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validation-international-ghwipcsoc-pro03a | Failed states are havens for drug-smugglers and terrorists Failed states also export dangers more widely, as they often provide an opportunity for drug crops such as Opium (Afghanistan) or Coca (parts of Colombia) to be grown, processed and traded without fear of authority, with devastating effects both locally and globally. Desperate people may also take refuge in religious or political extremism, which may in time come to threaten the rest of the world. In so doing, failed states often become havens for terrorists, who can find safety in them to plot against the West, to establish training camps for future terrorists, and to build up finance, weapons and other resources with which to mount campaigns. In what was a key claim that later underpinned the 2002 US National Security Strategy and the U.S. War on Terror, Stephen Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard University, has described failed states as ‘breeding grounds of instability, mass migration, and murder’. [1] This can be seen in Somalia, where states in recent years have ‘begun to fear al Qaeda will take advantage of the lawlessness’. [2] Other fragile states, such as Niger, Congo and Sierra Leone have radioactive and other valuable minerals which could be very dangerous in the hands of determined terrorists. The USA should work with the UN to strengthen governments so that they can more effectively maintain internal order while controlling their borders and tracking resource-flows. [1] Rotberg, R. I. (2002, July/August). Failed States in a World of Terror. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Council on Foreign Relations: [2] Dickinson, E. (2010, December 14). WikiFailed States. Retrieved May 16, 2011, from Foreign Policy: |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-pro04a | The United Nations has the constitutional power and capability to intervene to prevent failed states The United Nations, and its resident body, the Security Council, has both the right and the capability to intervene in countries in order to maintain the peace. Peace in this sense represents more than the absence of bloodshed, but also provides the means by which aid organizations can enter a territory and provide the requisite resources to prevent civilian suffering. The United Nations have proven their efficacy in this area, mandating an intervention in the Ivory Coast in 2003 that sought to prevent the exacerbation of tensions between the government and rebel forces. [1] A ceasefire was eventually brokered in 2007 and the failure of the state averted. U.N. forces in Macedonia during the 1990s were also credited with ‘successfully contributing to the prevention of conflict spill over and having a stabilizing effect in the country’. [2] U.N. interventions to prevent the failure of states can and do work. [1] BBC News (2003, February 5) UN backs Ivory Coast peacekeepers. Retrieved June 20, 2011 from BBC News: [2] Kim, J. (1998, July 23). Macedonia: Conflict Spillover Prevention. Retrieved September 9, 2011 from CRS Report for Congress: |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con01b | Interventions can, and do, fail, however so long as their intentions are good, they must still be attempted if the effects of failed states are to be prevented. Furthermore, the humanitarian catastrophes linked to failing and failed states: ‘mass migration, environmental degradation, regional instability; energy insecurity and transnational terrorism’ are not the fault of a failed intervention, but a failed state. [1] The U.S.-led intervention in Somalia in 1992 is a case in point; though the intervention failed and, it could be argued, exacerbated conditions in Somalia, it did not lead to the state’s failure, it merely failed to prevent it. As such, the U.S. cannot be blamed for attempting to stand with Somalis and save their state; that they failed is unfortunate, but the subsequent continuing humanitarian catastrophe is not the fault of intervening forces. So long as there is hope that interventions can prevent failed states, the success rate is above 0%, they should be attempted for the alternative is little better for the civilians concerned. [1] Patrick, S. (2006) Weak states and global threats: Fact or fiction? Retrieved June 24, 2011 from the Washington Quarterly (29:2, p.27-53) p.27 |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con02a | Failing states should not be provided a safety net Being willing to step into every fragile state could create a moral hazard. Irresponsible governments will assume that they will be bailed out by the powerful states, like the US, and the UN, who will always intervene to prevent unnecessary and wide-spread suffering. [1] This in itself makes future failures much more likely, as there is no incentive for governments to tackle corruption, crime or the other issues that push states to the brink of failure. [2] There needs to maintain a culpable fear of failure, separate from the regime change and economic reconstructing often enforced by the UN and IMF on failing states. [1] Kuperman, A. (2006) ‘Suicidal Rebellions and the Moral Hazard of Humanitarian Intervention’ in T. Crawford and A. Kuperman eds. Gambling on Humanitarian Intervention (London: Routledge). [2] Rotberg, R. I. (2002, July/August). Failed States in a World of Terror. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Council on Foreign Relations: |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con05a | Intervention in fragile states is simply a new form of imperialism It is not for either the USA or the UN to impose a government upon individual countries. Doing so would deny the people of the failed state the right to chart their own future and be absent of the authorisation of the UN Charter, which states the organization is not allowed to intervene ‘in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state’. [1] Furthermore, if the USA, or any one country, regularly intervened it would create more hostility towards that country, with accusations that it is acting out of a self-interested desire to exploit peoples economically. The personnel of that country could rapidly become a target for attacks. Nor is it desirable to encourage the UN to increase the level of its intervention in the domestic affairs of member states. This might start with weak countries but could rapidly become a habit and encourage the organisation in its ambitions to become a world government. [1] Ratner, S. R., & Helman, G. B. (2010, June 21). Saving Failed States. Retrieved May 16, 2011, from Foreign Policy: |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con04a | International development is a more effective method of preventing failed states. The current US approach to international development, in which aid, loans or market access are conditional upon good governance, should be maintained and even extended more widely. Such conditions provide incentives for developing countries to put constructive policies in place and reward those who fight corruption. As past failures show all too clearly, there is no point throwing money at chaotic, lawless and corrupt regimes - it will never reach the people anyway. In any case, humanitarian relief is not conditional and the USA continues to respond with compassion to emergencies anywhere in the world. It should also be noted that special measures to support states identified as at risk of failure could in themselves be harmful. Discussion of intervention will scare off investors and help to bring about economic collapse - becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con05b | The questionable foreign policy of previous U.S. administrations should not pre-empt future interventions, either by the United States or other nations genuinely intended to protect civilians in failing states, when mandated by the United Nations. The United Nations has expertise and is widely respected, which will be required considering the international reputation of the USA is now sufficiently damaged that the hostility it generates can undermine the good work it wishes to do. In partnership the USA can provide resources to enable the UN to secure the future stability of many fragile countries, while the UN's involvement can show that these operations are altruistic and pose no imperialist threat. Over time, commitment through the UN to international peace and humanitarian concerns will allow the USA to change the way it is viewed worldwide - an important aspect of the War on Terror. Regarding violations of sovereignty, former U.N. Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali dismisses objections: ‘the time of absolute and exclusive sovereignty has passed; its theory was never matched by reality’. [1] [1] Ratner, S. R., & Helman, G. B. (2010, June 21). Saving Failed States. Retrieved May 16, 2011, from Foreign Policy: |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con01a | Interventions can fail and eventually cause more harm than good Interventions are not a panacea for failing states; they do not ensure the success of either the military offensive or subsequent reconstruction efforts on the ground during the occupation. If the intervention fails to overcome local forces, civilians are powerless to overcome a political hierarchy boosted by military victory and reliant on violence. Furthermore, even if the military offensive is successful, the underlying causes of the failure of the state are still present and may be exacerbated by the presence of an intervening force. As such, intervening forces must be aware that the decision is not simply whether intervention is necessary, but whether it will do more harm than good. Coyne describes this fallacy as the ‘Nirvana Fallacy’, whereby states assume that the ‘grass is always greener on the other side’. ‘It is assumed that the foreign governments can generate, via occupation and reconstruction, an outcome preferable to that which would occur absent of these interventions’. The reality challenges these assumptions, for Minxim Pei calculates just a 26% success rate for U.S.-led reconstruction efforts since the late nineteenth century. [1] If an intervening force can’t be certain, even remotely, of the benefit to the state concerned, it has little justification in deploying and risking the exacerbation of an already-precarious problem. [1] Coyne, C. (2006). Reconstructing weak and failed states: Foreign intervention and the Nirvana Fallacy. Retrieved June 24, 2011 from Foreign Policy Analysis, 2006 (Vol. 2, p.343-360) p.344 |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con04b | Western aid ‘cannot reach its intended recipients because of violence, irreconcilable political divisions, or the absence of an economic infrastructure’. [1] There is a need to change the rules for access to US aid programmes (e.g. the Millennium Challenge Account) and trade preferences (e.g. the African Growth and Opportunity Act), and those of international organisations in which the USA is influential (e.g. the World Bank, G8 moves on debt relief). At present these programmes are structured to reward developing countries with particular government policies (e.g. protection of property rights, focus on education, sustainable budgets, anti-corruption measures, etc). Sensible though this seems, it denies international help to those states whose people need it most - those where government is weak or absent. Funding microcredit schemes, education, health and sanitation programmes in the more stable parts of failing states, and providing meaningful trade access could all provide long-term benefits to the USA. [1] Ratner, S. R., & Helman, G. B. (2010, June 21). Saving Failed States. Retrieved May 16, 2011, from Foreign Policy: |
validation-international-ghwipcsoc-con02b | Punishment for the actions of irresponsible governments should not be handed down to civilians. The ‘safety net’ purports to protect civilians by preventing the failure of states; it does not guarantee the protection of those governments responsible for the near-failure. Furthermore, the fear of future failures is much more pronounced when states are left to fail, to export their anarchy to neighbouring states and their contraband to the world. As Rotberg therefore claims, ‘preventing states from failing, and resuscitating those that do fail, are…strategic and moral imperatives’. [1] [1] Rotberg, R. I. (2002, July/August). Failed States in a World of Terror. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Council on Foreign Relations: |
