The UN and Human Rights
Who Guards the Guardians?
1st Edition
Published on 18. December 2011
978-1-139-11839-2 (ISBN)
Description
Through an analysis of UN operations including international territorial administration, refugee camps, peacekeeping, the implementation of sanctions and the provision of humanitarian aid, this book shows that the powers exercised by the UN carry a serious risk of human rights abuse. The International Law Commission has codified and developed the law of institutional responsibility, but, while indispensable, these principles and rules cannot on their own ensure compliance and accountability. The 'liberty deficit' of the UN and of other international organisations thus remains an urgent legal and political problem. Some solutions may be available; indeed, recent state and institutional practice offers interesting examples in this respect. But at a fundamental level we need to ask ourselves whether, judged on the basis of the principle of liberty, the power shift from states to international organisations is always beneficial.
Reviews / Votes
'... this book deserves to be highly commended for highlighting an important problem - the lack of accountability of the UN - and systematically looking at the practice of the organisation and the obligations involved.' Tiina Pajuste, British Yearbook of International Law 'Verdirame has produced an excellent and sophisticated study of a complex issue, passionately defending the need to protect individuals from human rights violations by international organizations but acknowledging that organizations need to be left some leeway as well in dealing with policy dilemmas.' Jan Klabbers, International Organizations Law ReviewMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; Printed music items
File size
4,48 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-139-11839-2 (9781139118392)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
09/2011
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€174.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Guglielmo Verdirame is Professor of International Law at the Department of War Studies and the School of Law at King's College London. Before taking on this position, he was a Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law. His main areas of research and teaching are public international law, and legal and political philosophy. He is a barrister at 20 Essex Street chambers, London.
Content
1. Introduction; 2. Concepts and definitions; 3. Human rights obligations of international organisations; 4. International institutional responsibility; 5. UN relief and development operations; 6. UN peacekeeping; 7. International administrations; 8. Implementation of UN sanctions; 9. Accountability; 10. Conclusions.
