Department of Political Science

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Browsing Department of Political Science by Author "Absalom, Inge"

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    Suid-Afrika en die Universele Periodieke Hersieningsmeganimse van die Verenigde Nasies se Menseregte Raad: Die waardebepaling van akkulturasie
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Absalom, Inge; Cornelissen, Scarlett; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Political Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The question often arises whether international human rights law can make a difference. The importance of this question can be ascribed to the institutions that monitor the implementation of international human rights norms. These institutions only deserve support to the extent that they significantly contribute towards the protection of international human rights. A commitment to improve the human rights situation in all member states of the United Nations (UN) was made in 2008 in the establishment resolution of the UN human rights monitoring mechanism, the Universal Periodic Review mechanism (UPR), an international human rights monitoring institution. This softer, cooperative mechanism is applied by the UN Human Rights Council and has the purpose of improving human rights and addressing human rights abuses in all countries. Member states of the UN are reviewed once every 52 months by means of uniform procedures. Current literature on international accountability mechanisms has focused on confrontation and the potential of cooperative mechanisms is therefore often overlooked. Consequently, this study investigated three cycles of the UPR process through a case study design. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of South Africa’s participation in the three cycles of the UPR to determine to what extent the country’s behaviour contributed to the success of the UPR. The focus was on the visibility of the positive aspects of the regionalism amongst South Africa and its region, the willingness of South Africa to implement recommendations and commitments, and whether any visible acculturation patterns were present. The theoretical model by Goodman and Jinks was used as basis to theoretically support the study. The model was used to explain South Africa’s effective action in the UPR in terms of the country’s adherence regarding human rights recommendations and commitments. In this area, cognitive and social pressure from a peer group is important. This study reviewed South Africa’s participation as a member of the UPH, where the Africa group took an oath to enhance the quality of their recommendations to other countries. The study found that South Africa upheld the oath by the Africa group due to role internalisation as an African country and therefore felt compelled to act like the group. Solidarity with the African region points to the positive impact that regionalism might have. Furthermore, South Africa was generally receptive to the UPR recommendations during the review sessions due to social pressure by the international peer group. However, there were some gaps in implementation of these recommendations. The implications of the research findings are that investigations into the UPR processes are essential, because they raise the question whether participation by a country in the processes of a a voluntary, unforced universal human rights initiative can have positive consequences, or whether it is an exercise without substance.