Topic 8: EQ2 Flashcards
What are human rights?
Human rights are the moral principles that underlie standards of human behaviour. They’re commonly understood as inalienable and fundamental rights ‘to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being’. They belong to all humans regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status.
Do many countries deny the importance of human rights?
Only very few, but significantly more give economic development precedence over human development. This is significant because a disregard for human rights has led to ‘barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind’.
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
-Sets out 30 universal rights. They range from freedom of speech and movement to education and justice.
-The UDHR was adopted by the UN general assembly in 1948 after 48 of the 58 UN members voted for it. The UN now has 193 members, who all agree to these rights.
-The need for the UDHR was realised after WW2.
What are some issues with the UDHR?
-It is a declaration and not a treaty, which therefore means that it is not actually legally binding, so the 30 articles aren’t enforceable.
-The articles were put in place in 1948, and therefore they aren’t as updated as the possibly should be (often only referring to those who get the rights as ‘he’, not ‘she’ or ‘they’). It is suggested new articles should be added to keep up with human development, such as the right to internet privacy.
What can the rights in the UDHR be used to justify?
Violations of the UDHR have often been used to justify a number of military interventions such as Russia claiming ‘protection of ethnic minorities’ for military action in Ukraine.
Equally, the promise of aid, especially economic aid, has been regularly used as a lever to persuade other countries to improve their human rights record.
What is the European Convention on Human Rights?
This convention, like the UDHR, comprises a number of articles, each setting out a specific human right. Coming into force in 1953, it has played an important part in developing an awareness of human rights in Europe.
It has 47 members, including all 27 EU members.
Any violations of the convention come before the European Court of Human Rights.
What was the European Convention of Human Rights made in response to?
1) The serious violations of human rights that occurred in Europe during the Second World War.
2) The post-war spread of communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the threat of communist subversion.
What is an example of a Nation which refuses to sign the UDHR?
Saudi Arabia, the Islamic countries beliefs does not agree with some rights such as the freedom of religious choice or the equal rights of women in marriage. Many Islamic states say the rules are too westernised, so in 1990 they produces their own version called the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam.
What is controversial about the ECHR?
Some see it as undermining the democratic ruling, by overriding national count’s decisions. The court is also criticised because of how long it takes for verdicts to be made and the resultant backlog it has caused.
Following the vote to leave the EU in 2016, the gov wanted to replace the ECHR with the ‘British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities’. This will help sort out UK court cases, where 60% of UK cases taken to the European Court of Human Rights was deemed to of violated the ECHR.
What is the 1998 Human Rights Act?
The 1998 Human Rights Act came into force in October 2000. It has three main areas of focus:
-It incorporates into British law the rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. This means if a persons rights are breached in the UK, they can now take their case to a British Court, rather than straight to the European Court of Human Rights.
-It requires all public and other bodies carrying out public functions (e.g courts and police) to respect and protect human rights.
Parliament tries to ensure that any new laws it passes are compatible with the ECHR, and that British courts will interpret those laws in ways that are also compatible with the ECHR.
What is the Geneva Convention?
These are international treaties which create rules for war situations, especially offering protection to civilians, medical workers, hospital ships, aid workers and those able to fight, as well as prisoners of war.
It applies to both internal and international armed conflicts, and it is strongly interlinked with with the UDHR and ECHR.
How is the Geneva Convention monitored?
The UN has peacekeeping forces to monitor that the GC is followed, and perpetrators will be judged by an international court. War crimes have been tried at International Criminal Tribunals for the civil wars in Rwanda (1994), however the same hasn’t been carried out in Ukraine wars post 2014.
However, with weapon advances (such as WMD), it is becoming harder to separate civilians from those who can be targeted in war, and therefore the GC has come under threat of its ability to control wars in recent years. It is essential that newly designed weapons adhere to the rules of war.
How are NGOs such as the Human Rights Watch involved with the Geneva Convention?
They report that many countries breach the GC by torturing or mistreating their citizens. This occurring in 82% of the 160 surveyed counties, including Syria and Libya.
As a result of the GC being breached, the number of asylum seekers and refugees is 59.5million its highest level since WW2.
