The question of the universality and relativity of human rights and the relationships between human rights, humanitarian law and refugee protection are the subject of theoretical debates that concern international lawyers, academics, and international organizations. But, most importantly, it should be stressed that these debates are among people who are trying to understand ways of constructing strategies for dealing with the fundamental issue: helping people who are victims of abuse.
This volume, which has emerged from a colloquium organised by the Graduate Institute of International Studies and its Program for the Study of International Organization(s), attempts to project an integrated approach for helping those who are in need and to discuss ways of guaranteeing greater protection of certain universal values that underlie such help. It is the result of ideas shared between the major three organizations in this field, the UN Center for Human Rights, The International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and outside experts on the relationship between the different protection regimes.