validation-international-atwhwatw-pro03a | Keeping NATO troops in Afghanistan is necessary for creating a successful Afghan state Due to the impotence of the Afghan state and its fledgling armed forces, withdrawing by the timetabled date would most likely mean abandoning the project of building a successful Afghan state, a project which can be successful if NATO troops continue to play their vital role in it. It is a myth that Afghanistan is unconquerable or ungovernable. The level of violence in Afghanistan is actually far lower than most Americans believe. In 2008 more than 2,000 Afghan civilians died at the hands of the Taliban or coalition forces (almost 7 per ten thousand). This was too many, but it was also less than a quarter of the deaths in 2008 in Iraq, a country that is both more sparsely populated and often assumed to be easier to govern. Not only are Afghan civilians much safer under American occupation than Iraqis, they are also statistically less likely to be killed in the war than anyone living in the United States during the early 1990s, when the U.S. murder rate peaked at more than 24,000 killings a year (about 10 per ten thousand). [1] An assertion that deserves a similarly hard look is the argument that nation building in Afghanistan is doomed because the country isn’t a nation-state, but rather a jury-rigged patchwork of competing tribal groupings. In fact, Afghanistan is a much older nation-state than, say, Italy or Germany, both of which were only unified in the late nineteenth century. Modern Afghanistan is considered to have emerged with the first Afghan empire under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, and so has been a nation for decades longer than the United States. Accordingly, Afghans have a strong sense of nationhood, and building a state there is possible so long as NATO forces do not abandon the project before it is completed. [2] A successful Afghan state is in the interests of all NATO countries, for security reasons, and so a compelling reason to abandon the timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan is that building a successful Afghan state is entirely possible if NATO stays the course and only withdraws once the job is done. [1] Bergen, Peter. "Winning the good war. Why Afghanistan is not Obama's Vietnam". Washington Monthly. July/August 2009. [2] ibid |
validation-international-atwhwatw-con01a | The continued presence of American and NATO forces benefits the Taliban and Al Qaeda The on-going NATO mission means continued combat confrontations and an ever-increasing risk to the civilian population of Afghanistan. These sorts of deaths, injuries and destruction of property have so far been demonstrably destructive to the U.S.-led international effort to stabilize Afghanistan and defeat the violent insurgency being waged by the Taliban and other militant groups. [1] According to a report released last January by the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, the 2,118 civilians killed in 2008 was an increase of 40% over 2007. [2] The continued presence of American troops into ethnic Pashtun areas in the Afghan south only galvanizes local people to back the Taliban in repelling the infidels. [3] A 2009 study by the Carnegie Endowment concluded that "the only meaningful way to halt the insurgency's momentum is to start withdrawing troops. The presence of foreign troops is the most important element driving the resurgence of the Taliban." [4] What the timetable for withdrawal acknowledges is that there is no state-building military solution in Afghanistan. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad-Mahdi Akhondzadeh said in April of 2009, "The presence of foreign forces has not improved things in the country". [5] The long-term security interests of the US and NATO would be better served by a military operation centred around targeted strikes against terrorist training camps from offshore or out-of-country special forces or drones, as this removes the aggravating presence of troops on the ground and would lead to fewer civilian casualties. [6] Looking beyond to the wider world, the NATO mission in Afghanistan has inflamed global Muslim anger and terrorism since its inception, and will continue to do so until it ends. This makes it more difficult for Western and Middle Eastern countries to work together toward mutual objectives, such as peace between Israel and Palestine, a conflict which drives support for terrorism worldwide and helps Al Qaeda recruit. [7] Al Qaeda has realized all this and aims to drain US resources in Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden made the following statement in 2004: "All we have to do is send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a cloth on which is written al-Qaeda, in order to make the [U.S.] generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses ... so we are continuing this policy of bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy." [8] Keeping troops in Afghanistan past the withdrawal date would just play into Al Qaeda's plan to trap the US. Therefore the withdrawal date should be adhered to and NATO troops withdrawn from Afghanistan. [1] Gharib, Ali. "Inevitable: Obama's Surge in Afghanistan Will Bring a Surge in Civilian Deaths". IPS News. 18 February 2009. [2] Fenton, Anthony. "Afghanistan: A Surge Toward Disaster". Asia Times Online. 18 March 2009. [3] Kristof, Nicholas. "The Afghanistan Abyss". The New York Times. 5 September 2009. [4] Dorronsoro, Gilles. ‘Focus and Exit: An Alternative Strategy for the Afghan War’, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, January 2009. [5] Tehran Times. "Iran says Afghan troop surge will be unhelpful". Tehran Times. 4 April 2009. [6] Los Angeles Times. "U.S. considers sending special ops to Afghanistan". Los Angeles Times.26 October 2008. [7] Friends Committee on National Legislation. "FCNL to Obama: No More Troops to Afghanistan! Invest in Diplomacy & Development". Friends Committee on National Legislation.23 February 2009. [8] Ignatius, David. "Road Map for Afghanistan". RealClearPolitics. 19 March 2009. |
validation-international-alhrhbushdmd-pro02b | An ineffective message in this case might well have been worse than no message. Had the West attempted to intervene, either by setting up a no-fly zone or even sending in ground troops, and the killings not stopped, it would have sent a message that Western threats and Western power are a paper tiger. Worse, if the genocide had reversed itself after Western intervention, the West would have found itself with both the moral and the political responsibility for the violence, and accusations of Western bias and even complicity would spread rapidly. |
validation-international-alhrhbushdmd-pro02a | The West has demonstrated that hiding behind China is a viable strategy Perhaps as damaging as the humanitarian consequences of the failure to intervene is the message it sent to other leaders considering solving their political and ethnic problems in a similar manner to Khartoum. Rather than deterring them from following in Bashir’s footsteps, the West by doing nothing, gave the impression that Bashir survived not through his own efforts, but because China protected him. Given the rapid expansion of Chinese influence around in Africa, this makes accepting Chinese investment instead of western investment vastly more attractive because in addition to the economic benefits, it is now perceived as buying Chinese political cover. In turn, this increasing interest in seeking out Chinese political cover will lead to more states being willing to imitate Bashir in the future, safe the knowledge that they will not be bombed. |
validation-international-alhrhbushdmd-con01b | Even eliminating the Sudanese Air Force would have had a major impact, as one rebel group argued that the Air Force was responsible for 60% of the attacks launched by Sudanese forces in the region. [1] Even if a non-Fly zone did not completely eliminate the Sudanese military forces, it would even the playing field and perhaps persuaded the government to sue for peace. Furthermore, the difficulty of gaining over-flight rights was also an issue with the air war in Kosovo, eventually forcing the use of German bases and carrier launched planes due to Italian reluctance. Such issues can be overcome, and the Sudanese air force poses little threat with its aged inventory. [1] Polgreen, Lydia, ‘Attacks Pushing Darfur Refugees Into Chad’, The New York Times, 11 February 2008, |
validation-international-alhrhbushdmd-con03a | The Conflict is an internal inter-tribal conflict – arming the Darfur tribes would be better The conflict in Darfur has been largely inter-tribal, and even the Sudanese government, lacking the full resources needed to suppress the opposition itself, has resorted to playing on these differences. Any Western effort to intervene would have been seen as intervening on one side by virtually all of the locals. The Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit would have seen the West as intervening to support them – the Abbala and the Janjaweed, as intervening to attack them. In this context intervention would be seen as a pretext to reverse the sides in the war rather than to end it. If our sole goal was to push for a settlement, it would have made far more sense to attempt to pay off the Janjaweed to turn on the government forces, and then to arm the Darfur tribes. It would have been cheaper, and prevented the Sudanese from playing the sides off against each other. |
validation-international-alhrhbushdmd-con04b | The United States at least had already stepped on various religiously sensitive toes due to its support of the Christian Southern Sudanese. These groups had support and lobbying in Washington from influential evangelical Christian groups,[1] and President Bush mentioned their religion in his speech celebrating the Peace settlement. [2] If this failed to produce an upsurge in Islamist sentiment, it is hard to see how helping Muslims who are being slaughtered would have, especially if Western intervention was limited to providing air cover. [1] Phares, Walid, ‘The Sudanese Battle for American Opinion’, The Middle East Quarterly, March 1998, [2] Hamilton, Rebecca, ‘U.S. Played Key Role in Southern Sudan’s Long Journey to Independence’, the Atlantic, 9 July 2011, |
validation-international-gsidfphb-pro02b | Every country engages in spying against other countries and so are not surprised by the revelations. These countries leaders are obliged to sound like they are outraged but in practice they will already have known such actions occur – they might be interested to learn the details but little else. Hollande’s own Direction Générale de la Securité Extérieure (DGSC) has been described by Bernard Barbier, its former technical director, as "probably the biggest information centre in Europe after the English". It uses similar methods to the NSA with systematic collection of emails, sms messages, phone records, social media posts which is then all stored for years. [1] President Obama is right to point out “I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders. That's how intelligence services operate.” [2] [1] Follorou, Jaques, and Johannès, Franck, ‘Exclusive: French intelligence has its own version of PRISM’, Le Monde, 4 July 2013, [2] Chu, Henry, ‘European leaders angered by U.S. spying reports’, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2013, |
validation-international-gsidfphb-pro02a | Damages diplomatic relations with allies Every country needs friends and historically the United States has managed to maintain a large number of close relationships with states around the world; it has alliances with various Asian states such as South Korea and Japan, with many Middle Eastern states, and with almost the whole of Europe. The NSA’s spying has damaged these relationships. French President Hollande said “We cannot accept this kind of behavior from partners and allies,” [1] while the president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz complained “the United States of America treats its closest partners, including Germany for example, but also the European Union as a whole like hostile powers”. There have even been suggestions that this would jeopardise trade talks as warned by the Commissioner Viviane Reding that “if there is any doubt that our partners are bugging the offices of European negotiators, then the future trade talks could be in difficulty”. [2] [1] Chu, Henry, ‘European leaders angered by U.S. spying reports’, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2013, [2] Hewitt, Gavin, ‘EU anger at US spy scandal softened by trade talks’, BBC News, 2 July 2013, |
validation-international-gsidfphb-pro04a | Damages US commercial interests The United States is the preponderant power in internet commerce; most of the big internet companies, the big software companies, even many of the hardware companies are companies that are based in the United States. This both enables US use of these systems for spying as occurred with PRISM because it happens that most web traffic passes through the United States, and makes the United States vulnerable when the world’s consumers think these companies have been betraying their trust. If consumers don’t think US companies can guarantee their data and privacy it should be no surprise that they will consider transferring their business. [1] Cloud computing is particularly affected, among the revelations has been that Microsoft helps the NSA with access to its cloud storage service skydrive. [2] According to a survey by the Cloud Security Alliance 10% of non US responders had cancelled a project with US based providers since the leaks about NSA projects and 56% say they would be less likely to use a US based service. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation estimates this could cost the US cloud computing industry between $21.5 and $35bln in revenues over the next three years. [3] And this is just one part of the computing and software industries, other areas are likely to be less affected but may well still lose business. [1] Naughton, John, ‘Edward Snowden’s not the story. The fate of the Internet is’, The Observer, 28 July 2013, [2] Greenwald, Glenn et al., ‘How Microsoft handed the NSA access to encrypted messages’, The Guardian, 12 July 2013, [3] Taylor, Paul, ‘Cloud computing industry could lose up to $35bn on NSA disclosures’, FT.com, 5 August 2013, |
