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Part I The Human Rights Mandate of the Principal Organs, 1 The Security Council

Frédéric Mégret

From: The United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal (2nd Edition)

Edited By: Frédéric Mégret, Philip Alston

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 10 December 2023

Subject(s):
Human rights

This chapter discusses the Security Council, which may be the least obvious organ within the United Nations to have a human rights role, yet may also be one of those that can make the most difference when it comes to the upholding of human rights standards internationally. For a human rights regime that is notoriously devoid of much enforcement power, the Security Council comes with a much sought after resource, in the form of the ability to use coercive means against states. Ultimately, the Security Council’s practices provide rich terrain for analysing prospects for human rights at the United Nations, as well as the evolving role of human rights not only as something that is promoted by the United Nations but which shapes, and even constitutes, its authority going forward.

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