INTRODUCTION
It is well known that international humanitarian law (the “IHL”) and International Human Rights Law (the “IHRL”) are two distinct disciplines. In recent years, however, the relationship between IHL and HRL has become very controversial. The interaction between IHL and IHRL raises a number of difficulties; however this was not always the case. Prior to the introduction of the UN Charter, a State had to make a declaration of war before engaging in armed conflict. As a result there was a sharp distinction between war and peace and it was certain when the laws of war were applicable. The introduction of the Charter has blurred this distinction as there is now a prohibition on the use of force and further difficulties have arisen following
…show more content…
IHRL requires that the occupying State take all measures necessary to ensure its human rights obligations, whereas IHL requires that the laws already existing on the territory remain in force. The Penal Code of Iran allows for stoning as a punishment for adultery48, which would be incompatible with both the ICCPR and ECHR, at the very least, because it would amount to torture or inhumane treatment. On the one hand, IHL prohibits the UK from changing the law, however IHRL requires the UK to take all measures possible to prevent the stoning of adulterers.
The human rights rule could not easily be read down because the prohibition on torture and non-degrading treatment is a non-derogable provision under Article 4 ICCPR and because it is a norm of jus cogens, a fundamental principle accepted by the international community, from which no derogation is permitted.49 It is very unlikely that IHRL would ever be read down so as to permit stoning for adultery.
The IHL rule could be read down as the Hague Regulation requires the occupying State to ensure the laws in force, unless it is absolutely prevented from doing so. One could argue that human rights norms prevent the State from adhering to
…show more content…
Terrorism represents a difficult challenge in relation to this discussion because terrorist actions and actors do not fit easily into the existing legal norms and sanctions of IHL and IHRL and because there is no international definition. Several problems arise in relation to the war on terror including what legal status this ‘war’ should be given in terms of IHL and how far this ‘war’ threatens the life of the nation to allow human rights derogations. In particular these problems relate to arbitrary and indefinite detention of
Genocide is a pressing issue with a multitude of questions and debates surrounding it. It is the opinion of many people that the United Nations should not get involved with or try to stop ongoing genocide because of costs or impositions on the rights of a country, but what about the rights of an individual? The UN should get involved in human rights crimes that may lead to genocide to prevent millions of deaths, save money on humanitarian aid and clean up, and fulfill their responsibilities to stop such crimes. It is preferable to stop genocide before it occurs through diplomacy, but if necessary, military force may be used as a last resort. Navi Pillay, Human Rights High Commissioner, stated, “Concerted efforts by the international community at critical moments in time could prevent the escalation of violence into genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity or ethnic cleansing.”
"7: Rule of Law." United States Institute of Peace. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .
The issue of human rights has arisen only in the post-cold war whereby it was addressed by an international institution that is the United Nation. In the United Nation’s preamble stated that human rights are given to all humans and that there is equality for everyone. There will not be any sovereign states to diminish its people from taking these rights. The globalization of capitalism after the Cold War makes the issue of human rights seems admirable as there were sufferings in other parts of the world. This is because it is perceived that the western states are the champion of democracy which therefore provides a perfect body to carry out human rights activities. Such human sufferings occur in a sovereign state humanitarian intervention led by the international institution will be carried out to end the menace.
However, across the globe, there remain many instances where an individuals' sexual orientation or gender identity can lead them to face execution, imprisonment, torture, violence or discrimination. The range of abuse is limitless and it breaches the fundamental views of international human rights law.
The international covenant on civil and political rights do not allow arbitrary deprivation of life although there are controversial issues related to the supreme right which include the question of right to abortion. The most import...
