International Human Rights Law issues - Essay Example

International Human Rights Law ID Law Introduction Moving back in time when the human race’s desire to surpass the other and to dominate the world reached its peak in 1914, the world teamed up into two outfits marking the beginning of the most unfortunate events in the history of mankind, World War I. The war was fought between the allies and the central powers. Allies comprised Great Britain, France and Russia, while the central powers included Germany, Austria and Italy. The war was fought with the objective of gaining balance of power in the world but it did not seem to have served the purpose. The war lasted for several years and it was in 1918, when the war came to an end, irrespective of the outcome, leaving massive bloodshed, manslaughter, misery, orphanage, annihilation and demolition of human ethics, morals and ignorance of the respect of humankind behind as its everlasting impressions on the history of the world.1 The great powers of the world, still hungry for power and possession, momentarily recognized the need for an organization that could prevent future mishaps like that of World War I and laid the foundations of League of Nations, LN. The role of LN was to safeguard the rights of minorities and to serve as a platform that shall provide opportunities to Great Powers of the world to bring their differences on the table. LN was to play the role of a negotiator, arbitrator and mediator to help the dust settle down and to prevent animosities from growing into battles and wars. The formation of LN was an indication of the fact that whatever happened, World War I could have been prevented and the aims could have been achieved in a better manner. LN was to serve a body that would recognize and safeguard the right of humans irrespective of their colour, cast, race and religion. LN was formed with a broader perspective to serve humanity not only by preventing future wars but also by addressing to and focusing up on areas that were never streamlined and subjected to international attention in the past. LN also comprised bodies that were aimed at defining and securing rights of labour and highlighting public issues at an elevated platform such as health, opium and rights of refugees. But in 1939 the world witnessed another jolting war, World War II, that led to the demise of LN, as LN was created to prevent wars and within a few decades of its existence the world was at the verge of another war, this time even bigger in its magnitude and bitter in its essence.2 More than 100 million humans participated in this war, belonging to various regions, religions and age groups. The countries that participated in this war were far greater in number as compared to those that were involved in the preceding war. This war was fought between the allies and the axis and brought about some of the most disastrous events into spectrum such as the Pearl Harbour, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The war ended in 1945 with allies dominating the axis. Number of powers was dethroned and new lines and boundaries were drawn on the world map. Irrespective of the outcome of the war, the characteristics of its nature were similar to and far more severe than those of World War I. The history repeated itself and the need for a better organization to maintain a balance of power in the world and to bring negotiations into practice were felt. This urge led to the emergence of United Nations Organization, UNO or more commonly known as UN in the modern age. UN was formed on the 24th of March 1945 with the vision of taking the world together in the drive for transforming the world into a peaceful planet to live on. UN was formed with the ideology of protecting and respecting the rights of not only the humans but other fellow creatures that share the planet with us. UN had a large number of responsibilities to shoulder in order to justify its existence. UN was constituted in a manner that would bolster its ideology and philosophy of making world free from hatred, animosity and greed. Prevalence of equity and truncating divisions of society based on colour, creed and languages was the core objective of UN. UN is led by a secretary general who is the spokes person and the leader of UN. The Secretary General is a fatherly figure who is looked up on by all the representatives of the member states of the UN and it is the secretary general that does majority of the decision making while taking all the members in confidence and on board. In this paper the speech delivered by the penultimate Secretary General of the UN, Mr Kofi Annan, in Geneva in 2005 shall be discussed and analyzed at great length.3 The background of the speech In his speech of Geneva in 2005, the Secretary General is quoted to have said, “Human rights are at the core of the package of proposals I have just put before the Member States in my report, “In Larger Freedom”.”4 The chronological significance of this speech can be related to the fact that it was a tribute by the UN to the great flag bearer of humanity, peace and freedom, Pope John Paul II, but on the other hand it was a speech that was full of regrets and “musts” and “shoulds”. The Secretary General did not sound all that confident or satisfied with the achievements of the UN objectives thus far. The UN Secretary General clearly mentioned in the above highlighted statement that Human Rights is one of his core focuses, but at the same time we as the people can observe a gap between what is planned and promised and what the actual reality is. The tone of the entire speech revolved around this subtle acceptance of failures in the execution of the plans. Everywhere in the world there is chaos, injustice, slavery, human trafficking, child labour, sexual harassment, poverty and despair. The purpose for which the UN was formed seems to have been lagging behind. Humans in innumerable parts of the world are at the mercy of brutal masters or unavoidable circumstances and UN that was there to play its part in making things better for the people, lies helpless in front of the circumstances. Instances in the speech where the Secretary General has expressed his despair and desperation on the failure of UN in meeting the expectations include, “And unless we re-make our human rights machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nations itself.”5 And “Today we have reached another moment when we must prove our commitment.” 