validation-international-gsidfphb-con02b | Clearly the intelligence efforts on such a scale must provide some return in terms of stopping terrorism or they would not be worth the cost. However it is open to question whether the impact has been nearly as big as had been cited by the intelligence agencies. We clearly don’t know if these terrorists would have been detected through other methods. Additionally in at least one case where the FBI and NSA have stated that electronic surveillance has played a key role it has turned out not to be the case. FBI deputy director Sean Joyce has claimed that an attack on the New York Stock exchange was foiled by electronic surveillance; “We went up on the electronic surveillance and identified his co-conspirators” yet the emails involved were perfectly ordinary – the only information gained from the broad brush surveillance was that the plotter was in contact with al Qaeda leaders in Yemen. Something which surely could have been caught the other way around – by looking at the al Qaeda leaders communications. [1] Other cases such as that of Basaaly Moalin who was convicted of sending $8,500 to support Somali terrorist group al Shabab that have been highlighted by the NSA have similarly not required such broad surveillance. [2] [1] Ross, Brian et al., ‘NSA Claim of Thwarted NYSE Plot Contradicted by Court Documents’, ABC News, 19 June 2013, [2] Nakashima, Ellen, ‘NSA cites case as success of phone data-collection program’, The Washington Post, 8 August 2013, |
validation-international-aehbssccamm-con02a | The cities are a source of revenue for Spain Ceuta and Melilla are economic assets to Spain; it is in Spain’s interest to maintain them. Spain was particularly damaged by the 2008 economic recession which left many of the richest countries in decline1. With no sign of rapid recovery in the near future, it is within Spain’s interests to hold on to two cities which have strong economies2. The ports of Cueta and Melilla are of particular importance as they provided a large portion of the cities’ income, catering to many luxurious boats. The low tax zones also encourage a lot of financial activity3. Spain’s economic position therefore dictates that they should not cede them. 1) Cala,A. ‘Why is Morocco Picking a Fight with Spain?’ 15 August 2010 2) Sotogrande, ‘Ceuta and Melilla’, data accessed 20 January 2014 Ibid |
validation-international-ggsurps-pro02b | The UN’s own failures in the past should be a warning, not a motivation, regarding involvement in a conflict where it has limited power to implement an outcome. The UN’s goal needs to be the creation of a stable Palestinian state living in peace with Israel. This policy would in reality encourage the exact opposite. While it would do little to help the Palestinians, delegitimizing Israel’s creation would be a tool in the hands of figures in the Arab world and elsewhere whose interests in the region are not in peace with Israel but in its destruction. It seems likely Iran at the very minimum would seize on a claim that Israel’s license to exist has been withdrawn. In turn, if Israel interpreted the UN’s move as a an attack on its legitimacy as a state, it would be likely to interpret the move as having anti-Semitic overtones, strengthening the hands of those in Israel who see the UN as a stalking horse for anti-Semitism, and thereby reducing the UN’s ability to play a future role in resolving the conflict. |
validation-international-ggsurps-con02a | Israel remembers past failures of the international community when it came to Jews and doubts the UN’s Impartiality Regardless of whether some degree of outside impetus might be of benefit, the UN is a particularly bad actor for pressuring Israel. For one thing, the UN is not viewed as an impartial entity. Israeli government officials have repeatedly claimed it is biased against them, and the UN has not tried particularly hard to dispel these impressions with its recent conferences at on racism, most prominently at Durban in South Africa, dissolving into denunciations of Zionism and holocaust comparisons. [1] Reinforcing this is the persistent feeling that the world did nothing for the Jews when they were facing annihilation, which feeds into the narrative that while the international community may talk endlessly about Palestinian rights, they would do little for Israelis if the balance of power ever shifted. When Israeli politicians can state that they know exactly what would happen (a second Holocaust) if Arabs were to ever defeat them they are likely to see this action on the part of the UN reinforcing all of their negative impressions. This in turn may well produce a siege mentality in which they view themselves as on their own and become unwilling to make any concessions. This would be especially true if the United States were to seem to abandon them by at least abstaining on UN recognition. [1] Braun, Elihai, ‘The UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban, South Africa’, Jewish Virtual Library, |
validation-international-ggsurps-con02b | Israelis have a low opinion of some UN organs, and with a good degree of justification. But they are also remarkably pragmatic. They understand that while they need to protect their own interests, they also need friends, and Israeli voters will turn on their own leaders with a vengeance if they ever think they are jeopardizing the relationship with the United States. This can be seen in the reaction to the decision of the Bush Administration to freeze loan guarantees to Israel in 1991 due to the repeated refusal of the government of Yitzhak Shamir to halt settlement construction. The result, despite outrage on the American Right and in sectors of Israeli opinion, was the crushing defeat of the Shamir in the 1992 elections by Yitzhak Rabin . [1] If the US abstains on UN recognition of Palestine, which would be necessary for such recognition to pass, it will send a message to the Israeli public and likely severely impact the next election. [1] Rosner, Shmuel, ‘When US doesn’t meddle in Israeli politics, it strengthens the right’, JewishJournal.com, 9 December 2011, |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-pro03b | Providing money may in the long term reduce corruption for the reasons outlined but in the short term it may mean more corruption. With India’s program there have been accusations that the government is only enrolling people in districts that support the ruling party. [1] [1] Thakur, Pradeep, ‘Why divide india into UID, NPR states?’, The Times Of India, 6 January 2013 |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-pro01a | Giving money to the poor is the fairest way of eliminating poverty One of the reasons why poverty does not get eliminated is that it is governments who provide the subsidies that are intended to do just that. Many countries spend their money for subsidies poorly, for example in Indonesia before fuel subsidies were combined with cash subsidies in 2005 the top income decile received more than five times the amount of fuel subsidy as the bottom decile making the policy highly regressive despite it being politically sold as a subsidy to the poor. [1] No matter the intention such subsidies are clearly not fair. When the government provides lots of different subsidies for different things; fuel, food, housing etc., and especially when some of them are universal, it is clear that it will never be possible to distribute the money fairly on the basis of need. [1] ‘Winds of Change East Asia’s sustainable energy future’, The World Bank, May 2010, Pp93-5 |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-pro01b | Subsidies are much fairer than providing cash. Subsidies can be directly targeted to provide the things that the poor need rather than letting the poor buy what they want. The government should not be providing money that is then being spent on cigarettes, instead it should be spent on food, heating, or the children’s education. Yes some subsidies are poorly targeted but this simply shows that these subsidies are poorly implemented, not that they cannot be the solution to poverty. |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-pro04b | When it comes to the use of cash transfers on a large scale this is so far just wishful thinking; it may work but we don’t yet really know. How can the proposal of all subsidies being changed to cash be compared to a small stipend for sending the children to school? |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-con03b | There are of course some occasions where the individual may use their money unwisely, but if they do then this is their choice. Those who receive aid are as deserving of being free to choose how to use their money as any wage earner. This choice only comes from providing cash rather than subsidies. [1] [1] Glaeser, Edward, ‘Cash Is Better Than Food Stamps in Helping Poor’, Bloomberg, 28 February 2012 |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-con03a | It is wrong to assume that the individual always knows best With subsidies at least the government knows what their money is being spent on. This is not the case with cash; it just gets taken and can be spent on anything. As already mentioned the most obvious examples are where the individual uses the money they are given on drugs or other harmful products not what they need. Yet there are times where individuals may simply not have their own best interests at heart for various reasons, particularly because they know no better. This does not just happen in economic situations but also in public heath. For example development agencies know that cooking on open fires in homes leads to thousands of deaths every year and is costly in terms of fuel. So thousands of clean smokeless stoves have been given out yet they are not being used despite them being cheaper to run and potentially a life saver. [1] [1] Duflo, Esther, et al., ‘Up in Smoke: The Influence of Household Behavior on the Long-Run Impact of Improved Cooking Stoves’, MIT Department of Economics Working Paper, No.12-10, 16 April 2012 |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-con01a | Giving out money does not encourage people to take responsibility The beauty of direct cash transfers is that it simply adds a new income stream but this is also its Achilles heel. Providing direct cash transfers will create dependency upon the transfers and reduce the incentive to be earning money from elsewhere. There are several reasons for this. First because the transfers from the government will be reliable, unlike much of the income the poorest have, the transfers will become the recipients main form of income. This will mean that there is less incentive to be earning money from other sources, which would often mean hard work, so as a result both harming the individual as they do not earn as much and the economy as they will not be contributing to the economy. Secondly people will take up less work in order to qualify for the transfers; there is no reason to work more if that is simply going to mean that money you would have got from the government is taken away. The advantage of in-kind transfers is that they help avoid expectations of long term assistance or the state essentially providing everything. [1] Dependency has happened with food aid in Ethiopia where more than five million people have been receiving food aid since 1984; far from getting better the food security situation has if anything been declining during this time and there could be much better use made of Ethiopia’s own resources; only 6% of the country’s irrigable land is used for agriculture. [2] [1] Holmes, Rebecca, and Jackson, Adam, ‘Cash transfers in Sierra Leone: Are they appropriate, affordable or feasible?’, Overseas Development Institute, Project Briefing No.8, January 2008, p.2 [2] Elliesen, Tillmann, ‘Imported Dependency, Food Aid Weakens Ethiopia’s Selfhelp Capacity’, Development and Cooperation, No.1, January/February 2002, pp.21-23 |
validation-international-aghwgcprp-con02b | This is simply creating individual responsibility. A few will spend the money badly but most will realise that they need it for necessities. The whole point of the system is that it is flexible rather than limiting in the way other subsidy systems are. It should be considered that while some may misspend their money as suggested on drugs others may find ways of investing it so that they make more money and pull themselves out of poverty which then saves the government in the long term. Ultimately however it is the government that controls the flow of money; if someone is misspending it they can always halt the transfers. |
validation-international-ephbesnc-pro03b | There is no consensus for a United States of Europe. Most citizens identify themselves more with their nation-states rather than with the EU. [1] Only 28% of Belgians and 5% of Britons consider themselves equally their national identity and European. [2] It is also by no means clear that eroding national identities is a desirable phenomenon. The EU is an organisation in which twenty five nation-states cooperate with each other. Where necessary, these states pool their sovereignty in order to tackle common problems. The EU is thus an instrument used by nation-states to pursue their own interests in a world that makes it increasingly difficult for states to do this in isolation. The EU is a useful instrument of nation-states rather than a challenger to these states for the patriotism and loyalty of their citizens. [1] Manuel, Paul Christopher, and Royo, Sebastián, ‘Re-conceptualizing economic relations and political citizenship in the new Iberia of the new Europe’ Suffolk University, 4 May 2001, [2] Turmo, Ivan and Bradley, Simon, ‘Poll reveals European mindset among Swiss’, swissinfo.ch, 11 August 2010, |
