Transcript International Organization, Law, and Human Rights

International Organization,
Law, and Human Rights
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dr. Clayton Thyne
PS 235-001: World Politics
Spring 2009
Goldstein & Pevehouse,
International Relations, 8/e
Student notes version
Evolution of World Order
• The most powerful states, especially hegemons,
have great influence on the rules and values that
have become embedded over time in a body of
international law.
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• New international norms
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Roles of International Organizations
• Most international conflicts are not settled
by military force.
– States generally refrain from...
– States work together by following rules they
develop to govern their interactions.
– Institutions grow up around rules and states
tend to work through these institutions.
Roles of International Organizations
• International norms
– _________________and respect for
_____________
– However, adherence to norms may vary;
different expectations for “normal”
– In times of change, when these norms and
habits may not suffice to solve international
dilemmas and resolve conflict, ____________
play a key role.
Roles of International Organizations
• International organizations (IOs)
– Include intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) such
as the UN, and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) such as the International Committee of the
Red Cross
– Growth of IOs
– Global nature of some IOs
– Regional IOs
– Global IGOs
– NGOs – more specialized in function than IGOs
Figure 7.1
The United Nations
• State sovereignty creates a
real need for such
organizations on a practical
level – why?
• State sovereignty also
severely limits the power of…
• States often reserve power to
themselves
The UN System
• Founded after _____________
• Purpose:
• Closest entity to a __________________
• Members are...
Purposes of the UN
• UN Charter
– Based on the principles that…
– States have _______________ over their own affairs.
– States should have ______________ and territorial
integrity.
– States should carry out their international obligations
(pacta sunt servanda).
– Also lays out the structure of the UN and how it
operates
• Costs of membership are __________, benefits
_____________
Who Pays UN Dues?
United States
22%
All others
24%
Mexico
2%
China
2%
Spain
2%
Canada
3%
Japan
19%
Italy
5%
France
6%
United Kingdom
6%
Germany
9%
Structure of the UN
• UN General Assembly
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• UN Security Council
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• UN Secretariat
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Structure of the UN
• World Court / ICJ
• National delegations to the UN, headed
by ambassadors from member states,
work and meet together at the UN
headquarters in NYC.
• Universality of membership
• Five great powers each have a veto over
substantive decisions of the Security
Council.
• Mechanism for collective security
Table 7.2
History of the UN
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Founded in…
Successor to the _________________
Tension with the U.S.
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Increases in membership in the 1950s and 1960s
– Due to…
– Impact on voting patterns
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Role during the Cold War
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Role after the Cold War
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Currently follows the principle of “three pillars”
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Bush and the UN
JOHN BOLTON (2/3/1994): The United
States makes the UN work when it wants it
to work, and that is exactly the way it should
be, because the only question, the only
question for the United States is what is in
our national interest. And if you don't like
that, I’m sorry, but that is the fact.
The Security Council
• Responsible for…
• Decisions binding on all UN member states
• Has tremendous power to define the existence
and nature of a security threat, structure the
response to that threat, and enforce its decisions
through mandatory directives to UN members.
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The Security Council
• Five permanent members
– U.S., Britain, France, Russia, and China
• Substantive Security Council resolutions
require ______ votes from among the
_____ members, but a “no” vote from any
permanent member defeats the resolution.
The Security Council
• Council’s 10 nonpermanent members rotate
onto the Council for 2-year terms.
– Elected (5 each year) by the General Assembly from
a list prepared by informal regional caucuses
– Chairperson rotates among the Council members
monthly
– Meets irregularly
• Power limited in two major ways
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The Security Council
• Military Staff Committee
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• Proposed changes to the Security Council
– Japan and Germany
– Little momentum for change (SQ bias)
Figure 7.3
Peacekeeping Forces
• Not mentioned in the UN Charter
– Charter requires member states to place
military forces at the disposal of the UN;
anticipated to be used in response to
aggression (under collective security)
– Troops borrowed from states, fight under the
UN flag (called “blue helmets”)
– Neutral forces
Peacekeeping Forces
• Peacekeeping missions
– Authority for these granted by the Security Council for a limited but
renewable period of time
– Funds must be voted on by the General Assembly
– Serve at the invitation of a host government
• Observers: unarmed military officers sent to watch and report back
to the UN
• Peacekeepers: armed soldiers who…
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• Peacemaking
– UN often focuses on state building, leaving others to make peace
• Who contributes?
