W6 D Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

W6 D - Assignment Example (â€Å"UN, United Nations†, n.d.) The UDHR also, incidentally, is a part of the International Bill of Human Rights, which encompasses several other instruments that work simultaneously in upholding the fundamental rights of individuals regardless of their legal status. Within the ambit of a globalising world, there have been several instances when nation-states, whether collectively or individually, whether by agreement or otherwise, have stepped in to resolve issues of rampant human rights abuses in tyrannical dictatorships and in instances of racial genocides. Recent examples include the NATO intervening in Libya in 2011to stop its long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi from committing such atrocities; the stepping in of the United Nations’ Peace Keeping Forces in Congo, Kosovo, Liberia and Sudan. These are just a few examples when the concept of â€Å"humanitarian intervention† as enshrined in the UN Charter as an exception to general non-intervention gained publi c light and scrutiny. What this means is that, as a general rule, nation-states are prohibited from interfering in the domestic affairs of other states, except when such an intervention is on humanitarian grounds and is justified by its objective of putting a stop to instances of rampant human rights violations occurring in the state. The evolution of this widely agreed, albeit contentious, law can be said to have been triggered by the Nazi pogroms against the Jews. The collective conscience of the world was shocked as the realization dawned on them that while an attempt was made at exterminating a whole race of people, other people of the world chose to look the other way. That should not be allowed to pass ever again. After it has been established with reasonable agreement amongst jurists that an individual is a subject of international law, as opposed to the object of it, the hierarchical position of importance given to its subjects faced a dynamic change. At this juncture, uphol ding the rights of individual attention received a great fillip at the international level, even at the expense of the rights of a nation-state. This can be said to be a gift of the French and American Revolutions and general enlightenment in the body of laws as to the status of individuals. While, on the one hand, slavery, discrimination and other forms of subjugating people were outlawed, states began to be tasked with a greater burden of international accountability with respect to any violations thereof (â€Å"UN Criticized for Using Private Security Firms†, n.d.). Whether or not an intervention is legitimate and in the interest of upholding international justice remains a question with tenuous answers. There is a wide array of justifications provided by intervening states and even more so by states that have been accused of carrying on these violations. There are different questions: whether such an intervention has been sanctioned by the Security Council or the General Assembly of the UN, whether such an intervention was indeed necessitated by the scale of such violations, whether a proportionate amount of force was used, and whether there exist any ulterior motives or vested interests lying at the