International human rights

Extraits

[...] The disastrous effects of the Second World War led the UN to sustain firmly this principle of non-intervention. However, absolute application of this rule can lead to a wide range of abuse. Consequently, the international community has means to resort to “enforcement measures under chapter when the Security Council deems it is “necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security”[4]. However, as Christine Gray points out, there has been much criticism of limited and delayed response of the Security Council”[5] to events such as the 1994 Rwandan crisis. [...]

[...] Declaration Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 Treaty Charter of the United Nations of 1945 Website Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2007), International Law last accessed the 25th of April 2007 at: http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/ GRAY C. (2007), Crisis of Legitimacy for the UN Collective Security System?”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly (157) GRAY C. (2007) op.cit. UN Charter, chapter Article 2 UN Charter, chapter VII, article 42 GRAY C. (2007), op.cit KOFFI Annan (1999), Concepts of Sovereignty”, The Economist [online] at http://www.un.org/News/ossg/sg/stories/kaecon.html KOFFI Annan (1999), op.cit KOUCHNER B. [...]

[...] International human rights Human rights principles have a long history, dating back to at least the Magna Carta of 1215. However, it is in the second half of the 20th century, notably with the creation of the United Nations in the aftermath of the Second World War, that the world community witnessed the proliferation of texts protecting human rights. However, the adherence to these rights is still a topical issue today. After analysing the obstacles to the application of these human rights texts, we will study the principle of non- interference on which international public law is based, and will lastly explain how the concept of humanitarian intervention tends to override the norm of non-interventionism. [...]

[...] Thus, the notion of humanitarian intervention, defined by B. Kouchner[8] as a right to violate state sovereignty in order to reduce suffering in times of crisis, has gradually developed since the 80s. However, this concept is not enshrined in international law and is still in contradiction with article 2.7 of the UN Charter. The difficulty of finding a consensus between member states of the Security Council as well as the commitment of the organisation to the principle of non-intervention has rendered the enforcement of human rights difficult for the UN. [...]