U.S. Foreign Policy and the Pursuit of International Human Rights. Chapter VIII. The United States, International War, and the Preservation of Human Rights: The Control of Arms

摘要

This volume examines the development of human rights standards with their interrelated parts -- national and international economic arrangements, the problem of meeting basic human needs of people around the world, the protection of human dignity and security and the enhancement of civil and political rights. We will here argue that the arms race is a critical element of this process, and that a combined conscious and unconscious spirit in arms negotiations is moving toward the protection of victims' fundamental human rights. The post-World War II Nuremberg and Asian war crimes trials confirmed the principle of official responsibility in war and that precedent is now being linked to nuclear weapons policies and the intended use of such armaments on captive populations. We will examine the development of this relationship and the role of the United States in defining and implementing and end to the arms race which is critical to any framework for the fulfillment of basic human rights.