The notions of state sovereignty and the Westphalian state system were founded on the idea that countries needed to be given the autonomy to control their individual affairs. Other countries, whether big or small do not have the right to interfere with the affairs of other countries under these systems. However, the various blatant violations of human rights have made it necessary for international organizations to be established, whose main objective is to address various violations, as well as to hold various leaders accountable for their actions. According to Maogoto (2015) sovereign excess in the twentieth century led to the murder of about 170,000,000 people by their sovereign states. Such a statistic is clear testimony of the existence of systemic and gross abuse of human rights, and that justifies the need to place humanitarian problems and human rights on the international plane. Perhaps the notions of sovereignty were founded with the perception that leaders of their respective countries would behave ethically and responsibly towards their citizens because they could be part of the same culture or ethnicity. However, that perception seems not to have been accurate because some sovereign states have violated and abused the rights of their citizens severally.
It is justifiable for international human rights bodies to intervene, especially when citizens are helpless. Most of the time, leaders who violate human rights have formidable military strength that can be used on the citizens should they try to protest. Concerning the emergence of a conflict between a local cultural practice and international human right codified in international law, it is only prudent that international human rights should prevail. Taking the example of female genital mutilation (FGM), which is practiced in some African cultures, it is best for international human rights to apply to stop it since it is an abuse against women. Women have always been perceived to be the weaker sex, and in most cultures that practice FGM, women are not given an opportunity to decide whether they want to go through the practice or not. Therefore, it is a forceful practice because it is done against their will. Additionally, before any law becomes an international human rights issue, it usually must have gone through various stages. For instance, there must always be enough evidence that a certain practice is wrong or discriminatory. Secondly, the laws are usually passed through a consensus after the relevant stakeholders acknowledge the need to put in place to stop various practices and respect all people’s rights (Watts, 2012). Therefore, the international community has the ethical responsibility to protect various human rights in all countries, even with the existence of notions of sovereignty.
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United Nations Human Rights Council and Protection of Human Rights
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is an intergovernmental body charged with the responsibility of protecting and promoting human rights around the world, as well as addressing various incidences of human rights violations and make recommendations about them (United Nations Human Rights Council, 2020). The Council is made up of 47 United Nations member states that are usually elected by the United Nations General Assembly. Under the UNHRC is the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which is a process that encompasses an evaluation of the human rights records of all the states that are members of the United Nations. The process provides the opportunity for individual states to present the actions taken to promote and protect human rights in their specific countries in an attempt to adhere to their human rights obligations. However there are still big gaps which exist in UNHRC that make some countries not to fulfill their human rights obligations. Firstly, the UPR is always a state-driven process; individual countries are required to evaluate themselves. With self-evaluation, there is a high chance of countries giving false information. For example, North Korea is a member of the United Nations as well as a signatory to various International Human Rights bodies. Although North Korea presents positive reports of adherence to the protection of human rights, contrary reports have always emerged. For example, North Koreans are not allowed to move out of the country without special permission from party elites, and cannot express themselves freely (Ryu, 2018).
Evidently, blatant human rights abuses in secretive states like North Korea put UNHRC to deep scrutiny. Self-evaluation and self-reports seem not to be very effective in addressing human rights violations. UNHCR can change strategy by requiring all UN member states to allow independent parties to evaluate the state of human rights in each state. It should be a requirement that each member country must allow access into their respective countries of these independent evaluators and give them the maximum cooperation. Any country that denies entry or does not cooperate should be automatically losing their UN membership. If human rights are assessed by independent parties, the process will be credible, and the results verifiable. Accurate information will improve various human rights situations in different countries, especially those with bad reputations. Secondly, the outlined strategy is a reward-punishment mechanism. Sovereign states must be made aware that they will face consequences if they do not behave ethically and protect human rights. The conventional self-evaluation mechanisms do not put enough pressure on countries to observe human rights. Clearly, stringent measures are needed to reinforce ethical and accountable leadership.
The International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent international court that prosecutes individuals accused of committing various crimes, especially related to murder, genocide, rape, and other serious crimes outlined under the jurisdiction of the ICC (International Criminal Court, 2013). The ICC prosecutes individuals from countries that are party of the Rome Statute, or to be clear, countries that signed to be part of the treaty that created the ICC. However, a state which is not party to the statute may also decide to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC when dealing with various crimes. The greatest problem or challenge with the ICC is that it cannot prosecute individuals from countries that are not party to the Rome Statute. Countries with dictators or oppressive leaders may perpetrate various crimes against citizens or various groups without facing any consequences especially when their countries are not party to the Rome Statute.
In light of various excesses in some countries by leaders, it is prudent to have a legal mechanism at the ICC to prosecute all leaders of nations that commit serious crimes even when they are not party to the Rome Statute. The ICC is an independent and autonomous court, and based on many cases that have taken place at the court many individuals have been brought to book for their excesses, especially those from African countries. The United Nations can create a mechanism or establish a partnership with the ICC to prosecute even leaders who are not part of the ICC treaty. Since the United Nations has an ethical responsibility to monitor human rights in different countries, leaders who violate those rights need to be bundled out of leadership, and for fair and just hearing, taken to the ICC. Regarding enforcement, economic sanctions, and subsequently, military action need to be taken to oust bad leaders out of power. Leaders who oppress and commit heinous crimes against their own citizens need to be shown all the full force because if the United Nations compromise, such leaders may toughen and continue to violate human rights.
References
International Criminal Court. (2013). Understanding the International Criminal Court . International Criminal Court. https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/PIDS/publications/UICCEng.pdf
Maogoto, J. N. (2015). Sovereignty in Transition: Human Rights and International Justice. U. Notre Dame Austl. L. Rev. , 7 , 83.
Ryu, E. (2018). Human Rights Situation in North Korea: Lack of Significant Progress from the United Nations Human Rights Mechanisms and What Can be Done. Minn. J. Int'l L. , 27 , 555.
United Nations Human Rights Council. (2020). Welcome to the Human Rights Council. https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/aboutcouncil.aspx
Watts, A. (2012). The importance of international law. The role of law in international politics: Essays in international relations and international law , 5-16.
