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

Treaties (1969) now considered as customary international law. 50 It states that a party
may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to
perform a treaty.
Lastly, Article 14 of the Draft Articles of Rights and Duties of a State (1949) declares
that every state has the duty to conduct its relations with other states in accordance
with international law and with the principle that the sovereignty of each state is
subject to the supremacy of international law, once again directly linking to the
Charter of the United Nations under Chapter XIV Article 93, that declares that all
members of the United Nations are ipso facto parties to the Statute of the International
Court of Justice and linking to Article 94 that declares that each member of the
United Nations undertakes to comply with the decisions of the International Court of
Justice.
Although the Draft Articles of Rights and Duties of a State (1949) were postponed in
1951, it remains one of the founding documents of R2P under the United Nations
General Assembly debates. On this note the debates and submissions must be
mentioned. Firstly there were eleven votes for and two against adopting the draft
articles. The voters against made statements to justify their decisions. Several of these
reasons are tangible, worthy of mention and applicable to R2P. Mr. Koretsky a
member of the International Law Commission declared that he voted against the
draft declaration because the draft articles deviated from the notion of sovereign
equality and the right to self-determination of peoples. Second, he said the articles did
not protect the interests of states against interference by international organisations or
groups of states in matters essentially falling within their domestic jurisdiction. Third,
the draft articles did not set out the most important duties of states to take measures
for the maintenance of international peace and security, including the prohibition of
atomic weapons and disarmament. Fourth, the articles ignored the duty of states to
take measures for the eradication of vestiges of fascism. Fifth, the draft articles ignored
the duty of states not to allow the establishment of any direct or indirect restriction of
the rights of citizens or the establishment of direct or indirect privileges for citizens on
account of their race or nationality. Sixth, the draft declarations did not recite the
50 United Nations. (1969). Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Vienna: United Nations
Document, Chapter XX iii 1, Volume 2, Title 23.1, page 13
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