validation-international-ephbesnc-con03b | Any constitution need not be a step towards a European superstate or even a federal European state. It may simply be rationalising current treaties and making the EU more accessible with little in the way of real changes to the location of power. None the less such a change would not be all bad as Paavo Lipponen, Prime Minister of Finland argues “The EU ought to develop into a great power in order that it may function as a fully fledged actor in the world.” [1] The EU as a great power would be more effective in solving conflict and promoting development in other parts of the world, particularly in Africa, parts of Asia and even Latin America as well as providing economic benefits for its own members. [1] Free Europe, ‘Building the EU SuperState: what leading EU politicians say about it’, 26 September 2005, |
validation-international-ephbesnc-con02a | Adopting a European Constitution and failing to abide by it would be a big and challenging failure The European Union should be wary of adopting a European Constitution as many states may not be able to abide by its terms. The reason why Greece is in so much financial trouble is its unwillingness to abide by the European Growth and Stability Pact, however others, Germany and France had already broken the pact. [1] Such a failure to abide by the rules with a constitution, something which is meant to be at the heart of the state, would greatly damage European credibility and would practically rule out the possibility of more comprehensive change in the future. Accession countries have shown little interest in the Constitutional Treaty overall, given a series of other more immediate concerns. Therefore a constitution is unneeded in order for the EU to develop, enlarge or prosper. It can only lose if it created a constitution which turned out a disaster. [1] Aznar, José María, ‘Europe must reset the clock on stability and growth’, FT.com, 16 May 2010, |
validation-international-ephbesnc-con03a | A EU Constitution will lead to a superstate, which is undesirable at the moment A European constitution is a first step on a slippery slope towards a United States of Europe. Such a European superstate is widely opposed by citizens of all EU members, not least because it would be undemocratic, unaccountable and remote. Many EU citizens already believe this is the case. In Britain polls regularly show that far from wanting deeper integration the country is in favour of leaving the EU. [1] As has already been shown members do not consider themselves ‘European’ nearly as much as they do their own national identity. [2] [1] The Democracy Movement Surrey, ‘The EU - Superstate or Free Trade Partner? We Can Leave.’ 2007 [2] Turmo, Ivan and Bradley, Simon, ‘Poll reveals European mindset among Swiss’, swissinfo.ch, 11 August 2010, |
validation-international-ahwrcim-pro01a | Mauritius is far closer The UK should not be controlling territory that is almost 5786 miles away from London. The Chagos Islands should be under the sovereignty of an Indian Ocean country like Mauritius that is much better placed to look after the interests of the islands. The age when countries had the right to control territory half a world away on the basis of might makes right are long gone. The Chagos islands, as with other remnants of colonialism, should be handed over to the nearest state with a good claim. In this case Mauritius. |
validation-international-ehwmepslmb-pro01a | Democratic Deficit The European Parliament’s powers need to be expanded because there is a widespread perception that the EU suffers from a democratic deficit: national parliaments have lost much of their power vis a vis national governments through the committee based decision-making in the Council of Ministers. This loss of national parliamentary influence has not been matched by a proportional increase in the power and influence of the European Parliament. To reduce this deficit the European Parliament must be given parity with the Council so that it can provide checks and balances in the system. This becomes particularly pertinent given other developments such as the creation of the Single Currency, which has imposed monetary policy upon varied economies without the necessary oversight from democratic bodies. In the worst case scenarios that have befallen member states such as Greece and Italy, unelected apolitical governments lead by technocrats Lucas Papademos in Athens and Mario Monti in Rome have been imposed by Brussels upon countries that have failed to toe the line, in this case over keeping their debts down. [1] This has shown the damage that the deficit between policies at a supra-nation level and the lack of truly popular mandate has had. If the European Parliament had a greater say and control over the European Central Bank – where Germany has been stopping the use of the ability to print Euros and be a lender of last resort to stem the crisis [2] - then difficulties in the euro zone would have been countered with constant reference to a directly elected body representing the interests of all Eurozone Nations rather than action benefiting the interests of only some creating damage to democracy in others. [1] Editorial ‘Europe: the rise of the technocracy’, guardian.co.uk, 13 November 2011, [2] ‘Schaeuble: Will Block ECB Becoming Lender of Last Resort’, Market News International, 22 November 2011, |
validation-international-ehwmepslmb-pro01b | The democratic deficit is a myth. National governments have a strong democratic mandate from national elections. Therefore, their decisions are already imbued with considerable democratic legitimacy. National governments also rely on national parliaments to enact their legislation at home. As a result it would be extremely foolish of a government to pursue a course of action in the Council which was opposed by national parliamentarians, or which would be unpopular enough to lead to a future electoral defeat at home. Democracy is protected sufficiently by the Council already; there is thus no need to increase the powers of the European Parliament. The current crisis is also not a good example as the policies that led to the ultimate undermining of democratic mandates in Eurozone nations were supported by the voters in the respective countries. Had those countries voted for more realistic fiscal policies then there would be no need for the drastic measures required to prevent the Eurozone from collapsing. Outside of extraordinary circumstances, the status quo can and does work, with the Council of Ministers being made up of National Governments elected by the people. |
validation-international-ehwmepslmb-pro03a | Relevance The levels of turnout in elections for the European Parliament are worryingly low, in 2009 the average EU turnout was 43% and the lowest was in Slovakia with a turnout of only 19.64%. [1] EU citizens clearly feel that the European Parliament is not important enough, does not have enough power over their lives, to justify them voting in European elections. Therefore, we must increase the powers of the European Parliament to increase its relevance to ordinary people. By making it more powerful we create an incentive for people to vote. People view the EU as being dominated by the Commission, unelected bureaucrats who can change millions of people’s lives with little oversight from elected bodies. This corrodes people’s faith in the European Parliament to make change, thus affecting turnout. If the Parliament had the power to truly influence the commission then it would seem much more relevant, encouraging increased turnout. [1] ‘European Parliament election turnout 1979 – 2009’, UK Political Info, |
validation-international-epgwhwlcr-pro01b | Everyone wants a peaceful solution but that does not mean that a lease is the best solution. Having some form of shared sovereignty – Ukraine owning the land and Russia having the right to use it and control it requires a great deal of trust. This is especially true if the Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet were to remain based on the peninsula. With potentially overlapping jurisdictions there is a lot of potential cause for trouble. |
validation-international-epgwhwlcr-pro03a | Helps Ukraine financially Ukraine is in a dire financial situation; it has gone to the IMF seeking $15billion to help stabilise the economy with a bailout. [1] The interim finance minister Yuri Kolobov suggests that even this amount will not be enough for the full year with Ukraine needing $34.4billion. [2] Finance was one of the reasons why Ukraine turned to Russia in November 2013; Russia was offering money when the EU was not. The lease agreed for the Black Sea Fleet involves the payment of $90million per year and the renegotiations in 2010 involved giving Ukraine cut price gas as well. [3] A lease for the whole of the peninsular with almost 2 million inhabitants and is close to the size of Belgium would cost a lot more, potentially enough to fill much of that financial hole. [1] Talley, Ian, ‘IMF Making ‘Good Progress’ in Ukraine Bailout’, The Wall Street Journal, 13 March 2013, [2] Schmeller, Johanna, ‘Crimea crisis further imperils Ukraine’s economy’, Deutsche Welle, 4 March 2013, [3] Harding, Luke, ‘Ukraine extends lease for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, The Guardian, 21 April 2010, |
validation-international-epgwhwlcr-pro04a | Precedent While of the core points of sovereignty is that is indivisible this has not stopped the existence of other similar deals happening in the past. Locally the Black Sea Fleet is a good example There have however been more famous examples in the past; the Panama Canal Zone was leased to the United States from 1903 to 1977 for $250,000 per year (later increased). [1] There are other instances of territory being leased; the clearest example being Hong Kong’s new territories which were leased rent free for 99 years from 1898 after China was defeated by Japan [2] – at the time there was a general view that if one great power gained then all the others have to as well. That leasing territory is an established practice means that it should be easy to apply to this case. [1] Lowenfeld, Andreas, ‘Panama Canal Treaty’, Institute for International Law and Justice, [2] Welsh, Frank, A History of Hong Kong, 2010 |
validation-international-epgwhwlcr-con01b | While legitimising a reward for Russia’s actions may hurt it is far better that the dispute be resolved than it be left to fester. Under the status quo there are concerns that war will break out because the situation is unstable and Russia “reserves the right to take people [Russian speakers elsewhere in Ukraine] under its protection”. [1] This is in large part a result of the Russians and Ukrainians not speaking to one and other as the Russians won’t recognise the Ukrainian government. Peace will only come when both sides give some ground no matter who is in the right. Under this deal there will be peace, not further aggression. [1] MacAskill, Ewen, and Luhn, Alec, ‘Russia and west on collision course over Ukraine as talks fail in London’, theguardian.com, 14 March 2014, |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-pro02b | The case given is quite different. The parents directly acted to cause harm to their child, inflicting a series of violent beatings over a sustained period. Such a course of action is already illegal and they were rightly convicted and punished. In this instance, a course of action is being avoided with the best interest of the child uppermost in the minds of the parents. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-pro02a | Religious freedom does not allow for the right to harm others Nobody is questioning the rights of adults to take actions in accordance with their faith, even when these may cause them some personal harm. Their beliefs may well lead them to conclusions that others might consider reckless but that is their concern. However, when those actions impact others in society, it is a matter for social concern and, frequently, the intervention of the law. If that harm is caused to those who cannot resist or who are incapable of responding, intervention is required. The law explicitly includes children in this category. We do not, for example, allow religious practices such as sacrifice or torture in pursuit of a religious end, however religiously convicted the parents might be. The case of Kristy Bamu, murdered by his parents, practitioners of voodoo, in the belief he was a witch, is just one such example [i] . We expect the legal and medical professions to accord particular protection to children against the actions of others that could harm them including, in extremis, their parents. It is difficult to see what could be a more flagrant example of possible harm than allowing your child to die when an available remedy could save their life. [i] Sue Reid. "Britain's voodoo killers: This week a minister warned of a wave of child abuse and killings linked to witchcraft. Alarmist? This investigation suggests otherwise." Daily Mail , 17 August 2012. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-pro03b | We fully accept that children are treated differently in the eyes of the law. However, the very fact that proposition allows for that exceptionalism must require them to acknowledge that the role of the parent is given a status different from any other in society. We acknowledge their right to make decisions in the stead of their child, fully accepting that those decisions have enormous implications. We accept that parents take life and death decisions for their children on a regular basis and we must trust them to do so. Society respects the rights of parents to keep their children safe in no end of perilous situations, and when their judgement is wrong, it is a matter for regret, not legislation. