Alexandra Timmer | Utrecht University (original) (raw)

Papers by Alexandra Timmer

The European Union and Human Rights

Based primarily on legal and policy documents, this chapter outlines the European Union’s (EU’s) ... more Based primarily on legal and policy documents, this chapter outlines the European Union’s (EU’s) conceptions of human rights. It also identifies major conceptual challenges the EU faces in developing human rights action. Key among these conceptual challenges are the tensions between the EU’s economic objectives and upholding human rights, and the difficulty to create a universal and inclusive human rights legal subject. The chapter concludes by identifying opportunities to coin more inclusive and coherent conceptualisations by drawing on the concepts of vulnerability and intersectionality.

Executive Summary This report presents an exploration of different conceptualisations of human ri... more Executive Summary This report presents an exploration of different conceptualisations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law within international organisations. The report focuses on the United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The eventual aim of Work Package 3, of which this report forms part, is to provide the EU with conceptualizations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law that take into consideration the diverse conceptions found in third countries and in other international organisations. The organisations' original purpose, moment of creation, and structure inevitably influence the development of their human rights, democracy and rule of law conceptions, and their practical engagement with these concepts. For this reason, the attention devoted by each organisation, and also, by specific bodies within them, to one or other conceptual element varies significantly. The report starts with a deta...

Stereotypes and Human Rights Law

This report presents a comparative analysis of the different understandings and perspectives on h... more This report presents a comparative analysis of the different understandings and perspectives on human rights, democracy and rule of law in third countries with which EU has established strategic partnerships: China, India, Peru and South Africa. This explorative report focuses on theoretical conceptions of human rights, democracy and rule of law, with limited attention to their operationalization. The eventual aim of Work Package 3, of which this report forms a part, is to provide the EU with conceptualizations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law that take into consideration the diverse conceptions found in third countries and in other international organisations. This comparative study poses a challenge to the reader who is unfamiliar with non-western perspectives on human rights, democracy and rule of law. While South African conceptions appear largely familiar to a European audience, China, India, and Peru present notions and perspectives that are more divergentcompared to those found in the EU. In this sense, this report is meant to challenge some of the reader's assumptions. The report starts with a detailed description of the methodology used (Chapter II). It clarifies the terminology used, and the methods of data collection and analysis. It also discusses the practical and methodological challenges of this comparative study. Chapter III provides a description of the historical, social, and political context of each of the countries under review, in order to more fully understand the development of the domestic conceptions of human rights, democracy and rule of law. Chapter IV is dedicated to the comparative analysis of the domestic conceptions. This chapter is divided into three parts. Human rights conceptualisations are examined in Section A. This sections shows that in the countries under review, the notion of 'human dignity', present in the European conception, is combined with other traditional notions that encourage group understandings of human rights and moderate individualism. This is the case with the notions of 'harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood' in India, the principle of Ubuntu in South Africa and the principle of unity in China. With the exception of China, where the 'universal and relative' character of human rights is emphasized, the universality of human rights was endorsed in all countries. The same holds for the indivisibility of human rights, although prevalence of one set of rights was perceived in practice. The main distinction, amongst the countries and with the EU, was the notion of 'minority', inherently connected to each country's own historical construction. Collective rights, and moreover, the country's approach towards diversity, is deeply connected to these notions. The review also shows that the approach towards equality taken by the countries under review is very similar to the one adopted at the EU, recognizing the equality of individuals and prohibiting discrimination based on enumerated grounds. The main difference is found in relation to the recognition of sexual orientation as a ground for discrimination. FRAME Deliverable No. 3.3 iv The next chapter discusses conceptions on democracy in Section B. It finds that South Africa, Peru and India all hold similar conceptions of democracy as the EU. At the same time, these countries have distinctive elements in their concept of democracy, for instance by recognizing both constitutional authority and traditional authority (South Africa), fostering the political representation and participation of socially disadvantaged groups (India). The Chinese conception of democracy diverges widely from the EU conception of democracy since it does not include free and competitive elections as a core element, nor does the principle of 'multi-party cooperation' challenge the undisputed leadership of the Communist Party of China. Also, contrary to the liberal and free-market foundation of the EU, we found an explicit commitment to socialism in the Constitution of China and India, and explicit references to a 'social state' and 'social justice' as core constitutional values in Peru and South Africa, respectively. As regards the rule of law, dealt with in Section C, this report finds that the EU shares core minimal/ 'thin' elements with all four countries under review. Chinese, Indian, South African and Peruvian views on legality and equality before the law do not appear much different from the EU's views. On the other elements of the rule of law, conceptual divergences occur, particularly with regards to China, which promotes the notion of a 'socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.' It appears that in modern day China the rule of law is viewed more as an instrument (to rein in corruption, for example, and to attain the desired social system) than as an end in itself. The report concludes that some elements of the domestic conceptions of human rights, democracy and rule of law in China, India, Peru and South Africa are widely different from the EU's conceptions, although there is also much shared ground. Without doubt, EU external policies should be sensitive to possible conceptual differences and indicate awareness of these differences in their conceptualisations of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It also recognises that an enduring challenge is to distinguish compliance/implementation from abstract conceptions. The report also shows that human rights occupy a privileged position in international relations and in EU foreign policy in particular, and that this emphasis on human rights is also reflected at national level. The degree of standard setting on human rights-by means of binding international treaties and authoritative soft law instruments-is not matched for democracy and rule of law.

