Human rights violations are a daily reality for many around the world, even though, more than 60 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, there is a global system of norms, treaties and institutions that supports and monitors the national implementation of human rights obligations. The central question of how best to expedite and safeguard the international implementation of rights remains not only unresolved but also highly controversial.

The geopolitical shifts of the last decade present a new challenge to the international human rights regime. There is no consensus on how to balance human rights and sovereignty norms, and even the very concept of universal rights has not been exempt from norm contestation. In addition, there is much debate about whether states should remain the only duty bearers. Given that multinational corporations but also transnational organizations (non-governmental and intergovernmental) have gained unprecedented influence, frequently outside immediate state control, some human rights advocates argue that the regime must be adapted to the new realities of our time. New technologies, notably the Internet and modern information processing, have also brought about questions over how to adapt existing human rights policies to the new environment.

GPPi’s work focuses on human rights compliance and the evolution of the international human rights regime. Our projects have been generously supported by the Open Society Foundations, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation and the Volkswagen Foundation, among others.

Current projects

October 2012 – ongoing

Global Debate and Public Policy Challenge (GDPPC)

GDPPC offers undergraduate students from across the globe the opportunity to explore the most pressing issues of our time. The 2012-2013 theme is "Digital Freedom and its Limits."

June 2013 – November 2014

Strengthening Child Protection in Development Cooperation

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Development and Economic Cooperation has asked GPPi, in collaboration with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, to carry out a study on the promotion of child protection in international development cooperation.

September 2012 – September 2017

Political Prisoners and Human Rights Compliance

Why do oppressive states release dissidents from jail – and does it matter? The aim of the project is to add to the current empirical and theoretical knowledge about human rights compliance by focusing on the release of political prisoners and on the role they play in promoting further human rights reform.

September 2012 – September 2017

Explaining Intermediary Censorship: Why Western Web Firms Curtail Freedom of Expression

This project furthers the scholarship on transnational business behavior by analyzing the extent to which global human rights norms impact Western technology firms that carry out censorship and surveillance when operating in authoritarian states.

Completed project

February 2011 – January 2012

Human Rights and Global Governance: Will China’s Rise Lead to a New Normative Order?

As China rises, what will be the consequences for the international order with respect to human rights? This research project analyzes China’s position on human rights in the UN.