Do most countries prioritise human rights or economic growth?
Very few nations, if any, give human rights precedence over economic growth. This isn’t to say that human rights don’t matter in most nations however, and all countries are located along a continuum running from ‘no regard’ to a ‘healthy respect’ for human rights.
Which types of society are most committed to the principles of human rights?
Democracies. However, the interpretation of human rights that one nation takes may not fall in line with the global perception. For example, in the UK the government is being chastised by the ECHR for denying prisoners of war the right to vote in the 2015 general election. However, the global consensus believes all (including prisoners) should still have a legal right to vote.
What statistic can show the level of human rights obedience in a nation?
The Freedom House publishes a rating for 210 countries based the level of political rights and civil liberties. They are then classified based on this rating as:
-Free: open political competition and respect for civil liberties
-Partly free: some clear restrictions on political rights and civil liberties
-Not free: Basic political rights and civil liberties are absent or systematically violated.
What is democracy?
Countries with a system of governance in which power is either held by regularly elected representatives or directly by the people.
Where does the Freedom House map show nations have low freedom?
Much of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It also shows the world as very polarised, with few countries falling into the ‘partly free’ category.
Those with the lowest freedom rating were nations where political unrest prevails or is firmly oppressed.
How does economic status tend to influence freedom?
8 of the 9 nations with the lowest ‘Freedom Rating’ (7.0) have a very low GDP per capita. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia was the only exception.
On the other hand, the 43 countries with the joint best freedom rating (1.0) were recognised as predominantly ’developed’ or ‘advanced’ countries. Some exceptions, however, include Barbados and Cape Verde.
What is North Korea like?
-A self-reliant socialist state
-Holds elections, but they only involve one political party
-The Kim Jong family has now supplied 3 generations of leaders.
-It is a highly authoritarian regime.
-Lives in self-imposed isolation from the rest of the globe.
-It’s people are forbidden from using the internet.
-Recognised as a ‘rogue state’ through its possession of nuclear weapons and vast military forces.
-Has frequent violations of human rights
What human rights violations occur in North Korea?
-Summary trials and executions of dissidents.
-Arrest of foreigners on the grounds of espionage.
-No freedom of speech.
-Suffers from food shortages, malnutrition, and rare but severe famines. The most recent one in the 1990s killed an estimated 2.5million people, ≈10% of the population.
-It is unknown about many living conditions due to its isolation, but we do know a huge amount of GDP is spent on military forces and defence.
What is South Korea like?
It has embraced capitalism and has transformed itself from a war-torn country into a high-income advanced economy. This economic success is due to firm government, high-tech large family owned businesses such as Samsung, as well as a committed labour force and a rich human resource of enterprise and technological innovation.
What is South Korea like politically?
-The first free elections were not held until 1987.
-Democracy index ranks South Korea 2nd in Asia, but large-scale public protests against police are not unheard of.
-Ranks among the highest in the world in terms of education, healthcare and ease of doing business.
How do North and South Korea compare in terms of development?
-In terms of GDP per capita, South Korea ranks 40th where as North Korea ranks 195th in the world.
-North Korea has hardly made any move towards real democracy, and the World Democracy Index ranked North Korea as the most corrupt nation in 2014, where as South Korea was the 2nd most democratic Asian nation.
What is China like in terms of development?
Since the economic reform of 1979, China has become increasingly involved in the global economy, and is now considered as a ‘socialist market economy’. This increasing trade has now seen it rival the USA as the world’s largest economy. However, this drive for economic success has been governed with a scant regard for human rights.
What is China like in terms of human rights?
China has been greatly criticised for its human rights records. This includes:
-Re-education through Labour - which is frequently handed out to critics of the government.
-A suppression of the internet and media freedom. The ‘great firewall of China’ blocks many global websites.
-Unfair trails, which fall short of global standards
-Torture is widespread. Particularly towards human rights activists.
-Worker’s rights: trade unions are illegal, and workers aren’t able to protest about low wages or poor working conditions.
-Death penalty: it has been estimated that China accounts for almost 3/4 of all executions each year. 46 offences are eligible for their death penalty.
