global governance - human rights

Question 1

what is the significance of the UN UDHR

Answer 1

as it provides a global standard of human rights protection on which the record of nation state can be judged

Question 2

Why and with what purpose was the ICC established

Answer 2

2002, to try cases involving crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes when national courts fail to take appropriate action

Question 2

How does the European Convention on Human Rights connect to the European Court of Human Rights

Answer 2

The ECtHR is the Supreme Court to which cases involving the ECHR can be taken

Question 3

Why and with what purpose was the ICJ established

Answer 3

1945, to resolve peacefully disputes involving UN member states

Question 4

TWE can the ICJ be claimed a successful organisation

Answer 4

It has successful arbitrated cases involving nation states.
HOWEVER, states frequently ignore its judgements if they conflict with national self interest - therefore not established universal respect for international law

Question 5

Is it fair to say that the failures of ICC outweigh its successes

Answer 5

Even though it has successfully prosecuted several notorious cases, powerful nations ignore its jurisdiction and its focus on Africa has led to damaging claims of neo-colonialism.

Question 6

In what ways does state sovereignty challenge the effectiveness of int courts and tribunals

Answer 6

national states don’t have to acknowledge a supranational authority outside of their borders, this limits jurisdiction of int courts over independent sovereign states

Question 7

what is the difference between a universalist and cultural relativist approach to human rights

Answer 7

universalist - all human beings possess equal human rights, derived from ‘common humanity’
CR - different cultures determine the nature of peoples human rights

Question 8

why are realists sceptical of attempts to establish a global standard of human rights protection

Answer 8

realists believe state sovereignty ensures global peace and stability, so, attempts to establish a global standard of human rights protection encourages instability through infringing on ones state sovereignty.

Question 9

explain why liberals believe that human rights abuses should not be tolerated by the international community

Answer 9

as they believe in shared humanity and that there is an obligation to save strangers where human rights are violated

Question 10

why do some nation states support a liberal approach to global human rights protection more than others

Answer 10

as western states have adopted a liberal interventionist approach to HR protection as they are influenced by enlightenment principles of Individual rights.
human intervention is unjustifiable to nation states who adhere to the Westphalian principles of state sovereignty

Question 11

is it fair to state that the ongoing importance of state sovereignty makes it impossible to establish a supranational standard of human rights protection

Answer 11

although Westphalian principles of national sovereignty challenge the ability of int courts to protect HR, progress is possible if nation states are prepared to voluntarily limit sovereignty

Question 12

in what ways is there a clash between universal human rights and state sovereignty

Answer 12

as nation states claim that they determine the rights which their citizens possess and that even if they are accused of abusing them, they are protected from the outside interference by their own sovereignty

Question 13

have human rights become better protected since end of cold war 1991

Answer 13

Yes - ICC AND UNRP established, HOWEVER - failed humanitarians interventions and the rise of China have marginalised against human rights protection

Question 14

why did humanitarian interventions increase during 1990s (3)

Answer 14

as the absence of superpower rivalry and arms race enabled western powers to focus on human rights protection,
the threat of increasing regional instability also encouraged them to intervene in conflict zones like bosnia
advances in global communications made human rights abuses more difficult to hide = humanitarian response required

Question 15

why did NATO intervene in Bosnia -1995 and Kosovo - 1999

Answer 15

due to significant human rights abuses occurring and threatening Europes stability

Question 16

what is the significance of Tony blairs Chicago speech 1999

Answer 16

as it established the principle of a liberal rules based international order based on the primacy of human rights protection

Question 17

what is nation building and how does it encourage a successful humanitarian intervention

Answer 17

• the rebuilding of a nation state after a humanitarian intervention creating the necessary conditions fro stability, security and RoL being re established.
• without it progress is impossible

Question 18

why do you think the us intervention in Somalia 1992, was so much less successful than NATO in Bosnia 1995

Answer 18

as Somalia was a FAILED STATE where was no legitimate government for the American’s to support. Whereas, Bosnia had recognisable political structures which enabled reconstruction by NATO. This allowed for greater commitment to nation building.

