International Law as a Substantive Law - Essay Example

 International Law as a Substantive Law The present day outcome and existence of International law is the yield of centuries old journey it has undergone. The most evident development came about in the 20th century and more predominately after the Second World War when United Nations organization was established. Under the banner of United Nations organization, two centralized and powerful entities came into existence, namely General Assembly and Security Council. They were permitted to making decisions with regard to the political and global peace. Their decisions and their effective role has been time and again subjected to the criticism with regard to revamping and effective measures undertaking. In its earlier days international law was subjected to criticism with regard to its existence and at times was also being termed as a positive international law and more or less based upon the moral aspect. However with time as the progress and developments came about, it gained impetus with regard to its existence and working mechanism. Despite all this, there are number of short comings faced and exhibited in its outcome. These short comings come in form of the imbalance of power being shared and enjoyed by few, against the deprivation of others in this regard. The violation by number of states, the highhandedness of others in the same context is another concern expressed. The role of the super power and other veto enabling entities, the overall working mechanism of Security council. All these have been subjected to desire for further improvements and developments in this scenario. In the light of developments with regard to global peace and prosperity entities other than the United Nations sanctioned directly have a role to play. Common wealth, European Union are two of them. They have been active for long enough and are administering over the peace, smooth operation of activities and other political activities monitoring and facilitating the member countries. The overall performance of international law and the organs sanctioned under it: There are number of positives that can be attributed to the existence and working of international law and the organs underneath it. This comes in form of the prevention of the Third World war. Since the horrific event of Hiroshima, Nagasaki the world has been protected from the outbreak of any nuclear war. This can be attributed to the entity of United Nations and the work of International law. Apart from this the entity of United Nations organization have intervened time and again to prevent further escalation of circumstances and scenarios in different parts of the world. The presence of U.N peace keeping force is another area that speaks of the effective presence of the global entity of United Nations. The case of Yugoslavia and U.N: Yugoslavia saw one of the most barbaric event of history since the end of Second World War. It was engulfed into a war within. The nature of the war was ethnic in nature and the subjects were being persecuted. United Nations organization as the rightful owner and protector of the humanity and mankind rose to the occasion and took notice of the events that were taking place there. It dispatched United Nations peacekeeping force that was sent for purpose of restoring peace and protecting any further escalation of the situation. The peacekeeping force comprised of the member nations that sent their token forces and contributed towards the betterment of the people. Episode 2 of Yugoslavia: In the same context of war crimes and alleged barbaric activities undertaken the entity of International Court of Justice came into action and force when it tried the former Yugoslavia’s leader for mass murder and war crimes. This entire episode presented the entity of United States in the right manner for the purpose in which United Nations has been established. European Union and Global Politics: European Union has time and again played its role towards the peaceful resolution of the problems faced. A recent development came about in recent times when Iran’s nuclear stalemate was being considered for and E.U played an integral role towards brokering the peace deal and potential solution to the years long standoff that had impeded the global and regional peace. Sanctions imposing by U.S, United Nations and European Union between 2006 and 2012 are few of the moves that are reflective of the scope and capacity of these global entities. They actions have virtually crippled the financial and economic outlook of Iran and has led to higher rates inflation and other astoundingly depressing stats and figures. To ensure its effective presence, E.U has an effective diplomatic activity present and it for this reason engages active participation of its diplomats and head offices for the purpose of peaceful resolution of global standoffs where ever they hamper global peace. Apart from the global peace endeavors, the E.U provides financial assistance to its partners through different means and programs. The presence of effective diplomatic and financial activity wing in the financial domain looks after this aspect. Under the umbrella of E.U is an effective entity that works in the name of Common Security and Defense Policy. It has a designated member and representative in form of Union Minister for Foreign Affairs. Humanitarian wing and functioning performance: Apart from the mankind’s created havoc and issues, there is another area to look out for with regard to the global peace and welfare of the mankind. It is the fight and protection against the