Human Rights EQ3 Flashcards
Geopolitical interventions can be split into 4 different area
- Development aid
- Trade embargoes
- Military aid
- Military action
National sovereignty
The idea that each nation has a right to govern itself without interference from other nations
Development aid
- This is often called overseas aid, and is financial aid given to developing countries to support their long-term economic, political, social and environmental development
- Most aid comes from:
1) the governments of developed countries
2) intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)
3) non-governmental organisations (NGOs) - Aid can either be bilateral (directly from one country to another), or multilateral (channelled through an IGO)
Haiti: unsuccessful development aid
Their most recent earthquake in 2010 near their capital caused massive damage
Global appeals for help were soon being answered, generating aid pledges valued over £12 billion, however after 5 years since the earthquake, only half the aid was received. Over 500,000 were still living in temporary shelters, outbreaks of cholera etc
The cause of the lack of aid was the result of a number of factors:
- too many unqualified and small-scale NGOs who had no language skills and lack of experience working in developing countries
- many aid pledges were never fulfilled (possibly due to learning about corruption in Haiti)
- aid was unequally distributed, being too focused on the emergency camps, ignoring rural areas
Dealing with Malaria: success of development aid
- The global fund is a partnership between governments, private organisations and public that aims to eradicate epidemics such as AIDS and malaria
- It invests US$4 billion a year in projects run by local experts and communities
- It’s success is highlighted by a 48% decrease in deaths from malaria between 2000 and 2014
Oil in the Niger Delta: negative impacts of economic intervention
Oil was discovered in the delta around 40 years. The Nigerian government earns some £10 billion a year from oil revenues, however for those who live in the delta, the situation is far different
- the production of oil is having a devastating impact on the wetland region for wildlife and inhabitants
- human health is threatened by air pollution, water pollutants and unattended oil spills, or even fires
Minorities:
- Local people have benefited very little if at all from the industry
- They have to suffer the effects on their livelihood, fishing and farming
- Roads remain poor, service underfunded
- The root cause of this, is that the delta is made of several ethnic minority groups, while the oil revenues are largely in the hands of the major ethnic group, the Yoruba. Their attitude is to keep these minorities poor and powerless
Land grabs in Kenya: corruption in humanitarian aid
Land grabbing is a contentious issue involving the acquisition of large areas of land in developing counties by domestic and transnational corporations, governments and individuals.
These land grabs started with president Moi as a resource to bribe
Land grabs have impacts on public finances, development opportunities and land pricing
- 85% of the population relies on agriculture of it’s livelihood
- 88% of the population have access to less than 3 hectares of land. This creates tensions over land amongst minority groups
Trade embargoes
- This is a government or international ban that restricts trade with a particular country
- It’s a political tool, used to encourage a country to change it’s policies or actions by hindering it’s economy, or by limiting it’s access to specific products like military supplies
UN trade embargo with South Africa:
- In the 1980s they imposed an embargo on oil and military supplies to South Africa, in order to pressurise the government into ending the policy of apartheid
Military aid
This consists of money, weapons, equipment or expertise given to a developing country to help them protect their borders, fight terrorism, combat piracy or dug and people trafficking
Military action
Most governments and IGOs consider the use of military action to be the last resort, after all other pathways have failed
Direct action: this involves ground troops or air strikes e.g UK and USA intervention in Iraq in the form of troops and air strikes against the government of Saddam Hussein
Indirect action: providing military and political assistance
UK military aid to Saudi Arabia
- The UK and Saudi Arabia have been allies since 1915. In 2005, a military agreement was made whereby the UK would equip Saudi Arabia with fighter planes
- Since then, UK has sold nearly £10 billion worth of defence equipment, and in return, Saudi Arabia has invested over £60 billion in the UK
Military intervention in Yemen
- Yemen is a small country on the Arabian Peninsula. A civil war broke out in 2015 when the Houthi mounted an armed rebellion against the President. The situation was further complicated by the presence of IS and Al-Qaeda within the country
- Several countries including USA, UK, Turkey and Egypt supported the Saudi Arabian belief to prevent loss of civilian lives
- The intervention involved air strikes on rebel positions and drone strikes against known terrorists. MSF and Red Cross also had 8 medical projects in Yemen and delivered aid supplies
- This intervention challenged the present and future sovereignty of Yemen
Torture and rendition- the issues of military intervention
- In this age of terrorism, the need to identify terrorisms has become a high priority, however can lead to violation of human rights and raise moral issues in the attempt to protect the rights of the general population
- An example is Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which involved the the imprisonment of suspects without trial following the events of 9/11. The US government was under pressure following the events to track down those responsible, no matter how
- In recent years, a number of people have claimed to have been subject to torture and other forms of ill-treatment
