Global Citizenship

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Global Citizenship

• Human Rights and Non-Governmental Organizations

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Key Terms

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) The
  international document adopted by the United
  Nations in 1948 that proclaims basic human rights
  for all people. Even though it cannot be
  enforced, the UDHR firmly establishes the
  principle of human rights and has inspired other
  human rights agreements.
• Humanitarianism The belief that everyone
  deserves to be treated with respect and dignity
  and that the wellbeing of all humankind is a
  necessary and worthy goal
• Genocide The systematic and deliberate attempt
  to kill all members of an ethnic, racial, or
  other cultural group.

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Key Terms

• International Criminal Court (ICC) The worlds
  first international criminal court, which was
  established by the United Nations in 2002 to
  prosecute individuals accused of war crimes and
  crimes against humanity.
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
  Not-for-Profit voluntary organizations that work
  to improve life and social conditions around the
  world (e.g. Oxfam, Greenpeace, Doctors without
  borders). Although they may receive some funding
  from government, NGOs are independent of
  government control.
• Sanctions Military or economic measures by which
  one or more countries try to force another
  country to respect international law or human
  rights (e.g. by stopping trade or aid)
• Terrorism The unlawful use or threatened use of
  extreme violence by individuals and groups to
  create widespread fear to achieve political
  goals.

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The World after 1945

• By 1945, most world leaders had a solid
  understanding of the following global events
• The First World War (1914-1918)
• The Second World War (1939-45)
• The Horror of the Holocaust (1933-45)

Winston Churchill, Harry Truman And Joseph Stalin
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The Creation of the United Nations

• Understandably, many world leaders were keen to
  ensure that the failures of the past to achieve
  world peace would not be repeated.
• The central question was How do we prevent
  another world war?
• The Solution? The creation of an international
  forum for discussion and debate The United
  Nations

The United Nations New York City, USA
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The Creation of the United Nations

• On October 24th, 1945, the United Nations was
  created with the signing of the Charter of the
  United Nations.
• In 1945 there were 51 member states.
• Today, there are 191.

The United Nations General Assembly
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The Creation of the United Nations

• John Humpfrey, a professor of Law at McGill
  University in Montreal helped to draft the
  Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• In this document, it states that all human beings
  have a right to
• Life, Liberty, security of the person and a
  reasonable standard of living.
• However, this document is a guideline and cannot
  be enforced by the UN. Why Not?

John Humpfrey
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Canada and the United Nations

• Canada has as a very distinguished reputation in
  the world for its record on human rights and its
  involvement in the UN. Consider the following
  facts
• Canada has supported UN peacekeeping operations
  with over 100,000 personnel over the last 45
  years.
• Canada has signed every UN convention to
  strengthen human rights since 1948

Former Canadian Ambassador to The United Nations
Stephen Lewis
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The Purpose of the United Nations

• The United Nations (UN) has four purposes
• To develop and maintain peace and security
• To develop friendly relations among nations
• To try and solve international problems and in
  promoting respect for human rights
• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of the
  worlds nations

George Bush listens to the Proceedings of the UN
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The Purpose of the United Nations

• The Specific Purpose is to
• Develop international laws
• for the world to follow
• Promote international
• security,
• Promote economic development
• Promote social progress
• Promote Human Rights

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon shakes hands
with former Secretary- General Kofi Annan
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The Structure of the United Nations

• The United Nations is not a government in the
  sense that it does not make laws for the rest of
  the world to follow.
• The sovereignty and self-determination of nations
  is recognized and respected.
• The role of the UN is to provide a forum for
  discussion and to give a sense of what the world
  generally believes to be right.
• Question Does International Law exist?

The United States makes it point
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The Structure of the United Nations

• The General Assembly
• The Security Council
• The Economic and Social Council
• The Trusteeship Council
• The Secretariat
• The International Court of Justice (ICC)

The International Court of Justice
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The General Assembly

• At the moment, there are 192 members of the
  General Assembly.
• The role of the General assembly is to debate
  issues of global significance and to recommend
  resolutions to global problems
• In the General Assembly all nations are equal and
  are provided with one vote

The General Assembly
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The Security Council

• The Security Council has 5 permanent
  members Russia, China, France, Britain and the
  United States.
• There are also 10 elected members (Located on
  Map)

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The Security Council
The Security Council
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The Security Council

• The Role of the Security Council is the
  following
• The maintenance of international peace and
  security.
• The establishment of peacekeeping operations
• The establishment of international sanctions
• The authorization for military action

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The Security Council Veto Power

• If a permanent member of the Security Council
  Vetoes a UN resolution, then the resolution will
  not pass.
• A Veto is a vote which cancels the adoption of a
  new provision. Since the beginning of the UN,
  the following members have vetoed
• China 6 times
• France 18 times
• Russia/USSR 122 time
• The United Kingdom 32 times
• United States 81 times.

