"In guise of an imperfect conclusion" [2020] ELECD 420; in Tistounet, Eric (ed), "The UN Human Rights Council" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020) 308

Book Title: The UN Human Rights Council

Editor(s): Tistounet, Eric

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Section Title: In guise of an imperfect conclusion

Number of pages: 18

Abstract/Description:

It would be presumptuous and intellectually inadequate to offer any conclusion to a book that aims at proposing an Anatomy of one of the most important but challenging UN bodies. Making a fair diagnostic and proposing an adequate therapy may be a reachable goal for a medical doctor. It is not, however, for someone grasping with the Council or any other comparable intergovernmental machinery. To put it otherwise, assessing a situation and offering recommendations implies that the assessment is a fully objective one and the intention perfectly candid. Although the latter is a prerequisite, no writer can even start to pretend to be able to fulfil the former goal. Any writing is influenced by a multiplicity of factors and variables, neutrality is not a quintessential human quality and humility commands the writer to be cognizant of their own limitations. Any assessment, whatever it is, is thus profoundly marked by subjectivity.