Human Rights Flashcards
What are the strategies of the UN?
Attempts to change a modernised norm.
The work of NGOs, private organisations and human rights activists.
The influence of MNCs in terms of their corporate social responsibility.
The creation and application of international and national laws.
Attempts to strengthen the rule of law.
Reference to legal mechanisms such as the European Court of human rights.
Treaties or conventions established by the supranational organisations of the UN such as the office of High Commissioner for human rights.
The role of UN peacekeeping operations in promoting and protecting human rights.
Humanitarian intervention and humanitarian relief resistance.
Context on NATO’s role in Afghanistan?
In 2014, NATO officially completed their mission.
10,000 advisory forces remained to train Afghan military.
Their strategies were only successful until 2016 when attacks re-emerged.
What were the strategies of NATO in Afghanistan?
Attempts to change a modernised norm.
Attempts to strengthen the rule of law.
Humanitarian intervention and humanitarian relief resistance.
What were the human rights abuses in Afghanistan?
Increased casualties among Afghan security forced civilians.
Domestic violence towards women and continued inequality in access to employment, health services and education.
Disruption of 2014 Presidential election.
Attacks on journalists and hence freedom of expression (article 10).
Extra-judicial executions.
Kidnapping, detentions and torture.
The issue of food security partly fuelled by poppy cultivation, heroin production and the illicit drugs trade.
What strategies did the UN use in Afghanistan?
Attempts to change a modernised norm.
The creation and application of international and national laws.
The work of NGOs, private organisations and human rights activists.
Attempts to strengthen the rule of law.
Reference to legal mechanisms such as the European court of human rights and the International Criminal Court.
The role of UN peacekeeping operations in promoting and protecting human rights.
Humanitarian intervention and humanitarian relief resistance.
What are the UN’s aims in Afghanistan?
Promote respect for international humanitarian and human rights laws.
Co-ordinate the efforts of all organisations and communities to ensure protection.
Promote accountability.
Implement the freedoms and human rights provisions in the Afghan constitution and the treaties to which it is party.
Achieve full enjoyment of their rights, for women, displaced persons and returning refugees (estimated 750,000 were displaced).
What are NGOs?
Non-governmental organisations.
Play a vital role.
Work ‘on the ground’ and can involve monitoring new violence, modifications of social norms through education, training in practical skills of agriculture.
What are the NGOs strategies?
Working with local communities to provide education, food and water, medical aid, shelter.
Reinforcing norms/human rights including rights of women, children and refugees.
Ensuring local elections are more democratic.
What happened in Chor?
One of the most geographically inhospitable places - politically hostile.
Extreme poverty.
Basic rights have been neglected including serious gender inequality.
The work of Afghan Aid has transformed their lives.
Economic, social and political rights are promoted by local groups brought together to design, implement and realise their own projects. For example, EU funding and Afghan Aid training have introduced effective agricultural practices, reduced risk of disease by securing safe water supplies and improved hygiene.
Local people now have greater freedom, women are more integrated in society and local democratic practices have been strengthened by the election of community groups.
What happened in Kabul?
Mostly work with the UN Habitat which is working to co-ordinate the Afghan government, local governments, community councils and funding from the Japanese government to upgrade neighbourhoods in the 33 provincial capitals and Kabul.
Denial of basic human rights and rapid urban growth has managed to deprive the communities of many services.
CDCs locally elected which reflects specific needs of the areas: e.g plans to upgrade housing, infrastructure, electricity, sanitation, schools and healthcare.
Links between the dispersion of political control and the movements of wealth within the Myrdal’s and Friedman’s theories.
Other benefits are improved engagement of women in the projects, employment opportunities, security of land tenure but informal settlements, improved roads and drainage and greater provision of shops.
What have been the successes of the UN’s strategies in Afghanistan?
By 2014: nearly 6 million children were attending school (increase by 1 million in 2001) and nearly 40% are girls (gender equality).
Access to primary healthcare has improved by 50% (up from 9%).
MMR halves since 2001.
However, the effects are not uniform across the country.
What were the failures of the UN’s strategies in Honduras?
Inequalities between the rich and the poor are evident in urban areas such as the industrial centre of San Pedro Sulla. Rural - urban migration leads to housing shortages, and inevitable problems of water supply and sanitation.
In both urban and rural areas there remains unequal access to education and health care, not only between girls and boys but also by discrimination against HIV - positive people.
Judges face acts of intimidation.
The criminal justice system needs modernising with greater protection of human rights.
Attacks on journalists continue.
Discrimination against indigenous populations.
There is a high incidence of violence related to drug trafficking.
Why did Afghanistan succeed and Honduras fail?
They face different conflicts.
In Afghanistan, the large terrorist group was a singular enemy where a balance of UN Habitat work in urban areas and NGOs in rural areas, were very successful through the UN’s main strategies.
However, with Honduras, the UN needed more NGOs to work on the ground as their enemy were smaller drug gangs which would have been stopped more effectively with a greater social impact from a larger number of operative NGOs.
What were the successes of the strategies of the UN in Honduras?
Bilateral links with the USA - helping the economy and national security.
40% of the population is under 15: the Honduras Ministry of Education has reformed its policies by decentralising to local authorities in rural and urban areas.
Efforts to improve maternal and child health + prevention of HIV.
USAID (US government agency) is working in local areas to end poverty and enable communities to realise their potential.
