ENFORCEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION REGULATIONS IN POST-CONFLICT COUNTRIES OF SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THEIR ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

The paper analyzes the effects of the accession process to the European Union onto human rights
protection regulations in the post-conflict countries of Southeast Europe. Firstly, the paper
underlines human rights issues as causes and drivers of conflict, with a focus on the wars in
former Yugoslavia. The paper then turns to analyzing the human rights protection legal base
within the framework of the European Union. This conglomerate of legal provisions is
considered a prime example of multi-level regulatory framework mechanism. In this sense, the
paper argues that the prevalence of human rights protection and developing democratic
institutions, is the primary focus of the EU accession frameworks after the fall of the Berlin
Wall. In an attempt to transform the future members’ societies, the European Union has
employed an ever-changing plethora of mechanisms, both common and country-specific. In that
sense, the already proven mechanisms coupled with the newly proposed methodology could
expedite or slower the process of accession – but certainly add to the quality of it. The strongest
increase in EU’s role as an external actor is evident in the stronger commitment to a merit-based
process, achieved through the principle of predictability. Notwithstanding the ambitiousness of
the new methodology, effective reform of the human rights protection mechanisms and accession
to the European Union will be decided by the political will on all sides. In this paper’s view, a
more coherent, systemic and determined approach on the side of the EU could have policy
implications which would assist EU’s strategic role in enforcing effective remedies for dealing
with human rights issues. In perspective, the lessons derived could allow for practical analyses
and prescriptions for similar situations of international superpowers’ interplay with regional and
local actors in affecting positive change in the human rights protection arena.