6 And “I am thinking of all people who are denied their human rights, or who may yet fall prey to violence and oppression. To all, our responsibility under the Charter is clear: we must do more to promote and protect fundamental rights and freedoms.”7 These were clear instances throughout the speech where the Secretary General expressed the need to do more as the current efforts are just not enough or at least they are not reaping the outcomes that were expected. Concrete cases and instances where human rights laws were violated and abused shall be highlighted in the sections to follow. Kashmir Dispute For more than six decades, Kashmir, the heaven on Earth, has been a bone of contention between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan. The countries appeared on the world map when they were declared as independent states in 1947. One of the reasons behind the division of one piece of land, India, into two, India and Pakistan can be attributed to the repercussions of World War II. Even since the partition, Kashmir has remained no man’s land or a disputed territory. The free portion of Kashmir rests with Pakistan while the occupied territory is under India armed forces8. Human rights are violated, abused and massacred every day in Kashmir. Women being raped, children manhandled, youth slaughtered and tortured on streets are an every day event in Kashmir. This entire situation is well represented in the media and it calls for an action that should stop this once and for all but still no action has been taken. UN that is known to be the flag bearer and the biggest proponent of freedom, independence, human rights and security, has not done anything worth mentioning in this regard, and today the issue is almost as old as the UN itself9. The people of Kashmir have lost their hope in the UN. For Kashmiris, UN is nonexistent; there is not a single house hold in the Indian occupied Kashmir that has not suffered losses of their loved ones at the hands of the armed forces. UN was formed to prevent occurrences such as the one under consideration, but yet it hasn’t delivered what was expected. The issue has grown severe between the two countries over the passage of time and today both these countries are known to possess nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, as prominent signs of hostility, hatred and insecurities towards one another. Killings in the name of War on Terror The world has changed a great deal post September 11th massacre in the US. The US being the super power has shaped the things in its own way by making this attack on US appear to be an attack on the entire world. Now as a consequent, today War on Terror is being fought on several territories that do not even share the same continent with US, including Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan. A small glimpse of the human rights violations practiced as a norm during this War on Terror is the inhuman practices of US Army representatives at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib Prison. Under various bodies and ordinances of the International Human Rights Laws, there are various ethics and morals that are required to be observed while handling prisoners and criminals. The disturbing stories, photographs and videos leaked from these prisons have revealed that the officials there are even more inhuman and cold blooded then the accused criminals that are just accused to be the culprits. The UN, a global watchdog, is once again helpless and at the mercy of powerful countries to address the issue. These prisoners must look up to the UN for mercy and justice and for the provision of rights, are not even aware of the policies that have been drafted for them by the UN.10 Human Trafficking In his paper, “International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime”, 1999, Amy O’Neill Richard comes up with an eye opener when he unveiled the ugly and common practices of human trafficking and child abuse in the US. As per the findings of his paper, more than 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the US for bolstering the sex industry in the country, on annual basis.11 These smuggled humans are usually transported from poor Asian and Latin American regions providing cheaper sources of revenue to the criminal wings in the US. This human trafficking dilemma once again falls under the radar of UN. Such findings and discoveries may lead the global community raise their eye brows over the role of UN in changing the world and providing rights to the helpless.12 This is the state of affairs of human rights in the US, a country that is considered to have a strong base of laws and regulations that are well established and widely accepted within and outside its jurisdiction. The state of human rights and their abuse would be unimaginable in case of third world countries like India, where the law is just an instrument of the powerful and the population is ever swelling. Darfur Genocide The Secretary General also talked about the genocide taking place in Darfur region in the name of racism and superiority of one ethnic class over the other in Sudan. The UN tried to play its bit in preventing or at least minimizing