Ethics & International Affairs Volume 8 (1994): Articles: The League of Nations Experiment in International Protection [Abstract]

Dec 3, 1994

How does analysis of the incipient stages of the League of Nations help to evaluate today's vital issues such as nation building, ethnic tension, and human rights? The central issue here is the question, "Were rights for minorities the aggregate of rights guaranteed to individuals with the protected group, or was there a special category of collective rights to be exercised by the group as such?" Jones illustrates her essay with the treaties for minority protection by asking, "At what point did the preservation of distinctive modes of living (such as linguistic laws) enforce a permanent status quo?" Moreover, when did the cultural autonomy that was central to the minority treaties turn into "an invitation to disloyalty and even irridentism?" Jones's essay traces the development of international communities and examines how patterns of international cooperation emerged. Despite its short life and the nonexistence of either troops or strong authority, the League of Nations did manage to generate positive developments in the establishment of international protection.

To read or purchase the full text of this article, click here.

You may also like

Eleanor Roosevelt holding a poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Lake Success, NY, November, 1949. <br>CREDIT: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Declaration_of_Human_Rights#/media/File:Eleanor_Roosevelt_UDHR.jpg">Wikimedia</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">(CC)</a>

DEC 2, 2020 Podcast

The United Nations at 75: Looking Back to Look Forward, Episode 4, with Bertrand Ramcharan

Bertrand Ramcharan, former acting high commissioner for human rights, discusses why he thinks the "UN human rights system is in crisis" and details the complicated ...

President Barack Obama chairs a UN Security Council meeting, September 2009, New York, NY. <br>CREDIT: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barack_Obama_chairs_a_United_Nations_Security_Council_meeting.jpg">White House/Pete Souza/Public Domain</a>

OCT 7, 2020 Podcast

The United Nations at 75: Looking Back to Look Forward, Episode 1, with David M. Malone

David M. Malone, rector of United Nations University, speaks about the Security Council, the Sustainable Development Goals, peacekeeping, and more. How can the UN continue ...

OCT 2, 2020 Journal

Ethics & International Affairs Volume 34.3 (Fall 2020)

At the core of this issue is a collection of essays organized and guest-edited by Margaret P. Karns called "The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Looking ...