• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
 
Human Rights And International Order – A Dilemma.
Written by Major Abdul Latif Mohamed RMAF for International Law and Organization Final Examination.
“One of the striking developments in International Law since the end of the Second World Warhas been a concern with the protection of human rights. This development is the reflection of a widerphenomenon: the increased concern of people all over the world with the treatment accorded to theirfellow human beings
in other
 
countries
, particularly when the treatment fails to come up to
minimumstandards
of civilized behavior”.[1]The impact of this development on the international order can be very subjective on whatparadigm one was in. Scholars in the liberal tradition will not connote this phenomena as aninternational disorder since in this camp the well-being of individual and human rights are prioritizeover the state’s rights. On the other hand, bearers of realism or ‘power politics’ school of thought willcriticize this development as an attack to the international order. Thus Hedley Bull, a distinguishedscholar in Realism paradigm, while explaining the subject of international law in his book
The Anarchical
 
Society
, illuminating the issue of human rights by his remark “It is simply to observe that inour times, the international discussion on human rights and duties in international law is more asymptom of disorder than order”.[2]His thought can be elaborated if one refer to his same writing on the subtitle,
The Nature of Order in World Politics
: “the idea of
duties
of the individual human being raises in the internationalpolitics, the question of the duties he has that conflict with his duties to the state – the question that theNuremberg War Crimes Tribunal raised in relation to the German soldiers and political leaders, andwhich is also raised in relation to the American soldiers and leaders responsible for the prosecution ofthe Vietnam War. And the idea of
rights
of the individual human being raises in international politicsthe question of the right and duty of persons and groups other than the state to which he owes1
 
allegiance to come to his aid in the event that his rights are being disregarded – the rights of Westernpowers to protect the political rights of the citizens of Eastern European countries, of Africans toprotect the rights of black South Africans, or of China to protect the right of Chinese minorities inSouth-east Asia. These are questions which, answered in a certain way, lead to disorder in internationalrelations, or even to the breakdown of international society itself”.[3]Hence in discussing his thought about international disorder with respect to the propagation ofhuman rights and duties, one must understand what constitute order in world politics. According toBull, order can be achieved when there is a “general acceptance of the principle that men and itsterritory are divided into states, each with its own proper sphere of authority, but link together by acommon set of rule”.[4]This common set of rules, which are called International Law, has three set offunction, which can be utilized to maintain order. First, it shall identify and endorse the principle ofpolitical organization that can be agreed universally. Secondly it shall state the basic rules ofcoexistence among states and other actors in international society. These basic rules are restriction ofviolence among states and other actors, represented by such rules as those associated with jus wartradition or jus ad bellum, upholding promises among them, represented by the principle of pacta suntservanda, and stability of possession by recognition of each other’s independence or sovereignty.[5]Thirdly the international law should function by mobilizing states compliance with the rules of society.[6]By advancing the human right and duties issues internationally, rules relating to sovereigntywill be challenged since they intervene with the states rights, in some circumstances even elevated anindividual to a position where they can be considered subjects of public international law, on par withstatus of states.[7]Human rights issue also create disorder in the sense that it reduces the compliance ofstates towards the rules of international society since what constitute human rights or on what aspects2
 
on human rights which should be stressed upon, differ culturally or religiously from one state toanother.This paper will discuss briefly the developments of human rights, how disorder emerges due tohuman rights intervention on state sovereignty, why does this issue reduces states compliance tointernational law and consequently render international disorder.The subjects of human rights “did not enter into the IR [International Relation] vocabulary untilWorld War II. A good indication for this is that the Covenant of the League of Nations was silent onthe question of human rights. Only article 23 perfunctorily acknowledges a responsibility of memberstates to enhance the social welfare of their citizens in certain areas.”[8]“At the end of World War II, when the utter magnitude of the Nazi slaughter of Jews and othersin the concentration camps was unambiguously known, the conscience of the world was mobilized, andthe human rights became an issue of legitimate, international debate. Other acts of sheer barbarismperpetrated by totalitarian regimes, from Europe to the Far East, only perpetuated the desire for theUnited Nations that would prevent the atrocities and international anarchy that had plagued the planetsince 1918.”[9]This development led to the establishment of United Nations Commission on HumanRights in 1946. Subsequently the United Nations began formulating “a set of definable principles andstandards, something approximating an international bill of human rights. This was created by way ofthe following documents:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Genocide Convention (1948)

International Covenant on civil and Political Rights (1966)

International Covenant on Social, economic and Cultural Rights (1966)3
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...