Comparative Analysis of the Systems for Protection of Human Rights in the Regions Cover Image

Компаративна анализа система заштите људских права у регионима
Comparative Analysis of the Systems for Protection of Human Rights in the Regions

Author(s): Sanja Kreštalica
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Источном Сарајеву
Keywords: Human rights;European Convention on Human Rights;American Convention on Human Rights;African Charter on Human and People's Rights;Asian system;
Summary/Abstract: The aim of the paper is to highlight the current situation in the field of human rights in all regions of the world, especially by analyzing and com-paring the basic instruments adopted in each of them. The general conclusion is that the universality of human rights is not questioned by strengthening mechanisms for regional security. Quite the contrary, we believe that the current position of human rights in certain parts of the world, due to various political, economic or social factors demands commitment of universal, as well as regional and national mechanisms, which could lead to a favorable outcome only in coordination with each other.In the first part of the paper, author gave brief analysis of the mayor instruments in the field of human rights adopted in Europe, America and Africa. Likewise, the author devoted a considerable attention to the region of Asia, which lacks a developed system on the regional level, but shows significant steps towards the advancing of the sub-regional mechanisms. The central part of the paper is related to the comparison of the regional systems on the substantive and procedural level. In order to highlight one of the differences in the substantive aspect of the protection of human rights, the author analyzed the provisions on the right to life as a basic human right. On the other hand, the differences and similarities bet-ween the regional systems of human rights protection are especially visible in the procedural aspects of protection or in part concerning the jurisdiction and functioning of the mechanisms established by the above-mentioned instruments. Given the fact that we put the emphasis on the efficiency of the protection of individual rights, the author pointed out to the provisions on the right of individual access to regional institutions since the right of individual petition is "the cornerstone of the international protection of human rights".The general conclusion is that regional human rights protection systems do not operate in isolation, but in coordination with each other. However, the permeation of the provisions of regional and universal instruments should not be seen as a threat to any of the systems or as the reduction of the effectiveness of the various mechanisms, but only as a step toward complete protection of individual rights. In the near future we expect serious engagement of Asian countries to establish a sub-regional, if not regional, human rights protection system, modeled on existing European, American and African systems.