Health and Human Rights Flashcards
How can human development measured?
- traditionally measured using GDP
- Human Development Index
- Happy Planet Index
How does GDP measure human development?
total value of goods/services a country produces in a year, reflecting economic activity and broadly the standard of living in that country
How does the Human Development Index measure human development?
UN Development Programme in 1990 - socioeconomic measure based on GDP, literacy rate and life expectancy
How does the Happy Planet Index measure human development?
devised by the New Economic Foundation - combining impact on natural environment (ecological footprint) with wellbeing (life expectancy), considers efficiency of resource use in improving lives without damaging the environment - no economic component
What is human capital?
skills, knowledge, experience held by an individual/population, viewed in terms of their value/cost to an organisation/country
Why is education necessary for development?
- basic hygiene and healthcare
- way to control family size
- how to be involved in decision making
- a way to inform of rights in 21st Century
How does UNESCO believe gender equality can be achieved?
through education
How many were not in primary and secondary education in 2013?
59 million not in primary
65 million not in secondary (according to UN)
What percentage of secondary schools had gender equality in 2015?
48%
How much does the UN suggest should be spent on schooling?
4-6% of GDP
What are the reasons for variations in health and life expectancy for developing countries? (2 points + facts)
- differences in basic needs - food, water, sanitation (1/9 dont have enough to eat, Chad life expectancy at 49, 840,000 die annually of waterborne diseases, life expectancy gap in Africa is 27 years)
- differences in healthcare provision (poor governance means some countries dont have functioning healthcare system e.g. corruption/mismanagement under Mugabe in Zimbabwe means life expectancy is 56, infant mortality decimates averages, vaccination/maternal health programmes leads to improvements e.g. WHO’s Expanded programme averted 2/3 million deaths a year)
What are the reasons for variations in health and life expectancy for developed countries? (3 points + facts)
- differences in lifestyle e.g. diet (US has 14,000 McDonalds and is most obese country in the world, Japan life expectancy at 82 with diet of fish/rice)
- differences in deprivation e.g. access to free housing
- cost/effectiveness of healthcare (private, insurance-based healthcare in USA puts life expecancy at 78 compared to 81 in UK with 18% of GDP, of 11 countries ahead of the US in economic freedom, 10 have achieved universal coverage)
What are the reasons for variations in health and life expectancy within countries? (3 points + facts)
- ethnic variations/lifestyle (Aboriginals have poor diet, 27% Vitamin D deficiency, T2 Diabetes 3x more common)
- income levels/inequality (some cannot afford healthcare systems e.g. USA)
- location (Australian aboriginals life expectancy 10 years shorter - live in remote areas less accessible/connected)
How much does the UK spend on healthcare?
18% of UK spending
- commitment to welfare state
How much does Brazil spend on healthcare?
4.4% of GDP
however 1/4 have private healthcare
- committed to economic development rather than welfare system
How have the roles of IGOs changed?
change from emphasis on privatisation, deregulation and free trade, to more paternalist role
What are examples of IGOs that have a role in health and human rights?
- World Bank
- WTO
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- UNESCO
- OECD
What does the World Bank do?
originally focused on post-war reconstruction, now committed to allegiation of poverty, providing financial/technical assistance to developing countries
What does the WTO do?
globally deals with the rules of trade between nations, to help producers/exporters/importers conduct business
What does the IMF do?
seeks to improve economies, secure financial stability, reduce poverty e.g. by recommending self-correcting policies
What does the UNESCO do?
promotes international collaboration of education, science and culture, securing cultural/natural world heritage
What does the OECD do?
policies that improve socioeconomic wellbeing and quality of life by working with govs to suggest solutions to common problems
Why might IGO influence be limited in the modern world?
their influence is limited by power of TNCs and national gov - IGOs cannot force policies onto govs, and govs are often lobbied by TNCs which provide monetary advantages which IGOs do not
What are the UN’s development goals and how have they changed?
2000 UN Millennium Development Goals - 8 goals aiming to alleviate poverty
- reviewed in 2015 - Sustainable Development Goals introduced, addressing root causes of poverty and universal need for sustainable development - shift from closing development gap to sustainability and environmental concern, however little said about contribution of aid from developed world
What are human rights?
moral principles that underlie standards of human behaviour, to which a person is inherently entitled to simply because s/he is a human being
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? (UDHR)
1948 - following atrocities of Nazi Germany
- defines human rights and universal freedoms
- part of the UN charter - 193 UN countries are bound to recognise
- however, only ideals, not a treaty so not legally binding, some rights are difficult to define, some Islamic countries deem it too ‘westernised’
What is the European Convention on Human Rights? (ECHR)
established 1950 by the Council of Europe, with purpose of achieving ‘greater unity’ and ‘realisation of human rights and fundimental freedoms’
- incorporated into the UK by the Human Rights Act 1998
- 59 articles
- legally binding, its rulings override national courts
- majority of cases in Eastern Europe (only 1.4% concerned the UK) and have helped juries reach clearer verdict
- however some believe it undermines national sovereignty
- takes too long to make rulings e.g. Ukraine had 22 pending cases in 2016
What was the Geneva Convention?
- 1949 provision if outlines for rules and regulations for wartime, offering protection for civilians, prisoners of war, etc
- agreed by 196 countries
- but not all countries agreed to subsequent protocols
- breaches are investigated but a survey found 82% of countries have breached terms
In what ways are there differences between countries in their regard to human rights?
- prioritising economic development may compromise rights
- variation in democratic freedom
- variation in freedom of speech
- levels of corruption
- discrimination of minority groups in terms of gender and ethnicity
- levels of health and education
What percentage of prisoners in Bolivia havent actually been convicted of a crime and how does this violate human rights?
