This Declaration of Biafra Speech as retrieved on 15 August 2008 raises the issue of ‘Self-Determination’. Self-determination is the principle in international law that allows nations the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international status without external interference. The right of nations to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law, binding, as such, on the United Nations as an authoritative interpretation of the Charter’s norms. It states that nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and fair equity of opportunity have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or interference which can be traced back to the …show more content…
Further feelings of injustice were caused by Nigeria, changing its currency so that Biafra supplies of pre-war Nigerian currency were no longer honoured, at the end of the war; only £20 was given to any easterner despite whatever amount of money he or she had in the bank. This was applied irrespective of their banking in pre-war Nigerian currency or Biafra currency. This was seen as a deliberate policy to hold back the Igbo middle class, leaving them with little wealth to expand their business interests. The total dead on the Biafra side is estimated to be between 1-3 million dead with hundreds of thousands injured and millions more refugees. While the Nigeria "oil boom" of the 1970 's went some way to ameliorating the pains brought about by the war, the ethnic tensions that caused the war still haunt Nigerian politics till today. The question is, ‘Why was Biafra denied their right to self-determination, bearing in mind that genocide existed then’?
From 1999 to the present day, the indigenous people of Biafra have been agitating for independence to revive their country. They have registered a human rights organisation known as Bilie Human Rights Initiative both in Nigeria and in the United Nations to advocate for their right to self-determination and achieve independence by the rule of law.
The United Nations respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live, and they
“Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future generations from a repeat of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 and invited states to sign and ratify it”
Kaden Buckley Composition II Mrs. Neuberger March 4, 2024 Unraveling the Dark Tale of Donald Henry Gaskins Since the 1980s, there are still 222,000 unsolved serial killer murders in the US (Alleah). Donald Henry Gaskins, famously known as "Pee Wee," is one of America's most heinous serial killers. Gaskins' life was anything but ordinary, starting from his tiny size at birth, earning him his infamous nickname "Pee Wee," to the troubled relationships and relentless bullying he faced. His early years hinted at the darkness that lay ahead.
The United Nations do multiple things such as following the devastation of the Second World War, with one central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security. The UN does this by working to prevent conflict; helping parties in conflict make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow peace to hold and flourish. These activities often overlap and should reinforce one another, to be effective. The term “human rights” was mentioned seven times in the UN's founding Charter, making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the Organization. In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights brought human rights into the realm of international law. Since then, the Organization has diligently protected human rights through legal instruments and on-the-ground activities. The united nations are a great group of people who are looking out for us ever since Canada has joined this group they have been able to make an impact such as. Today, Canada continues to uphold the UN by actively participating in the organization's activities and providing financial support. Canada consistently brings pragmatic ideas and solutions to the table, from peacekeeping proposals in the 1950s, to creating the International Criminal Court and banning landmines in the 1990s. Today, some of their current goals are to assist war-affected children, or to improve the UN’s management and
“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”(UDHR). A declaration issued on December 10, 1948 by the United nations national assembly “an expression of the fundamental values which are shared by all members of the international community”( ).Although this may be true the reality that individuals misuse the power they have or are given is very common in our current society. When thinking of the abuse of power we think of someone who abuses their position to get information or to take advantage of a situation, and or to hold the power they have over another person. The misuse of power is a common occurrence in society, which requires victims to overcome it by stepping up or coming together as one to take back the rights we are all given as human beings.
The inconsistencies in the implementation even partly contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War (xxx, xxx). The European powers mobilized their African subjects with propaganda vilifying the racial-supremacist ideology of the Fascist powers. This set-in motion a process in which “Fascist nationalism produced the opposed reality of anti-Fascism; and anti-Fascism became antiracism; and antiracism led in due course to an end of colonization” (Davidson, 1992). The result was the erasure of European colonial rule from large swathes of the African continent within a relatively short period of time (xxx, xxx). Consequently, this led to the development of a decolonized version of the self-determination concept. The decolonization version of self-determination was based on the following three principles: i) all dependent peoples are entitled to freedom; ii) the peoples so entitled are defined in terms of the existing colonial territories, each of which contains a nation; and iii) once such a people has come to independence, no residual right of self-determination remains with any group within it or cutting across its frontiers (Emerson 1964). This version of self-determination had numerous implications. The concerned entities often did not find it necessary to demonstrate effective legitimate authority to gain and
In both history and present day, many human rights violations have occurred in countries residing within the UN. Despite the attempts that international influence created through the UN, many countries such as the Soviet Union conducted serious human rights violations through attempts to quell uprisings or anti-government movements. Even in the present day, countries such as North Korea and China have been committing drastic human rights violations, despite existing within the United Nations. Because of these facts, it can be concluded that international influence does not necessarily create better human
Queen Cleopatra VII Cleopatra VII is one of the most well-known queens of Ancient Egypt. She became a queen at the age of eighteen and helped Egypt through famine, floods, and wars. Throughout her life she showed what it meant to be a great ruler during a time of need with her intelligence, ambition, and beauty. Cleopatra was born in 69 B.C. (Britannica School). Her parents were Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V.