Question 19

do you think that international intervention in Myanmar on behalf of the Rohingya muslims could ever be justified

Answer 19

Yes due to R2P

HOWEVER, western success in remote and unstable country = unlikely. strong links with china could provoke a wider conflict undermining case for intervention

Question 20

why did humanitarian intervention in Libya go so wrong

Answer 20

Due to the lack of commitment to nation building following overthrow of Gadafi regime led to collapse of Libya as rival groups were in a power struggle

Question 21

does the fact that western powers are currently the only ones to launch humanitarian interventions undermine their legitimacy

Answer 21

• west have no right to intervene with sov nation states, selective intervention is hypocritical
  -HOWEVER, western powers have a strong record of HR protection and most likely to uphold UNR2P, justifying their leadership

Question 22

under what circumstance does unr2p claim that the international community may intervene within a sovereign nation state

Answer 22

if genocide/ war crimes and crimes against humanity are occurring and the country involved is unwilling to stop them

Question 22

why do liberals and realists regard unr2p so differently

Answer 22

liberals - unr2p represent vital principle of sanctity of human life > state sovereignty

realists - no legitimacy as the nation state is sovereign

Question 23

why have there been fewer humanitarian interventions recently
(2)

Answer 23

• lack of success in Afghanistan and Libya has reduced support
• rise of assertiveness in china and Russia have made them more politically risky

Question 23

explain the accusation of double standard in context of humanitarian intervention

Answer 23

way in which western powers have intervened in some humanitarian crises but in those involving allies encourages double standards accusations

Question 24

why do you think the decision ofWestern powers to avoid large scale humanitarian intervention in the Syrian civil war has been so controversial
(lib and realists perspectives 2 points)

Answer 24

• liberals - if western powers had intervened earlier - fewer lives lost and destabilising the refugee crisis would have been avoided
• realists oppose intervention because of possibility of conflict with Russia and Iran

Question 25

do you agree that accusation of double standard undermines case for humanitarian intervention

Answer 25

although no intervention from west to protect uighur and Rohingya people, it can be argued that such interventions would be impossible to launch and therefore this does not de-legitimise interventions in Bosnia, Kosovo etc.

Question 26

is it true that humanitarian intervention is now an abandoned project

Answer 26

failures in Libya and pragmatic policy of trump administration reduced likelihood intervention

HOWEVER, the geo-strategic implications of non-intervention ( growing Russian and Iranian influence in syria ) may persuade the Biden administration to be more assertive

Question 27

since humanitarian interventions have generally been directed at less powerful nations by more powerful ones, does this undermine their legitimacy (2)

Answer 27

all nations possess equal sovereignty so the intervention of powerful nations in less powerful ones represents and unfair and illegitimate use of power
- liberals however argue that powerful states have resources to intervene in humanitarian crises so this is justifiable

Question 28

in what ways does HRW raise awareness of HR abuses

Answer 28

through regularly monitoring human rights abuses in every nation state

Question 29

why is there now greater global awareness of plight of uighur muslims in china (3)

Answer 29

as it has been raised by global pressure groups like HRW
the internet = growing evidence
biden administration taken moral stance encouraging others to follow lead

Question 30

in what ways is the role of UN high commissioner of HR limited

Answer 30

as sovereign states can ignore criticism on human rights abuses

Question 30

in what ways can social media advance global awareness of human rights abuses

Answer 30

provides human rights abuses to be publicised
‘people pressure’ can encourage activism and pressure governments to act - most affective in dem states

Question 31

how much progress do you think global pressure groups have made in protecting human rights

Answer 31

global pressure groups - HRW, BLM - more likely to encourage support in participatory democracies HOWEVER in autocratic states activism can be cencorsed and ignored

Question 32

TWE does negative publicity encourage nation states to better protect human rights

Answer 32

nation states which value soft power influence can react positively to negative publicity e.g. Uk govt during wind rush scandal 2018
HOWEVER, countries more hard power focused can ignore criticisms of human rights
e.g. Israel ignores criticism of policies in Palestinian territories.