June 13, 2022
What We Are Learning This Week with Instructor Mark Machacek !
Exploring the international human rights regime!
June 13, 2022 in POLI 481 Politics of Human Rights Politics
Instructor Mark Machacek is exploring the international human rights regime, including the content and forms of international human rights law and the roles of the United Nations.
Can you tell us a little more about this topic?
The international human rights regime refers to the main countries, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations involved in advancing, promoting and protecting human rights globally. It also includes international human rights law, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and numerous legally binding obligations for countries that have agreed to commit to human rights through international treaties. The United Nations plays important roles in the regime, facilitating human rights law, monitoring human rights commitments and providing humanitarian assistance. In POLI 481, we consider the politics of this international human rights regime and the main constraints on human rights protection globally.
What else do you cover in your course?
POLI 481 covers a range of topics related to the politics of human rights. We began the semester discussing human rights as a moral framework that exists alongside contending notions of social justice, cultural relativism and realpolitik. We then detailed the international human rights regime in terms of the main countries, organizations and international laws advancing and protecting human rights internationally. The remainder of the semester is spent focusing on the politics of specific human rights issues, including Indigenous rights, sexual orientation and gender identity rights and refugee rights.
What do you love about teaching this course?
The thing I love most about this course is the level of passion students bring to the classroom and their coursework when it comes to human rights issues. I find students tend to put their best foot forward academically when they are driven by something they are very passionate about. This makes for great class discussions and very interesting and impressive research projects.
Finally, what other courses would you recommend for students interested this topic?
Students interested in human rights can get an in-depth look at the issue of genocide in POLI 470. Any of the International Indigenous Studies Program (INDG) courses provide important insight into Indigenous rights issues here in Canada. Interested students would also benefit from focusing on the institutions, processes and politics of international law with POLI 483.