GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

The Contemporary World: GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

1. GLOBAL SOCIAL MOVEMENTS JANINE YONGCO BEED 1-A MR. RENO MILLER INSTRUCTOR

2. HUMAN RIGHTS DEFINED AS THE “ENTITLEMENT OF INDIVIDUALS TO LIFE, SECURITY, AND WELL BEING” (TURNER 1993: 489- 512; 2007 : 591), HAS EMERGED AS A MAJOR GLOBAL POLITICAL ISSUE. IT IS ARGUED THAT BECAUSE THESE RIGHTS ARE UNIVERSAL, THE NATION - - STATE CANNOT ABROGATE THEM. AS A RESULT, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS HAVE CLAIMED THE RIGHT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A SAY ABOUT WHAT IS DONE TO PEOPLE WITHIN (FOR EXAMPLE, TORTURE OF TERROR SUSPECTS) AND BETWEEN, ILLEGAL TRAFFICKING IN HUMANS [FARR 2005] SOVEREIGN STATES. THUS, IN SUCH A VIEW, HUMAN RIGHTS ARE A GLOBAL MATTER AND NOT EXCLUSIVELY A CONCERN OF THE STATE (LEVY AND SZNAIDER 2006 :657 – 76). FURTHERMORE, THE IMPLICATION IS THAT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CAN AND SHOULD INTERVENE WHEN A STATE VIOLATES HUMAN RIGHTS OR WHEN A VIOLATION OCCURS WITHIN A STATE BORDER AND THE STATE DOES NOT TAKE ADEQUATE ACTION TO DEAL WITH THE VIOLATION.

3. For example, according to Article 13: Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. It is clear in this Declaration and its Articles is that human rights take precedence over the nation -state and that the UN is seeking to exert control over the state, at least on these issues. UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

4. The United Nations (UN), in spite of its myriad problems, is the premier global organization in the realm of politics.

5. ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS UN stands in opposition, at least in general, to those who argue that globalization has brought about, or is bringing about, the demise of the (nation -)state. The UN is a global setting in which nation-states meet and deliberate. However, the UN is not merely a setting in which nation -states meet; it is also an independent actor. The two best -known state -based organs in the UN: 1. the Security Council-UN’s main deliberative body and 2. the General Assembly responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security

6. THE UN 4 BROAD AREAS MILITARY ISSUES- The UN was envisioned as a major force in managing peace and security, especially in inter -state relations. However, it was marginalized during the Cold War 1 largely because in the Security Council both the US and the Soviet Union could veto proposed interventions. A turning point in the military role of the UN was the 1991 authorization by the Security Council of the use of force to deal with Iraq ’ s invasion of Kuwait. Throughout the 1990s the UN engaged in a wide variety of actions that were not anticipated by its founders and which had been regarded previously as the province of states. These included: INTERVENTIONS IN CIVIL WARS IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES; ELECTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS MONITORING, DISARMAMENT, AND EVEN THE ASSUMPTION OF STATE FUNCTIONS (IN CAMBODIA AND EAST TIMOR, FOR EXAMPLE) ” (WEISS AND ZACH 2007 : 1219). HOWEVER, THE EXPANSIONISM OF THE UN IN THESE AREAS WAS TEMPERED BY FAILURES IN THE 1990S IN SOMALIA AND YUGOSLAVIA. IN THE MILITARY REALM IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT THE UN HAS BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN ARMS CONTROL AND DISARMAMENT.

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8. 2. ECONOMIC ISSUES- PROMOTE ACTIONS THAT WOULD LEAD TO REDUCTIONS IN GLOBAL INEQUALITY. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES- (E.G. POLLUTION, HAZARDOUS WASTES) WHICH ARE DEALT WITH PRIMARILY THROUGH THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME. 4.HUMAN PROTECTION- A VARIETY OF UN -SPONSORED HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS HAVE PROTECTED HUMAN RIGHTS AROUND THE WORLD.