Description
Together with the establishment of the Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 a new mechanism was created with the aim of regularly scrutinizing the human rights situation in all UN member states. Despite the great potential of the so-called Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to strengthen human rights protection globally scholars raised considerable doubts whether the UPR would live up to the high expectations. This is one of the main reasons why nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) were seen as key actors for the new review mechanism. By participating in the review process NGOs were expected to alleviate the obvious weaknesses of the UPR and enhance its effectiveness.
Using methods of qualitative research the dissertation generates knowledge about the role NGOs play in the UPR. Specifically, it examines how NGOs make use of the mechanism to raise their concerns and sheds light on the extent to which NGOs can influence the review process. The dissertation concludes by discussing the overall impact of NGO engagement on the mechanism itself. The exploratory research draws on an in-depth case study of the Federal Republic of Germany and offers some generalizable conclusions for the situation in other countries.
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