Establishing State Responsibility for Breaching Human Rights Treaty Obligations: Avenues Under UN Human Rights Treaties

Title: 
Establishing State Responsibility for Breaching Human Rights Treaty Obligations: Avenues Under UN Human Rights Treaties
Journal Citation: 
56(2) Netherlands International Law Review, 167-205 (2009)
This article examines States' responsibility under international law to implement treaty obligations, and to withdraw legislation that is in incompatible with treaty obligations. The article uses the International Law Commission's Articles on State Responsibility to define the notion of breaching obligations. The article examines the powers and mandates of various United Nations monitoring bodies, and, under section 5.3, focuses specifically on violations of the "Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The article outlines the inquiry procedures included in many treaties, which allow the treaty bodies to investigate systemic and/or grave violations of human rights. Finally, examples of domestic laws that are in violation of various conventions, including CEDAW, are provided.