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-pro03a | The status of the child The protection of children is treated differently from how we address the needs of adults. The very fact that their parents’ consent for procedures is required acknowledges that fact. We further accept that when that consent is questionable - when the parents may not be acting in the best interests of the child - that right may be revoked. In most instances of such revocation, if the parent is an addict or mentally incapable of a particular decision, such a decision can be determined well in advance. However, in this instance, the status of the parent has not previously been an issue. However, the same principles should surely apply. For example, if a parent has been denied access rights to their child by a court, they would have no standing in making any such decision. If their child is a ward of the court, the same would apply. Society has a general duty to at least keep children alive until they reach the age of majority and remove all possible obstacles to that happening. We do not allow parents to give their children the right to pursue other harmful activities or to take unnecessary risks with their safety; the principle of a presumption of protection would also apply here. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-con03b | Society does intervene in the private sphere to prevent harm. Domestic abuse is simply the most obvious example but parents are also responsible in most societies for ensuring their children receive an education in accordance with the law. If a parent were to deny their children food when it was available, it would be neglect. If they were to deny them shelter and protection when available, it would be neglect or abuse. It is difficult to see how denying them healthcare, when available, would not fall into the same category. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-con01b | We frequently set limits not on religious beliefs but on their practices. The two determinant used there are the possible harm to others and whether the person being harmed can be deemed ‘capable’ in a legal sense. There can be no doubt that the decision to refuse available medical treatment causes harm, that is beyond dispute. The issue then is whether the person harmed, the child, can be considered capable. Legally they cannot, they cannot enter into a contract, they cannot marry or vote, legally they are not allowed to make many decisions because they are not full members of society until they are adults. It is worth noting that if the child is not deemed competent to make a decision regarding their own healthcare, it is difficult to see how their determination of their own religious choices can be assumed as authoritative. So the child cannot make the decision and the parents actions would cause harm to the child. In the light of this, the only remaining opinion is that of the doctor. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-con02a | The burden of parental responsibility Societies recognise the importance of parenting and the enormous responsibilities that go with it. In light of these, the parent is allowed broad discretion in determining how those responsibilities are best exercised. It seems likely that a parent in a situation such as this is likely to undertake a great deal more soul searching and thought than could be expected of an external party. This is a decision that is made in good conscience and, as things stand in most countries, within the law. Medical experts and others may well have opinions, frequently strongly held, but they are just that – opinions. The very fact that this issue has come to court, been heard and judges have reached differing decisions demonstrates that this is not an argument against fact. The opinions of parents are often supported by expert and legal authority. The parents can be expected to consider these opinions among many but must be left free to act in what they believe is the best interest of the child. |
validation-philosophy-ehbidachsb-con03a | The division between the personal and social spheres The law is a cumbersome tool to use in matters that relate to family life; this can be seen in the reluctance to legislate too much in this area. In those areas that require massive social interaction and agreement, such as education, there is a need for legislation but even that frequently proves to be controversial and many parents take the opportunity to opt out. This is particularly true in the moral, ethical and religious education of children as it is recognised, both implicitly and explicitly that this is a matter for the family. How then is this different? That there are repercussions to the decisions individuals make regarding their religious beliefs is beyond question but we still leave them free to make them – the pacifist may go to prison but cannot be compelled to fight. The same principle applies here; decisions based on deep religious conviction are a matter for the individual or, in this case, their family. The views of the family are respected in the choice of whether to prolong the life of someone in a permanent vegetative state, regardless of medical opinion about the individual case. Many consider PVS to be “more dead than dead”. [i] Despite this religious views on the matter, which often compare ‘pulling the plug’ to assisting suicide, are given a level of respect that cannot be justified by the available medical evidence. Although inverted, approaching the issue of the relationship between faith and death from the opposite angle – keeping the dead ‘alive’ rather than allowing the living to die – the same level of respect for the beliefs involved would seem to apply. [i] Tune, Lee, “Vegetative State Seen as More Dead than the Dead, UMD Study Finds”, University of Maryland, 22 August 2011, |
validation-law-lgdgtihbd-pro02a | Domestic intelligence operates just like the police do. Domestic intelligence does require the collection of information, but this is not fundamentally different from a standard police investigation. The differences are minor when we have national security at stake. Furthermore, the rights, duties and powers of a domestic intelligence service are carefully restricted by law. For example, under Dutch law, the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) is only allowed to wiretap someone after permission granted by the Minister of Interior Affairs (the UK situation is very similar). [1] Generally speaking, for every surveillance action the domestic intelligence can take, it needs to weigh whether the action satisfies the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, meaning that the invasiveness of a surveillance method should be proportional to the risk the person poses, and that the method chosen should be the least invasive of all possible methods. [1] van Voorhout, Jill E.B. Coster, ‘Intelligence as legal evidence’, Utrecht Law Review, Vol. 2 Issue 2, December 2006, , p.124 |
validation-law-lgdgtihbd-pro01b | Even if it is protecting lives the scale of the intelligence gathering is undemocratic. By allowing interception, widespread tracking of public records, unfair legal treatment, we erase the trust between citizens and the government in return for very occasionally preventing a terrorist attack. As shown by 7/7 terrorists still get through despite intelligence even when the bombers have already been noticed. [1] When all your library patrons can be seized and all your browsing logs checked just on a claim that they are relevant to intelligence information, as initially happened under the patriot act, too much liberty is being given up in the name of very little extra security. [2] [1] BBC News, Special Report London Attacks ‘The bombers’, [2] Strossen, Nadine, ‘Safety and Freedom: Common Concerns for Conservatives, Libertarians, and Civil Libertarians’, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Vol. 29, No. 1, Fall 2005, p.78 |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-pro03b | Even if the ICC brings proceedings, that does not guarantee that individuals, even if captured by forces that oppose them, will be transferred over to the ICC – the new Libyan government is still holding Saif Gaddafi. [1] The ICC can also only act when the state is unwilling or unable to provide a trial – this this is the principle of complementarity. However there is not ICC force that can act to arrest a suspect. This means in effect that it will be down to the forces on the ground which may mean summary justice by those who capture the suspect if they think it won’t get a sufficiently stiff sentence at the ICC – there is no death penalty. At any rate, many in Syria would want to see a fully military conclusion to the conflict, rather than any result through the international courts or a political settlement. [1] Aliriza, Fadil, ‘Is Libya too scared to put Said Gaddafi on trial?’, The Independent, 16 August 2013, |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-pro01a | The ICC is there to prosecute war crimes – there has been evidence of a war crime The purpose of the ICC is to be the venue for the implementation of international criminal law, a principle that the international community has supported since the creation of the ICTY and ICTR and prior to that. [1] The crimes that the court is to prosecute include genocide – which is probably not occurring but has been alleged, [2] crimes against humanity and War Crimes [3] – which have certainly happened the chemical attacks being just one among many examples. The allegations against the Assad regime are serious – including the use of chemical weapons, which are specifically mentioned as a war crime under article 8/1/b/xviii the Rome Statute. It would set a terrible precedent for such crimes to not be punished under international criminal law. [1] ‘About the Court’, International Criminal Court, [2] Chulov, Martin, and Mahmood, Mona, ‘Syrian Sunnis fear Assad regime wants to ‘ethnically cleanse’ Alawite heartland’, The Guardian, 22 July 2013, [3] Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’, International Criminal Court, 1998, |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-pro01b | In any conflict, the apportionment of blame for individual crimes committed against civilians to a standard of proof that would be acceptable in a court is extremely difficult, even such a high profile crime as attacks using chemical weapons have been disputed. [1] That is why the ICC typically gets involved after conflicts, rather than during them because it provides the time for thorough investigations, availability of witnesses, and means the investigators will not be at risk. Whenever the indictment is issued, the conflict would be likely to have finished before the ICC would be able to actually have the defendants in the dock. This therefore would be no help in ending the conflict. [1] Radia, Krit, ‘Putin Rejects Syria Chemical Weapons Accusations as ‘Utter Nonsense’’, ABC News, |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-con01b | The problem with fears of fuelling the conflict further is that the conflict is already almost as large as it can be within the borders of Syria, and has already spilled over in to neighbouring Lebanon, with bombings in Tripoli and Beirut) – it is a full scale conflict which will be difficult to resolve peacefully as it is, with existing threats of military intervention on the table there is no more possible escalation to fear. |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-con03a | Bar to truth and reconciliation After the conclusion of the war in Syria, there will have to be a period of nation building – either Assad will have destroyed his enemies and have an alienated nation to deal with, or the Syrian National Congress will have to take effective control over the country. Syria will need a process of truth and reconciliation [1] - a collective understanding of events that happened on the past, such as that which occurred after the end of Apartheid in South Africa - in order to move forward: this may be hampered by reopening old wounds by prosecuting large numbers of people for offences in the civil war. [1] For more information see the Debatabase debate ‘ This House supports the use of truth and reconciliation commissions ’ |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-con01a | ICC referal would fuel the conflict further The Syrian Civil War has already claimed over 100,000 lives, but it could get worse. The Assad regime is infamous for its stockpiling of chemical weapons – it is one of few states to not sign the Chemical Weapons convention, and is known to have stocks of mustard gas, VX and other weapons of mass destruction. Assad still has chemical weapons to use. An ICC referral could cause the regime to regard itself as in a position with nothing to lose so making it more willing to make use of these weapons against its own people. If there is no hope of a swift decisive victory by either side then by far the best solution to the conflict would be to have a negotiated settlement – the ICC seeking to prosecute senior figures on either side would make this much harder to arrive at. In South Africa – in a less volatile situation – former President Thabo Mbeki has stated “Had there been a threat of a Nuremberg-style trial over members of the apartheid security establishment we would have never undergone peaceful change.” [1] [1] Ku, Julian, and Nzelibe, Jide, ‘Do International Criminal Tribunals Deter or Exacerbate Humanitarian Atrocities?;, Washington University Law Review, Vol.84, No.4, 2006, pp.777-833, p.819 |
