SMALL STATES IN THE UNITED-NATIONS

The United Nations provides an arena through which small states can play a role in international relations in a way that has never before been possible. In this article small states are defined as those that have a population of 10 million or less and which thus constitute some 120 of the human rights of individuals and groups. Most of the credit for this development goes to the United Nations. It is mainly through the Charter and practice of the United Nations that this development has been accomplished. The work of the United Nations in establishing international standards of human rights through conventions, declarations and resolutions has been largely successful. However the organization's attempts to implement and enforce these standards, both indirectly through the various theme-mechanisms and country-specific investigations and through humanitarian intervention, have been less than satisfactory. The explanation for this has been the politicization of the human rights issue and its negative effects of lack of leadership and institutional capacity. Given the current disturbances in the world characterized by ethnic conflicts of genocidal magnitude, the issues of human rights for both individuals and groups has come to the fore again. In order to cope with these problems the United Nations should continue to assert its right to intervene in states for the protection of human rights. In addition the United Nations should build up its institutional capacity to deal with these issues. In the long run, however, it is through the socialization of people and governments into democratic practices that the human rights of people can be protected on a lasting basis.