natural disasters and calamities. Two broad line instances that were seen in recent times where the entity of E.U played a formidable role was when Pakistan was struck with a devastating earthquake in 2005. The scale of the earthquake was around 7.6 on Richter scale. The event of tsunami that hit Japan last year was also covered up by E.U on immediate and emergency basis. Hence the working of E.U is not just limited to war and diplomacy rather human protection and fighting against the calamities that hit different parts of the world at different instances. E.U also dedicates funds and resources towards fighting the hunger and poverty that is one of the most dangerous weapons towards mankind and humanity in parts of Africa. E.U has shown its interest and has worked in parallel with U.N organizations and entities such as World Food Program and other developmental programs. The first Gulf War: The First Gulf war came about in response and reaction to Saddam Husain’s offensive against Kuwait. This was accompanied by the usage of chemicals over Kurds by Saddam Husain which is still till this date considered as the most heinous crime committed against own citizens (Salter, 2006, 84). As a result of this the Security Council and United Nations was brought into action and collective offensive was launched. The case of Syria: Syria’s episode was one event that raised a lot of eye brows. It was one that was a test for the international community, the regional partners, the international organizations, the super powers and the Syrian regime in itself as well. The overall situation and scenario got further worse and worrying when the alleged use of chemical weapons came about in August 2013 against the local population within Syria. The indecisiveness of United Nations and then the shambolic outlook of display by the Security Council made the situation and scenario of confusion worse confounded. The global community desired for an action against the incumbent leader Bashar Al Asad (McMurray & Ufheil-Somers, 2013, 198). The split of United Nations and Security Council with regard to the action left a lot to be desired and as a result weakness of United Nations and revamping of Security Council. The case of Kashmir and the Palestine issue that has been lingering on for over half a century( each), has also led to the demands for bringing about measures and mechanism that would enable more active working of the global community towards global peace and cooperation. Reconsideration: With regard to the standing of Security Council, voices have been echoed with consideration to revamp the structure of Security Council. At present the powerful five hold the superiority and authority regarding the decision making. This must be expanded. The overall presence of only 15 members Security council with only 5 permanent and the remaining being assigned the rank for a period of two years has given the world no absolute solution against human rights violation and crimes of offensive nature. The case of Syria exposed its inability and division from within. With China and Russia using the power of veto to outlaw the potential usage of strategic strikes against the Bashar Al Asad regime, this led to the elongation of the already two years plus civil war that has taken thousands of lives and has left many more crippled, immigrants and much more devastation that could otherwise have been avoided in the presence of a more effective global entity such as Security Council. E.U in parallel has to work more actively with the largest entity U.N to make use of its resources and effective human resource functions, which would in turn allow for a more safer, peaceful and prosperous community. In Syria alone ever since the civil war stated, on average as many as 159 people are being killed. The total number of refugees within the country is 2 million, across the border is 4.1 million, and the amount of people killed are over one hundred and fifty thousand already. These facts are presented by the internationally recognized agency and entity. Quartet: The Quartet comprises of United Nations organization, E.U, United States of America and the former super power Russia (Cummins, 2008, 324). They four have a core responsibility of enacting global peace. Their role is more important with regard to the Middle East conflicts and subsequent peace. To achieve this objective, an informal entity is existent that aims at resolving all the disputed issues that are faced in the region of Middle East. The desire is to find long lasting amicable solution to the persisting problems. Russia has had its influence and importance since the Arab Israel war in 1967 and 1973 and thereby its role cannot be ignored or marginalized in this context. Conclusion: The case of Syria, Iraq where once the Kurds were faced with usage of chemical weapons, all other global crimes and wars in the name of political interests hawk naked into the eyes of the international organizations and super power states. The world at present stands far from a peaceful place and despite the number of achievements U.N and other stakeholders have tough challenge up their sleeve making the world a more prosperous place to live in. References: Cummins, S. J., 2008. Digest of United States Practice in International Law: Cumulative Index 1989-2006. s.l.:Oxford University Press. McMurray, D. A. & Ufheil-Somers, A., 2013. he Arab Revolts: Dispatches on Militant Democracy in the Middle East. s.l.:Indiana University Press. Salter, H. L., 2006. Defending Liars: In Defense of President Bush and the War on Terror in Iraq. s.l.:Howard L. Salter. Read More