From Laggard to Leader: Canadian Lessons on a Role for U.S. States in Making and Implementing Human Rights Treaties

Abstract

Human rights treaty-making and implementation pose special challenges for federal states. The unique quality of human rightsinherent, universal, urgent, and compelling-and the existence of entrenched domestic rights-protecting instruments give rise to complexities that distinguish these treaties from their international counterparts. Of particular and problematic significance for federal states is the fact that human rights treaties "made" by the national government often implicate the relationship between the individual and the sub-unit government, requiring substantive compliance at the local level. In Canada and the United States, the distinctive nature of human rights has colored the process of treaty-making and implementation, posing delicate legal, political, and practical questions about the division of powers in these federal states. In response to these challenges, Canada has worked to resolve the apparent tension between its federal structure and international human rights law, while the United States