The UN Security Council and Human Rights: Promising Developments, Persistent Problems

The UN Security Council has dealt with human rights (defined to include humanitarian law) far more than anyone could have foreseen in 1945. Starting with limited action during the Cold War, the Council has greatly expanded its attention to human rights since roughly 1990. In a number of ways, there has been significant progress in trying to protect human rights through Charter Chapter VII enforcement, Chapter VI diplomacy including armed diplomacy known as peacekeeping, a renaissance in international criminal justice, and other measures. But persistent problems remain centered on a lack of agreement among the five permanent members.