validation-law-hrilppwhb-con02b | While it is not possible to guarantee the capture of any suspect that has not stopped the ICC attempting to build a case. If any defendants are captured alive, it will not be a waste of time: bearing in mind that the ICC does capture many of the individuals it seeks to put on trial, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that some or all people indicted after a Syria investigation would be captured. |
validation-law-hrilphwcgbd-pro01a | Detainees have the right to trial in US courts: Prisoners have been detained at Guantanamo for long periods without clear charges being filed and without trial. This is a violation of the international legal principle of habeas corpus. One of the primary problems is that, without clear charges and a presentation of evidence against a suspect, the suspect cannot contest the charges and prove their own innocence. And, as a matter of fact, numerous detainees have been found innocent, but only after excessively long periods without being charged or brought before a court. [1] Many Guantanamo detainees may have never committed terrorist acts or fought against US forces in Afghanistan at all; they were simply turned over by Northern Alliance and Pakistani warlords for bounties of up to $25,000. For almost seven years they have been held without a fair hearing or opportunity to demonstrate those facts. Courts who reviewed the cases of 23 detainees to see if there was reasonable evidence for their continued detention found no credible basis for detaining 22 of them. [2] Other detainees were captured in places where, at the time of their arrest, there was no armed conflict involving US forces. The case of the six men of Algerian origin detained in Bosnia and Herzegovina in October 2001 is a well-known and well-documented example. [3] Therefore the only way to resolve these issues is to try all the detainees at Guantanamo Bay in US courts, and release any against whom charges cannot be brought. Former US Secretary of Defense Colin Powell has endorsed this reasoning, arguing that "I would get rid of Guantanamo and the military commission system and use established procedures in federal law[...]It's a more equitable way, and more understandable in constitutional terms," [4] US courts are fully capable of dealing with terrorist trials, as shown by the fact that they have rendered 145 convictions in terror-related cases in the past. [5] Convictions in US courts would probably be seen internationally as having more legitimacy than those obtained through the current system of military tribunals, which is often viewed as rigged against the defendants. [6] Only by allowing full due process in American courts can the rights of the detainees be uaranteed and their guilt or innocence truly established. [1] New York Times Opinion. "The President's Prison". New York Times. March 25, 2007. [2] Wilner, Thomas J. "We Don't Need Guantanamo Bay". Wall Street Journal. 22 December 2008. [3] United Nations Economic and Social Council. "Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Civil and Political Rights. Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay". United Nations Economic and Social Council. February 15, 2006. [4] Reuters. "Colin Powell says Guantanamo should be closed". Reuters. 10 June 2007. [5] Wilner, Thomas J. "We Don't Need Guantanamo Bay". Wall Street Journal. 22 December 2008. [6] Wilner, Thomas J. "We Don't Need Guantanamo Bay". Wall Street Journal. 22 December 2008. |
validation-law-hrilphwcgbd-pro03a | Conditions at Guantanamo are unjust and unacceptable: UN Reports indicate that the treatment of detainees since their arrests, and the conditions of their confinement, have had profound effects on the mental health of many of them. The treatment and conditions include the capture and transfer of detainees to an undisclosed overseas location, sensory deprivation and other abusive treatment during transfer; detention in cages without proper sanitation and exposure to extreme temperatures; minimal exercise and hygiene; systematic use of coercive interrogation techniques; long periods of solitary confinement; cultural and religious harassment; denial of or severely delayed communication with family; and the uncertainty generated by the indeterminate nature of confinement and denial of access to independent tribunals. These conditions have led in some instances to serious mental illness, over 350 acts of self-harm in 2003 alone, individual and mass suicide attempts and widespread, prolonged hunger strikes. The severe mental health consequences are likely to be long term in many cases, creating health burdens on detainees and their families for years to come. [1] Such conditions are clearly not acceptable to a nation such as the US which prides itself on its justice system and respect for human rights. The detention centre must be closed to the US can end its association with such practices. [1] United Nations Economic and Social Council. "Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Civil and Political Rights. Situation of detainees at Guantánamo Bay". United Nations Economic and Social Council. February 15, 2006. |
validation-law-hrilphwcgbd-con03b | The fact that the majority of detainees may be guilty of terror-related crimes or attacks doesn't justify the continued detention of those who were clearly detained under mistaken information, and who will only be cleared through trial in a civilian court. Otherwise justice will never be truly served at Guantanamo Bay. |
validation-law-cpphwmpfcp-pro02a | Differences in treatment are already accepted Differences between different categories of prisoner are already accepted in the criminal justice system – prisoners are generally kept in different conditions due to factors such as escape risk and other factors. For example the UK has open prisons which offer the freedom to move around within the prison and the system is aimed at reintegration so freedoms like alcohol are allowed, as are home visits. [1] Once it is accepted that not all prisons and not all prisoners are treated the same then a difference in treatment based on the crime committed makes sense. If that is the case, it could be calibrated that those serving certain sentences for certain offences should be held in certain conditions – for example, in Connecticut (a state that has abolished the Death Penalty so LWOP is the greatest penalty imposed) those serving life without parole are now denied contact visits and are given no more than two hours of recreation per day [2] . [1] James, Erwin, ‘Why life in an open prison is no holiday camp’, The Guardian, 13 January 2011, [2] Blecker, p.230 |
validation-law-cpphwmpfcp-pro03b | Prison itself is already a deterrent. Harsher prison conditions do not prevent recidivism, and could actually make convicts more likely to reoffend when released. Chen and Shapiro estimate that if all inmates were housed in above minimum security facilities there would be “an increase in the crimes committed by former convicts of approximately 82 per 100,000 Americans” – this would be higher than the reduction of 58 crimes per 100,000 found by Katz et al. as a result of deterring those outside prison [1] . [1] Chen, M. Keith, and Shapiro, Jesse M., ‘Do Harsher Prision Conditions Reduce Recidivism? A Discontinuity-based Approach’, American Law and Economics Review, Vol.9, No.1, 2007 |
validation-law-cpphwmpfcp-pro03a | Harsher conditions are a deterrent Worse prison conditions for particular offences would act as a deterrent. If people, in prisons generally and in society as a whole, see that those who are convicted of particularly bad crimes will be deterred from committing those worse crimes. If prison is simply a holding place that prevents people inside from committing crime then it is failing in creating deterrence; criminals sometimes feel it is better to commit a crime when released in order to get back into prison. [1] Katz, Levitt, and Shustorovich using death rates show how harsh prison conditions are likely to mean lower crime rates overall – though a doubling of the death rate only reduces the crime rate by a few percentage points. [2] [1] Blecker, p.68 [2] Katz, Lawrence et al., ‘Prison Conditions, Capital Punishment, and Deterrence’, American Law and Economics Review, Vol.5, No.2, 2003 , p.340 |
validation-law-cpphwmpfcp-con03b | Punishment is irrational, but it is a legitimate desire for a justice system to meter out retribution to those convicted of serious crimes. Punishment does not have to have a beneficial impact on public safety to make it the right thing to do. The desire for victims for retribution is legitimate; they should not have to see a criminal who abused them live a cushy life in prison – at their expense. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro02a | If supported, the ICC will set a precedent and deter leaders from committing crimes against humanity. The ICC demonstrates that there is an existing legal court that will hold individuals accountable should they decide to commit grave crimes. The mere existence of the court and the possibility of prosecution (even if not 100%) is beneficial in terms of deterring future atrocities. No leader wants to lose power, and an ICC warrant limits the movement and liberties of leaders. This is empirically true – in Uganda, high-ranking officials of the Lord’s Resistance Army specifically cited potential prosecution by the ICC as a reason they put down their arms. LRA officials like Joseph Kony have to spend valuable time on evading the ICC that would otherwise be used to perpetuate crimes, showing that there are still marginal benefits even if leaders themselves are not always apprehended. [i] [i] Scheffer, David and John Hutson. “Strategy for U.S. Engagement with the International Criminal Court.” Century Foundation, 2008. . Accessed 14 August 2011. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro03b | Pursuance by the ICC doesn't actually result in punishment of the leader; empirically, it has actually strengthened criminals' power after criticizing them. Nations, such as African nations like Chad, have painted the actions of the ICC as signs of Western imperialism and domination. Sudan's Bashir, accused of genocide and other crimes against humanity, used the ICC's arrest warrant against him as a sign of heroism and created a rally-around-the-flag effect, further strengthening his regime. Moreover, the ICC's work encourages leaders to cling to their power rather than give it and face prosecution, making punishment even more difficult. At worst, the ICC is actually counterproductive when it comes to punishing leaders and giving them retribution; at best, it is simply an ineffective court.1 1 "The International Criminal Court: Why Africa Still Needs it." The Economist, 3 June 2010. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro05a | Efforts to strengthen the ICC will promote global cooperation, norms against crimes, and international stability. There is a growing global consensus that crimes against humanity need to be punished, as demonstrated by the tribunals to address the crimes of Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The question is no longer whether we should set up an international court but rather how to best do it, and the ICC gives the international community a framework within which to work to establish a strong courts.1 Rejection of the ICC has become a symbol of rejection of international norms, and countries that have refused to ratify the Rome Statute in the name of national interest, such as the United States, have been seen as imperialist, isolationist, and against global efforts to tackle important issues. 1 Prakash, K. P. "International Criminal Court: A Review." Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 40, October 5-11, 2002, pp. 4113-4115. 2Carter, Ralph G. "Leadership at Risk: The Perils of Unilateralism." Political Science and Politics, Vol. 36 No. 1, January 2003, 17-22 |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro01b | Individual tribunals are actually better at addressing the specific situation. The idea of "universal jurisdiction" becomes dangerous when it is regarded as a blanket solution. For example, after the Spanish Civil War, post-Franco Spain decided to avoid trials for the sake of national reconciliation that enabled it to become a peaceful democracy. Setting a precedent of universal jurisdiction for punishment unnecessarily precludes better reactions more tailored to the specific scenario.1 (See opposition argument #3 for elaboration). 1 Kissinger, Henry. "The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction." Foreign Affairs, July/August 2001, Accessed 14 August 2011. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro05b | Promoting the ICC will only further split the global community by allowing the court to become a political tool. The US Department of State published a report explaining that one of the reasons it opposes ratification of the Rome Statute is because it would complicate military cooperation with allies, who would be obligated to hand over US nationals even without US permission if a warrant were issued for their arrest. This would strain international relations. Additionally, this would decrease global stability by discouraging the US from conducting missions abroad that are key to political stability in numerous areas; US peacekeepers are currently in about 100 nations.1 (See the last opposition argument for more information) 1 Grossman, Mark (Under Secretary for Political Affairs). Remarks to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Washington, DC, 6 May 2002, US Department of State. