Abstract/Summary

This article explores the form and substance of current debates on the universality of international human rights law. While theoretical discussions about universality have largely been resolved at the practical and professional level, albeit not by theorists and scholars, less attention has been paid to the tactics deployed by some states, groups and blocs that seek to undermine that universality in practice. This article first sets out a framework for considering different forms of politicisation of human rights. It then turns to current battlegrounds and sites of contestation at the UN Human Rights Council, using three case studies to explore how politicised discourse and tactics are used by different countries and alliances. It then turns to how those discourses and tactics are being advanced elsewhere, with particular focus on how human rights narratives are being subverted to undermine the human rights project itself. The article is based on research conducted by the author for a report to the European Parliament on countering opposing human rights narratives, and provides insights into how and why states inimical to human rights are adopting those discourses and tactics.