Doing something without doing anything: international human rights law and the challenge of globalization

Evans, Tony and Hancock, Jan (1998) Doing something without doing anything: international human rights law and the challenge of globalization. The International Journal of Human Rights, 2 (3), 1-21. (doi:10.1080/13642989808406744).

Record type: Article

Abstract

International human rights law dominates both the literature and practice of human rights. Although the limitations of international law are sometimes tacitly acknowledged, human rights talk continues to pin its hopes on legal solutions. This article attempts to question the efficacy of such an approach. The argument begins by looking at the relationship between traditional approaches to international relations, international law and human rights. The second part looks at the consequences of globalisation for the international law approach to human rights. The conclusion to be drawn is twofold. First, globalisation weakens even further the prospects of protecting human rights through international law. Second, the focus on international law offers the illusion of doing something without doing anything, creating a barrier to investigating social, political and economic methods for protecting human rights.

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