Cooperation with United Nations Atrocity Inquiries
Cooperation with United Nations Atrocity Inquiries
Abstract: This article evaluates the legal basis for a state duty to cooperate with atrocity inquiries within the United Nations (“UN”). The conventional understanding is that such duty only exists pursuant to a Security Council decision. Through examination of General Assembly practice in monitoring state cooperation with atrocity inquiries, this article considers whether there is a basis for cooperation to be constructed as a primary obligation under the UN Charter. It considers the extent to which the text of the UN Charter and other sources of international law support a reasonable interpretive claim that a duty to cooperate with UN atrocity inquiries exists. While practice is inconsistent, the article shows there to be seeds from which the General Assembly could, in a “declaration,” confirm an understanding that state cooperation with UN atrocity inquiries is obligatory.
Recommended Citation: Michael Ramsden, Cooperation with United Nations Atrocity Inquiries, 45 Fordham Int'l L.J. 473 (2022).