Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
All Politics Are Suboptimal, Todd Landman
All Politics Are Suboptimal, Todd Landman
Human Rights & Human Welfare
Despite its intentions and founding principles, the United Nations is fundamentally a political organization and therefore subject to the machinations of states as they seek to maximize their self interest, protect their reputations, and advance their power. The UN Security Council itself is a product of World War II and reflects a settlement from the end of the war that many perceive as highly inappropriate to the balance of power and global realities of the world today.
Overcoming History And Human Rights At The Un, Sonia Cardenas
Overcoming History And Human Rights At The Un, Sonia Cardenas
Human Rights & Human Welfare
Criticism is most useful when it imagines viable alternatives. This is why the most recent wave of outrage over the elections to the UN Human Rights Council seems counter-productive. Yes, egregious human rights violators have been elected to the Council. Yes, Iran was kept off the Council in exchange for a seat on the women’s rights commission . And, yes, the elections were uncontested, with regional blocs putting forth the same number of candidates as vacancies. These facts have led observers to describe the body as a farce, as all pretense, and to decry US participation in the Council.
July Roundtable: The Un And Human Rights Introduction
July Roundtable: The Un And Human Rights Introduction
Human Rights & Human Welfare
An annotation of:
“Another human-rights irony at the U.N.” by Anne Applebaum. The Washington Post. May 4, 2010.
and
“UN elects rights violators to Human Rights Council” by Edith M. Lederer. Associated Press. May 13, 2010.
Perpetrators In Their Midst, David Akerson
Perpetrators In Their Midst, David Akerson
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The two articles, “Another Human-Rights Irony at the U.N.” by Anne Applebaum and “UN Elects Rights Violators to Human Rights Council” by Edith Lederer, both set forth the problems encountered by the UN Human Rights Council and its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission. Namely, that member states with notorious human rights records will exploit the Council to their political advantage. As Applebaum points out in her article, “authoritarian regimes have long battled to join the council...the better to prevent any outsiders from investigating their own governments.”
Human Rights Abusers, The Human Rights Council, And The Un, James Pattison
Human Rights Abusers, The Human Rights Council, And The Un, James Pattison
Human Rights & Human Welfare
The predecessor to the Human Rights Council, the Commission on Human Rights, had several notable failings. These included double standards in the selection of which states were to be subject to scrutiny, membership of the Commission by states notable for their egregious human rights records, and the shielding of the P5 members of the Security Council and their allies from criticism. The Human Rights Council, it was hoped, would avoid these flaws and, in doing so, push human rights further up the UN agenda. For instance, the General Assembly Resolution A/RES/60/251, which set up the Council, claimed that the Council’s …