Who are the actors in international law? An animated explainer

37,676 views ・ 2021-11-26

BBC Learning English


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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William Shakespeare said that 'all the world's a stage',
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but when it comes to international law,
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who are the actors?
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Well, for a long time, the only actors were nation states.
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Some states are larger than others,
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but in theory all sovereign states
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are equal under international law.
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As lawyers would say, states have legal personality,
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so they can sign treaties and do other things, but...
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...well, things don't always work out.
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So, after the destruction of World War Two,
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new faces emerged,
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including international organisations,
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like the UN.
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They helped states agree on laws to stop them fighting,
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to agree basic human rights
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and to start working together.
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NGOs also joined the stage to champion causes,
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like the environment and human rights.
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But another group of actors was warming up behind the curtain:
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the multinational corporations.
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In our interconnected world,
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some of these actually play bigger roles
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than the smaller states.
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So, this is where we are now:
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the stage is crowded,
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which can make the action a bit hard to follow.
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And before we finish, we can't forget...
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...you: the individual.
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Individuals play a big role,
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both through their human rights
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and the actions they take.
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