International Relations

65 International Relations
customary rule or, if a large majority of states has ratified the treaties, that this
is evidence that a customary rule has been formed. In light of horrendous
historical experiences, you may also argue that the prohibition of torture is of
such fundamental importance that today no derogation from this rule is
permitted. In other words, you would argue that the prohibition of torture is a
peremptory rule of international law (ius cogens – peremptory law) that does
not permit any exception.
You can see now how the early idea of state consent as a necessary
requirement for an international rule still permeates these argumentations.
The main difficulty often consists in establishing state consent or, at times, in
constructing alternatives for it.
Global organisation: The United Nations era
The end of the Second World War and the end of the Cold War are probably
the most significant historical watersheds in the development of recent public
international law. The end of the Second World War in 1945 led to the
establishment of the United Nations and the rapid development of several
areas of international law, including human rights law, international criminal
law and international economic law.
The United Nations is the most important global intergovernmental
organisation with major offices in New York, Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. It
was established with the principal aim to ensure peace and security through
international co-operation and collective measures. As of 2017, it has 193
member states. Article 2 of the UN Charter, the founding treaty of the United
Nations, confirms as guiding principles the sovereign equality of the member
states, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the use of force
and the principle of non-intervention.
Delegates of all member states meet once a year during the General
Assembly to discuss pertinent issues of world politics and vote on nonbinding
resolutions. The Security Council is the highest executive organ of the
United Nations in which the representatives of ten selected member states
and five states with permanent seats decide on issues of peace and security
through binding resolutions, which may result in economic sanctions or even
military actions. The ‘permanent five’ (the People’s Republic of China, France,
Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) hold the privilege of a
veto right allowing them to prevent the adoption of resolutions of the Security
Council on any substantial (as opposed to procedural) issues. Major reform
initiatives of the composition or voting procedures of the Security Council
have been unsuccessful so far. This taints the effectiveness and the