Vasileska, Larisa (2018) ENSURING INTERNATIONAL RESPECT FOR THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT OF PEOPLE TO SELF-DETERMINATION. In: International conference “Human rights: achievements and challenges” dedicated to 70th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Caucasus International University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
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Abstract
I would have never imagined that one of the oldest documented people in the world, a people who have a place in the Bible and who persevered through extreme hardship stemming from territorial occupation inflicted by its neighbors and wars throughout documented history – including torture, inhuman and
degrading treatment, legal, physical and psychological repression, population exchanges, forced mass exoduses, the forcible transfer of children on a large scale, the disproportionate and unnecessary use of force on the civilian population, psychological warfare, propaganda and indoctrination, and various assimilationist policies, all of which had one common goal – the destruction of the existence of the Macedonian people, Macedonian language and Macedonian history – would be a victim of an arguably unprecedented “cultural genocide” and be denied the right to their identity in the 21st century. The absurdity of the situation is magnified when one realizes that those who are urging Macedonians to give up their name, identity and language are not dictators, but diplomats and politicians representing the very entities that were meant to be the defenders of human rights: the UN and the EU.1 Imagine, in a time of peace and an era of the supremacy of human rights to be denied the universal right of self-determination. The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a jus cogens rule).
Self-determination is not a mere phrase; it is an imperative principle of action. All peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. This concept is a principle of international law which allows the people of a state to determine the sovereignty and political status of that state without outside interference.
This paper will consider the destruction of Macedonian identity and culture by means of political blackmail into a conundrum that is most paradoxical for this era that champions human rights as essential to international peace and security, an era in which the right to self-determination is recognized as one of the basic human rights, which is essential to social and economic well-being.
Keywords: human rights, self-determination, United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human Rights
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | Scientific Fields (Frascati) > Social Sciences > Law |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality |
| Depositing User: | Mr Bojan Sekulovski |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Mar 2020 10:32 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Mar 2020 10:32 |
| URI: | https://eprints.uklo.edu.mk/id/eprint/3758 |
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