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro04b | The ICC actually fails to account for the individual nature of crimes and is not the best solution for a "globalizing world" because it promotes retribution at the expense of peace. Sometimes, amnesty and reconciliation are better than pursuing retribution and punishment. Even if the ICC does punish people, it may be doing so at the expense of the overall protection of human rights – emphasizing prosecution potentially detracts from goals like democratic reconstruction and conflict resolution. For example, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Committee was widely considered successful because it promoted peace even while giving amnesty to many criminals. Ultimately, it accounted for victims, allowed for open dialogue, and laid the foundation for South Africa to transition to a stable situation. The ICC’s focus on arrest and punishment precludes these types of solutions. [i] [i] Mayerfeld, Jamie. “Who Shall be Judge? The United States, the International Criminal Court, and the Global Enforcement of Human Rights.” Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 1, February 2003, 93-129. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro03a | The ICC will prosecute leaders who commit the most severe crimes and give them their due. The only way to ensure that leaders get what they deserve is to establish a free-standing, independent court that holds people accountable. The ICC acts as a permanent international court (as opposed to tribunals set up by a specific group of nations).1 By issuing arrest warrants for leaders who would otherwise continue their actions without any blame, the ICC attempts to punish them. The goal is to ensure that no individual gets away with committing terrible crimes. Additionally, the court gives victims a role in the process, has the power to give them reparations, and ensures they see criminals brought to justice.2The court has not punished anyone yet because it is still considerably young, but has proceedings going on currently. 1 Carroll, James. "The International Criminal Court." Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 54 No. 1, Autumn 2000, 21-23. 2Duffy, Helen. "Toward Eradicating Impunity: The Establishment of an International Criminal Court." Social Justice, Vol. 26 No. 4, Winter 1999, 115-124. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-pro04a | The ICC is the most suited towards the rising nature of crimes in a globalizing world. In today's world, crimes are no longer confined to single nations and affect the world due to the effects of globalization. An international court is necessary as a global solution to problems that often involve multiple actors; a permanent international court accounts for all parties involved.1 For example the Lord's Resistance Army has been mostly active in Uganda but has often hidden from the Ugandan military by crossing into Southern Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo. Because it is not limited to a specific territory, the ICC has truly global jurisdiction and therefore is most appropriate given the recent rise of international crimes. Joining the ICC would also encourage nations to recognize that crimes are no longer confined to specific borders and that the notion of territoriality provides a dangerously limited view of the scope of crimes today; ratifying the Rome Statute would force nations to recognize that domestic and international law inevitably interact.2 The domestic-foreign distinction has allowed states to ignore or commit certain atrocities in the name of national interest. 1 Ferencz, Benjamin B. "A Nuremberg Prosecutor's Response to Henry Kissinger's Essay 'The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction.'" Published by Derechos Human Rights, 27 September 2002. Accessed 14 August 2011. 2 Ralph, Jason. "International Society, the International Criminal Court and American Foreign Policy." Review of International Studies, Vol. 31 No. 1, January 2005, 27-44. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-con03b | The ICC has jurisdiction to defy unwilling governments and is still a step towards global enforcement of rights, even if it does not completely solve the problem. The ICC can have jurisdiction over criminals whose states refuse to prosecute them (provided certain conditions are met), meaning that they can issue warrants for those who come from or lead countries that will not comply with the ICC. Moreover, the ICC centralizes prosecution efforts under one court, making possible prosecution much more efficient and likely and increasing whatever original chance there was of prosecuting the leader. Even if the ICC does have trouble fully enforcing its decisions, it is still a step towards the idea of "collective enforcement," which entails states agreeing upon and following international norms by incorporating them into domestic law and promoting their enforcement. Ratification of the Rome Statute represents a commitment by national governments to assist the ICC with prosecution efforts.1 1 Mayerfeld, Jamie. "Who Shall be Judge? The United States, the International Criminal Court, and the Global Enforcement of Human Rights." Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 25 No. 1, February 2003, 93-129. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-con01b | To date, the ICC has empirically only issued warrants against leaders that nations have almost universally agreed upon committed heinous crimes. The existence of the ICC would only deter actions that are so atrocious, they would be comparable to the ones committed by those the ICC is currently pursuing. Countries that refuse to prosecute its own individuals should submit to the court to ensure that there is a baseline standard for rights protection, even in times of war. Otherwise, these crimes go unexposed and unpunished – for example, there has been very little discussion about certain US actions because certain presidential administrations have been adamant about prioritizing national interest over global standards of rights. US attacks on a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan, US invasion of Panama in 1989, US choice of targets in Afghanistan in 2001, and other actions have been left unexamined because of the lack of a third party with the consent to regulate international action; the ICC could solve this. [i] [i] Forsythe, David P. “U.S. Action Empirically Goes Domestically Unchecked.” The United States and International Criminal Justice, Vol. 24 No. 4, November 2002, 985. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-con05a | The ICC infringes upon national sovereignty by inherently implying that there is a higher court nations must answer to. The ICC forces nations to accept that there is a binding power that overrides national law, undermining the government. John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, explains: "The ICC's failing stems from its purported authority to operate outside (and on a plane superior to) the U.S. Constitution, and thereby to inhibit the full constitutional autonomy of all three branches of the U.S. government, and indeed, of all states party to the statute. ICC advocates rarely assert publicly that this result is central to their stated goals, but it must be for the court and prosecutor to be completely effective."1 More specifically, Article 12 of the Rome Statute entails that the ICC's jurisdiction applies to all individuals, even of states that have not ratified the treaty. Governments cannot unconditionally bind its citizens to laws that are inflexible and contrary to the idea of sovereignty.2 1 Bolton, John. "The Risks and Weaknesses of the International Criminal Court from America's Perspective." Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. 64 No. 1, Winter 2001, 167-180. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-con01a | The ICC interferes with national operations (both military and humanitarian) because of how loosely the Rome Statue can be interpreted. A large issue with the ICC is that it subjects member states to definitions that can be interpreted in a number of ways. For example, University of Chicago law professor Jack Goldsmith explains that the ICC has jurisdiction over “a military strike that causes incidental civilian injury (or damage to civilian objects) ‘clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.’ Such proportionality judgments are almost always contested.” [i] First, nations have a first and foremost obligation to protect their own citizens, but states’ ability to fulfill this duty would be hindered by the threat of ICC prosecution. Certain nations face asymmetrical warfare – for example, the US routinely fights combatants who use innocent human shields, soldiers disguised as civilians, hostage-takers, etc. When put in context, the US has had to take certain actions that would constitute war crimes in order to fulfill its overarching obligation to its own people; strict compliance with the ICC’s standards would deny countries’ abilities to protect their own people. [ii] Second, the fear of prosecution by the ICC would discourage humanitarian missions, decreasing the protection of rights globally. A study noted that the United States, a nation that sends hundreds of thousands of troops on peacekeeping missions, could have been held responsible for war crimes or crimes of aggression for its interventions in places like Bosnia and Sudan. [iii] [i] Goldsmith, Jack. “The Self-Defeating International Criminal Court.” The University of Chicago Law Review, Vol. 70 No. 1, Winter 2003, 89-104. [ii] Schmitt, Michael. “Asymmetrical Warfare and International Humanitarian Law.” The Air Force Law Review, 2008. [iii] Redman, Lauren Fielder. “United States Implementation of the International Criminal Court: Toward the Federalism of Free Nations.” Journal of Transnational Law and Policy, Fall 2007. |
validation-law-hrilhbiccfg-con04b | The ICC is an independent court with enough checks that only pursues the most heinous criminals. The ICC was designed to pursue the "future Pol Pots, Saddam Husseins, and Milosevics who terrorize civilians on a massive scale." The fear of politically motivated prosecutions has yet to come true; the current warrants have been issued for only the gravest violators of rights on a widespread scale. Even if the Security Council has certain extra controls, the court is still ultimately fair in its actual procedure with its prosecutor, judges, etc.1 Additionally, there are numerous checks in the Rome Statute, as outlined in the first proposition counterargument. 1 Kirsch, Philippe. "The International Criminal Court: Current Issues and Perspectives." Law and Contemporary Problems, Vol. 64 No. 1, Winter 2001, 3-11. |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-pro02b | Not only is intelligence often badly flawed, internment simply doesn't work as a strategy to combat terrorism 1. Instead it is counter-productive, because it makes martyrs of the individuals and groups who are being detained. The experience of Northern Ireland was that internment acted as a "recruiting sergeant" for the IRA, radicalising many detainees without previous terrorist contacts, and rallying supporters to their cause in response to the perceived injustice. Similar responses can be seen to Guantanamo Bay today in the Muslim world. Moreover, the confidence of ordinary citizens in their governments is undermined by such harsh measures, reducing their support for the overall "war effort". Indeed, if we compromise aspects of our free and open societies in response to pressure, then the terrorists who hate our values are winning. 1. Nossel, S. (2005, June 12). 10 Reasons to Close Guantanamo. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from Democracy Arsenal . |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-pro01a | Tribunals are adequate replacements that maintain respect for detainees' rights. The denial of normal legal processes does not automatically confer the absence of legal processes altogether. Though a normal public trial is not possible for security reasons, detainees' rights are still respected during the internment process. Safeguards are built into the internment process so that each case can be considered fairly, with the suspect represented before a proper tribunal and given a right to appeal to a higher authority. At Guantanamo Bay, President G. W. Bush introduced military tribunals made up of five U.S. armed force officers and presided over by qualified military judges to handle the legal ambiguities of suspects held in the facility 1 . The accused still have the presumption of innocence and proof of guilt has to be beyond that of a reasonable doubt 2. If such a trial is provided (often to standards of evidence and procedure higher than in normal courts in many countries around the world) and a sentence properly passed, then this is not internment as it has been practised in the past. 1. The Telegraph. (2007, March 16). Q&A: US Military Tribunals at Guantanamo Bay. