The Arab Charter on Human Rights : the task still unfinished

Abstract

The Arab Charter on Human Rights has been on the Arab League of State’s Agenda for over half a century now. Five years after its entry into force, it still remains a topic of controversy. The purpose of this thesis is to study the genesis of the Arab Charter on Human Rights in an attempt to understand the historical and political context that resulted in the present Charter in a first place. Then to analyse the content and mechanisms of the Charter and its legal value in light of international human rights standards and in comparison with other regional human rights instruments. This thesis also considers the possible opportunities offered by the Arab Spring and discusses the influence the Arab Spring has had on the League’s attitude towards human rights so far and the prospects of improvement of the Arab system for the protection of human rights.