICCPRcommitmentandFreedomHousemeasurescivilliberties,
1972–2010 100
4.3 ICCPRcommitmentCIRImeasures,1981–2010 101
4.4 ICCPRcommitmenthumanrightsprotectionscoresmeasures,
1966–2010 102
4.5 ICCPRandseparatingoutdemocraticcommitmentandratificationapproval,
1966–2010 104
4.6 CEDAWandhumanrightsprotectionscores,1980–2010 105
5.1 CoreUNhumanrightstreatiescreationandEIF 113
5.2 DeterminantsofICCPRaccessionandratification 121
5.3 AccessionandratificationoftheICCPR,1966–2010 138
viii list of figures and tables
5.4 TestsofthedifferencesofmeansforaccessionandratificationoftheICCPRfor
earlyandlateUNmembers,1966–2010 139
5.5 Fixed-effectsanalysisofsuccessfulandunsuccessfulstatevotingandtreaty
compliance,1966–2010 141
5.6 Treatynegotiationandhumanrights:CEDAW,1966–2010 146
6.1 UNhumanrightstreatiessuccessionstates 161
6.2 Humanrightstreatieswithsuccessioncommitments 162
6.3 Instrumentalvariableregressionofsuccessionandratificationof
theICCPR,1966–2010 175
7.1 Summaryoffindings 190