Questions:   Interviewee: Section: The UDHR is over 50 years old now. What kind of relevance does it have for you as a human rights litigator and for other litigators around the world?   Reed Brody UDHR Introduction What is the true significance of the UDHR? Is it really the “most important and enlightened document of our time” as you have suggested? Why do we place such importance on the Declaration as opposed to the UN Charter or the various other human rights covenants and declarations?   Louis Henkin UDHR Introduction What kind of importance does the UDHR have for you as a human rights litigator?   Michael Ratner UDHR Introduction The first words of the Preamble talk about the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family. Is “inherent dignity” the concept that lies at the heart of the idea of human rights in the Declaration? How did the drafters of the UDHR seek to define and justify the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of human rights, or did they perhaps try to avoid that whole controversy?   Louis Henkin Preamble 1 Introduction Human dignity is a concept that has found expression and development in different religions in the world. The Declaration, however, does not seek to find its justification in any religious world view. Is it possible to define human dignity without any reference to man in the image of God?   Louis Henkin Preamble 1 Introduction The end of the Second World War was a pivotal period in the development of a new world order, with Nuremberg looking to deal with the past and the UN Charter and subsequent instruments looking to the future. What was the significance of the Holocaust for the movement to protect Human Rights and to what extent did the failure of the League of Nations and the lessons of the War affect the development of the Declaration?   Louis Henkin Preamble 2 Introduction President Roosevelt referred to “freedom from want” as one of the four freedoms to be protected in his famous speech to Congress in 1941. Does the Declaration seek to define and protect “economic and social rights” as human rights?   Louis Henkin Preamble 2 Introduction What is the US position in relation to economic and social rights? Is it fair to say that the US is “culturally relativist” in relation to this aspect of the Declaration?   Louis Henkin Preamble 2 Concepts/Ideas There has always been some degree of skepticism about international law as “law” and about “international human rights law” in particular as opposed, to say, trade law. Those concerns are reflected in provisions such as Article 2(7) of the UN Charter which expressly limits the ability of the UN to intervene in matters concerning the “domestic jurisdiction of any state”. In a system without a world judiciary or legislature how was it thought that by embedding human rights in international law and institutions you would achieve any measure of protection or compliance by states?   Louis Henkin Preamble 4 Concepts/Ideas In the international law/international relations debate, scholars don’t agree whether law or power govern or should govern the international scene. What is your view on the topic?   Michael Ratner Preamble 4 Concepts/Ideas The Declaration appears to prefigure a world governed by law and it acted, in effect, as a first step towards the later covenants. Some realist international relations scholars, however, see the Declaration as no more than an idealistic burst of enthusiasm after the war. In your book How Nations Behave you draw an important distinction between “state values” and “human values” in the international order. To what extent did the Declaration signal a new orientation in international law away from State values toward human values and how has it affected the ongoing debate between the ”realists” and the “liberal internationalists”?   Louis Henkin Preamble 4 Discussion The internationalization of Human Rights that has occurred since the creation of the Declaration is based primarily on obligations on states embedded in international law and not until more recently on individual accountability for violations. How does the protection of Human Rights fit into international law and the state system?   Louis Henkin Preamble 4 Discussion Are the leaders of powerful states, such as the US, really constrained in their actions and policies by the international laws of human rights? To what extent do international human rights institutions, such as the various UN treaty bodies, exert a “compliance pull” on the behavior of States and has the Declaration had an effect in this regard?   Louis Henkin Preamble 4 Discussion In your book The Age of Rights you discuss the twin processes of the internationalization and universalization of human rights and suggest that these are two of the most far-reaching effects of the Declaration. To what extent have constitutions around the world accepted and embodied the human rights idea? Is a country like post-apartheid South Africa, with its new and expansive constitutional Bill of Rights an example of the significant influence of the Declaration?   Louis Henkin Preamble 6 Introduction In 1999 you wrote an article entitled “America’s problem with Human Rights”. There you argued that there is a new challenge to the universality of the UDHR, this time coming from the USA, the country whose influence predominated both the drafting and the internationalizing of the UDHR. Can you explain why?   Reed Brody Preamble 6 Discussion Article 5 Cases/Applications How do you see the future of the US position?   Reed Brody Preamble 6 Discussion You are a human rights litigator both in and from the United States. How do you see this as both advantageous and disadvantageous?   Reed Brody Preamble 6 Discussion How are economic and social rights protected and ensured under international law? Are states under any international legal obligation in relation to the conditions in other (poorer) states? For example, does Article 28 give rise to any such obligations? What is the current view of the US on these questions?   