Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Description
According to the Strategic Plan of the University of Deusto, human rights are an essential pillar of the integral formation of our students. Human rights have become a very relevant tool for a Social and Democratic State, as stated by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. Spain has ratified most of the international human rights instruments, as the vast majority of European states. This course aims at knowing the main human rights instruments as well as assuming a commitment with a human rights culture.

Prerequisites
A basic knowledge of both Constitutional Law and Public International Law is necessary.

Contents
1. Relevance of human rights in today's world

2. An historical and philosophical approach
1-. Remote antecedents:
2-. Recent developments:
a) Human Rights under traditional International Law
b) Humanitarian intervention
c) Some treaties in the nineteenth century
d) The creation of the League of Nations (1919)
f) International Humanitarian Law

3. Evolution of human rights
Categories of human rights:
a) First generation: civil and political rights
b) Second generation: economic, social and cultural rights
c) Third generation: solidarity rights
d) ¿New frontiers?

4. Human Rights in the United Nations (UN) system
1. The San Francisco Conference and human rights
2. Human rights in the UN Charter (1945)
3. The International Bill of Rights:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
- The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
4. Conventional instruments for human rights protection:
a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD, 1965)
b) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979)
c) Convention Against Torture (CAT, 1984)
d) Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989)
e) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Dissabilities (CRPD, 2006)

5. Extra-conventional mechanisms
5. Regional systems for the protection of human rights
1. Human rights in the Council of Europe (CoE)
2. Human rights in the Organization of American States (OAS)
3. Human rights in the African Union (AU)
4. The emerging Asian system

Methodology
Methodology is based in the following methods and techniques:
1. Presentation of the main concepts by the lecturer
2. Reading and analysis of international legal instruments and cases
3. Screening of documentaries to complement some of the topics covered in class
4. Debates and discussions about relevant topics of human rights

Assessment
The evaluation system is based in the following criteria:
1. Final exam to evaluate the general and specific competencies developed: 40% of the final
mark
2. Participation in class and in the relevant activities proposed: 60% of the final mark