4th lecture

of

Human rights

Chapter 4

United Nations and human rights

The United Nations was established following to the conclusion of the Second World War and in the light of Allied planning and intentions expressed during that conflict.

The United Nations is a complex intergovernmental organization that includes a network of bodies, agencies, and affiliates; Its charter has given all principal organs a direct or indirect role in the field of human rights.

SECTION 1

Purposes of the united nation

1-To maintain international peace and security , and to that end , to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.

The purposes of the UN are set out in article 1 of the charter

as follows:

2-To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self –determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace.

3-To achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic , social, cultural or humanitarian character , and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

4-To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of theses common ends.

The general assembly.

The Security Council.

International court of justice.

Trusteeship

council

Secretariat

Social and economic council.

The UN has six principles organs

11 -the general assembly

The General Assembly is the main body that grants each member state one vote and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. It is an important discussion forum, and declarations and treaties are adopted only after they have been voted on in the General Assembly.

It can also issue recommendations and pass resolutions, but the General Assembly has no powers to compel member states to act. Nevertheless, in addition to the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the General Assembly was crucial in setting the principles with regard to war crimes and crimes against humanity, in 1946, the General Assembly affirmed that genocide was a crime against international law. This was an important step toward the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

In 1945, the UN had 51 members. It now has 192, of which more than two-thirds are developing countries.

2-The Security Council.

It includes five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—each of which has veto power on any Security Council resolution. It also includes ten rotating members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly, in a manner that would reflect a balance in the representation of major geographic regions.

The Security Council is expected to resolve disputes by peaceful means but is also empowered to impose binding economic and military sanctions to enforce UN resolution and international law.

International court of justice.

The International Court of Justice, located at the Hague in the Netherlands, Nations is the principal judicial organ of the United. 

It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to the UN and its specialized agencies.

 Its Statute is an integral part of the United Nations Charter

4-Secretariat.

The Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the Organization. 

It services the other principal organs and carries out tasks as varied as the issues dealt with by the UN: administering peacekeeping operations, surveying economic and social trends, preparing studies on human rights, among others.

5-Social and economic council.

is an intergovernmental body charged by the UN Charter to undertake studies and make recommendations on a broad spectrum of issues, including human rights. The size of the membership was expanded , into fifty- three.

6-Trusteeship council

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories placed under the administration of 7 Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and independence.

By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence. Its work completed, the Council has amended its rules of procedure to meet as and where occasion may require.

Section 2

Sources of human rights

The most basic instrument laying the foundation of international human rights law is the charter of the United Nations.

The various human rights clauses of the U.N. charter speaks in terms of promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

A-International instruments (general instruments)

1-The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. 2-The International Covenant on Economic , social and

cultural rights of 1966. 3-The International covenant on Civil and Political Rights

of 1966. 4-The optional protocol to the International Covenant on

Civil and Political rights. These instruments present with a view to establish a

world-wide system for the promotion and protection of human rights, a comprehensive enumeration of a wide variety of human rights and fundamental freedom, in recognition that " the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world."

The elaboration of the generally worded human rights clause of the UN Charter took the form of the International Bill of Human Rights,

which encompasses:

Other comprehensive instruments, covering a large number of human rights, which have been drown up at the regional level, are:

1-The American declaration of the rights and duties of man of 1948 and the American convention on human rights of 1969.

2-The European convention of human rights and fundamental freedoms of 1950 with its five protocols and European social charter of 1961.

3-The African charter on human and people's rights of 1981.

"The regional conventions represent an effort by the states concerned to try out new methods of realizing human rights in practice, and that, from this point of view, they are justified."

B-Regional instruments

There are also some specific instruments such as; 1-The convention on the prevention and

punishment of the crgenocide 1948. 2-The international ime of convention on the

elimination of all forms of racial discrimination of 1965.

3-The international convention on the suppression and punished of the crime of apartheid of 1973.

4-The convention of the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women of 1979.

5-The conventions and recommendation of the international labor organization.

 

C-Specific Instruments

6-The convention of the U.N.E.S.C.O United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

The UNESCO works to create the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that the world can achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing observance of human rights, mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty, all of which are at the heart of UNESCO’S mission and activities 

(This Convention is on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970)

End of the fourth lecture