A Janus-Faced Phenomenon? Measuring and Assessing the Politicisation of Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms

The absence of politicization is considered essential to ensure the credibility of international organizations concerned with human rights monitoring, as proven by the recent dismissal of the United Nations Human Rights Commission on the grounds of its overtly politicized assessment of states’ human rights performances. The term ‘politicization’, however, can acquire different meanings depending on the definition employed and the empirical phenomenon being studied. Some scholars use it as a synonym for political bias and selectivity, while for others it acquires a meaning similar to ‘becoming part of the public debate’. Empirically, politicization can affect specific human rights issues, particular procedures of human rights monitoring, or the whole set of practices performed by an international organization. Consequently, this paper aims to identify different conceptualizations and dimensions of politicization. The paper will then proceed to develop potential indicators and methodological tools to detect its presence and the conditions facilitating its emergence.