EQ2 ; human rights vary from place to place and is impacted by international law and agreements Flashcards
war crime
an act carried out during the conduct of a war that violates accepted international rules of war.
under the geneva convention it is seen as an act of wilfull killing, torture or inhumane treatment - unlawful deportation, deprivation from fair trial.
what is the UDHR
a statement of intent and a framework for foreign policy statements to explain economic or military intervention but not all states have signed the declaration. consists of 30 human rights including freedom of speech, no slavery, no torture, a right to ed.
how effective is the EDHR ?
- adopted by only 48 nations out of 150 that signed - even when adopted - rights are not always effectively protected - prone to cricumventing and interpretation by govts.
- declaration not legally binding - optional to sign or apply.
- does not define fundamental freedoms or human rights so it is vulnerable to interpretation by countries.
- arbitrary laws that lack clarity ; no one should be subject to degrading forms of punishment - is prison a form of degrad. Right to travel.
egalitarian
believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
what r some of the reasons for why countries have abstained from the UDHR?
South Africa - to protect its system of apartheid
saudi arabia - everyone has the right to ‘change their religion or belief’ - until 2017 women arent allowed to drive and until 2015 women arent allowed to vote
Soviet Union - considered that the declaration did not condemn fascism and nazism sufficiently.
what was the ECHR and how is it different to the UDHR ?
enacted in 1953 - the European convention on human rights drafted by the nations of the council of europe to help prevent conflict and was integrated into the uK’s const by the Human rights Act 1998.
- different to UDHR because of focus on European countries.
Explain the tensions between the ECHR, HRA 1998 and the UK’s parliamentary sov. ?
- the HRA is a constitutionally embedded bill that the UK accepts as a significant protection of HR in the uK along with the uncodified UK Bill of rights,
- prisoner voting rights tensions ; Theoretically since the ECHR vouches for prisoner voting rights, the UK should accept such laws and incorporate it into their laws - however prisoner voting rights has not been legislated- with many groups such as UKIP and the Conservative party arguing that it would be an erosion of parlia. sovereignty to enforce law without parliaments vote- so the introduction of ex prisoner John Hirst’s case asking for the UK govt to follow ECHR law lead to the European court to condemn the uK = vote in commons overwhelmingly voted against prisoner voting rights.
To what extent is the ECHR an erosion of sovereignty within countries?
Ultimately not an erosion when considering the UK;
ambiguity of ECHR rights has allowed for countries to interpret and circumvent and ignore ECHR law ;
60% of UK cases brought to the E court of HR are in violation of the ECHR yet very little is done about them. UK wins 99% of it’s cases.
other countries have frequently violated ECHR rules at averages of 83% of those brought before the ECHR.
what is the Geneva Convention?
signed in 1949 the basis for international law for prosecuting individuals and organisations who commit war crimes and is ratified by 196 countries.
What are the Geneva Convention’s key rules of war?
- cant kill / injure an enemy who surrenders
- wounded and sick can be collected and cared for
- torture is forbidden
- must distinguish citiznes and ensure they are not harmed nor their property destroyed.
what happens if a country violates a geneva convention law ?
- war crimes are documented and investigated by States and international courts, individuals can be prosecuted for war crimes. However, not all countries stick to geneva convention’s rules of war ; 9/11 use of torture to gain information from prisoners in Guantanamo bay , 141/160 countries still use torture, including the USA.
How effectvie is the geneva convention?
-It advanced regional frameworks, each binding to differing degrees, such as the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
82% of the 160 countries have broken the Geneva Conventions including Syria, Ukraine , Turkey.
- Turkish military force in Syrian war labelled ‘a shameful disregard for civilian life’ by Amnesty killing over 1,000 civilians in Syria - largest exporter of weapons to Turkey = USA- all of which amount to war crimes which the international courts are yet to condem - but it is very difficult to do so.
how has the UN human rights council enforced persecution for commitment of war crimes globally?
persecution of former Bosnian Serb leader - convicted of war crimes against humanity ; 40 yrs prison , also found guilty of the Srebrenica massacre which aimed to kill every able bodied male in the town and drive out the Muslim bosnian population.
- rwandan genocide 1994 - UN security council convicted 85 individuals ,
rarely convicted for crimes as seen in Turkey’s 1000 murder of civ , China’s tiannanmen square massacre and ethnic cleansing of tibetan’s in tibet - overshadowed by claims of economic reform
