UP PCS Mains-2024

Approach Give a brief introduction to International Ethics. Discuss the major ethical issues in international relations and funding. Highlight the measures to overcome the ethical issues in international affairs. End with a suitable conclusion.

Introduction

International ethics is defined as the set of universal values that governs the actions and behaviours of the countries such as the protection of human rights, prohibition of genocide, prohibition of attack on civilians during war, and balance trade practices.

Body

Ethical Issues in International Relations:

• Human Rights Violations: Political interventions frequently lead to human rights violations.
• Terrorism: States use Terrorism as a tool of foreign policy and indulge in human rights violations such as Pakistan supporting LeT, JeM, and Iran supporting Hezbollah.
• Refugee Issue: European nations are closing their borders to refugees fleeing war-torn areas. For example, refugees from the Middle East.
• Climate Change: Lack of responsibility among the countries to deal with climate change, developed countries are responsible for 79 percent of historical carbon emissions. Most of the Island nations are affected by rising sea levels due the global warming such as Indonesia and small Pacific atoll nations.
• Disarmament: It is mainly promoted by those states, which have massive reserves of nuclear weapons, and missiles for example, USA imposes economic sanctions on countries like Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons without discarding their own weapons.
• The Nuclear Proliferation Treaty is discriminatory in nature which divides the countries into Nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states.
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs): Developing countries are not getting adequate access to new technologies and even life-saving drugs developed by developed countries due to the IPRs. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, India alongside South Africa was seeking a waiver of the intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the Covid-19 vaccine.
• Global Commons: These are outside the national jurisdictions, there are four global commons, namely the High Seas, the Atmosphere, Antarctica, and Outer Space. It has led to high seas disputes like territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Some other issues such as zoonotic diseases like Covid-19, overfishing, and accumulation of Space debris are the global commons.
• Global Poverty: According to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2022, 1.2 billion people are multidimensionally poor, and the Covid-19 pandemic has reversed the progress made in poverty reduction globally by 3-10 years.
• Genocide: It is a crime against humanity such as the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka and the Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar.

Ethical Issues in International Funding:

• Conditions on Funds: International financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund grants come with conditions like opening markets for the world. It seems like continuation of colonialism.
• State vs Non-State Actors: Most of the rich countries give funds directly to non-state actors which erodes the sovereignty of other nations.
• Corruption: Only one percent of humanitarian funds reach the affected population. For example, it was seen during the Ebola Crisis in West Africa.
• Dependency on foreign aid: The states start losing their independence and rely on foreign aid for socio-economic policies. For example, most of the countries such as island nations depend on China’s foreign aid which ultimately leads to the debt trap.
• Indirect benefits to rebel groups: In India, the problem of Naxalism, insurgent groups in Northeastern India, and terrorism in Kashmir are examples of indirect funding.
• Measures to overcome the ethical issues in international relations and funding:
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10^th December 1948 and sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
• The Geneva Conventions: It comprises four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for humanitarian treatment in war.
• The 1951 Refugee Convention: It defines who a refugee is and sets out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) and its TRIPS Agreement: It addresses the ethical issues involved in global trade and Intellectual Property Rights.
• Sustainable Development Goals: They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.

Conclusion

Thus, there is a need to promote the spirit of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future, and to establish universal ethical behaviour in international diplomacy to address the global complex problems like terrorism, climate change, eradication of poverty and inequality and to establish global peace.