 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
United Animal Nations is an animal rights organization founded in 1979, in Geneva, by the Franz Weber Foundation, based in Switzerland. [1]
United Animal Nations was founded by Franz Weber on November 8, 1979, in Geneva, Switzerland. [2]
The purpose of the UAN is to obtain legal status for animal populations as well as to enhance the impact and political weight of the UAN member organizations. The forum was initiated by the Swiss environmentalist and animal activist Franz Weber. [2] The charter and declaration was deliberately designed to mirror that of the United Nations. [3] The members are established organizations and institutions, whose aims are the protection of animal life and the preservation of nature. Weber complemented the structure of the UN by adding a protection committee and the International Court of Animal Rights to the UAN. The Statutes, Charter and Declaration was put together with Swiss philosopher and author Denis de Rougemont from Ferney-Voltaire, and a lawyer from Zürich, Anton Flachsmann. On the 8 November 1979, Franz Weber presented them to the international press.
The UAN’s most important organ, The International Court of Justice for Animal Rights has its seat in Geneva. Its duties are to bring to the notice of the public, by means of morally symbolic prosecutions, cruel human actions against the animal kingdom, perpetrations that cannot be legally dealt with under normal human rights legislature. [2] [ citation needed ] The court publicly announces its verdict, if need be by naming ministers and government leaders. The court has a president, two presidential assistants, and six to twelve further members representing the partaking animal protection associations. [2] Only established bodies can act as plaintiffs. Since its foundation in 1979 the court has proceeded in more than twenty-five international cases.[ citation needed ]
As at 2011, the Journal Franz Weber listed twenty international trials in 34 years, [2] including:
A war crime is an act that constitutes a serious violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility. Examples of crimes include intentionally killing civilians or prisoners, torturing, destroying civilian property, taking hostages, performing a perfidy, raping, using child soldiers, pillaging, declaring that no quarter will be given, and seriously violating the principles of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity.
An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a person who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war or is fighting outside of internationally recognized military forces. An unlawful combatant may be detained or prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action. The International Committee of the Red Cross points out that the terms are not defined in any international agreements.
The law of war refers to the component of international law that regulates the conditions for war and the conduct of warring parties. Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, occupation, and other critical terms of international law.
Non-combatant is a term of art in the law of war and international humanitarian law to refer to civilians who are not taking a direct part in hostilities; persons, such as combat medics and military chaplains, who are members of the belligerent armed forces but are protected because of their specific duties ; combatants who are placed hors de combat; and neutral persons not involved in fighting for one of the belligerents involved in a war. This particular status was first recognized under the Geneva Conventions with the First Geneva Convention of 1864.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists—including senior judges, attorneys and academics—who work to develop national and international human rights standards through the law. Commissioners are known for their experience, knowledge and fundamental commitment to human rights. The composition of the Commission aims to reflect the geographical diversity of the world and its many legal systems.
International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict, is the law that regulates the conduct of war. It is a branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.
The International Progress Organization (IPO) is a Vienna-based think tank dealing with world affairs. As an international non-governmental organization (NGO) it enjoys consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and is associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. The organization aims at promoting peaceful co-existence among all nations, in particular the dialogue among civilizations; a just international economic order; global respect for human rights; and the international rule of law. The IPO has members in more than 70 countries on all continents and organizes conferences and expert meetings on issues of conflict resolution, civilizational dialogue, international law, and United Nations reform. The organization publishes the series Studies in International Relations and monographs in the field of international relations theory.
The Animal Protection and Rescue League (APRL) is an American grassroots animal rights organization, founded in 2003, based in California's San Diego and Orange Counties.
The mission of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS) is to advance public health through guidance on health research including ethics, medical product development and safety. CIOMS is an international nongovernmental organization established jointly by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1949. CIOMS represents a substantial proportion of the biomedical scientific community through its member organizations.
The Carandiru massacre occurred on Friday, 2 October 1992, in Carandiru Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, when military police stormed the penitentiary due to a prison riot. The massacre, which left 111 prisoners dead, is considered by many people to be a major human rights violation.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is one of the largest animal welfare and conservation charities in the world.The organization works to rescue individual animals, safeguard populations, preserve habitat, and advocate for greater protections. Brian Davies founded IFAW. IFAW was instrumental in ending the commercial seal hunt in Canada. In 1983 Europe banned all whitecoat harp seals products. This ban helped save over 1 million seals. IFAW operates in over 40 countries
Human rights are comprehensively guaranteed in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Together with other European states, Switzerland is often at or near the head in international civil liberties and political rights rankings. Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in the Federal Constitution and political model. Promotion of peace, mutual respect, equality and non-discrimination are central to the country's democratic election.
The legal aspects of ritual slaughter include the regulation of slaughterhouses, butchers, and religious personnel involved with traditional shechita (Jewish) and dhabiha (Islamic). Regulations also may extend to butchery products sold in accordance with kashrut and halal religious law. Governments regulate ritual slaughter, primarily through legislation and administrative law. In addition, compliance with oversight of ritual slaughter is monitored by governmental agencies and, on occasion, contested in litigation.
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, commonly known as the Cambodia Tribunal or Khmer Rouge Tribunal (សាលាក្ដីខ្មែរក្រហម), is a court established to try the most senior responsible members of the Khmer Rouge for alleged violations of international law and serious crimes perpetrated during the Cambodian genocide. Although it is a national court, it was established as part of an agreement between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the United Nations, and its members include both local and foreign judges. It is considered a hybrid court, as the ECCC was created by the government in conjunction with the UN, but remains independent of them, with trials held in Cambodia using Cambodian and international staff. The Cambodian court invites international participation in order to apply international standards.
Franz Weber was a Swiss environmentalist and animal welfare activist.
The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term Geneva Convention usually denotes the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–1945), which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties, and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively defined the basic rights of wartime prisoners, established protections for the wounded and sick, and established protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations, by 196 countries. Moreover, the Geneva Convention also defines the rights and protections afforded to non-combatants. The Geneva Conventions are about soldiers in war; they do not address warfare proper—the use of weapons of war—which is the subject of the Hague Conventions, and the bio-chemical warfare Geneva Protocol.
Mónica Feria Tinta is a leading public international lawyer at the Bar of England & Wales. She practises as a barrister from 20 Essex Street Chambers. "The Lawyer" magazine featured her in its "Hot 100" 2020 list, as amongst “the most daring, innovative and creative lawyers” in the United Kingdom. In 2000 she became the first and only Peruvian-born lawyer to receive the Diploma of The Hague Academy of International Law in history, the year Professor Pierre-Marie Dupuy delivered the General Course. Her litigation work led to the first international human rights court decision ordering the prosecution of a former Head of State for crimes under international law. In 2006 she was awarded the Inge Genefke International Award for her work as an international lawyer and in 2007 she became the youngest lawyer to be awarded the Gruber Justice Prize, for her contributions advancing the cause of justice as delivered through the legal system; an honour she received at a ceremony chaired by US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Washington DC.
The Mothers of Srebrenica, also known as the Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa, is an activist and lobbying group based in the Netherlands, and represents 6,000 survivors of the siege of Srebrenica, during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s. The organization is best known for bringing a civil action against the United Nations for a breach of duty of care for the failure to prevent the genocide at Srebrenica.
RedRover is, broadly, an animal rescue organisation, with the strapline bring animals from crisis to care. It was founded in Sacramento, California in 1987. It is not affiliated with United Animal Nations (International) based in Switzerland.