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from The Telegraph 2.Ibid |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-pro01b | Tribunals do not respect detainees’ rights, but in fact require the undermining of those rights. Regardless of the procedures with which internment is dressed up by embarrassed authorities, it is open to abuse because trials are secret with the executive essentially scrutinising itself. Often there is not a free choice of lawyer to represent the suspect (detainees before US Military Commissions can only choose lawyers approved by the executive). Trials are held in secret with crucial evidence frequently withheld from the accused and his defence team, or given anonymously with no opportunity to examine witnesses properly. Appeals are typically to the executive (which chose to prosecute them), rather than to an independent judicial body. In such circumstances prejudice and convenience are likely to prevent justice being done. |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-pro03a | Governments must have powers to protect citizens from harm. Governments must have powers to protect their citizens against threats to the life of the nation. This is not merely to directly protect citizens from political violence, but also because political violence ‘handicaps the process of reconstruction’ 1 in nation-building efforts. Everyone would recognise that rules that are applied in peacetime may not be appropriate during wartime. Captured enemy combatants, for example, should not expect to be tried individually in civilian courts; it is essential however that they be held securely until they no longer pose a threat or an appropriate legal process can be established to assess their case. The war on terror is in this respect a war like earlier, more conventional conflicts whereby captured combatants are held until the conclusion of conflicts. No-one captured on D-Day expected to be granted a trial in a civilian court to establish their guilt. Just because our enemies do not wear uniforms or conform to a normal military structure (some indeed may even hold the citizenship of the state they are fighting against), does not make them any less of a threat to our society. 1 Davis, F. (2004, August) Internment Without Trial: The Lessons from the United States, Northern Ireland and Israel. Retrieved June 23, 2011 |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-con03b | The war on terror is not like past, conventional conflicts but that does not prevent its classification as an armed conflict; soldiers are still dying in fire-fights, territory is still being fought over and the threat to homeland security is very real and visceral. According to the Bush administration, the war on terror represents a new ‘paradigm of war’, whereby the civilians directly engaged in hostilities, ‘enemy combatants’, are not permitted to enjoy the privileges of international humanitarian law. Prisoner of war status is ‘reserved (for) members of the armed forces of a party to an international armed conflict…who must distinguish themselves from the civilian population in order to be entitled to POW status upon capture’ 1. Regarding the ICCPR, it has a specific derogation clause that states ‘in times of public emergency’, the states may excuse themselves from the strict provisions of the covenant. This would, in the context of threats to the safety of civilians, permit states to intern without trial enemy combatants. 1. International Committee of Red Cross, 2005 |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-con05a | Internment without trial undermines democratic values. Rights are needed to protect the few as well as the many, otherwise there would be no need for them in a democracy. Indefinite detention and lack of a normal public trial undermine the key values of habeas corpus and the presumption of innocence. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution enshrines the principle that ‘no person shall be deprived of his liberty without due process’1. As such, suspects should be tried if there is evidence, deported if they are foreign nationals, but most importantly released if a proper case cannot be made against them. Internment in Northern Ireland was also said to be aimed only at a tiny minority, but thousands passed through the Long Kesh detention camp in the four years it operated. Similarly, the internment of Japanese-Americans from 1942 onwards led to a belief in the post-war environment that they were ‘radically predisposed to acts of disloyalty’1 undermining the democratic values of inclusion and multi-culturalism that the US particularly likes to attribute to itself. 1 Davis, F. (2004, August) Internment Without Trial: The Lessons from the United States, Northern Ireland and Israel. Retrieved June 23, 2011 |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-con04a | Internment without trial fails to make society safer. Giving the government the power to detain suspects without due process of law will not in fact make society any safer. The proposition's arguments rely upon the accuracy of secret intelligence, which supposedly identifies individuals planning terrorist acts, but which cannot be revealed in open court. Past examples suggest that such intelligence is often deeply flawed. For example, when internment was introduced in Northern Ireland in 1971 over 100 of the 340 original detainees were released within two days when it was realised much of the Special Branch intelligence that had been used to identify them was incorrect 1. Recent intelligence failures in the campaign against Al-Qaeda point to the difficulties western intelligence services have in penetrating and understanding non-white groups, while intelligence on Iraq's weapons programmes was also clearly flawed. So not only will many of the wrong people be unjustly locked up, many dangerous ones will be left at liberty. 1 West, C. (2002, January 2). Internment: methods of interrogation. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from BBC News: |
validation-law-lghrilthwdt-con01a | Internment without trial encourages the bad behaviour of other states. Compromising our usual high standards of human rights encourages bad behaviour by other countries. Governments with less concern for rights are reassured by the apparent failure of liberal democracy to address a terrorist threat, and feel justified in tightening up their own measures against individuals and groups perceived as a threat. Western governments, meanwhile, lose their moral ability to criticise abuses elsewhere. Overall, the cause of freedom suffers everywhere. This can be seen clearly in the actions of governments around the world since September 11 2001, where existing repressive measures have been justified in new ways as part of the war on terror, or new ones introduced in apparent response to it. India, for example, has been using repressive measures in Kashmir for twenty years, however it still exploited the war on terror as a pretext for international support for its latest crackdowns 1. 1. Shingavi, S. (2010, July 14). India's new crackdown in Kashmir. Retrieved July 14, 2011, from CETRI: |
validation-education-egpsthwtj-con03b | Teachers should not set classwork expecting that the class will have to finish that classwork as homework. Students who are falling behind should receive more attention from the teacher during class to make sure that all the members of the class can move at the same speed. |
validation-education-egpsthwtj-con02a | Doing our homework means we are taking responsibility for ourselves We are the ones who gain from learning so we should take responsibility for some of our own learning. We can take responsibility by doing homework. When we don’t do our homework we are the ones who suffer; we don’t get good marks and don’t learn as much. We also lose out in other ways as taking responsibility means learning how to manage our time and how to do the things that are most important first rather than the things we most enjoy like playing. Homework then does not waste time; it is part of managing it. |
validation-education-egpsthwtj-con02b | The same kind of responsibility is given to us no matter the kind of work. When given classwork we are responsible for completing it rather than playing around. The only difference at home is that it is our parents telling us to work not our teachers. |
validation-education-sthbmsnbcs-con03b | Children should not be given power over their education, but it doesn’t follow that their opinions are of no consequence. We should very much care what they do and don’t enjoy. Firstly, if they don’t enjoy their schooling they won’t put any effort into it and will not actually learn anything. Secondly, if they feel we are making them do things they don’t want to do we will lose the ability to give them sensible suggestions. We might think they ought to learn maths, but forcing them to do it will cause more harm than good. |
validation-education-sthbmsnbcs-con01a | Maths is an important subject Every single science subject relies on maths. The whole of physics consists of using maths to model the world. At a basic level, this means drawing diagrams of forces, and at an advanced level it means writing down the gauge group which describes electroweak interaction, but it’s all maths. Even subjects like psychology, which are not normally seen as mathematical, would be lost without advanced statistics to decide whether a result is significant or not. Maths is as important to science as reading is to subjects like history and politics. Making maths optional will mean some students don’t bother doing it. These children will find that science is closed to them. If we want to have a strong science sector – in both industry and research – as governments keep claiming we do [1] it is important to make sure we have people who are qualified. That means giving children the educational background required for them to pursue science should they wish to: maths. [1] Osborne, George, ‘Achieving strong and sustainable economic growth’, Gov.uk, 24 April 2013, Xinhua, ‘Premier Wen says science, technology key to China’s economic development’, Xinhuanet, 27 December 2009, |
validation-education-eggrhwbfs-pro05a | Creates animosity towards religious groups Faith schools continuously perform better than normal schools. This creates a feeling amongst parents and children of wanting to be included in these faith schools. They are, however, excluded on the basis of their religion. This will create feelings of unfair exclusion, which will lead to animosity towards the religion running the school and, by extension, people of that religion. [1] As a result of this 64% of people in the UK believe that there should be no state funding for faith schools. [2] It would be easy to convert faith schools to normal schools. The majority of faith schools are already tied closely to the state education system making it easy to convert them into normal schools which are not faith based. Much of the curriculum is the same or very similar so the change would not be difficult for teachers. In England for example there 6783 faith schools that are also state schools and 47 that are academies. [1] These schools would simply change to having the same systems as any other school and admission would become open to all. [1] Department of Education, “Maintained faith schools”, 12 January 2011, [1] MacMullen, Ian. “Faith in Schools?: Autonomy, Citizenship and Religious Education in the Liberal State.” Princeton University Press. 2007. [2] ICM, ‘Guardian Opinion Poll Fieldwork August 12th-14th 2005’, ICM/The Guardian, 2005, pp21 |
validation-education-eggrhwbfs-pro01a | Undermines separation of religion and the state. Since education is something that the state is obligated to provide, any organisation that provides education is a representative of the state, even in private education. If religious groups are allowed to run schools then this means they are acting on behalf of the state, which undermines the separation of religion and the state, which the proposition believes is inherently harmful and undermining to the concept of democracy. [1] Even the Archbishop of Canterbury believes having greater separation of church and state would be beneficial arguing "I think that the notion of the monarch as supreme governor has outlived its usefulness.” [2] This separation has to include the education of children. [1] Gay, Kathlyn. “Church and State.” Millbrook Press. 1992. [2] Butt, Riazat, ‘Church and state could separate in UK, says Archbishop of Canterbury’, The Guardian, 17 December 2008, |
validation-education-eggrhwbfs-pro01b | Running a school is not equivalent to running the country. The opposition does not accept that faith schools undermine the separation of religion and state. The religious groups running the school do not, as a result of running the school, have an opportunity to decide on the national curriculum or, for that matter, any other aspect of running the country. The idea that faith schools undermine democracy is ridiculous and unfounded. |
validation-education-eggrhwbfs-pro05b | To be encouraged not banned. The idea of closing down schools because they are performing better than other schools seems ridiculous. Rather than banning faith schools so all schools are on an even, but lower, playing field, a logical course of action would be to try and determine exactly what it was about faith schools that made them perform so well and attempt to emulate that in ordinary schools to improve their performance. It may be possible to convert the schools but they would loose their ethos. Without these schools religious ethos their standards would slip and the students would be worse off. |
validation-education-eggrhwbfs-pro04b | Insulting to religion. This legislation is not simply a message to organised religion telling them that they are not a higher authority than the state; it is a message saying that the state does not believe they are capable of running schools. This serves only to worsen the state’s already fractured relationship with organised religion and cause severe problems in dealing with large religious groups, who undeniably have a lot of power and influence. |