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No need to re-invent global rules
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8-9/2004 |
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[ International law ]
No need to re-invent global rules
Global problems have changed dramatically in recent years, especially those relating to security. But international law and international organisations remain largely the same. That is not to say, however, that they cannot provide answers to today’s problems – such as how to deal with “enemy” or “illegal combatants” in wars like the ones in Afghanistan or Iraq. Those combatants have to be treated either as soldiers or as civilians. Rules for both are contained in the Geneva Conventions. Therefore Lotte Leicht, director of the Brussels office of Human Rights Watch, finds no need for new rules governing the punishment of irregular combatants. Nor is there any need for special rules to deal with private security companies like the ones performing military assignments for the US government in Iraq. Paul Heinbecker, director of the Centre for Global Relations, Governance and Policy at Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, says that governments that hire private armies are responsible for them.
International law and human rights should not be regarded as obstacles in the campaign against terror. They need to be made part of it. Democratic values, says Lotte Leicht, must not be put at risk. The West should not hint to developing countries – which were recently encouraged to embrace democracy – that democratic principles and the rule of law may be compromised in any way in the fight against terrorism.
International law experts point out that the United States’ increasing readiness since September 11, 2001 to disregard or break rules adopted by the international community is not a new phenomenon. At the 5th Annual Foreign Policy Conference of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin in late June, Ulrich K. Preuss, professor of public law and politics at Berlin’s Free University, reminded delegates that the USA has, throughout its history, continuously refused to sign international agreements and it has always reserved the right to go its own way. The US is the sole remaining superpower, he continues, and in a position where the administration has little to fear from defying international law. According to the professor, this is a structural problem, not one caused by the present administration. The verdict of the conference was unanimous: Europe should not attempt to be a counterweight to American power.
And what about the United Nations? There is no need for them to be re-invented either. Former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, currently president of the “International Crisis Group”, believes that the first thing to do is to ensure that the organisation’s existing rules and procedures are observed. However, he reckons, one change is overdue: Africa, Asia and Latin America urgently need to be given a bigger say.
Deborah Odumuyiwa
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