International law is a body of legally binding rules that are suppose to govern the relations between sovereign states. (Cornell Law School) In order to be a qualified subject, a state has to be sovereign. To be considered sovereign the state needs to have territory, a population, and a government that is recognized or legitimized to most other states. In the more modern explanation of international law now can include the rights and obligation on intergovernmental international organizations and even individuals. Examples of an international organization would be Greenpeace or the United Nations and an example of an individual would be war criminals, a leader of a state that violated human rights during a time of war. When a dispute arise and cannot be solved amongst the two actors involved they can turn to the U.N. to arbitrate and to the International Court of Justice, one of many courts within the U.N. to find a resolution to their problem. The International Court of Justice’s main task is to help settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and...
Introduction Human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of nationality, gender, national or ethnic origin, religion, language, or other status. And these human rights violations are in some countries like Central African Republic, Syria, USA, Ireland, and etcetera. One example is Syria, where the people afraid live here. Therefore, article 3 of the Universal Human Rights Act is violated in Syria. This essay seeks to consider the human rights violations in Syria.
Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code Analyzed Under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women." American University International Law Review 6.2 (2001): 1-68. Print.
It has tried to set fine lines which prohibit torture under all circumstances. However, since there is no governing body over countries, it remains difficult to enforce the human rights standards sought after by the Convention against torture. The convention has therefore done a good job at identifying the torturers. This has in turn lessened the number of those persecuted. It will remain a gradual process to eliminate torture from all countries, but nevertheless a necessity, in the quest for universal human rights.
In fact, the Geneva Convention states that a person, regardless of their nationality, should be brought before the court of any state in which that person has committed grave breaches of law and convention. Roth states that the concept of international jurisdiction is not a new one, but that only in recent years have states been willing to act on universal jurisdiction and go after criminals of the international community regardless of their status or power within the international community. Roth believes in the ability and authority of international organizations and institutions (Roth 2001).
Humanitarian intervention involves the coercive action of states intervening in areas for the sole purpose of preventing or halting the killing or suffering of the people there. (1, 9, 5) It is an issue argued fervently amongst restrictionists and counter-restrictionists, who debate over whether humanitarian intervention is a breach of international law or a moral requirement. (10) Restrictionists argue that Articles 2 (7) and 2 (4) of the United Nations (UN) Charter render forcible humanitarian intervention illegal. The only legitimate exception to this, they claim, is the right to self-defense, as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.
On December 10th 1948, the General Assembly adopted a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration, although not legally binding, created “a common standard of achievement for all people and all nations.to promote respect for those rights and freedoms” (Goodhart, 379). However, many cultures assert that the human rights policies outlined in the declaration undermine cultural beliefs and practices. This assertion makes the search for universal human rights very difficult to achieve. I would like to focus on articles 3, 14 and 25 to address how these articles could be modified to incorporate cultural differences, without completely undermining the search for human rights practices.
Although, within the U.N. Charter of 1945, Article 2(4) prohibits the use of force against ‘the territorial integrity or political independence of any state’ (U.N. Charter, art.2 para.4), it has been suggested by counter-restrictionist international lawyers, that humanitarian intervention does not fall under these criteria, making it legally justifiable under the U.N. Charter (e.g. Damrosch 1991:219 in Baylis and Smith 2001: 481). However, this viewpoint lacks credibility, as it is far from the general international consensus, and unlikely the initial intentions of the draftsmen of the charter. In more recent times, one can examine the emerging doctrine of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’(RtoP), which was adopted unanimously by the UN in 2005, as a far more persuasive example of modern legitimacy of humanitarian intervention. While not consolidated within international law, RtoP, which promotes humanitarian intervention where sovereign states fail in their own responsibility to protect their citizens, does use legal language and functions as a comprehensive international framework to prevent human rights
(28-32) HRIC. “HIRC” April 2000. <Www.HRIC%20--%20Report%20on%20Co…> Impunity for Torturers Continues Despite Changes in the Law: Report on Implementation of the Convention Against Torture in the People’s Republic of China. (6 April 2003).
Magno, A., (2001) Human Rights in Times of Conflict: Humanitarian Intervention . Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, 2 (5). [online] Available from: [Accessed 2 March 2011]