The world court project: How a citizen network can influence the United Nations.

Abstract

During the last nine years, a worldwide network of peace activists, doctors and lawyers evolved the World Court Project (WCP). This is based on a simple premise: while the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions outlaw those weapons of mass destruction, there is no such specific prohibition on nuclear weapons. They succeeded in persuading the UN to ask the International Court of Justice, or World Court, for its first‐ever advisory opinion on the legal status of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. A decision by the Court is expected early in 1996. The implications of the Court confirming any nuclear weapon threat or use as illegal are far‐reaching, not least for reform of the UN Security Council. It would also revitalise the Court's function as the third, judicial, pillar of the UN.

This paper traces the story of the WCP as a unique umbrella network of NGOs: how it lobbied governments on the most radical issue on the UN General Assembly's disarmament agenda; how it persuaded the Court to accept citizens’ evidence for the first time; and how it helped to empower ordinary citizens to learn about, and then use, the UN system to influence governments.

Notes

From 1974–1993 she was also known by her married name Boanas.