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/contributors/2007/nov07_2.pdf
The Secretariat
• The secretary-general of the UN is the closest
thing to a “president of the world” that exists.
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• Secretariat is the executive branch of the UN
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• Secretary-general
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– Works to bring together the great-power consensus
– Currently Ban ki-moon
– Former secretary generals:
http://www.un.org/sg/formersgs.shtml
The General Assembly
• _________ voting members meet every year,
from late September to early January in plenary
session.
• Convenes special sessions every few years on
topics such as economic cooperation
• Has the power to…
• Main power lies in…
• Economic and Social Council
– Has 54 member states elected by the General
Assembly for 3-year terms
UN Programs
• Uses more than a dozen major programs to
advance economic development and social
stability in poor states of the global South.
• Each program has a staff, headquarters, and
various operations in the field where it works
with host governments in member states.
– UNEP (UN Environment Program)
– UNICEF (UN Children’s fund)
– UNHCR (Office of the UN High Commissioner for
Refugees)
– UNDP (UN Development Program)
– UN Conference on Trade and Development
Autonomous Agencies
• UN General Assembly maintains formal ties with
about 20 autonomous international agencies not
under its control.
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International Law
• Derives not from the actions of a
legislative branch or other central
authority, but from…
• Differs from domestic law…
– Difficulty of enforcement, which depends on…
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Sources of International Law
• Declarations of the UN General Assembly are
not laws, and most do not bind members.
• Treaties and other written conventions signed by
states are the most important source.
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• ____________ is the second major source of
international law.
• ____________ of law also serve as another
source.
• ____________ is a fourth source.
Enforcement of International Law
• International law is much more difficult to
enforce.
– Depends heavily on...
– States also follow international law because of…
– If a state breaks an international law, it may face…
– One great weakness:
The World Court (aka ICJ)
• Rudiments of a general world legal
framework found here
• Only ____________ can sue or be sued in
the World Court.
• Is a panel of 15 judges elected to 9-year
terms by a majority of both the Security
Council and the General Assembly.
• Meets in…
The World Court
• Great weakness
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• Main use of the World Court now is to…
• Used infrequently (less than 100 judgements)
Figure 7.4
International Cases in National Courts
• A party with a dispute that crosses national borders gains several
advantages by pursuing the matter through the national courts of
one of the relevant states.
• Benefits:
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• U.S. is a favorite jurisdiction within which to bring cases for two
reasons:
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• Problems:
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• Immigration law
Law and Sovereignty:
Laws of Diplomacy
• Bedrock of international law is…
• Diplomatic recognition
• Diplomats have the right to…
• Diplomatic immunity
Law and Sovereignty:
Laws of Diplomacy
• Diplomatic pouches
• Interests section
• Formal complaints
• Terrorism
Just–War Doctrine
• International law distinguishes just wars (wars that are legal) from
wars of aggression (which are illegal).
• Today, legality of war is defined by the UN Charter, which outlaws
aggression but allows “international police actions.”
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• Most important principles for a “just” war:
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• Just-war approach explicitly rules out war as an instrument to…
Human Rights:
Individuals vs. Sovereignty
• The idea of human rights flies in the face
of...
• Consensus on the most important human
rights also lacking.
– Rights are universal versus relativism
• Amnesty International:
• Publicity and pressure most often used
Human Rights:
Individuals vs. Sovereignty
• Concept of human rights comes from at
least three sources
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Human Rights:
Individuals vs. Sovereignty
• No globally agreed-upon definitions of the
essential human rights exist.
• Often divided into two broad categories:
– civil-political “negative rights” –
– economic-social “positive rights” –
Human-Rights Institutions
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– Does not have the force of…
– Does set forth…
– Since its adoption, the UN has opened 7
treaties for state signature to further define
protections of human rights.
• Two important treaties:
• Convention Against Torture (CAT), 1987
Human-Rights Institutions
• Convention on Rights of the Child
(CRC),1990
• Role of IOs in protecting human rights
• Today, NGOs play a key role in efforts to
win basic political rights in authoritarian
countries
War Crimes
• Large-scale abuses of human rights often
occur during war.
• International law is especially difficult to
enforce during war.
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War Crimes
• Crimes against humanity
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• Lack of declaration of wars
• War powers act (1973)
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