Human Rights Law Commons^™

The Prohibition Of The Use Of Force, Mary O'Connell

Book Chapters

From the Publisher
Chapter 4
This chapter concerns the central international legal rule against violence: Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. Article 2(4) generally prohibits the use of force by states. It is a treaty rule that is also widely regarded as a rule of customary international law and, indeed, in certain respects, as a peremptory rule or rule of jus cogens. Article 2(4) was adopted along with the rest of the Charter in 1945 after the catastrophe of the Second World War in which an estimated 60 million people died. Despite its relatively recent adoption, Article 2(4) …

Defending Human Rights In The "War" Against Terror, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

Safeguarding human rights in our "war" against terrorism is both the right and the smart thing to do. It is right because human rights embody our fundamental values as Americans and as Christians. Our Constitution stands for freedom; our Creator teaches us to respect the God-given dignity of each human soul. Christians are called to cherish human dignity, not only of innocents, and not only of captives in war whose status as combatant or civilian may be uncertain, but also of cardinal sinners, the terrorists themselves. Christ Jesus teaches us to hate the sin, but somehow to bring ourselves to …

Washington's "War Against Terrorism" And Human Rights: The View From Abroad, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

"When it comes to human rights, there is no greater leader than the United States of America," White House spokesman Scott McClellan has said.

The view from abroad is less kind. A recent resolution of the European Parliament, for example, "condemns" our government's treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. It urges Washington to guarantee all prisoners "minimum human rights in accordance with international human rights law and fair trial procedures" and to "immediately clarify the situation of the prisoners." European objections run so deep that a New York Times account finds a "high level of anger in Europe at reports that …