Protecting Human Rights and Building Peace in Post-Violence Societies - (Human Rights Law in Perspective) by Nasia Hadjigeorgiou (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book critically examines the relationship between protecting human rights and building peace in post-violence societies. It explores the conditions that must be present, and strategies that should be adopted, for the former to contribute to the latter. The author argues that human rights can aid peacebuilding efforts by helping victims of past violence to articulate their grievance, and by encouraging the state to respond and provide them with a meaningful remedy. This usually happens either through a process of adjudication, whereby human rights can provide guidance to the judiciary as to the best way to address such grievances, or through the passing and implementation of human rights laws and policies that seek to promote peace. However, this positive relationship between human rights and peace is both qualified and context-specific. Through an interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of four case studies, the book identifies the conditions that can support the effective use of human rights as peacebuilding tools. Developing these, the book recommends a series of strategies that peacebuilders should adopt and rely on"--

Book Synopsis

This book critically examines the relationship between protecting human rights and building peace in post-violence societies. It explores the conditions that must be present, and strategies that should be adopted, for the former to contribute to the latter. The author argues that human rights can aid peacebuilding efforts by helping victims of past violence to articulate their grievance, and by encouraging the state to respond to and provide them with a meaningful remedy. This usually happens either through a process of adjudication, whereby human rights can offer guidance to the judiciary as to the best way to address such grievances, or through the passing and implementation of human rights laws and policies that seek to promote peace. However, this positive relationship between human rights and peace is both qualified and context specific. Through an interdisciplinary and comparative analysis of four case studies, the book identifies the conditions that can support the effective use of human rights as peacebuilding tools. Developing these, the book recommends a series of strategies that peacebuilders should adopt and rely on.

Review Quotes

"Hadjigeorgiou brings an analytical robustness using the cases of Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, and South Africa to unpack post-violence societies ... Lawyers, sociologists, and peacebuilders will be able to draw a wealth of knowledge from her book." --Mary Abura, Seoul National University, In Factis Pax

"This book makes a significant contribution to the peacebuilding literature and offers practical advice for peacebuilders in a range of case types and roles." --Mneesha Gellman, Emerson College, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics

"The book offers a multi-faceted and nuanced picture on the role of human rights in peacebuilding and the requirements for its successful contribution to it ... this publication constitutes an important and original addition to the study of human rights in building peace." --Vassilis Pergantis, The Cyprus Review

About the Author

Nasia Hadjigeorgiou is an Assistant Professor in Transitional Justice and Human Rights at the University of Central Lancashire (Cyprus).