A General Theory on International Human Rights Standards

Abstract

The general human rights law theory and China’s cooperation with the international human rights system constitute, respectively, essential theoretical and practical bases to explore the application of international human rights law to China. Such an investigation is necessary if China is to improve its human rights situation in preparation for China’s early ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In the field of international human rights, the national legal systems of sovereign States ‘offer the first line of defence’ against human rights violations. International human rights norms and the international organisations that attempt to uphold them on the international level also play an essential role in protecting human rights. Unfortunately, due to the ‘evident inadequacies and gross failures’ of many States in observing such norms, and to the inability of international organisations to act ‘in curbing human rights violations’, the gap between norms and domestic practices ‘becomes strikingly apparent’. This gap is ultimately what leads to many of the major disagreements during international human rights dialogues.