Louis Henkin Preamble 6 Discussion How do you see the US applying international human rights standards to itself?   Michael Ratner Preamble 6 Discussion What do you think of the role and the effectives of the United Nations in the protection and promotion of human rights?   Reed Brody --- There is a famous debate within this field concerning the tension between cultural relativism and universal values. How “universal” is the Universal Declaration and to what extent did the drafters look around the world at different systems and cultures in creating the Declaration and in consulting with representatives from other countries?   Louis Henkin Preamble 7 Introduction To what extent has human rights education and the use of the declaration as an educational instrument been a part or influenced the success of human rights?   J. Paul Martin Preamble 8 Introduction What is the importance of non-governmental organizations in the development and protection of human rights?   Michael Ratner Preamble 8 Discussion In contrast to governments and multi-national organizations, NGOs have become a feature of human rights work in the 50 years since the drafting of the Declaration and many of our students, both advocates and SIPA students, have worked in NGOs and civil society sectors. To what extent in your experience has this been an important development for the promotion of human rights in societies and in terms of education?   J. Paul Martin Preamble 8 Discussion An exciting new area is technology and human rights and particularly the Internet. And I know that you have been involved in various projects with the Internet to further human rights education and the promotion of human rights. Could you say something about where you think this is going and what has been achieved?   J. Paul Martin Preamble 8 Discussion You have been in this game for a long time and you have seen the development of the field of human rights – at least over the last 20 or more years. What do you think has been the greatest impact of the Declaration on the promotion of human rights or is there a story you can perhaps tell that sums up for you where the Declaration has been most influential in international politics and law.   J. Paul Martin --- One of your new areas of future research, future work is the relationship between the private sector and human rights and particularly multi-nationals in developing countries. To what extent do you think that the Universal Declaration is still relevant to that whole endeavor and to what extent do we maybe need to move beyond where we were in 1948?   J. Paul Martin --- How successful has the United Nations been in all of its different organizational and other activities in human rights education?   J. Paul Martin --- To what extent do you think that universities are important in teaching about human rights and in particular I wonder if you can speak about your role as the Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights. How that was founded, how it was conceived and what over 20 years you have been able to achieve?   J. Paul Martin --- Could you say perhaps just a few words about the global compact that Kofi Anan and John Ruggie have pushed at the UN? Is that something that you think has grown out of the whole tradition born by the Declaration or is this something new in terms of dealing with this problem?   J. Paul Martin --- What is the importance of Article 5 of the UDHR and what sorts of developments has it brought about in international law?   Reed Brody Article 5 Introduction There is a debate between fighters against impunity and those people looking into transitional justice. You are an example of a person from the first group. How would you respond to arguments from people in the other group?   Reed Brody Article 5 Development In an article Belgium was called the contemporary laboratory of international criminal justice. There is criticism, however, among human rights activist that the broad legislation to bring human rights perpetrators to justice would be counter-productive. What is your opinion?   Reed Brody Article 5 Development What do you think of the argument of Jack Snyder – that you need to deal with the devil in order to get him out of power?   Reed Brody Article 5 Development You wrote articles with titles such as “The End of Impunity” and “The Pinocet Precedent”. Can you explain why the Pinochet case was a landmark court case?   Reed Brody Article 5 Cases/Applications What was the evolution following the Pinochet case? Can you describe the Habré case on which you are working?   Reed Brody Article 5 Cases/Applications Can you explain why it was so important to file the Habré case in an African country?   Reed Brody Article 5 Cases/Applications The Filártiga case: can you describe the facts of the case and explain why it was such a landmark case?   Michael Ratner Article 5 Cases/Applications Can you describe the evolution after the Filártiga case?   Michael Ratner Article 5 Cases/Applications At a certain point in the evolution after the Filártiga case, you started to sue corporations. Can you elaborate on that?   Michael Ratner Article 5 Cases/Applications In the litigation after Filártiga you also used article 23.4 UDHR about the right to form trade unions. Can you describe that?   Michael Ratner Article 5 Cases/Applications Some commentators have suggested that the cold war paradigm was the United States as global policeman, while the post-cold war paradigm is the United States as global attorney. As a human rights litigator in and from the US and as someone who has always taken a stand against US military intervention, do you see a risk in the increasing amount of international human rights cases in US domestic courts?   Michael Ratner Article 5 Can you talk about your participation in the 1968 student demonstrations at Columbia?   Michael Ratner --