70% - breach of article 9
How has Indonesia seen human rights successes?
- increased democracy including introduction of elections in 2014
- freedom of expression for foreign journalists improved in 2014
- 2018 announcement of banning child marriage (however no timeframe for this and 14% currently married before 18)
- banning of hazardous work for under 18s
How has Indonesia seen human rights failures?
- corruption below the world average, gov fails to investigate human rights violations and uses ambiguous blasphemy laws to prosecute and reduce freedom of expression
- use of torture 84 times in 2015
- operation of Sharia law in some states involving public canings
- indigenous given rights to own forests in 2013 but in practice land is still exploited commercially
- health for indigenous groups poor including 100 Papuan children deaths from measles outbreak 2018, blamed on government negligence
- female applicants for Armed Forces undergo unscientific ‘ virginity testing’
What are the reasons for variations in human rights around the world and within countries?
- gov corruption
- religion
- type of gov system
- economic problems
- peace/wartime
What are the different motivations behind geopolitical interventions in human rights?
- humanitarian motivations (offering development aid to poorest countries, protecting human rights, encouraging healthcare/education e.g. WW2)
- mutual motivations (promoting security/stability, international trade, accessing resources, encouraging inward investment e.g. Iraq war)
- military motivations (providing military support, increasing global/regional influence e.g. Vietnam war)
What are the different types of geopolitical interventions regarding human rights?
- military aid
- military action
- development aid
- trade embargos
In what ways is development aid a successful geopolitical intervention?
- can provide immediate medical assistance (WHO declared TB a ‘global emergency’ in 2000 saving 43 million through diagnosis/treatment by 2014, MSF provision of 15 Ebola centres, 1,400 tonnes of equipment and treatment of 8,500 in first year of response)
- empowers communities to tackle crises (Christian Aid supports rural Haiti since 1980s e.g. 550 earthquake proof homes, 32,000 seeds for farmers and trained 35,000 in preparation/response to disasters)
In what ways is development aid an unsuccessful geopolitical intervention?
- aid might not reach recipients (corruption within both source and host country e.g. only 2% of aid for Haiti in 2010 reached Haitian NGOs and Gov, only 1% of US construction aid money went to Haitian businesses, but 70% to US companies)
- can cause over-dependence (NGOs provide 70% of Haitian healthcare and 85% of schooling, changes perception of people such that they cannot do things htemselves, negative for both source and host countries)
How much of UK spending goes on foreign aid?
0.7%
How much money did the UK give to Somalia in 2012 and why was this problematic?
£86 million - ranked most corrupt nation in the world
In what ways are trade embargos a successful geopolitical intervention?
- reduction of national income produces negative conditions that can cause a LT regime change (successfully applied to South Africa during Apartheid years 1948-94)
- are specific and can implement a large number of countries (e.g. UK had restriction on trade to 72 countries, restrictions put specifically on things that reduce human rights e.g. military arms, but kept on humanitarian aid e.g. medicine)
- however success is often dependent on who imposes the sanctions…
In what ways are trade embargos an unsuccessful geopolitical intervention?
- cause democratic fall out (e.g. between EU, USA and Iran following 2018 US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal and reimposing of sanctions - EU still invests in Iran so source of volatility)
- poor quality of life in the ST (high inflation in Iran, commodities more expensive for the people and dissolution of businesses due to lack of FDI)
In what ways is military action a successful geopolitical intervention?
- can bring about improvements in education/life expectancy (e.g. under Taliban rule 1.2 million were enrolled in schools with less than 50,000 girls, military intervention in 2001 meant by 2013 there were 10.5 million students - but still not even mix)
- can eradicate oppressive regimes (e.g. Saddam Hussain genocide of 180,000 Kurds using chemical weapons, Iraq War 2004 secured his death)
In what ways is military action an unsuccessful geopolitical intervention?
- LT instability (difficult to restructure countries following intervention and can create LT power vacuum e.g. Afghanistan experienced 4 regime changes in 50 years incl American occupation post-2001 - little stability created, USA stopped combat operations in 2013 and Taliban regained territorial control)
- ST collateral damage (149,000 civilian deaths in Afghanistan war, 2,175 US soldiers lost their lives, up to 120,000 in NK prison camps)
- MEDC human rights brought into question (incl 775 detainees in Guantanamo, US gov classifies many released detainees as ‘enemy combatants’, as of 2017, 55 detainees remained)
- other actions more successful…
In what ways is military aid a successful geopolitical intervention?
- direct delivery on large scale (e.g. cause of regime change in Bolivia, combats extremism e.g. in Afghanistan)
- successful examples (e.g. USA provides $360 million in economic assistance and looks after Syrian refugees at border security in Jordan)
In what ways is military aid an unsuccessful geopolitical intervention?
- motivations questioned (e.g. USA in Jordan provides $360 million in economic assistance to gain foothold in the Middle East)
- must be used in conjunction with other factors e.g. military action, cannot cause regime change on its own e.g. torture ensues in Jordan
Which HR articles to include in HR questions?
- UDHR:
Article 3- right to life
Article 25- right to standard of living adequate for health
Article 26- right to education
In what ways can geopolitical interventions threaten national sovereignty?
- NGOs - co-ordinate development aid, undermining state structures, e.g. Christian Aid in Haiti, Oxfam etc
- National Govs - implement trade embargos on other countries e.g. US causes Cuba losses of $685 million a year and restricts its ability to trade with others
- IGOs - e.g. UN security council vote on Afghanistan resulted in military action/aid, development goals by UN take away state control individually
