A gathering storm

A gathering storm

Context:

Rule of Law Index 2017-18 along with others such as the Amnesty International Annual Report 2017-18, indicates the serious erosion of international human rights law in recent times.

About Rule of Law Index:

• The Report has been released by the World Justice Project
• It measures the extent to which 113 countries have adhered to the rule of law in that period
• The Report assesses every country’s performance in 8 areas including fundamental rights, which is measured by absence of discrimination, right to life and security, due process, freedom of expression and religion, right to privacy, freedom of association, and labour rights.

Highlights of the Report:

• Denmark ranked first
• India’s rank was 62
• India performed better than China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh
• The survey found that 71 out of the 113 countries have dropped in score.

Recent instances of erosion of human rights across the world:

• In Turkey and China, the assault on civil liberties and freedoms has intensified.
• There is increasing hostility towards civil society organisations and hardening of attitudes towards minorities in Poland and Hungary.
• The human rights of refugees are routinely negated, including in Australia and the U.S.
• The rise of majoritarian attitudes, hate speech and hate crimes is a growing concern, including in India.
• Mass atrocities (genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity) are or have been committed in Iraq, Myanmar, Central African Republic, and Burundi.

Efforts to uphold human rights:

• In the international arena there have been concerted efforts to advocate the inclusion of international human rights provisions in the local laws of countries and more effective implementation and monitoring.
• Treaty bodies has been assessing states’ obligations to incorporate these norms into national laws, review compliance, including with main human rights treaties, and provide recommendations.
• Regional and supranational courts such as the Inter-American, African and European courts of human rights have been looking at the fulfilment of obligations of regional treaties.
• International and mixed judicial tribunals have been established to provide justice in mass atrocities, culminating in the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

What has been the problem?

In many instances, engagement with these mechanisms has reduced.

Examples:

1. The Philippines had imposed conditions on the UN Special Rapporteur who was to investigate the alleged extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers since President Rodrigo Duterte took office.
2. In Myanmar, the UN Special Rapporteur who was to investigate the claims of persecution against the Rohingya was denied all access to the country.

Conclusion:

Effective engagement with international human rights law is necessary in an era where rights are increasingly being stifled in many countries.