International Law Threatens Western Countries

In recent years, with the increasing attention to varieties of international crime, comparative criminology becomes a major field in criminology and criminal justice (Bennett, 2004:2). Comparative criminology is important for the designation and implementation of international policies and preventive measures on international crime; hence there are a rising amount of studies regarding crime and control on a cross-national level. Therefore, in this essay, how do violations of international laws present a direct threat to Western countries will be discussed in the first part, then the understanding of such threats and justice perpetrators of international crime will be examined in relation to comparative criminology in the second and the third part with illustration of various international data.

Firstly, violations of international law generally refer to violation of human rights. Human rights are a complex area in international theory and practice. It is considered as International Human Rights Law in its legal manifestation (Cali, 2010:282). The International Law Commission defines the concept that crime against humanity contravenes peace and security (Cali, 2010:282). Since mid nineteenth century, the concept of international law exists. It covers citizens in all states and countries in the world. It is a notion that created by treaties of both United Nations and the regional organizations (Philip, 2013:690). Since 1945, international human rights law exists in the Article 1 of United Nations Charter. It states that human rights are promoted and encouraged for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction to race, sex, language and religion (Cali, 2010:284). Human rights act as one purpose of the United Nations alongside wit...

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...o social stability in the way that the American value and belief system of the land of freedom is threatened (Morawska, 2007:94). Also, she argues that the economy in the United States is threatened in the way that the United States government has to spend more in combating human trafficking. The Department of State’s Office to Monitor in the United States spent $300 million for a funding program against modern slavery, which is far more than $20 million of the initial budget (U.S. Department of State, 2014). Moreover, in Australia, Australian government spent more than $50 million in Australia Asia Program to combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP) since 2003 (Australian Government, 2014). As a result, it is believed that comparative criminology provides a deeper understanding on how and in what level different nations are threatened by certain transnational crime.