United Nations' Doublethink
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Awarded Theses 2017/2018 Dragana Stefanovska United Nations’ Doublethink Economic Sanctions and Human Rights Protection erma, European Regional Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe DRAGANA STEFANOVSKA UNITED NATIONS’ DOUBLETHINK: ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION DRAGANA STEFANOVSKA FOREWORD The Global Campus of Human Rights is a unique network of more than one hundred participating universities around the world, seeking to advance human rights and democracy through regional and global cooperation for education and research. This global network is promoted through seven Regional Programmes which are based in Venice for Europe, in Sarajevo/Bologna for South East Europe, in Yerevan for the Caucasus, in Pretoria for Africa, in Bangkok for Asia- Pacific, in Buenos Aires for Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Beirut for the Arab World. Every year each regional master’s programmes select the best master thesis of the previous academic year that is published online as part of the GC publications. The selected seven GC master theses cover a range of different international human rights topics and challenges. The Global Campus Awarded Theses of the academic year 2017/2018 are: • Balan, Ecaterina, Comparative Analysis of Minority Women Rights Protection in Moldova and Ukraine in the Light of the International Human Rights Standards, Supervisor: Yuliya Vashchenko, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in the Caucasus (CES), coordinated by Yerevan State University • Ccotarma Ttito, Sally Sumico, The Influence of Extractive Companies on Police Intervention in the Context of Socio-Environmental Conflicts in Peru: Analysis and Legal Contributions from the Cases Concerning Xstrata and Yanacocha Companies in the Period 2011-2012, Supervisor: Clara María Minaverry, Universidad de Buenos Aires. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Latin American and the Caribbean (LATMA), coordinated by National University of San Martin (Argentina) II UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION • Everly, Jo, Between Localised Practices and Global Imaginaries of Boycott and Peace: Decolonial Reflections on BDS in Palestine, Supervisor: Ala Alazzeh, Birzeit University (Palestine). Arab Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights (ARMA), coordinated by Saint Joseph University (Lebanon) • Muhumuza, Nimrod, The Constitutionality of Religious Education in Uganda, Supervisor: Benyam Dawit Mezmur, University of Western Cape. Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa (HRDA), coordinated by Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria • Rizzo, Evelin, “Resistilience”: Women’s Resistance and Resilience in Post Eviction in North Jakarta, Supervisor: Amalinda Savirani, Universitas Gadjah Mada (Indonesia). Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation in Asia Pacific (APMA), coordinated by Mahidol University • Runte, Julia, Community Intervention as a Means to Destigmatize Child Soldiers and Permit Reintegration: A Comparison Case Study of Uganda and Iraq, Supervisor: Sara De Vido, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA), coordinated by EIUC • Stefanovska, Dragana, United Nations’ Doublethink: Economic Sanctions and Human Rights Protection, Supervisor: Mitja Žagar, University of Ljubljana. European Regional Master’s Programme in Democracy and Human Rights in South East Europe (ERMA), coordinated by University of Sarajevo and University of Bologna III DRAGANA STEFANOVSKA This publication includes the thesis United Nations’ Doublethink: Economic Sanctions and Human Rights Protection, written by Dragana Stefanovska and supervised by Mitja Žagar, University of Ljubljana. BIOGRAPHY Dragana Stefanovska holds a B.A. degree in International Relations from the University of Ljubljana and an M.A. degree in Human Rights and Democratisation in South-East Europe. Her research interests are focused on international (humanitarian) law, war crimes, human rights law and the UN system. ABSTRACT The most common understanding of ‘use of force’ is associated with military coercion. Examinations in the political and public spheres as well as legal inquiries are extensively provided to most armed conflicts, also in regard to regular counting of the number of victims – considering that unjustified death caused by a military action is an obvious, blatant violation of the right to life. Accordingly, responsible actors are often subjected to moral and legal scrutiny. Nearly all of the deadliest conflicts fought since the end of the Second World War, by the number of victims – the Vietnam War, the wars in the DRC, in Iraq and in Syria – have been, to a large part, caused by unilateral interventions outside of UN’s framework. The harshest criticism towards the UN in these cases, therefore, has taken the form of accusations of inaction on its part. Nonetheless, several cases of economic coercion enacted precisely by the UN – the global guardian of human rights – as this study will show, have caused repercussions comparable – both by causing human rights violations and by increasing the level of threat against international peace and security – to repercussions of armed conflicts. A problem arises due to the fact that since the UN Charter provides the SC with the authority to introduce economic sanctions under Article 41, the legality and legitimacy of economic coercion enacted by the UN is rarely disputed. This study will argue that the SC’s usage of economic force needs to be re-examined – not only because it causes legal and practical discrepancies within the working of the UN as a single body – in light of IV UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION UN’s dedication to human rights protection; but also because a thorough examination shows that there is no coherent evidence for sanctions’ successful contribution towards international peace and security – the legal premise cited when sanctions are enacted. A guiding principle in this research has been the recognition that victims of starvation and/ or lack of basic medical supplies also need to be counted as fatalities of a grave crime, as the half a million dead Iraqi children or the possible millions of dead Yemeni children – victims of the coercive use of economic force – deserve the same condemnation as direct victims of military campaigns. Keywords: UN, SC, Economic sanctions, International peace and security, Human rights V DRAGANA STEFANOVSKA TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS Afghanistan Islamic Republic of Afghanistan AP Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions BH Bosnia and Herzegovina CAR Central African Republic CESCR United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Charter Charter of the United Nations CIA United States Central Intelligence Agency China People’s Republic of China CoE Council of Europe Covenant Covenant of the League of Nations CTC United Nations Counterterrorism Committee DPRK Democratic People’s Republic of Korea DRC Democratic Republic of the Congo ECOSOC Economic and Social Council of the United Nations EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FBI United States Federal Bureau of Investigation FDLR Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda [French: Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda] FRY Federal Republic of Yugoslavia GA General Assembly of the United Nations VI UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION GDP Gross Domestic Product (O)HCHR United Nations (Office of the) High Commissioner for Human Rights IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency ICC International Criminal Court ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ICJ International Court of Justice ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IHL International Humanitarian Law ILC International Law Commission IRA Irish Republican Army Iran Islamic Republic of Iran Iraq Republic of Iraq JCPOA Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (international agreement between Iran on one side and the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the European Union on the other) KLA Kosovo Liberation Army League League of Nations Libya State of Libya M23 March 23 Movement [French: Mouvement du 23 mars], also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army [Armée révolutionnaire du Congo] NATO Northern Atlantic Treaty Organization NPT Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs P5 Five permanent member-states of the United Nations Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China and France) R2P Responsibility to Protect ROK Republic of Korea RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front VII DRAGANA STEFANOVSKA Russia Russian Federation SC Security Council of the United Nations SFRY Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Syria Syrian Arab Republic UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme United States United States of America UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNITA National Union for the Total Independence of Angola [Portuguese: União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola] UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime WFP World Food Programme WHO World Health Organization WTO World Trade Organization YPA Yugoslav People’s Army ZANU Zimbabwe African National Union ZAPU Zimbabwe African