Nobel Peace Prize not international community voice
Thorbjorn Jagland, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and some other Western critics, recently published articles trying to justify the Committee's decision to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. However, instead of providing answers, many of their opinions provoke more questions.
The articles put forth many controversial assertions. They tried to imply that human rights are superior to sovereignty and that the international community has the right to intervene in the internal affairs of China. Yet, some assumptions that the authors called "universal" are far from universal. There is no consensus among the international community that "human rights are superior to sovereignty". States are still the fundamental elements of constituting international relations.
Sovereignty tolerates no violation. The domestic affairs of nations should not be interfered with. These are the fundamental principles of international law, as emphasized by 2005 World Summit Outcome. The Charter of the United Nations and many other UN documents affirm that sovereign states shoulder primary responsibility for protecting and promoting human rights.