Book Review: NGOs and human rights: promise and performance
| DOI | 10.1177/092405190101900222 |
| Published date | 01 June 2001 |
| Date | 01 June 2001 |
| Subject Matter | New Books |
NQHR
2/2001
suchas the International Conventionon theEliminationof All Forms RacialDiscrimination
and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, arealso excerptedto highlightcomplementary UN humanrights jurisprudence.
Looking backreachingforward: reflections on the Truth
and
Reconciliation Commission
of
South Africa /CharlesVilla-Vicencio and WilhelmVerwoerd. -London: Zed Books,2000. -
xxi, 322 p.
ISBN: 1 856498204
This collectionof essays constitutesa tour de force, capturing the essence ofthe Truth and
Reconciliation Commissiondebate, whileposing a set of questions with which this country
is likely to wrestle for some time to come.
It
is intended to provoke debate rather than
providesimply answers to complex questions. The pertinentquestion posed by the book is:
'Where does South Africa go in the post TRC period?' Equally important is the question:
'Does the TRC model provide a viable alternative to prosecution for other countries in
transitionfrom oppressiverule to a society committedto human rights and the rule oflaw?'
NGOs
and
human rights: promise
and
performance /ed. by Claude Welch. - Philadelphia:
University of PennsylvaniaPress, 2001. - x, 290 p. - (Pennsylvania studies in humanrights)
ISBN:0-8122-3569-X
The proliferationof non-governmental organisations, or NGOs, is one of the most striking
featuresof contemporary international politics.While States remain the major protectors -
andabusers- of humanrights, NGOssuch as AmnestyInternational have emergedascentral
playersin the promotion
of
humanrights around the world.NGOs are increasinglyinvolved
in providing services, such as holding training programs for upholding the rule of law and
providing humanitarian assistance in disaster areas. The authors of this book assess the
performance of NGOs by examining a number of significant organisations including
AmnestyInternational, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commissionof Jurists.
They identify the goals of such organisations, analyse their strategies, and consider the
resourcesnecessaryto implement thosestrategieseffectively. They also take a look at some
of the major financialsupporters ofNGOs, such as the Ford Foundation.
Peace agreements
and
human rights /Christine Bell. - Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000. - x, 409 p.
ISBN: 0-19-829889-7
This bookexamines humanrights provisions in peaceagreements and through them therole
of human rights protection in peace processes. It focuses on peace agreements in South
Africa, Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and also draws on a
reviewof peace agreementsin over 40 countries. It comparesthe 'realpolitik' of what parties
agree to in peace agreements with international law provisions relating to human rights.
Responding to human rights violations: 1946-1999/ Katarina Tomasevski. - The
Hague:
MartinusNijhoff, 2000. - xiv, 420 p. - (International studies in human rights; no. 63)
ISBN: 90-411-1368-1
This volumemaps out the response of Statesto human rights violations. It coversthe period
1946-1999 and offers a complete and unmatchedrecord for this period. Its starting point is
that such responses are not established and accepted State practice. Traditional norms of
States' behaviourdevelopedthrough centuriesof silenceand inaction; the prevalentreaction
to human rights violations by another State remains the absence of any response.
224
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