Mobilizing for Human Rights (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521885102)

This volume argues that international human rights law has made a positive contribution to the realization of human rights in much of the world. Although governments sometimes ratify human rights treaties, gambling that they will experience little pressure to comply with them, this is not typically the case. Focusing on rights stakeholders rather than the United Nations or state pressure, Beth Simmons demonstrates through a combination of statistical analyses and case studies that the ratification of treaties leads to better rights practices on average. By several measures, civil and political rights, women's rights, a right not to be tortured in government detention, and children's rights improve, especially in the very large heterogeneous set of countries that are neither stable autocracies nor stable democracies. Simmons argues that international human rights law should get more practical and rhetorical support from the international community as a supplement to broader efforts to address conflict, development, and democratization.

Author: Beth A. Simmons
ISBN-10: 0521885108
ISBN-13: 9780521885102
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/29/2009
Pages: 468
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.75lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.30w x 1.20d
Award: Woodrow Wilson Foundation Award - Winner