This report presents five case studies on EU Human Rights Dialogues (HRDs). The case studies conc... more This report presents five case studies on EU Human Rights Dialogues (HRDs). The case studies concern the HRDs with the African Union, China, India, Morocco and Peru. Building on the findings of the previous reports in Work Package 3 of the FRAME project, the aim of this report is to explore how domestic and organisation-based conceptions of human rights, democracy and rule of law emerge in HRDs and what consequences these conceptions entails for the HRDs’ goals. The report starts with a description of the methodology used (Chapter II). Next, Chapter III puts HRDs in context by examining their institutional setting. The Chapter specifically focuses on three key issues: respect for sovereignty and the equality of participants; transparency; and the priorities of the dialogues. Chapter IV is dedicated to the case studies. The Chapter is divided in two parts: the first part focuses on General Human Rights Dialogues and the second on Formal Human Rights Dialogues. General HRD’s are Dialo...

European human rights cases, 2016

This report provides an analysis of the EU's conceptualisation and operationalisation of the conc... more This report provides an analysis of the EU's conceptualisation and operationalisation of the concepts of human rights, democracy and rule of law. It is the second Deliverable in Work Package 3 of the FRAME project. The report understands the term 'concepts' to refer to the content of, or the ideas that underlie, the notions of human rights, democracy, and rule of law (Chapter I). Accordingly, the objective of this report is to analyse what content the EU assigns to human rights, democracy, and rule of law. As human constructs, concepts are dynamic and they have no clear boundaries. To complicate matters, the concepts of human rights, democracy and rule of law are famously elusive, which also certainly holds true for their application by the EU. Chapter II describes one clearly discernible trend: the EU has increasingly moved away from 'thin'/formal to more 'thick'/substantive conceptions of human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Over the years, the EU has come to interpret these concepts in a fairly broad and holistic manner, which is conceptually underpinned by respect for human dignity. In external action, the EU's approach to these concepts is even broader. This report shows that the content of each concept consists of several components: o Human rights are the rights humans universally enjoy, and that entail a universal legal obligation on the part of states to uphold them. Human rights are indivisible, in the sense that the EU recognises civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights. In the EU's conceptualisation, human rights are primarily individual but they can also have collective dimensions (e.g. when it comes to environmental protection). o The rule of law is the proper method of governance, which includes both formal and substantive elements. Within the EU, the rule of law includes legality; legal certainty; prohibition of arbitrariness of the executive powers; independent judiciary; effective judicial review including respect for fundamental rights; and equality before the law. o The concept of democracy determines who governs. There are several principles underlying the EU's vision of democracy: democratic equality; representative democracy; participatory democracy; transparency and deliberation. There are several themes that cut across all three concepts. This report highlights two in particular: the interaction between universalism and cultural relativism, and the question of how to ensure that human rights, democracy and rule of law are conceptualised in inclusive ways. Chapters III and IV turn to the question how the EU operationalizes these concepts. On the internal scene (Chapter III), the report provides a case study of Hungary. In spite of the fact that Hungary is an EU member state, it diverges from the values enshrined in Article 2 of TEU and the concept of democratic rule of law with human rights. Criticism by international and European organizations has not been followed by fundamental changes of the characteristics of the newly setup constitutional system. Chapter IV analyses the ways in which the EU