Achieving Human Rights

1111 2 3 4 51 Achieving Human Rights 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 13111 Richard Falk once again captures our attention with a nuanced analysis of what 4 we need to do—at the personal level as well as state actions—to refocus our 5 pursuit of human rights in a post-9/11 world. From democratic global governance 6 to the costs of the Iraq War, the preeminent role of the United States in the 7 world order to the role of individual citizens of a globalized world, Falk stresses 8 the moral urgency of achieving human rights. In elegant simplicity, this book 9 places the priority of such an ethos in the personal decisions we make in our 20111 human interactions, not just the activities of government institutions and non- 1 governmental organizations. Falk masterly weaves together such topics as the 2 Iraq War, U.S. human rights practices and abuses, humanitarian intervention, 3 the rule of law, responses to terrorism, genocide, the Pinochet trial, information 4 technology, and many other topics to create a moral tapestry of world order 5 with human rights at the center. 6 7 Richard Falk is Albert G. Milbank Professor Emeritus of International Law 8 at Princeton University. He is currently Visiting Distinguished Professor of 9 Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4411 1111 2 3 4 51 Achieving 6 7 Human Rights 8 9 1011 1 2 13111 Richard Falk 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4411 First published 2009 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2009 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Falk, Richard Achieving human rights/Richard Falk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Human rights. I. Title. JC585.F34 2008 323–dc22 2008018558 ISBN 0-203-88910-X Master e-book ISBN ISBN10: 0–415–99015–7 (hbk) ISBN10: 0–415–99016–5 (pbk) ISBN10: 0–203–88910–X (ebk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–99015–8 (hbk) ISBN13: 978–0–415–99016–5 (pbk) ISBN13: 978–0–203–88910–7 (ebk) 1111 2 3 4 51 For Zeynep, Huyen, and Juliet, 6 a Private Global Village! 7 8 9 1011 1 2 13111 4 5 6 7 8 9 20111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 30111 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 40111 1 2 3 4411 1111 2 3 4 51 Contents 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 13111 Preface ix 4 Introduction 1 5 6 7 PART I 8 Overview 11 9 20111 1 Toward a Necessary Utopianism: Democratic Global 1 Governance 13 2 3 2 The Power of Rights and the Rights of Power: 4 What Future for Human Rights? 25 5 3 Orientalism and International Law 39 6 7 8 PART II 9 Nurturing Global Democracy 55 30111 1 4 Toward Global Democracy 57 2 3 5 Citizenship and Globalization 67 4 5 6 PART III 7 International Criminal Law 81 8 9 6 The Holocaust and the Emergence of International 40111 Human Rights 83 1 2 7 The Pinochet Moment: Whither Universal Jurisdiction? 97 3 8 Genocide at the World Court: The Case Against Serbia 121 4411 vii Contents PART IV Human Rights After 9/11 127 9 A Descending Spiral 129 10 Encroaching on the Rule of Law: Counter-Terrorist Justifications 144 11 Humanitarian Intervention 166 PART V Beyond Politics 179 12 Crimes, Lies, and Law: Human Rights in Adversity 181 13 Humanity in Question 192 14 The Ideal of the Citizen Pilgrim 202 Notes 208 Acknowledgements 233 Index 235 viii 1111 2 3 4 51 Preface 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 13111 In important respects this volume is a sequel to Human Rights Horizons, 4 published by Routledge in the year 2000. The present volume attempts to 5 provide a coherent account of the struggles to achieve human rights in the 6 early years of the twenty-first century. It is written from the perspective of an 7 American living in the United States who is critical of many of the overseas 8 policies pursued by the U.S. government, especially in response to the 9/11 9 attacks. These policies have tended to divert some positive tendencies with 20111 respect to human rights that had been emerging during the 1990s, hopefully 1 not permanently. 2 As is always the case, I have been influenced and helped by the work of 3 friends and colleagues, as well as by the challenges associated with teaching 4 courses on international human rights. Among many colleagues and friends 5 whose influence has been most notable in my immediate environment of Santa 6 Barbara I would mention Elisabeth Weber, Lisa Hajjar, Vicki Riskin, David 7 Rintels, Rich Appelbaum, David Krieger, and, of course, Hilal Elver. 8 In this period I have continued to collaborate with Burns Weston, Hilary 9 Charlesworth, and Andrew Strauss on a significantly revised fourth edition of 30111 International Law and World Order, a law course book that adopts a normative 1 outlook and is heavily influenced by the expanding agenda of human rights. 2 Perhaps my most important collaborative experience in recent years has been 3 with Andrew Strauss, who has emerged as a world leader in the campaign to 4 establish a world parliament, an important step in the struggle to democratize 5 the norms, procedures, and institutions of global governance. 6 In recent years, my main teaching has been as a visiting professor in the 7 Global and International Studies Program of the University of California at 8 Santa Barbara. I have enjoyed the friendship and support of those who run 9 this academic program that is so popular with UCSB students, especially Giles 40111 Gunn, its current director. I also had the experience in 2007 of teaching a 1 course at the Law School of UCLA, where I had the benefit of impressive 2 students and a most stimulating faculty. 3 An influential dimension of my life since 1995 has been summers spent in 4411 Turkey each year. The extraordinary political developments in Turkey have ix Preface been fascinating to experience directly, but disturbing because of the extent to which they have been misconstrued from within and without. I have felt challenged to interpret this evolving Turkish political reality as best I could, and have enjoyed a supportive relationship with the important Turkish daily newspaper Zaman. Perhaps more than any other country in the Middle East, Turkey has been a crucible for contending visions of constitutionalism, especially for exposing the deep tensions that exist as between different versions of secularism and the proper scope of religious freedom. It has again been a pleasure to publish with Routledge, and I am grateful for their consistent support of my work in recent years, as well as their pro- fessional efficiency during the production process. I have particularly enjoyed my relationship with Michael Kerns, who has acted as the principal editorial presence in relation to this book, and to Felisa Salvago-Keyes who has been as pleasant as she is skillful in managing the editorial process. And my warm thanks to Sophie Richmond, who has been a skillful copy editor, and heroic in the face of my logistical difficulties. Most of the chapters are based on lectures, conference presentations, and previously published articles or chapters in edited books. The content has been extensively revised, reflecting my self-critical temperament, but also further consideration of the topics, as well as some effort to take account of events in a rapidly changing world. As always, those who share the daily routine of my life are most deserving of my deepest thanks. In particular, my wife, Hilal Elver, has been my constant companion and deepest collaborator as we have shaped our life together in Santa Barbara and Istanbul—two contrasting and exhilarating urban experiences. We have struggled together, with the help and affection of friends in both places, to understand and interpret these two engagingly complex countries. I also want to say how much the love and companionship of my children, Chris, Dimitri, Noah, and Zeynep, and their wonderful partners, has meant to me. And finally, our special splendid Vietnamese ‘daughter,’ Huyen Ngoc Giap, who unfailingly charms and impresses, has already brought us much joy in this new century. x 1111 2 3 4 51 Introduction 6 7 8 9 1011 1 2 13111 The contours of human rights change to reflect the moral urgencies of the 4 human condition. In the last decade or so this has meant, above all, a turn 5 toward what the French philosopher, Jacques Derrida, referred to as “living 6 together well.” Such a refocusing of human rights concerns away from 7 state/society/individual relations as specified by legal texts and governmental 8 procedures is not meant to eclipse earlier efforts.

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