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The UN is formed. The UN charter states that a country has the 'right of individual
or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United
Nations', but otherwise prohibits the use of force in international affairs.
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This is further emphasized in UN Resolution 2131, the Declaration on the
Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection
of Their Independence and Sovereignty, which argues not only that ' armed
intervention is synonymous with aggression and, as such, is contrary to the basic
principles on which peaceful international cooperation between States should be built'
but also further that 'direct intervention, subversion and all forms of indirect
intervention are contrary to these principles and, consequently, constitute a violation
of the Charter of the United Nations'.
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Since the creation of the UN, the US has forcefully intervened in Vietnam,
Laos, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Panama, Grenada,
El Salvador among others - without UN authorization, without aggression
from any of the given countries, and without any of the given countries even posing a
credible threat to the US.
Additionally it has covertly intervened in the affairs countries too numerous to list, but
including Guatemala, Chile, Brazil, Guyana, Ghana,
Congo, Iraq and Iran.
Again, none of which posed any credible threat, let alone showed any aggression. All of
these actions are thus violations of international law. Much of this site is devoted to
the detailing of these actions and the disastrous effects they had on the countries involved.
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Since 1966, the US has vetoed far more Security Council resolutions than any other country.
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The US has vetoed to date 24 Security Council resolutions regarding Palestine, while
providing Israel with approximately $100 billion in aid to help it maintain its
34-year occupation of land in defiance of international law.
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The World Court orders America to put a stop to its crime in Nicaragua and to pay massive
reparations, estimated at $17 billion. America ignores the World Court's ruling, not
paying a cent and continuing their war.
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US is the only G7 country to refuse to sign the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, forbidding the
use of landmines.
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US is the only G7 country to vote against the creation of the International Criminal Court.
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The US Senate approves legislation that restricts international inspections of
chemical sites in the United States, effectively killing the Chemical Weapons
Convention.
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US, the worlds largest polluter, unilaterally withdraws from the Kyoto treaty on global warming.
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US, the worlds largest exporter of arms, prevents the United Nations from curbing
the gun trade at an international arms conference.
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US renounces efforts to negotiate a verification process for the Biological Weapons
Convention and brings an international conference on the matter to a halt.
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US refuses to sign an international treaty banning germ warfare, saying it
would put national security and confidential business information at risk.
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The Bush administration effectively withdraws the US signature on the International
Criminal Court (ICC) treaty. It also requests states around the world to approve bilateral
agreements requiring them not to surrender American nationals to the ICC. The goal of these
agreements ("impunity agreements" or so-called "Article 98 agreements") is to exempt U.S.
nationals from ICC jurisdiction'.
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The US is ups the pressure on contries to exempt Americans from war crimes, threatening
cutting military aid to countries that fail to sign an agreement exempting American military
and other personnel from prosecution in the ICC, and then on July 1 does so for the 35 countries
(the complete list available here)
which refused.
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US stands with Somalia (which currently has no recognised government) as the only two
countries in the world to refuse to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(ratification means the convention
has to be incorporated into national law).
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The US successfully challenges an EU rule protecting the banana exports of their
former colonies in the Caribbean, on behalf of Chiquita Brands International. The EU,
with 74% of its citizens willing to pay more for 'fair trade' bananas, stands firm.
The US responds with punitive tariffs against the EU, forcing the EU to rescind the
tariffs. Caribbean farmers are the losers.
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Worth noting in the above is the fact that Clinton filed the complaint at the WTO
within a day of the US Democratic Party receiving a $500,000 'donation' from Chiquita.
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'An attempt to confer to WHO a role in monitoring international trade agreements was
strongly opposed at the 1998 World Health Assembly: US State Department representatives
threatened to withdraw WHO funding when faced with aggressive WHO support for improved
access to patented medicines in less-developed countries.' WHO was later granted a more
limited role in monitoring the public-health consequences of International trade
agreements in 1999.
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Debate in Montreal over Genetic Engineering of crops.
Chief negotiator for EU argues 'governments
must be able to have the freedom and sovereign right to take precautionary action
(with regards to genetically altered microbes, animals or crops that they fear might be harmful),
as risks that may arise may be long term and irreversible'.
However the Miami Group (US, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) insist
on WTO rules -
that something can only be banned on the basis of scientific evidence (i.e. removing the right
of countries to refuse to be experimental subjects).
Ignoring the scientific arguments, the main issue is that forcing GMOs into
countries dependent on agriculture could harm their economies (seeds imported for food are often
planted by farmers, and the addition of GMOs to a country's ecosystem could destroy its export
market, as many buyers do not accept GM food).
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The UN has condemned the US's unilateral sanctions against Cuba every year for the
past 10 years, sanctions which have been in place since 1961 and have included both food
and medicine.
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The US currently enforces co-ercive unilateral (unsupported by, and condemned by,
the UN) sanctions on 50% of the worlds population.
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The US is resisting a European effort at the World Health Organization to exempt
tobacco from trade rules. Under the mantra of 'free trade', it has already used the
threat of sanctions to force open cigarette markets in East Asia, and recently
(in 2001) defeated a South
Korean attempt to impose stiff tariffs on imported cigarettes. Markets in
China, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand have all been opened, with the US further demanding
tobacco companies be allowed to advertise, hold giveaway
promotions and sponsor concerts and sports events in these countries. An estimated 3-4
million people worldwide die every year due to smoking-related illnesses.
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