PS531, The International Law of Human Rights
Fall Semester 2004
Study Guide for Week 5
The International Bill of Rights
Reading Assignment
Lauren, chapters 5-7
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (read on-line)
Other websites to check:
World Conference on Human Rights (1993)
Questions to consider in reading Lauren, chapter 5
1. How did the events of World War II energize the international dialogue on human rights?
2. What contributions did Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms," the Atlantic Charter, and the Declaration by the United Nations contribute to the furthering of the international human rights agenda?
3. Which types of human rights came to the forefront in the international community during the course of World War II.
4. As the war drew to a close, why did the United States and the other Great Powers have reservations about committing to human rights that widely advocated around the world?
5. What issues arose at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference of 1944? What were the essentials features of the draft model for the United Nations that was adopted at the conference?
Questions to consider in reading Lauren, chapter 6
6. What objections were raised to the Dumbarton Oaks model for the United Nations at the Chapultepec Conference and elsewhere?
7. What role did nongovernmental organizations and prominent individuals play in pushing for the recognition of human rights in the United Nations Charter?
8. What provisions does the United Nations Charter make for advancing the cause of human rights?
Questions to consider upon reading Lauren, chapter 7
9. What was the procedural series of steps with the United Nations system that led to the adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948?
10. What were some of the major issues that arose in efforts to hammer out of the language for the Declaration?
11. How the Commission on Human Rights deal with the issue of whether recognize petitions received from individuals and groups that call attention to human rights violations?
Questions to consider in reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
12. How would you characterize the range of human rights outlined in the Declaration?
13. Are there any of the articles that you find particularly interesting?
14. How can the almost universal support for the Declaration be reconciled with the widespread denial of so many of these rights by so many states?