The Universal Protection of Human Rights and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria

After the collapse of the communist regime and the adoption of the new democratic Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria in 1991, human rights assumed new significance as a foundation for affirming the rule of law. Integration of self-executing international norms into the domestic legal framework marked a substantial paradigm shift in Bulgaria’s approach to human rights, emphasising the promotion of effective safeguards and remedies for the breach of individual rights and freedoms. Consequently, Bulgaria’s relationship with the United Nations on human rights issues has undergone a significant transformation since the end of the Cold War, bringing domestic violations to the forefront of policy discussions. However, the paradigm shift towards universal human rights protection in Bulgaria after 1991 has not been included in international public law textbooks, while true and broad applicability of UN mechanisms has remained underappreciated. Discussions about the pros and cons of communication procedures before the UN treaty bodies or evaluations of their effectiveness have been generally avoided, and Bulgaria is yet to ratify the respective Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). In general, Bulgarian international law scholarship lags behind in ongoing academic efforts to strengthen UN treaty bodies, mechanisms, and procedures. Since Bulgarian scholars did not take the lead in clarifying the conceptual changes in the UN’s approach to human rights, new ideas and tools could only be introduced through the efforts of practitioners from three groups: policymakers from the executive branch, the judiciary, and NGOs and human rights activists. The Universal Periodic Review has completed three full cycles, evaluating Bulgaria’s human rights records in 2010, 2015, and 2020, and has significantly influenced the reform of numerous domestic policies and legislative instruments. Only a small number of communications have been submitted against Bulgaria to UN treaty bodies, specifically to the Human Rights Committee and under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).