The thesis investigates how China and the United States used state sovereignty in their official statements provided to the United Nations Security Council when discussing the Darfur conflict during the time period between 2004 and 2009. The thesis looks in particular at the official statements made with regards to the three different measures taken by the Security Council which were: the implementation of sanctions, the referral to the international criminal court and the deployment of peacekeeping. The thesis found that China applied a more cautious, but consistent, approach in which breaches of state sovereignty were never officially supported. The United States use of state sovereignty evolved as it became more willing over time to breach the sovereign rights of Sudan. The investigation into the official stance by China and the United States also provides general conclusions with regard to state sovereignty in contemporary international relations. First, the thesis finds that state sovereignty is still at the core of decision making in the United Nations Security Council, and as well in international relations, and there no present challenges to the role state sovereignty in contemporary international relations. Nonetheless, the different interpretations applied by states such as China and the United States, delays the decision-making process as states disagree on justifiable breaches of state sovereignty. State authorizes, such as the Government of Sudan, use state sovereignty as a barrier to effective international action to prevent atrocities and heinous crimes against humanity. In this application of state sovereignty, the rights of nation -states are protected more than the individual rights of human beings.

The recruitment, enlistment and use of children younger than fifteen to participate actively in hostilities is prohibited in customary international law as well as in several international legal instruments. The use of child soldiers is, despite of the prohibition, a widespread phenomenon with 300 000 as the estimated number of child soldiers in national armies as well as in various rebel and insurgent groups in the world today. Although the problem is world-wide; most recent focus have been on Africa where children have served and still serve in ongoing conflicts in various functions including but not limited to front line soldiers, messengers, guards and sex-slaves. Many of the world‟s child soldiers are girls that are facing the risks of sexual abuse and discrimination. In this thesis the 1996-2002 civil war in Sierra Leone will serve as an example of a conflict were children were used as soldiers.Prohibition against the use of child soldiers can be found in international legal instruments in both human rights law and international humanitarian law. It can also be found in instruments in the fields of international labor law and prohibition against slavery. The provisions differ in their definition of a child soldier; concerning age limit as well as the child‟s function during the conflict. There are also differences in the responsibility of states to protect children against being used as soldiers. This particularly affects girl soldiers since they often have their primary tasks behind the front line and thus are not usually included in the more narrow definitions of child soldiers.Two courts; the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) are used as examples of enforcement mechanisms. The SCSL as being the first court to deliver convictions for the use of child soldiers as well as thoroughly discussing the illegality of the use of child soldiers has been of importance in the fight against the use of child soldiers. The ICC will be the enforcement mechanism of the future and it has already prosecuted for the use of child soldiers. The SCSL has raised the awareness and started the struggle against impunity for those responsible for using child soldiers but it is the ICC that will have to continue the fight, although with some obstacles to overcome.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Daniel Moran, David S. Yost. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-102). Also available online.

No description available.

This thesis analyzes the development of national justice processes in Uganda in the wake of war in order to address key theoretical dilemmas that have recently emerged in the field of transitional justice. I focus on closely connected debates over the exclusion of socioeconomic justice, the relationship between international, national and local actors, the role of transitional justice discourse, and ultimately, the future of the field itself. Based on fieldwork undertaken in Kampala, the Acholi district and the temporary international arena created in Kampala for the 2010 ICC Review Conference, this thesis traces the role of local, national and international actors in the war itself, the search for peace, and the current post-conflict period. I examine the ways in which actors at all levels narrate the northern conflict and accordingly negotiate and contest the nature, scope and course of post conflict justice. I argue that the struggle for a meaningful approach to transitional justice is global in dimension. The power to define and perform postwar justice is concentrated in the hands of the state. A high risk persists that Uganda's transitional justice policy will prove an empty performance of 'victor's justice.' International and domestic actors alike have shaped and justified the Ugandan Government's self-interested approach and facilitated the dominance of international criminal justice. Conversely, civil society actors at all levels in Uganda draw on transitional justice as a radical language of resistance to fight for meaningful change. As long as it fails to address socioeconomic issues and structural violence however, transitional justice discourse will ultimately fall short of giving political voice to local priorities, and activating long-term social transformation. I argue that the field of transitional justice must be re-envisioned to embrace socioeconomic justice, in order to impel the endless pursuit of a just society. This task will require the collective efforts of a global constellation of actors.

Research has shown that courts and practising jurists increasingly use social work pre-sentence reports. Pre-sentence reports can be requested from probation officers and social workers in private practice. These reports are prepared with the purpose of assisting courts in determining the most appropriate sentence taking into account the criminal, the victim and the community. Worldwide research as confirmed by this investigation indicates that jurists generally regard the quality of pre-sentence reports as unsatisfactory. This research focussed on jurists' quality grading and their pointing out of shortcomings and problems regarding certain aspects of the pre-sentence report. Twenty respondents took part in this research among whom were advocates (some with senior status), regional magistrates, magistrates and attorneys with experience in the criminal court as well as being experienced in employing pre-sentence reports. The aspects of the pre-sentence reports concentrated on is the report format, report content, the discussion of the facts (evaluation), motivation underlying the recommendations, general appearance, use of assessment instruments, presentation in court, as well as skills and knowledge required to write the reports. The respondents were also requested to indicate they prefer the service of either a probation officer or a social worker in private practice. Their preferences are highlighted and discussed. / Thesis (M.A. (MW))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Diplomatic stalemate at the seat of the UN Security Council is by no means a recent problem. Nevertheless, it may be argued that 'American unilateralism' reached its apex in July 2002, when the United States stood its ground and demanded immunity from prosecution before the International Criminal Court ("ICC") for US peacekeepers. This request was accompanied by the heavy-handed and deadly serious threat to veto the renewal of the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, a threat which was realised over the course of the debates. This political brinkmanship, which pitted the United States against friends and foes alike, finally ceased when the US agreed to accept a Security Council Resolution offering a twelve-month deferral of prosecution for peacekeepers before the ICC. It is the legality of this Resolution which is the focus of this thesis. This thesis will expose the Resolution to the limits of international law and question the legitimacy of the tactics employed by the US. It will argue that in order to appease the recalcitrant superpower, the Security Council passed a Resolution contrary to both the Rome Statute of the ICC and the UN Charter. With the ICC still in its embryonic stage, this thesis will suggest the responses available to the Court when faced with a Resolution of such dubious legality which affects its jurisdiction to try the most heinous crimes known to humanity.

Univ., Diss.--München, 1999.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Kiel, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (LL.M.). / Written for the Faculty of Law. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2009/09/04). Includes bibliographical references.