“American special relationships with Israel and Saudi Arabia blind us to their dreadful encroachments on human rights, as well as confer impunity on their leaders with respect to accountability for crimes against humanity.” HumansWellsHumanityLeaderRightsSpecialCrimeBlindHuman RightsIsraelAccountabilityArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisImpunityEncroachmentCrimes Against HumanitySpecial Relationship Author:Richard A. Falk
“Human rights and international criminal law both illustrate the contradictory potential of international law. On one level, the imposition of human rights norms is a restraint on interventionary diplomacy, especially if coupled with respect for the legal norm of self-determination. But on another level, the protection of human rights creates a pretext for intervention as given approval by the UN Security Council in the form of the R2P (responsibility to protect) norm, as used in the 2011 Libyan intervention. The same applies with international criminal accountability.” IfsHumansSelfFormLawUsedGivenLevelsResponsibilityRightsSecurityProtectDeterminationInternationalHuman RightsProtectionCriminalsAccountabilitySelf DeterminationApprovalRestraintNormDiplomacyCouncilInterventionContradictoryPretextInternational LawImpositionSecurity CouncilCriminal LawResponsibility To Protect Author:Richard A. Falk
“The UDHR has become an iconic document over the course of more than six decades, the starting point for discussions of whether or not the rights as set forth are truly universal or slanted to reflect the hegemony of Western values, especially those associated with liberal individualism.” ValuesCoursesRightsSixUniversalWesternStartingDecadesDiscussionIndividualismDocumentsStarting PointIconicHegemonyWestern Values Author:Richard A. Falk
“There are degrees of incompatibility, and there are more factors relevant to upholding democracy and human rights than the operation of neoliberal markets. Perhaps this point can be initially made by reference to the decline of democracy and the erosion of human rights within the United States since the 9/11 attacks.” HumansMadeStatesUnitedUnited StatesDemocracyRightsDegreesHuman RightsFactorsOperationsRelevantDeclineErosionIncompatibilityDemocracy And Human Rights Author:Richard A. Falk
“Post-1989 capitalism was far more unfriendly to economic and social rights than was the prior capitalism seeking to win public approval as a more compassionate economic arrangement than that which prevailed in state socialist economies.” StatesWinningSocialEconomyRightsEconomicCapitalismSeekingPostsCompassionateApprovalSocialistArrangementsUnfriendlySocialist Economy Author:Richard A. Falk
“The deliberate weakening of the labour movement by the machinations of market fundamentalists, gaining momentum during the periods when Margaret Thatcher led the United Kingdom and Ronald Reagan governed in the United States, contributed to the decline of human rights.” HumansStatesUnitedUnited StatesRightsMovementPeriodsHuman RightsKingdomsLabourDeclineDeliberateMomentumUnited KingdomWeakeningLabour Movement Author:Richard A. Falk
“The systemic incompatibility between free-market capitalism and the quality of democratic life and respect for human rights has to be modified to take account of such contextual variables as wartime, security threats, and the societal balance between entrepreneurial and working classes.” HumansQualityClassRightsSecurityBalanceCapitalismAccountsThreatDemocraticHuman RightsWorking ClassFree MarketEntrepreneurialVariablesWartimeIncompatibilityFree Market Capitalism Author:Richard A. Falk
