Details

The primary subject of the course will be the law of the United Nations, with a particular focus on the legal pronouncements, actions and judgments in the international human rights realm of the UN's various Councils, commissions, committees and other bodies. The course is designed for students who already have had a general exposure (in the academic arena or otherwise) to Public International Law and who wish to develop an in depth understanding of the legal processes at the UN bearing on international human rights and the rule of law. The course will explore these concepts in a number of contexts, including peacemaking/peacebuilding, economic development, environmental protection, advancing standards of health and conditions of work, and promoting cultural understanding among peoples. A primary focus during the course will be on specific case studies--both country based and thematic--involving the denial of human rights within nations and the efforts of UN treaty bodies and operational agencies, including the newly created Human Rights Council, to provide redress. Throughout the course, we will seek to look behind the façade of the UN organization and seek to determine the degree to which the organization is effective as a cohesive whole or, as some critics charge, merely a "sprawling array of fiefdoms" that is more interested in promoting internal or personal agendas than the mandates of the UN Charter and treaties.