Topic 8 EQ2 Flashcards
What are human rights ?
Moral principles that underlie standards of human behaviour
What has countries giving economic development precedence over human development led to?
‘Barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind’ (UDHR)
What was the catalyst for the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Nazi extermination of the Jews.
What is the universal declaration of human rights?
Sets out 30 universal rights. Wide ranging from freedom of speech and movement to education.
What is a weakness the UDHR?
It’s a declaration and not a treaty so it’s not legally binding.
The articles are unenforceable
Strengths of the. UDHR
Define the meaning of fundamental freedoms and human rights. All member of the UN are bound to recognise and respect all the articles in the declaration.
How has the UDHR influenced foreign policy and international relationships?
Has been used to justify a number of military interventions
The promise of aid has been used to persuade countries to improve human rights.
What is the Geneva convention?
Used to protect people who are not taking part in the conflict during war
What is the European convention on Human rights?
Comprises a number of articles and came into force in 1953 in which it played an important role in developing awareness for human rights in Europe .
Response to
- violation of human rights during ww2
- spread of communism
Why was the UK human rights acts passed?
Incorporated the ECHR into UK law so that a beach of human rights can be heard in UK courts rather than the European court of human rights
Why do some people think that the UK has lost some sovereignty as a result of the UK human rights act?
Appeals in UK courts can be sent to and overturned by the European court of human rights
Why do countries priorities economic development over human rights?
Material prosperity and global influence come more from economic development
Example of a democracy interpreting human rights which conflicts with the international community?
The European court of human rights chastised the UK for denying prisoners the right to vote in the 2015 general election.
Description of North Korean regime
Totalitarian state with an elaborate personality cult based on the dictatorship of the Kim Jong family
Current situation in North Korea
Lives in self-imposed isolation from the rest of the global community
Evidence of North Koreas Isolation
People are forbidden to use the internet
South Korea characteristics
Embraced capitalism and has transformed itself from a war torn country into a high income advanced country
What has been key to the economic success in South Korea ?
- Firm govt and increasingly powerful high tech family owned businesses such as Samsung
- committed labour force
- rich Human Resources of enterprise and tech innovation
Does North Korea hold elections?
Yes but only involves one party
Is South Korea democratic
Ranked number 2 in Asia on the democracy index
GDP per capita comparison between North and South Korea
195th vs 45th in the world
World democracy audit in 2014 rank of North Korea
Most corrupt and least democratic country in the world
What was modern China founded as?
A communist country with a one-party govt following ww2
What has Chinas economic success been driven by ?
A form of govt that has a scant regard for human rights
Chinas human rights abuses
- re-education through Labour for critics of govt and followers of banned beliefs
- suppression of the media and internet
- unfair trials
- torture - due to political and religious beliefs
- workers rights - trade unions are illegal and are not allowed to protest about low wages
- death penalty - 3/4 of all executions every year
Is the Chinese govt democratic
Authoritarian one party state
Curbs on expression and association of religions
Prohibits trade unions and controls the judicial system
Forms of political corruption
Allowing private interests to dictate government policy
Taking decisions that benefit those who are funding the politicians
Diverting resources and aid into private pockets of politicians
Who was to blame for Zimbabwe losing its prosperity ?
Robert Mugabe in 1980 who controlled the country thanks to questionable elections, corruption and a firm denial of human rights
What were mugabes land reforms ?
Redistribute land to black population from white settlers
What did land reforms in Zimbabwe lead too?
Best land ended up in the hands of Mugabes cronies and the remainder has been badly farmed . The country is now on the Brink of bankruptcy where per capita GDP sits at just over US$1000
Discrimination based on gender variation within countries
Not a great variation as it is determined by government policy or law in which all are expected to conform
What did the independence of previously colonised countries lead too?
Decolonisation of countries led to internal conflict and division rather than freedom and prosperity.
How did colonisation lead to a greater amount of discrimination of ethnicity when they eventually became independent?
Indigenous people have been excluded from its administration so when they became independent they had little experience of running a country which led to a chaos.
Colonial borders did not recognise the importance of ethnic and religious borders.
Colonial history of Rwanda
German colony but then became a mandated territory under Belgian control due to German loss in ww1
What are the three distinct sub groups within the Banyarwanda?
Hutu - 85%
Tutsi - 15%
Taw - 1%
How did the Banyarwanda coexist before European intervention?
Unified state largely controlled by the minority Tutsis . Hutus were treated as second class citizens
Before and since independence in 1962 what have the Hutus aim been
Convert there superiority in numbers into power
What happened in April 1994?
Hutus decided to eliminate Tutsi . Within 100 days , 800,000 Tutsis were massacred . The Rwanda Patriotic Front (Tutsi rebels and refugees in Uganda) invaded the country and regained control by where 2 million Hutu fled the country.
Aftermath in Rwanda
Economy has recovered
Ethnic discrimination continues but gender equality is very good
How many indigenous people are there?
370 million living in over 70 countries , 5% of worlds population
Why are indigenous communities and their environment under threat ?
Mining
Oil extraction
Dam
Roadbuilding
They being driven off their homeland into towns and cities
They are enjoying the costs of development but reaping no benefits
More likely to commit suicide and are generally in worse health
Rates of progress of indigenous people
Efforts have been made to involve indigenous people in national policy making - President Morales is from an indigenous tribe
Where has there been slow progress in the development of indigenous communities opportunities
Bolivia
Still remain economically marginalised as most live in extreme poverty .
Morales is criticised on failing to deliver on reducing poverty.
