Confronting the Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

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From Laws to Reality: Diminishing the Gap between Human Rights Laws and their Implementation

• Ratify international human rights treaties. Democrats should identify those countries that have and have not ratified international human rights treaties; in addition, they should also distinguish those countries that have ratified such treaties but clearly fail to honor their provisions, such as countries that have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) but deny women their basic rights. Reservations to international human rights treaties should also be identified, particularly where such reservations make near nonsense of any "ratification."
• Incorporate international human rights treaties into local legislation and harmonize local laws and practices. In cases in which countries have ratified those treaties, democrats should ensure that they are enacted into local legislation since it is clear that officials in many countries ratify treaties without much thought, without consultation, and without any necessary follow-up. For example, many developing countries have ratified treaties like the WTO without consulting their business communities; similar situations arise with respect to international human rights treaties. Democrats should also examine existing local laws to ensure their conformity with international human rights treaties, and where necessary propose amendments to bring them into line with such standards.
• Use the international courts. It is particularly important for countries to ratify treaties giving access to international courts, and democrats should press to ensure that any country's reservations limiting such access be removed and necessary legislation enacted.
• Demystify the law. Once laws are enacted they should be available and easily accessible to all; this means that lawyers should avoid jargon that complicates citizens' understanding of legislation that protects and upholds their human rights.
• Create awareness of international human rights treaties among lawyers, activists, and those in law enforcement. Democrats should use all methods available, including citation of such treaties, when presenting arguments in court.
• Implement special methods of law enforcement, where necessary or appropriate, to ensure that citizens are able to enjoy their rights under the laws in their countries. For example, "all-women" police stations can be created for victims of domestic violence or abuse who seek assistance, protection, and redress.
• Provide educational programs for judges on international human rights treaties. Judges should also be encouraged to refer to such treaties when writing judgments and rulings.
• As an institution, the media should play a crucial role in the dissemination of knowledge and awareness of human rights legislation.
• Build solidarity across disciplines. When pressing for the actualization of human rights legislation lawyers should not act only with other lawyers, and when examining the effects of such legislation political and social scientists should not work only with each other. Rather, those in as many disciplines as may be relevant should interact with each other to draw on their respective strengths.
• Similarly, tackling human rights issues should not be confined within national boundaries. Rather, assistance should be actively sought from democrats in other countries within and across regions.
• Social and economic rights must be the basis for civil and political rights. There must be some answer to the argument that people "cannot eat democracy," which is partly the result of recognizing that social and economic rights are as important as civil and political ones and that the "democracy dividend" must be a specific goal for democrats.
• Examine proposed budgets. Democrats should use available legislation and access to help ensure that budgetary proposals reflect internationally recommended percentages for expenditures in such areas as education, healthcare, or defense, and, if not, they should lobby for changes.

• The World Movement Web site should provide links to Web sites that describe international human rights treaties and that list country ratifications and reservations.
• The World Movement Web site should also facilitate the sharing of resources and information on human rights and some mechanism, such as a chat room, where those with knowledge can provide updated information to others.