INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION: EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN INTEGRATION PROCESSES COMPARED

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze some contemporary issues relating to the determination of a place of human rights protection within the integration processes in Europe and Eurasia. First, it briefly presents relevant developments regarding integration in Europe based on the examples of the Council of Europe and the European Union. Second, it proposes an analytical framework for the assessment of the protection of human rights within Eurasian integration, namely in the post-Soviet space. This assessment is carried out through the prism of existing inter-state arrangements, namely within the framework of such entities as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Third, the paper attempts to identify on-going problems and legal challenges concerning the protection of human rights by regional integration organizations in Europe and Eurasia and suggests some solutions to these challenges.