vol. 1 núm. 1 (2010)

Water is today subject of debate in the international arena due to the deep politic, economic and social implications it carries, along with challenges that require strong commitment by governments and international agencies. In this article, the author intends to obtain a broader and more specific perception on the current condition of the so denominated [Human] Right to Water. In order to do so, a theoretical revision of the subject is conducted, using as methodology secondary sources, from which a descriptive analysis was made in order to obtain a better understanding of the matter. Furthermore, the influence of the international community in the subject is taken into account as how the precedents regarding human rights influence the situation, and how ECOSOC’s General Comment 15 is currently the latest international pronouncement. Then, it analyses how governments implement the Right to Water domestically and how the case of South Africa is one of the most important examples. After a deep analysis, the main conclusion found is that this issue, even though has had some progress, it still has a significant number of defiance ahead that will require joint and dedicated action both internationally and domestically.

It is a real pleasure for me to present to the academic community, the first edition of EAFIT Journal of International Law. EAFIT University was created 50 years ago, by a group of young professionals who wanted to implement successful education models from North America. This University has grown up and continues to expand in a process that follows international standards and it is nowadays one of the most prominent Universities in Colombia.

This article is product of a topic review related to the UN Peacekeeping Missions established since 1945. This paper aims to address the role of these missions based on the UN official reports of each one of them in the attempt to reestablish and preserve peace in regions where conflict has arisen. The type of methodology used was phenomenological, focusing on a descriptive study. The paper is divided in two main sections, the first section is general overview of the current literature related with the effectiveness of those missions and the second section analyzes each intervention and their respective outcomes in order to come with a conclusion about the importance and effectiveness of peace keeping operations. The main conclusion reached has to do with the nature of the conflict. Missions that have taken place in a conflict related more with political aspects than those related with social issues have a better performance fulfilling their mandates and with this, having a good evaluation of their effectiveness. But, in those conflicts where there is a social aspect at stake, with manifestations of violence it is harder to achieve its mandates, thus, the effectiveness it’s less clear and in some occasions, it can be seen as a failure of the mission involved.

The concept of security incorporates within its meaning, at the same time, political, social and cultural connotations, and essentially entails a certain malleability that may, at times, escape any aim for legal structure. Without a doubt, no contemporary theory of international law, no international relations approach, and no political or humanistic discourse can currently avoid it, regardless of the angle according to which it is dealt with. As to the notion of governance, it has been described as the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs through a dynamic and complex process of interactive decision-making. When attempting to encompass both ideas, that is, if the question about governance (on a global scale) is indeed pertinent or even possible security wise, the fact is that working with probabilities –as security requires it-, and trying to organize them and build them into a plan, certainly makes mandatory to question if that response to different sets of circumstances is structured according to a process of interactive decision-making –as mentioned before-, in the search for the encompassment of the majority of subjects of international law is merely logical, which is the aim of this paper.

The happenings of the last 30 years have brought the International Community to seek a solution to avoidable human catastrophes through the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect. This article seeks to give insight into the cases that lead up to the creation of said doctrine, as were the events of Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Afterwards, the basis and leading documents of Responsibility to Protect are examined as they shed a light to need of the actions by it permitted. However, as the doctrine permits the use of force, the Charter of the United Nations is later examined in order to conclude that the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect should be permitted under the Charter as it seeks to protect human rights, one of the corner stones of the UN. Finally, the conclusion reached in the article is that by practicing the doctrine the opening phrase of the UN Charter is put into practice.

This paper reviews NATO’s Operation Allied Force conducted in Kosovo in 1999 based on the principles of International Humanitarian Law, namely those of distinction, proportionality, precaution and limitations on the type of weapons to be used within military operations. This document is distributed in two main parts. The first one describes NATO’s constitutive treaty by making emphasis in what are considered its most prominent articles followed by a presentation of the four principles of jus in bello, mentioned previously. The second part deals with the description of four air incidents within the Operation aiming at the violation of International Humanitarian Law along with scholars opinions regarding the subject matter of discussion as well as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) final decision not to initiate investigations. This paper is the result of research made through different International Law Journals and news from NATO’s official webpage. Finally, it is worth mentioning that it is not pretended to criticize neither the arguments presented by scholars opposing NATO’s intervention nor the decision at which the ICTY arrived, the aim is to present a case which still has not had consensus among International Law analysts but that can help in understanding jus in bello in International Relations.