Peace Profile: Roger Casement

In an earlier “Peace Profile,” Patrick Cannon provides a comprehensive account of the life of Roger Casement, a person who identified with the Irish nationalist community, in spite of the fact that he was raised in an Ulster, Protestant family and worked as a representative of British imperialism during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. It was his experiences as a British counsel in the Congo Free State and in the Putumayo region of Peru that convinced Casement that imperialism had, in fact, systematically oppressed native peoples and perpetrated horrendous human rights atrocities. His official reports to the British government helped to end abuses by the representatives of King Leopold II in the Congo and by officials of the Peruvian Amazon company in Peru. This significant work for humanitarian causes prompted Cannon to suggest that Casement should be regarded as an exemplar for peace activists and humanitarians everywhere.     

国际法的和平软肋——从康德的《永久和平论》说起

国际法是以维护和平与促进发展为根本价值取向的国际法律体系。实现和平的使命是国际法赖以存在的重要基础。康德的永久和平思想重视国际法的制度和组织建设,但忽视了实现和平的心理因素。深受康德永久和平思想影响的现代国际法体系也偏重于法律制度和国际组织的建设,对人类内心和平的建设重视不足。虽然一些国际法律文件和个别国际组织已经意识到了内心和平对世界和平的重要性,并做出了积极努力,但显然还是很不够的。真正的永久和平只能从人的内心开始实现。国际法应该在进一步加强和完善现有国际法制度和国际组织建设的基础上,更加重视人类内心和平的宣传和建设。这是国际法的新使命。