Nigeria has been a country in political turmoil for a long time. The country was created in 1914 under British colonial rule and at that time it was considered a protectorate. It was not until 1960 that Nigeria received independence from the United Kingdom. One of Nigeria's problems politically is that it has over three hundred different ethnic groups. The three largest of these are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba. At the time of the independence of Nigeria it was split up into three states with each state being under the control of one of the major ethnic groups. The natural resources of the other 297 ethnic groups were exploited for the major three groups,
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author follows the childhood of the main character known as Jeremy Atticus Finch. He is the son of lawyer Atticus Finch, and older brother of Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout. The family lives in a fictional town called Maycomb, Alabama. In their early lives, the two siblings were infatuated in figuring out the secrets of the Radley family, especially Boo Radley, in the house down their road. At the beginning of the story, their curiosity plays a big part in their lives. This builds during their many experiences and gives the readers a better sense of the characters’ traits. Jem Finch plays one of the key roles in the storyline and has a very brave, emotional, and protective personality.
Before we begin, let’s take a look at the country and its environs. Nigeria a former British Colony, located in the western part of Africa, it shares borders with Benin, Cameroun, and Niger. A growing population of 150million, labour force of 51million (70% Agriculture, 10% industry and 20% service), urbanisation is less than 40%, GDP is over $300billion, Per capita income is $2300. Nigeria is blessed with different cultures, languages and ethnic groups (252 in total); this was due to the colonization of the British in the early 19th century (Columbia Encyclopaedia). The British amalgamated its protectorates in 1914 to enable stable control and governance which made them create one Nation of Nigeria formed from all the groups, community and empires around the Niger area under their control. Nigeria had her independence on the 1st of October 1960 and since then various civil wars, political and religious unrest in the country to share power and resources amicably.
When I was young my family loved watching movies and T.V. shows, my father didn’t mind if I watch with them as long as I went to bed at a reasonable time. When I was about 12 my father started watching the movie Rocky late at night (around 9 P.M., That was my bedtime). He noticed after 20 minutes that I was still up watching the movie with him. He then told me to go to bed and grudgingly agreed. But after a short time in bed, I couldn’t resist to watch the rest of the movie. I was very intrigued with the movie and I had hear people talk very well of it. So, I snuck out into the living room, hide behind a chair, and watched the movie. It has been about seven years since I first saw the movie that changed my life.
The United Nations is widely regarded and respected as the most powerful institution that promotes international cooperation and human rights action. In theory, actions implemented by and within the United Nations are based on the mutual global goal of protecting international human rights and preventing human sufferings. These actions are constituted through three main mechanisms: the Treaty-based system, the Human Rights Council, and Security Council and Humanitarian Interventions, with the level of confrontation and seriousness in each mechanism increases respectively. While aimed to serve the mutual goal of protecting human rights over the world and have shown some successes, in a world of sovereignty, actions when implemented are in fact grounded by the national interests of each state, including embracing its national sovereignty, concreting its strategic relationships with other states, and enhancing its reputation in the international community. This paper will analyze the successes and failures of each of the three mechanisms of the United Nations regime, through which it aims to prove that when it comes to actions, states focus more on their national, and in some cases, regional interests than on the mutual goal of strengthening human rights throughout the world, thus diminishing the legitimacy of the whole United Nations system.
The first was the weak sense of nationalism caused by all the ethnic groups where religion played a major part of the division. The main three ethnicities in Nigeria are Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo; the former is Muslim while the two latter are Christians. The second cause mentioned was the “divide and rule” which was a British tactic to employ ethnic groups against one another, and thus “helped ensure that ethnicity would be the main line of political cleavage after Nigeria became an independent country.” The third cause is the personal rule system based on “big men” and what this means is that Nigerian’s who worked for the British used their personal relationships to gain power and wealth, and in a certain way it is still used today in the Nigerian government. The fourth devastating cause was the “creation of an increasingly active and interventionist state during WWII and after until its independence in 1960, but that opened the doors to patronage, which would be used to gain political power and wealth. The past reveals the problems Nigeria has had for several decades, some of which have not disappeared but seem to get progressively worse. (CITATION)
Before we are able to determine the success or failure of the United Nations in its determination to advocate and support human rights on an international scale, it is imperative that we come to an understanding of the purpose, functions, and structure of the United Nations.
The United Nations, with its rigid moral and political limitations against force, has become a benchmark of peace and a social achievement of modern times. From war torn Europe, the United Nations developed from five major powers with an initial goal to prevent the spread of warfare through peaceful means and to establish and maintain fundamental human rights. Through the past fifty years, this organization has broadened its horizons with auxiliary organizations from peace keeping missions to humanitarian aid, to economic development. However, in a modern example of ethnic cleansing, the UN faces new a new role as a bystander as its power is bypassed by NATO forces. The UN, however, promises to be an