COLLECTION OF EssAYs RECUEIL D' ARTICLES - Naciones Unidas

assistance of the United States and others. 2
However that may be, there has emerged in the United States
of America since the 1960s a school of thought that maintains that the
way States behave towards each other is influenced by the fact of their
interdependence more than by impartial rules of conduct formulated by
the independent, sovereign nation-State which are, for the most part,
incompatible with current reality in the world. 3
This introduction has been necessary so as to arrive at one
basic fact, namely, that the role of the legal adviser in formulating a
State's foreign policy depends on a number of factors, two of which are
of major importance. The first is the legal system of the State, and the
second is its economic, political and cultural milieu and prevailing
customs and traditions. Let us take as an example in this context the
international human rights instruments and how they are approached by
small, newly independent countries, of which there are a great many in
the world today.
II. Human Rights
First of all, it must be stressed that the small, new country
places the law above all other considerations given that it is the law that
provides the basic guarantee of its existence and of the objectives that
it seeks to achieve. We are therefore of the view that the small, new
States are those most committed to the United Nations and its Charter
and to proceeding in the manner stipulated in the Charter. Since the
limits set by the Charter are clear, the view of the legal adviser will not
influence the framing of policies but it will ultimately lead to the
exclusion of certain options in favour of others.
In its Preamble and in Articles 1, 55, 62, 68 and 76, the Charter
of the United Nations urges respect for human rights and the endeavour
to promote their observance.
States have implemented these rights on the basis of a
2 The Qatari newspaper Al Rayah for 30 October 1997, p. 14, quoting
from the Washington Report.
3 For this theory, see Introduction to Political Science, 4th ed. (New
York, McGraw-Hill, 1983), chap. 19.