Dictionary of Genocide - D Ank Unlimited

UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION
United States Presidential Leadership Syndrome. Coined by John Shattuck (n.d.), a
former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the
“[U.S.] presidential leadership syndrome” constitutes a situation where “the president is not
likely to take the politically risky step of intervening in a humanitarian crisis—especially if
loss of life of U.S. forces is possible—unless there is strong public support for intervention”
(Shattuck, 1996, p. 174). Many other nations are likely subjects to a similar syndrome, be it
“presidential,” or “prime ministerial.”
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This historic document was
adopted and proclaimed by a vote of the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948
(Resolution 217 A [III]), and consists of a preamble arguing for “the inherent dignity and
equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” as the “foundation of
freedom, justice, and peace in the world” and the “common standard of achievement for
all peoples and all nations.” The UDHR constitutes the first of five declarations,
covenants, and protocols included under the larger heading of The International Bill of
Human Rights. The UDHR comprises thirty articles that delineate basic civil, cultural,
economic, political, and social rights that are the “birthright” of all human beings everywhere.
Put another way, it delineates those human rights that are considered by the
international community to be the inalienable and fundamental rights and freedoms that
all human beings are born with and that should be honored without fail. Among the
rights delineated in the UDHR are life, liberty, and security of person; recognition everywhere
as a person before the law; the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; and
the freedom of opinion and expression. Certain articles also specify what each individual
should not be subjected to, including, for example, slavery or servitude; torture or
cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment; or arbitrary arrest, detention, or
exile. Examples of specific rights are as follows: Article I states that “All human beings
are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Article II states,
in part, that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.” And
Article 3 simply but profoundly states, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security
of person.”
Those nations that signed the declaration were urged in the document itself to publicize
and display its passage and educate their citizenry “in schools and other educational institutions.”
Along with the “UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” (1966; ratified 1976),
“UN Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights” (1966; not yet ratified),
“UN Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide”
(1948), and the “UN Convention Against Torture” (1985; not yet ratified), the
“Universal Declaration of Human Rights” constitutes the foundation for international
human rights legislation, too often honored more in theory than in actual practice even
by the various signatory nations.
Universal Jurisdiction. This legal concept maintains that any state can hold perpetrators
of genocide accountable regardless of whether the crime was committed in that state
or against that state’s nationals as long as the state has written legislation criminalizing
genocide in its domestic law.
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