Milestone Anniversaries: Marking Time in International Human Rights Law

ABSTRACT:Milestone anniversaries noting the creation of treaties, documents and bodies have become a common part of international human rights law. While much scholarship has been stimulated by such anniversaries, little has considered anniversary noting as an activity in its own right. The present article addresses this. Examining United Nations and scholarly materials on selected anniversaries from the mid-twentieth century to the present, it does so by thinking about time. Analysis of these materials reveals that international human rights anniversary work is characterized by an active relationship to time, rather than marking calendar time alone. This analysis stimulates a more reflective apprehension of anniversary noting as an important yet under-considered activity in this area of law and, in turn, enhances understandings of international human rights law and its operation.