operationalizes human rights, democracy and rule of law FRAME Deliverable No. 3.2 iv in its external action through its human rights dialogues (HRDs), election observations missions (EOMs) and resolutions by the European Parliament (EP). It focused thereby on the case studies of Egypt and Pakistan. The key question of this analysis is whether the EU's external policy actors in practice follow the conceptual principles, which have been developed. The conclusion is that this is mixed. Especially as regards social and economic rights and the protection of 'vulnerable' groups, conceptualisation and operationalisation do not seem to correspond. FRAME Deliverable No. 3.2 v List of abbreviations CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union COHOM Council Working Group on Human Rights (in external relations) CSO Civil society organisation FRAME Deliverable No. 3.2 1 I. Introduction A. Introduction: aim and scope of this study Human rights, democracy and rule of law are core values of the EU (Article 2 TEU 1). In its external action the EU is also guided by these values, which it moreover seeks to advance in the wider world (Article 21 TEU 2). The EU views these three concepts as being in a harmonious relationship. This quote, from the Commission's 2014 Framework to strengthen the Rule of Law, is illustrative in this respect: 'respect for the rule of law is intrinsically linked to respect for democracy and for fundamental rights: there can be no democracy and respect for fundamental rights without respect for the rule of law and vice versa.' 3 Contemporary scholars speak of the 'triangular relationship' between fundamental rights, democracy and rule of law in the EU, 4 implying that the three notions function together like 'the three legs of a stool' 5 ('democratic rule of law with fundamental rights'). 6 Although human rights, democracy and rule of law are prominently present in the EU treaties, this does not mean that it is clear how the EU conceptualises these values. No wonder: human rights, democracy and rule of law are famously contested, dynamic and elusive concepts. Cass Sunstein's notion of 'incompletely theorized agreements' is applicable here: the EU has agreed on these abstract values, without necessarily 'agreeing on the particular meaning of those abstractions'. 7 Sunstein argues that incompletely theorized agreements are an important feature of successful constitutionalism, as these types of agreements allow for 'convergence despite disagreement, uncertainty, limits of time and 1 Article 2 TEU proclaims that: The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the Member States in a society in which pluralism, nondiscrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between women and men prevail. 2 Article 21 TEU states that: The Union's action on the international scene shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law. 3 Commission, 'Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council-A new EU Framework to strengthen the Rule of Law' COM (2014) 158 final 5, 4. 4 Sergio Carrera, Elspeth Guild and Nicholas Hernanz, 'The Triangular Relationship between Fundamental Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law in the EU-Towards an EU Copenhagen Mechanism, Study for the European Parliament, PE 493.031 (2013) <www.

This chapter argues that the ECtHR adopt an anti-stereotyping approach in cases concerning questi... more This chapter argues that the ECtHR adopt an anti-stereotyping approach in cases concerning questions of gender.

Hoe begin je aan een genderanalyse in de wereld van het recht? Dit boek wil een eerste aanzet zij... more Hoe begin je aan een genderanalyse in de wereld van het recht? Dit boek wil een eerste aanzet zijn om de lacune in de Belgische rechtsleer op het vlak van een genderbenadering van het recht in te vullen.

The European Union and Human Rights

Stereotypes and Human Rights Law

European human rights cases, 2016

https://www.scjn.gob.mx/derechos-humanos/manuales-de-actuacion Prohibida su reproducción total... more https://www.scjn.gob.mx/derechos-humanos/manuales-de-actuacion

Prohibida su reproducción total o parcial por cualquier medio, sin autorización escrita de los titulares de los derechos. El contenido de los documentos que conforman esta obra es responsabilidad exclusiva de los autores y no representa en