| sovereignty is a nations right to govern itself and its people. for example, lets say a nation thinks its ok for children to work long hours and in dangerous conditions (extreme example, i know). or that labor camp conditions are acceptable. as a nation, it may have the "right" to make its own rules, laws.
the issue here is the conflict between respecting a nations right to govern itself versus the protection of basic human rights.
so this statement, whether you agree or not, is saying the UN has a higher obligation to protect human rights, even if that means ignoring a country's right to self rule.
well then, what action should be taken by the UN? economic sanctions? military backing? when should a nation's ability to self rule be ignored in the face of human suffering?
easier to deal with when the country in question is "over there"... but what if it were your own country?
there are recent claims, not tied to the UN, by people in the arctic that greenhouse gas emmisions are hurting their right to livelihood. that reduced or thin ice is making hunting dangeroous and deadly, that their way of living is being destroyed, in part, by greenhouse gases... a large % of which is emitted by the US. so... in this case, should the UN impose action against the US because the actions threaten the well being of a people? im not advocating one position or another. im pointing out just another angle.
certainly there are easier cases to consider. genocide, for example. look at what was happening in yugoslavia. in cambodia. in africa now.
part of the talk against iraq dealt with a dictators killing of his own people, though the big push was WMD's. again, im not interested in argueing the issue. im pointing out examples tied to the topic, so lets not get off topic here people. | 
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