Routledge Human Rights and Conflict Resolution: Bridging the Theoretical and Practical Divide (Global Institutions)

Human rights and conflict resolution have been traditionally perceived as two separate fields, sometimes in competition or in tension and occasionally with contradictory approaches towards achieving a lasting peace. Although human rights norms have been incorporated and institutionalized by various national, regional, and international organizations that deal with conflict resolution, negotiators and mediators are often pressured in practice to overlook international human rights principles in favor of compliance and more immediate outcomes. The chapters in this volume navigate the relationship between human rights and conflict resolution by fleshing out practical, conceptual, and institutional encounters of the two agendas and engaging with lessons learned and windows of opportunities for mutual learning. Recognizing the increasing relevance of this debate and important gaps in the current research on the topic, this book addresses the following questions: How can we improve our practical and theoretical understanding of the complementarity between human rights and conflict resolution? How would a human rights-based approach to conflict resolution look like? How are international, regional, and national organizations promoting, implementing, and/or adapting to better coordinate between human rights and conflict resolution? Building on empirical evidence from contemporary conflict resolution processes, how have human rights been integrated in different efforts on the ground? What are the main lessons learned in this regard? Examining a wide range of countries and issues, this work is essential reading for human rights, conflict resolution, and security experts including scholars, diplomats, policy-makers, civil society representatives, and students of international politics. Review "With peace agreement implementation now understood as closely related to conflict prevention, this important and timely collection contains important contributions from some of the founders of the field and some new and important voices. I strongly recommend it to those concerned with moving from conflict to peace in more transformative ways." - Christine Bell, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Edinburgh, UK. "This book provides something much needed: an exploration of the complex, yet fundamental relationship between human rights and conflict resolution. In a period when human rights are increasingly under pressure, it reminds us that we cannot sacrifice fundamental human rights in our search for peace. Building on both theory and practice, it illustrates the value of more engagement and mutual learning among researchers and practitioners in this field." - Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. "A wide ranging set of essays at multiple levels of analysis shows how a human rights perspective can deepen, extend, and enrich the theory and practice of conflict resolution in a surprising range of ways. A truly innovative approach to a topic of great importance." - Jack Donnelly, Andrew Mellon Professor, University of Denver, USA. About the Author Claudia Fuentes Julio is Assistant Professor at the International Relations Institute at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). Paula Drumond is an assistant professor at the International Relations Institute at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (IRI/PUC-Rio) and researcher of the Global South Unit for Mediation.