Human rights and John Bolton

Human rights and John Bolton

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World War II gave a severe blow to human rights. Civilian deaths in millions alarmed the world leaders including of Americans. Although America is the only country who dropped the atomic bomb on Japan but its leader, Woodrow Wilson, became the first who initiated the idea of world peace and to avoid future devastations of wars in the form of League of Nations. United Nations Organization is considered the child of the League of Nations which was broadened in the terms of duties and rights of states and Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 was the biggest achievement of UNO. And the International Criminal Court was established in 2002 to punish the violators of human rights during the war. But surprisingly, the USA is among those 23 countries who never ratified it. And, recently, the remarks of John Bolton further disappointed the world who considered as the only torchbearer of human rights protection.

Bolton said in his speech, "We will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). We will provide no assistance to the ICC. We will not join the ICC. We will let the ICC die on its own. After all, for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us."

There would be two consequences of such American's attitude towards the institutions of human rights protection. First, it will lose soft power which it exerts on the world stage as well as the trust of people in international institutions which declared itself the protector of human rights. African Union has already pointed fingers on the ICC in 2017 arguing that such institutions only protect the interests of the west. Secondly, it would give freehand to the rogue states to commit unchecked crimes against their own people. The use of biological weapons in Syria and Genocide of the Muslim community in Myanmar are the recent examples of such atrocities of the state's leaders.

Therefore, it is not in the interest of the world peace if world powers like the USA will go against the rules which they themselves set to maintain peace and security in this world and to protect human rights in all kinds of situations. The USA should revise its policies regarding human rights otherwise nobody would restrain this world form not indulging in World War III.