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Improving governance at the United Nations level.

Richard Lawson¹

¹The Old School House, Congresbury, Somerset. rlawson@gn.apc.org

Medicine, Conflict, and Survival

|September 27, 2005

Summary

The proposed Index of Governance aims to objectively measure and influence state behavior regarding human rights. It uses a phased approach, starting with

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Area of Science:

International Relations
Human Rights Law
Political Science

Background:

The United Nations (UN) is increasingly considering military intervention under the Responsibility to Protect doctrine for states committing gross human rights abuses.
Current UN mechanisms for addressing state-sponsored human rights violations often lack objective measures and are susceptible to political bias.
There is a need for impartial tools to identify and address oppressive regimes before resorting to military action.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a phased Index of Governance designed to objectively measure and influence the behavior of states regarding human rights.
To establish a framework for non-violent persuasion and graduated penalties against oppressive regimes.
To create an impartial system that avoids politically motivated judgments in assessing governmental performance.

Main Methods:

Phase 1 involves developing a derivative of the Observer Index of Human Rights to objectively 'name and shame' oppressive governments.
Phase 2 proposes a legal process to subject the lowest-ranking governments to graduated penalties, including targeted 'Smart Sanctions' on ruling elites.
The methodology emphasizes objective data collection to ensure impartiality and avoid double standards.

Main Results:

The Index of Governance provides an objective metric for evaluating governmental human rights performance.
Phase 1 aims to deter oppressive behavior through public identification and 'naming and shaming'.
Phase 2 outlines a structured approach to implementing sanctions against non-compliant regimes.

Conclusions:

The Index of Governance offers a novel, data-driven approach to promoting human rights and accountability in international relations.
This framework provides a mechanism for the UN to exert non-violent pressure on oppressive regimes before considering military intervention.
The proposed system enhances the UN's capacity to address gross human rights abuses impartially and effectively.

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