OUVRAGE : M.B. Olmos Giupponi, Rethinking Free Trade, Economic Integration and Human Rights in the Americas

María Belén OLMOS GIUPPONI

This monograph offers the first systematic overview of the protection of human rights in trade agreements in the Americas. Traditionally, trade agreements in the Americas were concerned with economic questions and paid little attention to human rights. However, in the wake of the 'new regionalism', which emerged at the end of the last century, more clauses addressing social issues such as labour rights and environmental standards were inserted in trade agreements. As economic integration increased, a framework for the protection of human rights evolved. This book argues that this framework allows for human rights protection on a transnational level, while constructing regional identities. Looking at the four key regional integration processes, namely the Caribbean Community, the Central American Integration System, the Andean Community of Nations and the Southern Common Market, and also at the North American Free Trade Agreement, it shows how the integration process has reached a considerable degree of consolidation. Writing on key sources in English for the first time, this book will be essential reading for all free trade and human rights scholars.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Free Trade and Protection of Human Rights in the Americas

I. Introduction
II. Historical Overview of Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean
III. Free Trade Agreements and Integration in the Americas: The Current Scenario
IV. Making Free Trade Agreements More 'Human Rights-Friendly'
V. Trade and Development in the Americas: Balancing Trade and the Protection of Human Rights
VI. Principles Governing the Recognition and Protection of Human Rights in the Integration Agreements
VII. The Social Dimension and the Protection of Human Rights in the Integration Process in Latin America and the Caribbean 

2. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and The Protection of Human Rights

I. Introduction
II. NAFTA as an 'asymmetric trade agreement'
III. Human rights: environmental protection
IV. NAFTA Environmental and Labour Side Agreements
V. NAFTA and migration VI. Perspectives of NAFTA regarding the protection of human rights 

3. The Protection of Human Rights in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

I. Introduction
II. Evolution and instruments on human rights adopted within CARICOM
III. The protection of economic, social and cultural rights within CARICOM
IV. The recognition of the right to freedom of movement and the creation of the 'Caribbean citizenship'
V. The institutions of the Caribbean Community and the protection of human rights
VI. Assessing the implementation of the CARICOM human rights provisions in practice 

4. The Protection of Human Rights within the Central American Integration System (SICA)

I. Introduction
II. The Main Features of the Central American Integration Process and the Issues Relating to Human Rights
III. The Gradual Adoption of Legal Instruments Relating to the Protection of Human Rights
IV. The Central American Social Dimension and the Safeguarding of Human Rights
V. The Hierarchy of the Legal Instruments on the Protection of Human Rights
VI. The Gradual Emergence of a 'Central American Citizenship'
VII. The Institutions of the Central American Integration System and the Protection of Human Rights VIII. Challenges for the Protection of Human Rights in SICA 

5. The Andean Community and the Protection of Human Rights

I. Introduction
II. Characteristics of Andean Integration Linked to Protection of Human Rights
III. Andean Social Integration and the Safeguarding of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
IV. The Status of Elements of Human Rights Recognition and Protection in the Andean Area: Andean
Regulations and Human Rights
V. The Progressive Construction of the 'Andean Citizenship' from a Human Rights Perspective
VI. Challenges for the Andean Community Concerning the Protection of Human Rights

6. The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) and the Protection of Human Rights

I. Introduction
II. Step-by-Step: The Creation of a MERCOSUR 'Human Rights System'
III. The Role of MERCOSUR Bodies in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
IV. The Social Dimension in MERCOSUR and its Contribution to the Protection of Human Rights
V. An Appraisal of the Implementation of MERCOSUR Legal Instruments
VI. The Actors of the Social Dimension in MERCOSUR and Human Rights Issues
VII. New Perspectives of the Social Dimension of MERCOSUR: The Consolidation of a
'MERCOSUR Citizenship'
VIII. UNASUR and the Protection of Human Rights
IX. Challenges for the Protection of Human Rights in MERCOSUR

7. Conclusions

I. Regional Integration and Human Rights in the Americas: Accomplishments and Challenges

María Belén OLMOS GIUPPONI, Rethinking Free Trade, Economic Integration and Human Rights in the Americas, Oxford/Portland, Hart Publishing, 2017 (448 pp.)