Paper Example on International Humanitarian and Human Rights Laws

Introduction

The International Human Rights Laws today have a huge influence on the domestic legal systems in a majority of international countries than was the case in the previous decades. It means that in certain cases such as when dealing with cases involving atrocities of war or conflict where there were bloodshed and killings, the domestic judges and lawyers do not only take into consideration their local legal laws but need to uphold international human rights laws. The evolving legal situation means that each sovereign state and its relevant legal professional team needs to take into consideration an effective method to implement both local and international human rights laws. It should be achieved in the most appropriate manner especially where there is existence of different laws, need for further training or lack of access to information may act as an impediment in the upholding of law. In this section, it will examine the general concept of international law, stages of its development and the general principles of international humanitarian law.

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Origin and Scope of International Human Rights Law

Humanity's need for respect, tolerance, and equality has been inspired and developed after witnessing the effects of war and human torture. The protection and upholding of both the rights and freedoms of individuals on international level began in the nineteenth century through the banning of slavery and improvement of the situation and treatment of the sick, wounded and prisoners of war during times of war. After World War I, treaties were signed with the purpose of protecting minorities. For instance, the Polish treaty that was signed in June 1919 between Poland and the League of Nations recognized Poland as a sovereign state. Also, in 1919, the International Labor Organization (ILO) was formed with the sole purpose of improving the conditions of workers. Initially, the ILO was established for humanitarian purposes, there were also political reasons that led to its development. A majority of the politicians in developed nations such as the USA realized that if the workers were increasingly subjected to deplorable working conditions, it is highly likely that it would have created social unrest, revolution and this would have affected the peace and harmony that was being experienced in the world after World War I.

The atrocities that were committed during World War II such as the Holocaust of the Jews, and the mistreatment of prisoners of war by Japan, accelerated the need to maintain peace and justice for all humankind. There was the need to develop better and strong international cooperation through the international legal order that was based on principles and fundamental purposes that were laid in San Francisco on 26th June 1945 through the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations. The following preambles were adopted:

• The first reaffirmation was faith as the fundamental human right of dignity and worth of an individual human being in regards to provision of equal rights irrespective of gender and nation of origin.
• The need to promote social progress and better living standards of life.
• To achieve international cooperation that is vital in solving international problems from an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character.
• Acknowledgement of respect and observation of human rights on a global scale is essential for the fundamental freedoms for all people without distinction of race, sex, religion, and language.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is regarded as the foundation of international human rights law. Proclaimed and adopted in 1948, the UDHR has been instrumental in the formation and upholding of the legally binding international human rights treaties. It upholds the right for every human being irrespective of nationality, religion, gender, race, language or any other status to be accorded the basic rights and fundamental freedoms that are inherent to all individuals. As a reminder, Human Rights Day is celebrated annually in all sovereign states across the world on 10 December.

Over the years, the UDHR has been expanded, translated and developed into laws that seek to uphold human dignity especially in times of war and conflict. It has been achieved through the formation of treaties, domestic law, regional agreements, and customary international law whereby human rights are guaranteed. It is important to note that presently, the UDHR is recognized as being responsible in assisting in the formation of more than 80 international human rights treaties and declarations. It has also helped in the formation and development of domestic human rights bills and regional human rights conventions that have helped in the development of a legally binding system that is essential in the promotion and protection of human rights. The success of the UDHR led to the development of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1976. These two covenants combined with the UDHR make up the International Bill of Human Rights. These covenants have led to all the countries that have ratified them to recognize these rights as essential to all human beings: right to life, equality, freedom of expression, rights to work, social security and education. The revision and remodeling of the laws, rights and treaties that are contained in International Bill of Human Rights, it has made them become more focused and specialized regarding the issues that are addressed and also the social groups that are identified as requiring protection. Today, the International Bill of Human Rights is concerned with addressing specific issues such as racial discrimination, torture on prisoners of war, and internally displaced populations, enforced disappearances, treatment of people with disabilities, upholding the rights of women, children, the elderly, migrants, minorities and the indigenous people.

The Impact of International Human Rights on Peace, Security and Development on a National and International Scale

The two World Wars provided the international community with the lesson that there was a need to create a world organization whose mandate was to promote peace, security, justice and development on a national and international scale. It became clear that when an individual country takes the initiative to deny a certain group of people their fundamental rights based on color, religion, race or even language, its internal security can be negatively affected. Depending on the magnitude of the warring factions, the spillover effect may not only affect the neighboring countries but also lead to international warfare. Effective protection of human rights at the national level not only promotes peace, stability and fulfillment of justice on a national level but also provides the required frameworks on a political, social, economic and even cultural level whereby individuals can address their conflicts. It is important to point out that national peace and security is a precursor of international peace because when it is easily achieved on a domestic level it can easily be translated on international level.

A state or a country is provided with the obligation to protect, promote and ensure that individuals enjoy the human rights that are accorded to them. There are certain human rights that are recognized by a state to a particular group of people such the right to vote, is an opportunity that is only provided to the legal citizens of that country. It is also the responsibility of a state to ensure that they undertake pro-active measures that guarantee that the human rights of individuals are protected through the provision of measures against people who violate the rights of others within their territory. In international law, the enjoyment of certain rights may be restricted in certain circumstances. For instance, in the event that an individual is determined to be guilty of a crime, then his or her freedom of movement may be denied if the law requires him or her to serve a prison time of a certain duration. Political rights may be limited by law if they are affecting the rights of other people about morality, public order and general welfare in a democratic society. Also, social, economic and cultural rights of people may be limited by law if they violate the general welfare of a democratic society.

A State reserves the right to suspend or limit the enjoyment of certain rights if there is a legitimate and declared state of emergency. However, these limitations are only allowed to a necessary extent about a particular situation but it should not involve any form of discrimination that can be based on race, color, religion or even social origin. Any form of suspension or limitation needs to be reported to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Article 3, paragraph 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides specific human rights that should not be suspended or restricted even when a country is experiencing a period of war or internal conflict. These are the right to life, freedom from enslavement, freedom from torture, freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Also, even during the time of armed conflict where the humanitarian law applies, individuals should be accorded protection.

International Humanitarian Law

The International Humanitarian Law is part of the International Law comprising of principles and norms that are intended to limit human suffering in times of armed conflict and prevent atrocities. These laws seek to protect people who are not, or are no longer taking part in the hostilities and it comprises the sick, wounded, shipwrecked combatants, prisoners of war and civilians. These laws also restrict the methods and means of warfare that can be applied by parties of the conflict. The IHL is embodied in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and additional Protocols to those conventions:

• Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in the Armed Forces in the Field.
• Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded Sick and Shipwrecked of the Armed Forces at Sea.
• Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
• Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War
• Additional Protocol I relative to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts
• Additional Protocol II relative to the Protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts.

There have been additional revisions to the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols to further protect the observation of human rights at times of conflict. For instance, Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions dictates that in all circumstances, individuals who are not participating in war will be treated humanely. Also, it points out that the wounded and sick need to be collected and taken care of during periods of conflict. Other humanitarian laws address the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict; others prohibit the use of biological and chemical weapons which are considered to be extremely injurious or can have indiscriminate effects on people.

The Connection of Humanitarian and Human Rights Law

In the past, humanitarian law, and human rights law were regarded as separate entities of international law. The reason for this is that it was assumed that the human rights laws were less applicable when it came to dealing with issues of humanitarian emergencies and armed conflict. Supporters of this notion provided the argument that the ICCPR (Article 4(1)) permits states or individual...