Olivier De Schutter is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food (2008-14) and a member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A professor at the University of Louvain (UCL) and at the College of Europe and a Member of the Global Law School Faculty at New York University, he has been Visiting Professor at a number of institutions, including Columbia University (2008-13). From 2002 to 2006, he chaired the EU Network of Independent Experts on Fundamental Rights, a high-level group of experts which advised the European Union institutions on fundamental rights issues. He has acted on a number of occasions as expert for the Council of Europe and for the European Union. Between 2004 and 2008, he was the General Secretary of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) on the issue of globalization and human rights.

Part I. The Sources: 1. The emergence of international human rights; 2. State responsibility and 'jurisdiction'; Part II. The Substantive Obligations: 3. The typology of States' obligations and the obligation to respect human rights; 4. The application of human rights in private relationships and the obligation to protect; 5. The progressive realization of human rights and the obligation to fulfil; 6. Derogations in time of public emergency; 7. The prohibition of discrimination; Part III. The Mechanisms of Protection: 8. Ensuring compliance with international human rights law: the role of national authorities; 9. The United Nations human rights treaties system; 10. The United Nations Charter-based monitoring of human rights; 11. Regional mechanisms of protection.