1. Public International Law and Child Soldiers
There are many difficulties besetting the effective implementation of international laws in globally ensuring that human rights are respected. Factors such as cultural differences and social instability can promote conditions that make basic human rights secondary and even tertiary priorities. It is worth admitting that while international laws are often noble in their goals, they are often circumvented by self-interested organizations during the armed conflict in countries suffering from adversarial socioeconomic conditions, such as in the well-documented case of the extensive use of child soldiers in the ongoing civil war in South Sudan.
Public International Laws can be defined as the statutes and treatises, which are endorsed by international committees that aim to improve and ease diplomatic relations between countries. It is achieved by through the way of prescribing modes of conduct according to ethical behavioral norms. There are legal prescriptions that help foster higher living standards when adopted by states domestically. The power of these laws is based on self-enforcement of commonly held norms among member states of international organizations, usually translated as domestic laws enforceable within countries covered and signed under it. (Simmons, 2009) Customary international laws are a step above non-binding international laws in that they get their power from belief in inviolable traditions or customs. A stronger, more specialized form of customary international law derives from belief in certain natural laws that assume human nature is inherently good. These types international laws derive their force and authority from so-called ‘peremptory norms’ (Dubois, 2009), and violators are perceived as unnatural and opposed to human nature. Presently, the biggest governing body that codifies and formulates international law—based on the number of member states it has—is the United Nations (UN). The UN achieves this through its International Court of Justice body, though there are committees and organizations such as the European Union, the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that formulate and codify for their member states despite being already part of the United Nations’ and the International Court of Justice’s statutes. To be more specific, the International Court of Justice “is composed of 15 judges and has a dual role: in accordance with international law, settling legal disputes between States submitted to it by them and giving advisory opinions on legal matters referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies” (International Court of Justice FAQ). Additionally, it is worth highlighting that violations and violators of international laws are prosecutable by international tribunals. They are the World Court or the International Criminal Court of the United Nations (International Court of Justice FAQ)....
