Where is R2P grounded in international law? Anne-Marie Judson A ...

obligations, that are not made in good faith are violations of international law”. 358
Article 29 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines these duties of
the state to the fundamental freedoms of the citizen. “In the exercise of his rights and
freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law
solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and
freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and
welfare in a domestic society.” These rights are considered customary as they were
adopted by the General Assembly on 10 th December 1948.
As previously outlined some rights in international law are non-derogable violations
including breaches of contract, of a treaty or a covenant. These breaches are
violations of international law, (Chapter 2) which constitute a departure from
respected laws and customs of states and are therefore considered a violation of
general international norms and laws. The prohibition against discrimination within
the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights is another example of a
principle or law that is non-derogable, Chapter 4 (5.1.) This starts with the Charter of
the United Nations (Introduction) and continues through to the Convention on the
Crime and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Chapter 3 (4.6), and into the other
internationally recognized treaties on apartheid, and economic and social rights,
Chapter 3 (4.5). The international community would not consider therefore
derogating from these principles even under a state of emergency. So although they
may be listed as derogable in a state of emergency a court may consider that these
rights were inalienable and therefore the state would be in breach of the provisions it
has violated. The Siracusa Principles outline a number of these rights associated with
non-international armed conflicts and the Geneva Conventions (1948), and the rules
pertaining to Conventions of the International Labour Organization. 359
This research in Chapter 3 suggested that it would be difficult to intervene in a
country on behalf of its citizens under R2P when the situation is strictly limited to the
crime of genocide and/or war crimes. If the situation does not pertain to a noninternational
armed conflict or an international armed conflict or genocide it cannot
be considered an intervention within the definition of R2P. If the conflict is not taking
358 Article 62
359 See article 68, 69 (a) – (i)
108