Human Rights

Question 1

1. Have can you define development?
2. What are 3 factors of human development?
3. What does the happy planet index measure?
4. Explain how education is a measure of human development?
5. How does access to education vary between counties?

Answer 1

1. Based on economic measures but this has challenged by broader definitions involving environmental, social and political measures on the quality of life.
2. GDP, Happy Planet Index and education
3. Sustainable wellbeing and how well nations are achieving long and healthy lives. Wealthy western countries, do not rank highly as their ecological footprints do not correlate with their life expectancy.
4. Eduction is central to economic development, human rights creation and understanding of human wellbeing. However the attitudes to gender in education hinder access to education and standards of achievement.
5. E.g. more men than women are literate in India. However there is national variation as kerela has equal numbers of literate men and women.

Question 2

There are variations in health and life expectancy in the world and can be explained by differences in access to: (6)

Variations result from differences in lifestyle, deprivation levels and the availability/ cost of medical care.

Answer 2

1. Healthcare - involves the number of people to doctor, smaller number means better care.
2. Economic development- richer counties have better access to medical technology.
3. Education - people learn healthy eating and lifestyles as well as sanitisation, contraception and childcare. Good education system allows more people to become doctors and nurses.
4. Age - the old are more vulnerable to diseases so in a population with high percentage of elderly people, the death rate may be higher.
5. Food and water supply - prevents the spread of disease and malnutrition.
6. Culture and lifestyle- in Afghanistan, women cannot be seen by male doctors and cannot be educated to become nursers, limiting their healthcare. Traditional foods in the Mediterranean are culturally believed to increase life expectancy.

Question 3

The relationship between economic and social development depend on decisions made by governments to improve social progress.

What have IGOs promoted?

Answer 3

Neo-liberal views of development by promoting free trade, privatisation and the deregulation of financial markets. Recent programmes have been aimed at improving environmental quality, health, education and human rights.

Question 4

🔶Role of governments in human development

1. Provide 4 types of government with an example for each
2. Provide 3 examples of international governments organisations (IGOs)
3. Provide 3 examples of NGOs (non governmental)

Answer 4

1. Democratic (UK), totalitarian (North Korea), dictatorship (Saudi Arabia), communist (Cuba)
2. IMF, World Bank and WTO
3. Red Cross, oxfam and water aid

Question 5

🔶Why human rights vary?

1. Name 3 human right international laws
2. What is the UDHR?
3. Why is it apparent that these rights are not met globally?

Answer 5

1. UN Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Geneva Convection.
2. A framework for foreign policies to explain economic and military intervention but not all states have signed (10 haven’t signed out of 58 members of UN). Has 30 statements that state the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled to.
3. Due to access of rights as well as variables such as government corruption which can prevent rights altogether.

Question 6

4. What is the ECHR?

5. Why do some see the ECHR as controversial?

Answer 6

4. Created by the council of Europe to prevent conflict. Integrated into UK by the human rights act 1998. Responsible for monitoring respect of human rights of 800 million Europeans within 47 member states.
5. It erodes national sovereignty as it is not a British concept.

Question 7

6. What is the Geneva Convection?

7. What are the difficulties?

Answer 7

6. Forms the foundation of international law prosecuting individuals and organisations who commit war crimes. This convection was endorsed by 196 counties, while 150 still engage in torture. Sets out laws to protect civilians and minimising damage. Taken for the Aquinas Just war theory.
7. Setting up international laws as there will almost always be conflict amongst counties and their interests.

Question 8

🔶Differences in protection and definition of human rights

CASE STUDY - CHINA 🇨🇳

1. What are China?
2. Explain china’s remarkable economic development over the last 25 years?
3. Explain china’s attitude to human rights?

Answer 8

1. A communist country with a one party government.
2. Average GDP growth of 10% per year, “the fastest sustained expansion by a major economy in history” says the World Bank, population of 1.3 billion - 2nd largest economy, benefited people - 800 million lived out of poverty.
3. Has abused the UDHR which it has signed to. Through unfair trials, torture, death penalties and re-education through labour. Their government obstructs domestic and international scrutiny of its human rights, as their focus is on economic development.

Question 9

CASE STUDY- INDIA 🇮🇳

1. What are India?
2. Explain India’s attitude to human rights?
3. Are there still issues?
4. Is India’s less sparkling economy down to the fact that it’s a democracy that broadly respects human rights?
5. Explain India’s economy?

Answer 9

1. A Democratic republic with a parliamentary system like the UK.
2. More respect with a public body called the National Human Rights Commission of India. This includes the fundamental rights such as freedom of religion and speech. India are the worlds largest sovereign and democratic republic.
3. There are issues with discrimination and violence against religion. Complicated by the country’s size, population and cultural diversity.
4. Half of china’s GDP growth (5%), people aren’t benefiting in same way with every 1/3 person under the poverty line being Indian and a GDP per capita of just over $1000, compared to china’s over $8000.
5. Yes, the more democratic the country, the greater the protection of human rights. Communist counties have the ideology of economies equality through the eliminating of private property.

