Implementation and compliance with human rights law: An exploration of the interplay between the international, regional and national levels 2015-2019

The Human Rights Law Implementation Project (HRLIP) brought together four academic institutions with a human rights specialism (Bristol, Essex, Middlesex and Pretoria) and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI). The aim of the project was to examine the factors which impact on the implementation of human rights judgments and decisions through a study of nine states across Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Zambia), the Americas (Canada, Colombia and Guatemala), and Europe (Belgium, the Czech Republic and Georgia). The project traced the implementation of (i) selected decisions deriving from individual complaints to UN treaty bodies; and (ii) selected judgments and decisions of the bodies in the three regional human rights systems. Around ten cases (or clusters of cases) per state were examined in detail, in order to elucidate the factors that tend towards compliance (or non- or partial compliance). In so doing, the HRLIP aimed to provide answers to why states (fail to or only partially) implement rulings, as well as to provide insights which can be used by pro-compliance actors. The HRLIP employed qualitative research methods, combining desk-based document reviews, semi-structured interviews (analysed using NVivo), national and regional workshops, and participant observations at regional and international treaty body meetings.