the outrage caused in the region by passing sanctions and setting up commissions to intervene and ask for a cease fire. With a mass level genocide being executed across the region in day light, forming of commissions and passing of sanctions doesn’t really matter. In such instances it is the nut shell effect that actually counts and that makes the difference. The casualties in Darfur alone amounted to over several hundred thousand and those displaced as a consequent of the war outnumbered the dead with the figure ranging to over two million if not more.13 UN failed to protect the rights of the displaced persons and to keep the death toll down. The Darfur genocide also led to yet another deviation of UN from its objectives, as UN couldn’t keep the peace up to the level in the region. Racism not only cultivated in the region but also led to the demise and loss of thousands of innocent people. Decades back, UN was created with the vision to prevent such events and activities. On a constant basis it has been observed that UN is either not completely powerful or proactive enough to flatten issue that lead to massive death tolls and destruction. Israel Palestine Conflict The conflict between Israel and Palestine can be traced back to several decades now. The conflict spreads over a wide range of issues including independence, rights over borders, control over Jerusalem and Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The main basis of the conflict is formed on religious grounds. The conflict gets intensified every now and then and in the process engulfs lives of innocent children, women, young and old individuals alike, sparing none. The attacks are mutual and there has not been a formal ceasefire from both ends. The animosities and the hatred continue to rise and there is no way these sentiments will calm down any time soon.14 UN has been looking into the conflict since 1947 and there has never been a meaningful impact on the state of affairs between the two parties. UN strategy is just not working here. The situation is much more serious than any of us sitting in our arm chairs may think it is. People as a consequent of these conflicts are deprived of basic necessities of life. Human rights are denied and abused every day in this region in the name of war and conflict. Bloodshed, rape, misery and deprivation are the orders of the day. Once again we see that UN is not making the impact that it is expected to make. Nuclear Program of Iran Establishment of sustainable peace in the world is one the main concerns of UN. Since its inception, UN has failed to prevent the invention and adoption of nuclear technology by various countries in the world. Building up weaponry and armours is an indirect indication of a country’s inclination towards war. Many countries that cannot provide a healthy and sustainable living to their citizens such as India and Pakistan invest billions of dollars in bolstering their military and armed forces on an annual basis. Instead of preventing countries from adapting to this hazardous defence mechanism, UN has failed to stop new entrants into this arena. Iran’s nuclear program is another area of concern for UN. UN is aware of Iran’s nuclear program but it has not done a great deal in preventing its expansion.15 Conclusion and Suggested Improvements With the entire discussion in hand and various cases taken on aboard across the spectrum, it shows that UN lacks power to exercise its control over the member states. The policies and moves of UN are not translating into desired objectives. International Human Rights Laws are violated in one way or the other in all the regions and cases that have been mentioned in this paper. Various cases with diverse scenarios are discussed in this paper to get a broader perspective of the current state of affairs in the world. There are, however, some strategies that, being an IHRL student, I would suggest the UN to implement to obtain better outcomes out of its policies in the long run: Reduce dependence up on member states for decision making Negate intervention of influential countries in making strategic moves Punish non complying countries to set examples Impose fines and sentence charged official in cases of non compliance to the code or rules of the UN References Ben-Naftali, O., 2011. International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law (Collected Courses of the Academy of European Law (Hardcover Oxford)). Oxford University Press, USA. Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research, 2007. Irans Nuclear Program: Realities and Repercussions. 1st. Ed Edition. Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research. Fasulo, L., 2009. An Insiders Guide to the UN: Second Edition. 2 Edition. Yale University Press. Harms, G., 2008. The Palestine-Israel Conflict: A Basic Introduction, Second Edition. Second Edition Edition. Pluto Press. Pelton, R. Y., 2007. Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror. Broadway. Prunier, G., 2008. Darfur: A 21st Century Genocide, Third Edition (Crises in World Politics). Third Edition. Cornell University Press. Richard, A., 1999. International trafficking in women to the United States: a contemporary manifestation of slavery and organized crime, [Online] Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/trafficking.pdf. [Accessed 11 March 2012]. Shelley, L., 2010. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. 1 Edition. Cambridge University Press. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons Statements. 2012. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moons Statements. [Online] Available at http://www.un.org/sg/statements/?nid=1388. [Accessed 11 March 2012]. Wirsing, R. G., 1998. India, Pakistan and the Kashmir Dispute: On Regional Conflict and Its Resolution. Palgrave Macmillan. Read More