China exercising its Veto Power
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The International Court of Justice

• The International Criminal Court was established
  in 2002 in the Hague, Netherlands.
• The court is responsible for the prosecution of
  individuals charged with war crimes.
• The United States and China are examples of
  countries that do not recognize the authority of
  the ICC. Why?

The International Court
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The Economic and Social Council

• The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the
  United Nations
• Its role is to assists the General Assembly in
  promoting international economic and social
  cooperation and development.

The Economic and Social Council
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The United Nations Secretariat

• The United Nations Secretariat
• Is headed by the United Nations
  Secretary-General.
• Its role is to provide studies for meetings,
  technical information, and provide facilities
  needed by United Nations bodies for their
  meetings.

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The International Court of Justice

• Its main role is to settle legal disputes
  submitted to it by member states of the UN
• It is also needed to give advisory opinions on
  legal questions submitted to it by international
  organizations and agencies and the UN General
  Assembly.
• The Courts decisions may be vetoed by the
  permanent members of the Security Council. The
  United States recognizes its authority on an ad
  hoc (case by case) basis

The International Court of Justice
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Genocide and the International Criminal Court

• The following is a listing of Genocides that
  have taken place in the world since 1915
• Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-95)
• Rwanda (1994) 1 Million deaths
• Cambodia (1975-79) 2 Million deaths
• East Timor (1975-79)
• The Holocaust (1933-45) 6 Million deaths
• USSR famine in the Ukraine (1932-33)
• Armenians in Turkey (1915-19) 1.5 Million Deaths

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Genocide East Timor
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Genocide Rwanda/Cambodia
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Genocide and the International Criminal Court
The former Yugoslavia was the Scene of numerous
war crimes.
Canadian Judge Louise Arbour
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Peacekeeping

• When the United Nations was established in 1945,
  the intention was to prevent international
  conflicts from getting out of hand.
• The Solution?
• Peacekeeping.
• Who invented peacekeeping?

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What is a Global Citizen?

• A Global Citizen is someone who
• Understands that all citizens of the world are
  interconnected
• Understands that global problems terrorism,
  poverty, pollution and natural disasters require
  international co-operation
• Views events from the perspectives of other
  nations

David Suzuki Environmentalist and Global Citizen
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Peacekeeping

• Invented by Lester B Pearson in 1957 for his
  intervention in the Suez Canal Crisis.
• He won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
• Since that time, Canada has been a world leader
  in global peacekeeping efforts.
• Why are we so good at it?

Lester B Pearson Former Canadian Prime Minister
and Global Citizen!
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Cyprus Conflict Separation of Turks and Greeks
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Peacekeeping

• The Role of Peacekeepers
• Supervise Elections
• Set up local police forces
• Deliver Humanitarian Supplies
• Mediation of Disputes

General Lewis MacKenzie
UN base destroyed by rocket
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Peacekeeping

• There is a big difference between Peacekeeping
  and Peacemaking.
• From the Bosnian Conflict onwards, the United
  Nations has struggled to implement its
  peacekeeping mandate.
• In some instances, the efforts of the UN have
  been less than successful

General Romeo Dallaire
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The Usage of Sanctions

• When countries ignore human rights, or attack
  other countries in violation of international
  law, Canada can also impose Sanctions an act
  whereby the Canadian government refuses to trade
  with countries in an effort to change their
  policies.
• In 1977, Canada imposed sanctions against South
  Africa in an effort to force their government to
  abandon their policy of racial segregation
  (Apartheid)

Are sanctions effective?
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Non-Governmental Associations (NGOs)

• Non-Governmental Associations (NGOs) are
  organizations that try to affect international
  policies by working outside the political
  process.
• Common NGOs are
• GreenPeace
• Peta
• Doctors Without Borders

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Questions???