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The United Nations: An Overview
In the aftermath of World War II, a small number of nations were prompted to establish an organization which could avert further violation of human rights on a global scale. At a 1944 Dumbarton Oaks meeting in the U.S., "the proposal envisioned that the organization’s structure would include means to help ensure protection of human rights." (Newman, Frank and Weissbrodt, David, International Human Rights: Law, Policy and Process, Second Edition, Anderson Publishing Co.: Cincinatti, 1996 at 7.) The following year, at a conference hosted by President Roosevelt, the UN Charter was amended to include these considerations. (Id.) The
United Nations (UN) was established by 51 Member States on October 24, 1945. As of 2003, there are 191 Member States within the organization, including Switzerland and East Timor. (The UN in Brief, "How the UN Works", http://www.un.org/Overview/brief1.html). The purpose of the UN is best understood by an examination of its Charter. All Member States subscribe to the UN
Charter in order to become members of the UN.
The UN Charter:
The UN Charter sets forth the four stated purposes of the UN:
- "To practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and
- To unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
- To ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
- To employ international machinery for the promotion of economic and social advancement of all peoples."
The Governing Bodies of the UN:
There are 6 governing bodies that constitute the organizational structure of the UN:
The Security Council
The Security Council is entrusted with "the maintenance of international peace and security". (United Nations Security Council, "Background", http://www.un.org/Docs/sc/unsc_background.html). It is one of the more visible governing bodies of the UN, particularly when there is conflict between Member States.
The Trusteeship Council
The Trusteeship Council supervises "the administration of Trust Territories placed under the Trusteeship System". (United Nations Trusteeship Council, "Background", http://www.un.org/documents/tc.htm) Given the geopolitical changes that have occurred since the inception of the Council, this organization has diminished greatly in importance in the last decade. (Id.)
The Secretariat
The Secretariat serves the administrative needs of the UN. Kofi Annan currently presides over the Secretariat as UN Secretary General. (United Nations Secretariat, "Background", http://www.un.org/documents/st.htm)
The General Assembly
The General Assembly is composed of representatives from all Member States. It is the principal decision-making organization within the UN. The significance of the General
Assembly’s role is noted on its web site: "while the decisions of the Assembly have no legally binding force for Governments, they carry the weight of world opinion on major international issues, as well as the moral authority of the world community." (United Nations General Assembly, "Background Information", http://www.un.org/ga/57/about.htm)
The General Assembly is of great significance in determining the endeavors undertaken by the UN. However, the Economic and Social Council and the International Court of Justice are the two governmental organs of particular relevance to the issue of capital punishment among its Member States.
The Economic and Social Council:
The Economic and Social
Council (ECOSOC) concerns itself with an extensive range of issues, including those of employment, health, education, human rights, culture, society and economics. Of particular note is that ECOSOC is "encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms"\, (United Nations Economic and Social Council, "What ECOSOC Does", http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc/about.htm) and that it "issues policy recommendations to the UN system and to Member States." (Id.)
ECOSOC presides over 14 specialized UN agencies, 10 functional commissions, and 5 regional commissions. 54 member governments belong to ECOSOC:
- 14 from African states
- 11 from Asian states
- 6 from Eastern European states
- 10 from Latin American & Caribbean states
- 13 from Western European & other states
The General Assembly elects these member governments to the ECOSOC, based on requirements pertaining to geographical representation of member states. The terms of membership last for three years and are set on a staggered basis.
The Commission on Human Rights:
The key ECOSOC committee pertaining to human rights and thus effecting capital punishment is the Commission
on Human Rights. It is a subsidiary body of the ECOSOC. The Commission is entrusted with a number of responsibilities. It addresses human rights violations on a global basis, and "[the] promotion and protection of human rights, including the work of the Sub-Commission, treaty bodies and national institutions". (United Nations Commission on Human Rights, "Commission on Human Rights", http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/chrintro.htm). Additionally, the Commission contributes to the development of global human rights standards.
The Commission deals with a number of international treaties and is one of the UN organizational bodies that issues resolutions. Treaties that touch upon capital punishment have prompted a great deal of international debate, particularly regarding the execution of juveniles, foreign
nationals, and those suffering from mental
retardation. Resolutions are non-binding, but they are international instruments that reflect a UN policy and international sentiment on issues
of capital punishment and other important matters.
The International Covenant
for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a treaty of paramount importance with regard to human rights in general and thus again impacts upon capital punishment. The U.S. has filed reservations to the ICCPR, including one to preserve the right to execute juvenile defendants, as seen in Article 6(5) of the ICCPR. See the section below on the Sub-Commission
of Human Rights for more information regarding the U.S. reservations to the ICCPR. Other treaties
of note on this issue are the Fourth
Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian persons in Time
of War and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Commission on Human Rights hosts a number of sub-committees that are referred to as working
groups:
- Working group on a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- Working group on a draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Working group on Arbitrary Detention
- Working group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
- Open-ended working group established to elaborate policy guidelines on structural adjustment programmes and economic, social and cultural rights
- Open-ended working group on the right to development
- Working group on Situations
- Working group of five independent experts on people of African descent to study the problems of racial discrimination faced by people of African descent
The Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
The Commission on Human Rights also hosts its most important Sub-Commission, on the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights. In turn, the Sub-Commission also has its own working groups:
- Working Group on Communications
- Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
- Working Group on Indigenous Populations
- Working Group on Minorities
- Working Group on Administration of Justice
- Working Group on Transnational Corporations
The Sub-Commission, via Resolution
2000/17, determined that the U.S.
reservation to the ICCPR pertaining to the execution of juveniles was invalid and severable from the treaty. "In August 2000, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted Resolution 2000/17 on the Death Penalty in Relation to Juvenile Offenders. Within this document the Sub-Commission condemned the use of the death penalty against child
offenders affirming that such use is ‘contrary to customary international law.’" (James, Anne, "Capital Punishment: The Execution of Child Offenders in the United States", The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 9:181-189, 2001 at 185.)
The International Court of Justice
The International
Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague, satisfies the judicial function of the UN. The ICJ resolves existing disputes between States. Additionally, when international agencies pose questions of law to the Court, the ICJ is entrusted to issue advisory opinions to the Security Council and General Assembly.
The ICJ is composed of 15 judges from different member nations who serve terms of a predetermined duration. With regards to issues
of capital punishment and foreign nationals, the most pertinent current case pending before the ICJ is Avena
and other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America)
Sources:
The UN web site –
- Overview
- UN Charter
- Economic and Social Council
- Commission on Human Rights
- International Court of Justice
- Newman, Frank and Weissbrodt, David, International Human Rights: Law, Policy and Process, Second Edition, Anderson Publishing Co.: Cincinatti, 1996
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