UCL assesses states human rights commitment

Argentina has come top of a ranking of nation states according to their ratification of the world?s principle international treaties on human rights, humanitarian law and international crimes. Asia-Pacific states have the lowest ranking on average, whilst the USA has the lowest ranking amongst the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. These are among the findings of the first survey to present a global and comprehensive picture of the commitment of states to human rights through international law, published today by the UCL Department of Political Science to mark International Human Rights Day. ?Nominal Commitments to Human Rights: A Global Survey? is an initiative that documents states? legal commitment to international treaties concerned with human rights issues, international oversight and judicial mechanisms. The survey focuses on core international legal mechanisms related to the protection of human rights and provides an international ranking of nation states according to the number of treaties each one has ratified. Key findings of the survey include: · Argentina is the single highest ranked ratifying nation, with 24 out of a possible 24 points.