Universal Human Rights System
The UN’s Ongoing Struggle to Address Restrictions on Basic Freedoms in the “West”
Over the past year and a half, peaceful demonstrations that quickly devolved into government violence and repression across the Middle East and North Africa necessitated UN involvement and international alarm over restrictions on basic human rights. However, recently the UN…
Syrian Conflict Highlights Futility of Arab League and UN Human Rights Enforcement
Media reports and various foreign officials have all but confirmed a civil war erupting in Syria since the outbreak of protests in March 2011. However, the League of Arab States and the UN Security Council have each remained deadlocked, making…
EU Blocks Sales of Lethal Injection Drugs to the U.S.
Through several UN General Assembly resolutions since 2007, the organization has encouraged the global trend towards the elimination of the death penalty. However, thirty-four U.S. states, the U.S. federal government and the U.S. military, as well as many other countries,…
International Implications of the U.S.’ De-funding UNESCO
The UN Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recently launched the Emergency Multi-Donor Fund to fill the void created by the decision of the United States, Canada, and Israel to halt their monetary contributions. Under U.S. legislation from…
UN Organs Flout Panel’s Recommendations on Sri Lanka
The UN Human Rights Council (HRC), mandated with addressing “gross and systematic” violations of human rights, concluded its eighteenth session in September, once again failing to address the allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the…
The European Union Evades its Obligations to Refugees Fleeing Libya
Over a million people have fled Libya since the February 2011 uprising to oust leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi turned violent. Many of them are foreigners who had taken refuge in Libya from conflict in their own countries, some…
The Right to Education as a Legally Enforceable Human Right
March 8, 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day (IWD), a holiday to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women. In a message to commemorate the centennial anniversary, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated that “in…
International Justice and National Stability in Lebanon
In 2005, the government of Lebanon requested that the United Nations establish an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the February 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others that same year. In…
Libyan Crisis Presents Opportunity for Reforming the UN Human Rights Council
In 2006, the United Nations Human Rights Commission, an inter-governmental human rights body under the General Assembly, was replaced with the Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The predecessor Commission had struggled with legitimacy in light of its member states’…
Testing the Efficacy of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances in Cote d’Ivoire
Established on February 29, 1980, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) was the first UN mechanism designed to respond to a particular human rights issue. WGEID was not intended to be a permanent…
