THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMAN RIGHTS CLAUSES IN EU TRADE AGREEMENTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Prof. Dr. Peter Van Elsuwege * Dr. Joyce De Coninck **
Table of Contents List of Abbreviations............................................................................................................................... 4 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 6 I.
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 7
II.
The Nexus Between Trade and Human Rights ............................................................... 10 A.
Obligations under EU law .................................................................................................... 10
B.
Implications in Practice........................................................................................................ 12
III.
Human Rights Clauses in International Agreements ..................................................... 15
A.
Background and evolution ................................................................................................... 15
B.
A Typology of Human Rights Clauses in EU Trade Agreements ....................................... 16
C.
Differences in Scope and Formulation of Human Rights Clauses ....................................... 18
IV.
The Challenges of Effective Monitoring and Enforcement ............................................ 24
A.
The Gap Between Ex Ante and Ex Post Human Rights Conditionality .............................. 24
B.
The Challenge of Mixity ...................................................................................................... 28
C.
The Role of Human Rights Dialogues and the Individual Right of Petition........................ 30
D.
Towards a More Assertive Approach .................................................................................. 34
V.
The Application of Human Rights Clauses in the EU and the US: A Comparison ..... 37 A.
Contextualizing a Rights-based approach in US Free Trade Agreements ........................... 37
B.
Evolution of Rights Clauses ................................................................................................. 39
C.
A final note on terminology ................................................................................................. 45
D.
Interim Conclusions ............................................................................................................. 45
VI.
The Way Forward: Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations............................ 47
Ghent European Law Institute, Ghent University. Ghent European Law Institute, Ghent University; Scholar in residence at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University (NYU). *
**
1