kfc analysis
...crutiny and censure of human rights abuse can alter the way a state treats its citizens. The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as well as the General Assembly have been given the responsibility of human rights, which endeavored to create the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Since then, many other treaties have been signed toward human rights and those signatories have given priority to the enforcement of such treaties and the furtherance of defining and ensuring basic human rights. From ECOSOC was born the Commission on Human Rights, promoting the human rights outlined in the 1948 Declaration as binding obligations of each state as well as several covenants that are still legally relevant today. (Davidson, 59) It was not until the late 1960’s that the Commission on Human Rights considered themselves to have any authority in enforcing the binding Covenants. However, despite resolutions written in this time that authorized the Commission to investigate and deliberate over human rights issues, many of the issues were avoided by the representative political body that made up the Commission, as they tried to dodge public criticism. Finally in the 1980’s the Commission began to develop “special procedures” which are now executed with thematic mandates for specialized human rights violations by regional and topical experts. To further organize and guide these efforts, the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights established a High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which divided the efforts into five branches: research and right to development, treaties and commissions, special procedures, capacity-building and field operations, and external relations. In addition, treaty bodies that address specific human rights topics have been instrumental in developing regular reports and shadow reports on the status of human rights as well as open an avenue to file complaints to be openly addressed. (Davidson, 62) Unfortunately, as human rights tend to be a relative topic, disagreement on controversial issues within the committee, such as protection of sexual orientation rights and ethnic cleansing, leads to the perpetual postponement of addressing current situations. In addition to disagreements along those lines, the United Nations is often times only able to take indirect action in the form of encouragement or embarrassment of states in order for them to take action. (Weiss, 153) Also, many states would argue that the commission takes too confrontational and politically motivated a stance on issues of human rights and that a more technically and cooperatively supportive approach would be more effective, while others would say that this argument is taken by governments who wish to continue abusing rights without censorship. (Davidson, 77) In such cases, economic or military action may only be taken if the Security Council can link a human rights situation to a threat to security, and again, that definition has been relative until the recent crisis involving terrorism. (Weiss, 155) Of course these arguments and a lack of funds greatly thwart progress of the Commission to act authoritatively in any situation. (Davidson, 78) In addition, the issue of sovereignty weighs heavy on the funds appropriated and decisions made to intervene in many humanitarian situations. (Weiss, 129) However, the United Nations has proved that some cases warrant intervention without the consent of the host country, for example the Kurdish refugee situation along the Iraqi-Turkish border, but without much aid. In order to make efforts more effective within the human rights realm, it is imperative that the United Nations promote sovereignty as having an aspect of protective responsibility and file reports by non-state representatives in order to avoid overlooking problems that may be omitted from reports by self-interested human-rights abusing governments. (Formerand, 80) It is also imperative that decisions made toward intervention are widely agreed upon, due to often mixed motives and justifications. (Weiss, 131) To that end, knowledge and reports on human rights situations are important, because when a greater public consensus on basic human rights is established, the U.N. and other Intergovernmental Organizations will become empowered to take action without criticism or resistance. Also, learning about democracy and a commitment to human rights would prove beneficial for the fight against human rights violations. The U.N. should continue its efforts to teach that civil and political rights are necessary for stable democracy and economic growth, then agreements could be made that would spark dramatic change. (Weiss, 208) The second important issue, trade, must take priority in the United Nations so that developing countries may be able to reach economic stability enough to be able to focus domestic policy on human rights and then environment, as well as many other domestic and international policies. Also, before the end of the Cold War, these economic developments were seen as an indirect approach to “peace,” as many causes of conflict and violence were deeply rooted in long-term social suffering due to hunger and sickness. (Weiss, 221) Through the Doha Development Agenda, agencies such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) help remove trade barriers and promote economic integration for developing countries that feel that trade agreements are more open in sectors which developed countries have an advantage and are not open enough in sectors which they have an advantage in, such as agriculture, textiles and apparel. (Lynch, 234) Some of these important issues have been absent from the WTO’s General Agreement on Tarriffs and Trade (GATT), however, the WTO has begun to incorporate these issues since Uruguay Round negotiations in 1995, as well as implement freer trade in services. Some issues remain difficult to successfully address, such as farm subsidies which hurt developing nations who rely heavily on agricultural exports as their main revenue and are understood to be very trade-distorting, having the effect of lowering world agricultural prices and therefore leaving many in developing countries without a form of income. The WTO is now working with countries very reluctant to give up these subsidy policies, such as the U.S., the European Union, and Japan. The European Union is the most committed to issues brought to light in the WTO’s Ministerial Meeting in Singapore of investment, c...