Question 10

Corruption is part of development. 1. Provide an example

2. Provide an index that measures corruption
3. Define the global corruption index
4. How are the counties measured??
5. What are the least corrupt counties? (4)
6. Who are the most corrupt? In most conflict (4)

Answer 10

1. The police force were corrupt in industrial Britain and Italy which are now developed nations. However the abuse of human rights is nonetheless not favourable. Development arises from the control of corruption via laws.
2. Global corruption index - produced annually since 1996, ranking counties by their levels of corruption through surveys and opinions.
3. The misuse of public power for private benefit.
4. CPI ranks 176 counties on a scale of 100-0 (100=very clean) UK are number 14 with a score of 78.
5. Denmark 🇩🇰 New Zealand 🇳🇿 Finland 🇫🇮 Sweden 🇸🇪
6. North Korea 🇰🇵 Somalia 🇸🇴 Iraq 🇮🇶 Syria 🇸🇾

Question 11

🔶variations in human rights

1. Why are there variations between countries?
   Where is this an issue?

WOMENS RIGHTS

Answer 11

1. Due to different levels of social development. In some states, particularly post colonial, are grips defined by gender/ethnicity that have fewer rights than the dominant group. An issue in South Africa 🇿🇦
   Differences in rights correlate to differences in health and education levels, such as between indigenous populations in both north and South America. A demand for equality from women and ethnic minority’s has been influential in the history of many states such as Afghanistan 🇦🇫 and Australia 🇦🇺

Question 12

🔶how are Human Rights used as arguments for political and military convention?

🔸Forms of geopolitical intervention

1. What is interventionism?
2. What is military intervention?
3. What is economic intervention?
4. What is geopolitical intervention?
5. What are interventions promoted by?

Answer 12

1. Broad term for the activity undertaken by a stage to manipulate the economy, society and political standing of another nation.
2. Involves the deliberate act of a nation introducing its military force to solve a controversy usually in a another country.
3. Taken by the government to regulate issue of fraud, enforce contracts and provide public goods.
4. Addressed development and human rights issues by providing development aid, trade embargoes, military aid, indirect and direct military action.
5. IGOs, such as World Bank.

Question 13

🔸development impacts

1. Provide examples of development aid
2. Provide a real example of aid
3. What does aid create?
4. Provide negative impacts of aid and an example

Answer 13

1. Charitable gifts addressing Hazard impacts or IGOs offering loans. Charitable gifts are often given by NGOs such as Oxfam.
2. After Haiti 🇭🇹 earthquake 2010, the US offered aid to Haiti so the nation could recover quickly. Funds from the US supported good assistance programmes, agriculture programs, teacher training programmes and healthcare programmes for child immunisation.
3. Successful programmes include dealing with life threatening diseases and human rights. Critics argue that aid has created dependency which invites corruption as elites gain power.
4. Environmental impacts which degrade locations inhabited by minority groups which disregards to their human rights, land and culture. For example, land grabbing in east Africa (Kenya) from TNCs boxes out small rural communities who are powerless against large international corporations.

Question 14

🔸military aid and intervention

1. What is military aid driven by?
2. Provide examples of military aid

Direct military intervention is becoming part of “war on terror” to eliminate torture and the abuse of human rights.

Answer 14

1. Global strategic interests but are covered by nations claiming Yeah they’re reinforcing human rights. For example, the USAs invasion of the Middle East was largely for economic gain.
2. Training and weapon sales can support counties who have questionable human right records. A strong military could enforce human rights with a nation.

Question 15

Unsuccessful Intervention CASE STUDY- HAITI 🇭🇹

1. Why is Haiti vulnerable?
2. How much aid have Haiti received between 1990-2009?
3. Has this benefited them?
4. What were the impacts of this earthquake?
5. What was the intervention?
6. Why was the aid unsuccessful? (6)

Answer 15

1. Poorest country in the Northern hemisphere with 4/5 living in less than $2 a day.
2. $5 billion mostly from USA, Canada and Europe
3. Not much - continues to be vulnerable to hazards most recently the 12th January 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
4. 230,000 dead, 300,000 injured, 100,000 buildings destroyed, 1.5 million people displaced from homes to refugee camps at risk of storm, floods and diseases.
5. Financial intervention - Within months they had generated aid pledges of $12 billion. Five years later they only received half they were promised. Over 500,000 still living in temporary shelters.
6. Too many unqualified and small NGOs were involved, many had no language skills, many aid pledges were never delivered, Haitian military had little experience with dealing with such emergency, aid was inequality distributed too focused on emergency camps, weak Haitian government.

Question 16

🔶outcomes of geopolitical interventions in terms of human development and rights!

