HUMAN RIGHTS 218027125

HOW RELEVANT IS THE SECURITY COUNCIL UNDER THE UN CHARTER SYSTEM FOR THE
PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS?

The United Nations Security council (UNSC) is one of six principal UN organs bestowed with the
prime objective of maintaining international peace and security. Under the UN Charter, Art. 24, the
Security Council is body of the UN vested primarily with the responsibility of maintenance of
“international peace and security” provided for under the Security System within the Charter. The
council is allowed to act under chapter Six of the charter, in order to obtain the settlement of “any
disputes, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and
security”. Essentially the nature of the provisions of the Charter were such that it granted the
security council the mandate of being able to use reasonably forceful means for obtaining
international peace and security.

The council did however exercise a predominantly restricted role in matters akin to Human Rights
Violations. Such obligations were left to organs such as the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights, (UNCHR). With regard to the use of force however it has long been contested that despite
what Article 2(4) of the UN Charter provides, essentially prohibiting the use of force, there are
humanitarian exceptions which would in certain instances justify a forceful approach towards the
protection of individual and peoples from violations of Human Rights.

Attention to human rights has generally been outside the United Nations Security Councils (UNSC)
scope of operations. The council was far more concerned with matters relating to conflicts between
Nation states. In contemporary times however the nature of conflicts has become of a much more
internal and domestic nature within individual states especially towards the concluding years of the
1980’s. Rising out of this, violations of human rights became a primary indication of potential
conflicts and became in several cases the ultimate source of conflicts themselves.

Within the African context, the Security Council begun to increase its involvement in peace-keeping
which also involved the enforcement of human rights. Multi-disciplinary objectives such as peace
building, rather than the council’s traditional military objectives became an area of focus for the
body. This was evident in the instance of the United Nations Transitional Assistance Group (UNTAG)
to Namibia, which was established by in council through approval in 1978. It was primarily
concerned with ensuring that Namibia had a peaceful election and transition into independence in
March of 1990. The post cold-war era was particularly significant as the Security Council sought to
bridge the gap between Peace Keeping and Human rights protection. The Secretary-General in 1995
wrote that “any process whose goal is one of peace keeping must take into account the human
rights situation and aim to ensure the promotion and protection of those rights”.

Articles 55 and 56 impose upon the UN and its members respectively the obligation, “to promote
respect for and observance of human rights. The UN organs and bodies with jurisdiction in respect
of human rights include the Security Council in part (2);

(2) “the Security Council may take enforcement actions in respect of human rights violations
that amount to a threat to or a breach of the peace”

The council developed an even more active role in the fight against human rights violations in Africa
after the Rwandan genocides of April 1994. In a report the UN observed that, “the fundamental
failure was the lack of resources and political commitment devoted to developments in Rwanda and
the United Nations presence there. There was a persistent lack of political will by member states to
act or act with enough assertiveness.” Following the events in Rwanda the council created the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, (ICTR). Human rights observers were also deployed on
the order of the Secretary-General upon consultation with members of the Security Council, in the
fall of 1944. These observers were charged with the investigation of violations of human rights that
occurred between April 1944 and July of that same year.

Another area where the Security Council was not reluctant to respond was the attack by the
Janjaweed. The government backed militia, who were responsible for attacks on civilians. The
council quickly condemned these attacks, abhorring “all acts of violence and violations of human
rights and international humanitarian law by all parties to the crisis, in particular the Janjaweed,
including indiscriminate attacks on civilians, rapes, forced displacements, and acts of violence
especially those with an ethnic dimension”, whilst voicing it concern on the impact that would be
had on the civilian population as a consequence of the conflict in Daqur.

In conclusion therefore, in light of the dynamic nature of global conflicts, the Security Council has
had to incorporate Humanitarian Aid into its Peace-keeping agenda and increase its enforcement of
human rights under the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).