Editorial
| Author | Jacqueline Smith,Peter Baehr,Leo Zwaak |
| Published date | 01 March 1991 |
| Date | 01 March 1991 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/016934419100900101 |
| Subject Matter | Editorial |
Editorial
EDITORIAL
The
news has just come in that the Gulf War is over.
That
is the good
news. The bad news is that it will takes years, if not decades or - according
to some observers - even centuries to repair the damage. Damage to the
right to life, to the right to development, to the right to a clean natural
environment; in brief, damage to human dignity. Although such wars,
accordingto classical legal distinction, should be measured by the standards
of humanitarian law, it is obvious that it has repercussions for a number of
important human rights, as well. Time only will tell, whether the national
governments involved will be able to undo some of that considerable
damage. Time also will tell, whether the United Nations will come out of
this crisis with renewed prestige. Although the military activities by the
United States and its allies were based on and legitimated by Security
Council resolutions, these military operations were not United Nations
activities in a strict sense. We will see, whether the United Nations can play
a role that is more than that of what Inis Claude once aptly called
"collective legitimization".
Some of the contributions to this issue of the Quarterly have indirect or
direct relevance to the issues just mentioned. B.G. Ramcharan is in a
unique position to deal with the role of the Security Council and
humanitarian emergencies. Although he writes of course in his personal
capacity, as a senior officer longtime associated with the United Nations
Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, he has had ample opportunity to
observe and judge what the United Nations can achieve. His concluding
observations tell us what are the current trends in the Security Council's
practice.
Koen de Feyter's article on the Red Cross and the raising of human
rights awareness in Europe begins with a very topical discussion of the
relationship between human rights and humanitarian law.Attentionshould
be drawn
to
his suggestion of adopting an integrative approach to the two
sets of rights. Although he deals with the European situation, many of his
observations and suggestions have clear relevance to other geographical
regions as well.
V. Ramaswamy is a teacher and human rights activist in India, who has
contributed some personal views from a Third World perspective on what
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