Bøger af Johan D. van der Vyver

Extending the reach of international human rights to include economic, social, and cultural rights as so-called Second Generation of human rights emerged toward the end of the 19th Century, but it has since then received special prominence mainly through the activities of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). One is also reminded that there was a time when government control and regulation of the economy was almost non-existent in the United States of America, because that was seen as a manifestation of communism. However, the New Deal initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882¿1945) to overcome the devastating effects of the Great Depression of the 1930¿s brought about radical change in this regard. The New Deal was designed to stabilize the economy through legislative control and governmental initiatives, and commercial law therefore became an important component of the American legal disposition. Directives of the ILO contributed to the development of the New Deal initiatives. UNESCO has also played a leading role throughout the world.

Since World War I, the international community of states has attempted to eliminate armed conflict as a means of settling international disputes. Centuries ago, Disedarius Erasmus (1466-1536) proclaimed: ¿War is pleasant only for those who have never had any experience of it.¿ Following World War II (1939-1945) the United Nations Organization was established with the primary purpose of maintaining international peace and security. However, armed conflicts and the violation of basic rules of International Humanitarian Law are in this day and age still with us. Today, even Super Powers engage illegally in armed interventions, as evidenced by the current invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces.

Even though the Constitution proclaims treaties entered into by the United States to be part of the supreme law of the land and authorises prosecution of offences against the law of nation in federal courts, the United States has had a checkered record in ratifying human rights instruments, in upholding decisions of international tribunals.