Memorize Human Rights Treaties and Institutions: 62 Flashcards from the UDHR to the ICC
Learn human rights law with 62 real flashcards: UDHR, ICCPR, ICESCR, CEDAW, CAT, the Rome Statute, regional courts, jus cogens and universal jurisdiction.
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Human rights law is a subject made of pairs of dates. A treaty is adopted in one year and enters into force in another, and examiners ask for both. The Human Rights: Treaties & Institutions deck (code ER1448, 62 cards) is built on that double timeline, then layered with the commissions and courts that turn the text into enforcement.
Study this deck: Human Rights: Treaties & Institutions
1 / 10International Human Rights Law (IHRL)
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
Start with the spine, not the acronyms
Three facts hold the rest together. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) creates no binding law, but counts as authoritative evidence of customary international law. The two 1966 covenants, the ICCPR and the ICESCR, make those declared rights binding on ratifying states. And the nation state, not any court, carries primary responsibility for enforcement. Every other card elaborates one of those three.
Ten cards to anchor first
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) | A 1948 UN General Assembly declaration that creates no binding law but is an authoritative reference and evidence of customary international law |
| Two main covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights | The ICCPR and the ICESCR, both adopted in 1966 |
| CERD | Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adopted 1965, in force 1969 |
| United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) | Adopted 1984, in force 1987, to prevent torture and inhuman or degrading treatment |
| What makes the European Court of Human Rights unique? | It is the only international court with jurisdiction over cases brought by individuals rather than states |
| What treaty established the International Criminal Court? | The Rome Statute, 1998, in force 2002 |
| Jus cogens | Peremptory norms of international law from which no derogation is permitted |
| Erga omnes | The idea that certain international norms are owed to the entire world community |
| Universal jurisdiction | States claiming criminal jurisdiction over crimes committed outside their borders, regardless of nationality |
| Paris Principles | Standards defined in 1991 listing the responsibilities of National Human Rights Institutions |
The full vocabulary in the deck
International Human Rights Law, Genocide Convention (1948/1951), Refugee Convention (1951/1954), CEDAW, CRC, CRPD, ICRMW, enforced disappearance convention, African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, American Convention on Human Rights, European Convention on Human Rights, European Social Charter, Protocol of San Salvador, ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, ACHPR, IACHR, Inter-American Court, Council of Europe, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, Special Rapporteurs, NHRIs, Vienna Declaration, Magna Carta, John Locke's natural rights, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Pinochet arrest, Belgium's 1993 universal jurisdiction law, international humanitarian law, cultural relativism, responsibility to protect, ECSC and the Treaty of Rome.
Two drills that fit this material
Review the two dates as a gap, not as two numbers. Genocide 1948 to 1951, Refugees 1951 to 1954, CERD 1965 to 1969, CAT 1984 to 1987, CRC 1989 to 1990, ICRMW 1990 to 2003. The size of the lag is itself the hook: three years is routine ratification, thirteen years signals states dragging their feet.
Watch the two different 47s. All 47 member states of the Council of Europe have signed the ECHR, and the UN Human Rights Council is composed of 47 UN member states. Unrelated bodies, identical number, and a classic distractor. Tag those two cards the first time you see them.
Finally, learn the three regional systems as parallel columns rather than card by card: Europe (Council of Europe 1949, ECHR 1950, court in Strasbourg), the Americas (OAS with 35 states, IACHR in Washington D.C., court founded 1979 in San José), Africa (55 AU states, Charter in force 21 October 1986, now African Human Rights Day).
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Related reading: How to Learn International Law, EU & Organizations.
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