🔸measuring success of geopolitical intervention

1. To measure success, a wide range of variables need to be considered. These include improvements in: (7)

Answer 16

1. ▪️health - more citizens will be vaccinated than before and infant mortality would have been declined
   ▪️life expectancy- this would increase for men and women
   ▪️education levels - literacy levels would improve
   ▪️gender equality- women would be as literate as men and have access to same opportunities
   ▪️freedom of speech - fewer restrictions on media and opinions
   ▪️management of refugees - an efficient system would be implemented
   ▪️increases in GDP per capita - growing health

Question 17

2. What is vital for governments and IGOs for future development? (2)
3. How do communist counties measure success? China 🇨🇳

Answer 17

2. Introduction of democratic institutions and the freedom of expression is vital, especially for democratic and capitalist states such as India 🇮🇳 and USA 🇺🇸
3. Through economic growth which provide promising future projections. These nations regard issues such as human well-being as less influential on the development of human rights and democratic institutions.

Question 18

🔸success of development aid

1. Why is the relationship between aid, development and Human rights complex?
2. Provide an example where economic inequality have increased
3. What is development aid?

Who has been successful with aid? 🇨🇳

Answer 18

1. There have been success stories in Botswana 🇧🇼 after aid provision but relative failure in Haiti and Iraq who have become dependent on outside states.
2. Africa receiving benefits from China (due to the 2006 African policy implemented by China). It has been the elites of Africa who have largely benefited from the aid China has provided.
3. A method of achieving a superpower presence. China has been successful in creating a superpower presence by donating device development aid to Africa now an allied nation to them.

Question 19

🔸success of military intervention

1. Provide 4 examples of recent military interventions
2. What was the Afghanistan 🇦🇫 intervention?
   What was the outcome of the intervention?

Answer 19

1. Afghanistan 🇦🇫 Syria 🇸🇾 Libya 🇱🇾 Ukraine 🇺🇦
2. 2001-14 - US led invasion following 9/11 attacks believed to have been planned on Afghanistan. There were assassinations and suicide bombings. The US and UK ceased combat operations against the Taliban in 2013. Taliban has since has slowly been regaining territorial control.
   Civilian deaths - 149,000
   Refugees and asylum seekers - over 2.5 million

Question 20

3. What was the Syria 🇸🇾 intervention?

4. What were the outcomes?

Answer 20

3. 2011 onwards - democratic uprising against Assad regime started in 2011. Use of chemical weapons led to US led attack launching air strikes against Syria and IS. Joined by UK in 2015, Russia also started air strikes but not in support of Assad.
4. Mass migration of refugees into Europe. IS seized opportunity to grab territory to extend its caliphate.
   Civilian deaths - 210,000
   Refugee and asylum seekers - just under 4 million

Question 21

5. What was the Libya 🇱🇾 military intervention?

6. What were the outcomes?

Answer 21

5. 2011 - libyan civil war and civilian casualties led to UN intervention involving 19 states, a naval blockade, no fly zone and air strikes against Gaddafi.
6. Gaddafi killed and his regime ousted. Breakdown of county into opposing military forces - much violence and disagreement.
   Civilian deaths - 100,000
   Refugees and asylum seekers - over 600,000

Question 22

7. What was the Ukraine 🇺🇦 military intervention?

8. What were the outcomes?

Answer 22

7. 2014 onwards - by Russia on grounds of support for minority ethnic Russians in Ukraine. Soon evident that repossession of Crimea was the strategic target.
8. Crimea annexed and areas still under Ukrainian sovereignty now held by pro Russian rebels.
   Civilian deaths - 2,500
   Refugees and asylum seekers- unknown

Question 23

Successful intervention CASE STUDY - Botswana 🇧🇼

1. By African standards, Botswana is a beacon of hope. It is: (4)
2. What did Botswana used to be?
3. Explain Botswana’s economic growth
4. Where has this development aid come from?
5. Why do Botswana still receive aid?
6. Has this economic development been beneficial on the country’s human rights?

Answer 23

1. Relatively prosperous, politically stable, free of corruption and fairly respectful of human rights
2. One of the poorest countries in the world before independence in 1966 with a GDP per capita of just $70 a year. 60% of government expenditure came from international aid.
3. Since 1966, Botswana has maintained one of the worlds highest economic growth rates, through fiscal discipline and sound government. Transformed into a middle income country with a GDP per capita of $7500.
4. Exploitation of diamonds 💎- Botswana are the largest producer of diamonds and account for a third of their GDP.
5. Health issues - second highest in world for HIV/AIDS which has dramatically reduced life expectancy. But the aid means they can afford to pay for treatment.
6. It’s the only recognised country to speak out in Africa. But they still have the death penalty, continue to discriminate against homosexuality in the workforce and have state control over the media which limits freedom of speech.