1a. Global variation in human rights norms

Question 1

What are human rights?

Answer 1

The basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled

Question 2

What is the UN Declaration of Human Rights?

Answer 2

An international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings - 1948

Question 3

How many articles are there in the UNDHR?

Answer 3

30 articles

Question 4

Examples of articles in UNDHR?

Answer 4

Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
Article 9: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile

Question 5

Positives and negatives of globalisation on human rights:

Answer 5

• Enhanced ability of civil society to work across borders and promote human rights
• Enables some organisations to gain power and perpetrate violations

Question 6

How many MDGs are there and give examples:

Answer 6

There are 8 MDGs
EG MDG 1 eradicates extreme poverty and hunger
EG MDG 3 promotes gender equality and empower women
EG MDG 4 reduces child mortality

Question 7

What are human right norms?

Answer 7

Represent ways of living that have been engrained into the culture of a country or area over long periods of time and are the foundation of human rights + what the UDHR was devised on

Question 8

Are human rights protected?

Answer 8

Whilst the UDHR is non-binding, it is protected by international law

Question 9

What international human right is the most widely ratified?

Answer 9

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – designed to change the ways children are viewed and treated and outline what a children needs to survive, grow and achieve full potential

Question 10

What is infant mortality rate?

Answer 10

The annual number of deaths of infants under the age of one per 1000 live births

Question 11

Which countries have high IMR?

Answer 11

Mali – 106.5

Chad – 91.9

Question 12

Which countries have low IMR?

Answer 12

UK – 4.5
Czech Republic – 3.7
Italy – 3.3

Question 13

Why is child mortality a matter of human rights?

Answer 13

The UN views that if a country is not doing what it can to prevent these deaths, then it is not meeting its legal and moral obligations

Question 14

What is intervention?

Answer 14

The use of military force by a state or group of states in a foreign territory in order to end gross violation of fundamental human rights of its citizens

Question 15

Which body is the only one legally allowed to authorise the use of force in intervention?

Answer 15

UN Security Council

Question 16

Positives of humanitarian intervention?

Answer 16

Benefit local communities
Contributes to socio-economic development
Contributes to political stability

Question 17

Negatives of humanitarian intervention:

Answer 17

Injury and deaths of civilians
Loss of homes
Population displacement
Further increase injustices and widen socio-economic inequalities

Question 18

What steps occur when there is intervention required?

Answer 18

The UN Security Council establishes a mandate so that workers and troops can be drawn from a wide range of member states
Military presence helps protect citizens from human rights abuse
UN human rights team works in the area to protect and promote human rights

Question 19

What organisations do the UN coordinate?

Answer 19

• Regional organisations eg NATO
• Non-governmental organisations eg Oxfam
• Public-private partnerships eg Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI Alliance)

Question 20

What other forms of intervention are there?

Answer 20

Non-military sense such as economic sanctions and international criminal prosecution of individuals eg Vadim Shishimarin

Question 21

Define global governance:

Answer 21

Intervention by the global community, attempting to regulate issues, such as human rights, sovereignty, and territorial integrity

Question 22

Define geopolitics:

Answer 22

The global balance of political power and international relations
What is pattern of political power closely linked to?
Economic power, especially relative wealth, and international trade strength

Question 23

Recent example of a ‘geopolitical transition’:

Answer 23

The end of the Cold War which lasted from 1946-1989 where USA and USSR were the two dominant superpowers

Question 24

What are the ways in which geopolitical power is viewed from different perspectives?

Answer 24

1. The USA is the only superpower as it remains dominant militarily and politically
2. Supranational political and economic organisations eg UN, EU, ASEAN exert greater geopolitical influence than individual member states
3. Inequalities in power is dependent on wealth, political strength and development so ACs exert greatest power over EDCs and LIDCs
4. Trans-state organisations such as MNCs exert most power

Question 25

The geopolitics of human rights intervention requires and understanding of:

Answer 25

• Political composition of the groups of countries and organisations involved in intervention
• Nature of the intervention
• Reasons why intervention is needed
• Features of the country, government and people affected
• Political, socio-economic, and environmental consequences of intervention
• Complexity of human rights issues and their spatial patterns