Health, Human Rights and Intervention EQ2 - Human rights Flashcards
What are human rights?
Moral principles which underlie standards of human behaviour.
Inalienable and fundamental rights to which every person is entitled to universally.
What is the UDHR?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Sets out 30 universal rights - vital strands in what is widely recognised as constituting human development
What are the drawbacks of the UDHR?
Is a declaration only, not a treaty - therefore it is not legally binding as there are no signatories. Therefore articles are unenforceable.
Not every state has signed the declaration
What is the significance of the UDHR?
Is a significant factor influencing foreign policies and international relationships.
Can be used as a justification for military or economic interventions. Aid can be promised as a lever to persuade other countries to improve human rights
What is the ECHR?
The European Convention on Human Rights
Comprises of a number of articles setting out specific human rights. Response to human rights violations in WWII and post war spread of communism - has played an important role in developing an awareness of human rights in Europe.
What are the controversies surrounding the ECHR?
Some countries view it as an erosion of national sovereignty - it ‘interferes’ in legal and parliamentary proceedings within countries and can overturn appeals within nations
How has the UK integrated the ECHR?
Human rights act of 1998 - incorporates into UK law the rights contained in ECHR. Any breach of convention’s rights can be heard in UK courts, so don’t have to go to the European Court of Human Rights
What is the Geneva convention?
A series of 4 treaties that establish international law for humanitarian treatment during war - to protect people not taking part in the conflict. It is almost universally ratified - 196 countries signed up.
What are the drawbacks of the Geneva convention?
Few cases of violations of the Geneva Convention ever come to trial - 141 countries were still reported to use torture in 2014.
What is a war crime?
Wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment that is not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully.
What is a democracy?
Countries with a system of government in which power is either held by regularly elected representatives or directly by the people.
How are human rights being affected by a desire to develop?
Pursuit of economic development and growth by emerging countries coupled with industrialisation associated with the global shift has led to the prioritisation of economic output over basic human rights
What are democratic governments general approach to human rights, what issues can arise due to this?
Most democracies are committed to principles of human rights
However, there are inevitably occasions when the interpretation of one of the principles by government does not fall in line with the international community. For example - UK disagreement with ECHR for denying prisoners right to vote in 2015 General Election
What is the spatial distribution of freedom around the world, and why?
Lack of freedom in much of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
This is due to political unrest prevailing or being firmly supressed. Often low GDP countries.
Whilst there is a polarised world - many developed or advanced countries have high levels of freedom - there are some exceptions of countries not necessarily renowned for economic wealth, e.g. Kiribati
How are North and South Korea’s political/economic systems different?
North Korea - totalitarian regime controlled by the Kim Jong family. Lives in self imposed isolation from the rest of the world, frequent violations of human rights. World Democracy Audit ranked it as the most corrupt and least democratic country in the world in 2014
South Korea - embraced capitalism to become a high income advanced economy. Democracy Index ranks South Korea second in Asia, and also ranks among highest in the world in terms of education and health.
How does the GDP of North and South Korea compare, what does this suggest?
Comparison of GDP per capita today shows South Korea ranked 40th whilst North Korea is 195th – speaking volumes for democracy and capitalism, and little for totalitarian regimes.
How does the government approach human rights in China?
China = socialist market economy that is increasingly willing to trade with the capitalist world.
However, their economic success has been driven by a form of government with very little regard for human rights. Chinese government = highly authoritarian one party state: prohibits trade organisations, prohibits human rights organisations, obstructs domestic and international scrutiny of human rights record
What are some of the human rights abuses in China?
- re-education through labour
- suppression of the internet and media freedom
- unfair trials
- torture
- death penalty
How does the government approach human rights in India?
Democratic republic with a parliamentary system of government - free country, but still faces human rights issues such as sexual abuse, class based discrimination and violence against religious minorities
How can China and India’s approach to human rights be compared in terms of their economic success?
The Indian economy has not performed as spectacularly as the Chinese economy.
This could be associated with government structure differences, and differing amounts of respect for human rights - does this hinder economic development?
What is political corruption?
Political corruption is the misuse of public power for private benefit - where members of the political elite overtly abuse their power for personal accumulation of wealth
Why are high levels of political corruption a threat to human rights?
The rule of law is often subverted - disregard for human rights as malpractice steers a country away from good government
What can the impacts of political corruption be?
- brings countries to bankruptcy (e.g. Zimbabwe)
- high levels of organised crime activities (drugs and human trafficking)
- destruction of social systems/infrastructure (such as healthcare)
What is the Global Corruption Index?
A measure produced annually since 1996, which ranks countries by perceived levels of corruption.
Ranks 176 countries on a scale from 100 (very clean) to 0 (very corrupt)
