STRATEGIES “UNC” NGO USE FOR ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

Executive Summary

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) involvement in internal law has profoundly increased in the recent era. For instance, “UNC” is an NGO committed to enhancing the enforcement of international law in the world. The fact that international law lacks specific methods of its implementation makes the organization’s role crucial in the current world characterized by frequent law violations. The firm is helpful in the transforming the international law as well as contributing to monitoring, elaboration, and enhancement of global norms. It uses various strategies, such as collective action, shaming, and sanctions in its commitment to enforce the law. An in-depth analysis of the three methods identifies collective action as the best strategy of enforcing the law. This is because the collaboration of states will create an unstoppable force against the law-offending state. Moreover, the shaming method is also applicable to its low-cost requirement and simplicity in application. However, the organization should cease from using sanctions because they tend to influence innocent citizens negatively.

Relevant Background Information

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have undergone an unprecedented development at the international level in the recent days. The growth of their influence can be attributed to globalization as well as the opportunity for a developed network that has increased the consciousness regarding the local issues at the international level.[1] For instance, “UNC” is a nongovernmental organization that is committed to enhancing the enforcement of international law. The organization is involved in elaboration as well as the guarantee of international law, which refers to the set of principles and rules that states consider when relating to each other. “UNC” has been a primary driving force in key innovations within international systems such as courts alongside daily enforcement of international programs and standards. The organization’s role is becoming more significant in recent days due to the increment in conflicts. The fact that international law is doctrinally described as a product of state positivism makes the contribution of the NGO to the vibrancy of international law a puzzle. However, the NGO’s commitment to its purpose offers it a moral authority to enhance the enforcement of the law. In this regard, the NGO uses various strategies, including collective action, shaming, and appeals to media to strengthen the enforcement of international law.

Discussion of the Problem and Why it is Important

The enforcement of international law is an issue that has threatened both the effectiveness and credibility of the global normative system. An in-depth analysis of international law indicates that it can do more. The law by itself cannot offer justice to the nations comprising it because the system lacks the necessary enforcement mechanisms. The law’s failure to provide specific methods of its enforcement challenges its application.[2] The involved nations depend on international organizations such as NGOs and IOs for a way forward. In this regard, the NGO has been a vital element in the promotion of justice to states all over the world. The NGO’s involvement in the enforcement of international law has been helpful in transforming the international law as well as contributing to monitoring, elaboration, and enhancement of global norms. Effective enforcement of the law enables states to achieve justice in solving conflicts between them, thereby promoting peaceful coexistence.[3] Consequently, proper enforcement of international law will ensure that everybody enjoys human rights all over the country. Moreover, effective enforcement of the law sensitizes the involved parties in the presence of the law and its processes, thereby improving its functionality.

Strategies the NGO Use for Enforcement of International Law

Collective Action

The NGO has been at the forefront in bringing together many states to act against a given nation in the quest of finding a punitive solution. Notably, international law has no specific security agents to foresee or act against the offenders of international law. It is the responsibility of states to offer their agents to aid in the enforcement of the law. In situations where a particular nation breaks the international law and fails to honor calls from international bodies to make the necessary changes, the other states are required to form a force an act against the country.[4] However, the fact that each country is committed to its own specific goals, it becomes hard for them to unite against the offender. This calls for the efforts of the NGO, to coordinate the many countries to act against the one breaking international laws. The organization, engage in lobbying processes to convince states to unite and work towards a common goal, which is the enforcement of international law. Consequently, the organization enhances the decision-making process among the involved states. In the case they opt to send troops to enforce the law, the organization ensures they stay focused towards the common goal.  In that regard, it contributes to the application of collective action towards enforcement of the law.

Shaming

            The organization also uses the “name and shame” approach in enforcing the international law. Notably, most nations dislike negative publicity and try their best to avoid it. Therefore, the threat of shaming a nation with public statements concerning a given offending behavior will always act as an efficient law enforcement strategy. This strategy is primarily applicable in the human rights field where the organization in collaboration with other parties uses the media attention to note the violations of law.[5] The method is further used in situations where the organization never wants to directly intervene in the affairs of the state violating the international laws. The negative public attention contributes to solving the issue at hand, as the country will fear the intervention of other nations, thereby making the necessary changes. Besides, the negative statements will notify many authorities, who will henceforth seek for methods of enforcing the law in the involved state. Therefore, through shaming, the NGO has highly contributed towards the enforcement of the international law.

Sanctions

Finally, the NGO uses various sanctions, including economic, diplomatic, or military as a law enforcement method. The strategy involves restricting a state that involved in violating international laws from carrying international activities such as trade. The organization collaborates with other nations to impose sanctions on the law-offending state. The other countries agree to stop working with the country with respect to the highlighted activity. This strategy in most cases succeeds, as most countries depend on others in accessing particular things that are crucial for running their economy. For instance, trade and diplomatic sanctions paralyze a state’s propelling it to cease from violating international laws.[6] They create a gap in the nation’s economy, especially by lacking a market for their products, a factor that forces the leaders to act with moderation and respect the law.   

Recommendations

            The organization should consider the collective active method as its primary strategy. This approach is easy to administer and propel a nation to respect international laws. The uniting of nations creates a strong force that no state can overpower. Consequently, the unity of nations will always make other countries to cease from violating the law due to fear of facing such a strong force. Therefore, this methodology will enable the organization to achieve its goal of enforcing the law.

Moreover, the organization should widen the use of shaming as an enforcement strategy. This is because the method has minimal impact on the lives of citizens and tends to affect the popularity of the involved leaders. Additionally, the approach is cost effective and simple to apply, as it never involves lengthy procedures, but rather access to the right information.

However, the organization should minimize the use of sanctions, as it is likely to impact the lives of ordinary citizens. In most cases, the leaders of states may be acting in a manner that contravenes the international law, leading to deployment of sanctions. Such sanctions will profoundly affect the critical processes in the nations, which will eventually deteriorate the living standards of the ordinary citizens. Instead, the organization should blackmail the leaders in a way that never affects its citizens.

[1] Charnovitz, Steve. “Nongovernmental Organizations and International Law.” American Journal of International Law 100, no. 2 (2006): 348-372.

[2] Elena, Proukaki Katselli. The Problem of Enforcement in International Law: Countermeasures, the Non-Injured State and the Idea of International Community. New York: Routledge, 2009.

[3] Ibid., 352.

[4] Emilie, Hafner-Burton, David G. Victor, and Yonatan Lupu. “Political Science Research on International Law: The State of the Field.” American Journal of International Law 106, no. 1 (2012): 60.

[5] Yonatan, Lupu. “Best Evidence: The Role of Information in Domestic Judicial Enforcement of International Human Rights Agreements.” International Organization 67, no. 3 (2013): 469-503.

[6] Anu Bradford and Omri Ben-Shahar. “Efficient Enforcement in International Law.” Chicago Journal of  International Law. 12 (2011): 408.

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