Topic 8 - EQ2 - Health, Human Rights, and Intervention

Question 1

Define human rights

Answer 1

Human rights: the moral principals that underlie standards of human behaviour. They are commonly understood as inalienable and fundamental rights ‘to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being’ and which are ‘inherent in all human beings’ regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. They are universal in the sense of being applicable to everywhere and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone.

Question 2

What are some key words that describe human rights?

Answer 2

Inalienable, fundamental, inherent, universal, egalitarian…

Question 3

What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)?

Answer 3

The UDHR sets out 30 universal rights. They range from freedom of speech and movement to education and justice.

Question 4

When was the UDHR adopted?

Answer 4

In 1948 by the UN General Assembly after the need for such a declaration was realised after the Second World War.

Question 5

Is the UDHR legally binding?

Answer 5

The UDHR is a deceleration, not a treaty. Therefore, it is not legally binding however the declaration defines to key terms ‘fundamental freedom’ and ‘human rights’ which are incorporated into the UN charter which all 193 members are bound to recognise and respect.

Question 6

What is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)?

Answer 6

A convention formulated by the Council of Europe in 1950 based on the UDHR. It was ratified in the UK in 1951. There are 59 articles and various protocols. In 1959 the European Court of Human Rights was set up to interpret and ensure compliance with the ECHR.

Question 7

Where is the European Court of Human Rights?

Answer 7

Strasbourg (France)

Question 8

Why was the council of Europe established?

Answer 8

The Council of Europe was formed in 1949 to establish a better relationship between European countries and as a response to violations of Human Rights that occurred in Europe during WW2. Prevented conflict during the post-war spread of communism in central and Eastern Europe.

Question 9

What is the position of the ECHR in the national laws of Council of Europe members?

Answer 9

All members states have the ECHR included in their national laws. Despite the UK ratifying the ECHR in 1951 the ECHR was only integrated into British law in 1998 as part of the Human Rights Act.

Question 10

What are the Geneva conventions?

Answer 10

Four international treaties that create rules for war situations, focusing on humanitarian treatment during war, especially offering protection to civilians, medical workers, and prisoners. Only applies during armed conflict.

Question 11

Do many cases of breaking the Geneva Conventions ever come to trial?

Answer 11

No very few make it to trial

Question 12

Is torture still widespread despite the UDHR and Geneva Conventions?

Answer 12

Yes. In 2014, the human rights organisation Amnesty International’s annual report on torture showed that 141 countries still use torture, including the USA which has been heavily criticised for its use of Guantanamo bay in Cuba for its torture alleged torture of terrorists. The US signed the 1977 protocols but Congress refused to ratify them.

Question 13

What did the 1998 Human Rights Act do?

Answer 13

It made the ECHR more effective in UK law, requires public bodies to respect and protect Human Rights and Parliamentary laws that are passed are compatible with the ECHR.

Question 14

Why do some people argue that the ECHR is undemocratic?

Answer 14

Threatens British sovereignty and self determination as British courts are bound to decisions made at the court in Strasbourg.

Plan to replace it with a ‘British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities’ so that the ECHR would no longer be able to overrule British Court judgements as it did in 1997 when it made the age of consent the same for heterosexual and homosexual people. UK has been in violation of the ECHR in 60% of cases brought to the court (average it 83% however).

Question 15

Which 3 countries did not sign the UDHR in 1948?

Answer 15

Soviet Union - UDHR did not condemn fascism or Nazism enough

South Africa - wanted to protect system of Apartheid

Saudi Arabia - did not believe people should have the rights to ‘change their religion or belief’ as they didn’t want to allow people to convert from Islam

People in these countries therefore did not have their rights protected by the international community and thus must rely on their own governments to protect them.

Question 16

What is the status of democracy in India?

Answer 16

-India is the world’s largest democracy (most populous)
-India has a federal system of government (lots of political power is delegated to individual Indian states, e.g. Kerala)
-India has a ceremonial President as head of government (similarly to Ireland) with real power lying in the hands of the Lok Sabha (or Lower House of Parliament), whose members decide who will be the country’s Prime Minister
-Ruling party is the BJP elected in 2014
-India has a vigorous media and independent judiciary, both of which are important aspects of a free and Democratic society

Question 17

What is the status of human rights in India?

Answer 17

-India broadly respects human rights and has definitely made significant progress in protecting human rights
-The 1950 constitution consists of 444 articles, which include freedom of speech and religion

However

India still has some Human Rights issues, with some serious concerns from Human Rights Watch, including: incidents of violence against religious minorities (especially Muslims), caste based discrimination, neglect of tribal communities, state censorship sexual abuse, and other violence against women and children. Perhaps most worrying is the fact that members of India’s security forces continue to enjoy impunity for serious human rights violations.

New BJP gov’t has expressed a commitment to improving freedom and human rights but state censorship has still not come to an end.

Question 18

What is the status of democracy in China?

Answer 18

The Chinese government is a highly authoritarian one party state. Human Rights Watch claims that it ‘places arbitrary curbs on expression, association, assembly and religion’. It also prohibits trade unions and human rights organisations, and controls the judicial system.

Modern China was founded as a communist state, but is now, especially post reforms in 1979, more of a ‘socialist market economy’ with an increasingly significant place in the global economy.

Question 19

What is the status of human rights in China?

Answer 19

China’s human rights record has been widely criticised, with such abuses as:
- Re-education through labour - rather than being given prison sentences, offenders are sentenced to hard labour, effectively community service
- Censorship of the internet and media freedom - hundreds of websites are blocked or banned in China and ‘world’s leading jailer of journalists’.
- Unfair trials - the Chinese judicial systems falls a long way short of international standards.
- Torture - widespread and particularly directed at human rights activists and people detained because of their political or religious beliefs.
- Workers rights - trade unions are illegal and workers not allowed to protest
- Death penalty - it has been estimated that China accounts for nearly 3/4s of all the worlds executions every year

Question 20

Do countries prioritise human rights over economic development?

Answer 20

There are few, if any, countries in today’s world that give human right real precedence over economic growth simply due to the fact that global influence and material prosperity relies upon economic growth. This is not to say that human rights do not matter however.

Question 21

Do democracies outright break human rights law?

Answer 21

‘Liberal democracies’ rarely outright break human rights law, although it does happen, however it is more common that the interpretation of human rights of democratic governments does not fall in line with the interpretations of the int’l community at large. E.g. the UK was brought to the ECHR for denying the prisoners the right to vote in 2005 as they believe prisoners can have their civil rights suspended during their prison term (such as physical freedom and controversially voting).

Question 22

In terms of freedom in which 3 bands can countries be classified? What are examples of countries in each band?

Answer 22

-Free - broad scope for open political competition and a climate of respect for civil liberties (UK, Norway, Canada, Tunisia, Australia, Argentina, Mongolia, Japan…)
-Partly free - there are some clear restrictions on political rights and civil liberties (Nigeria, Ukraine, Nepal, Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia, Mozambique…)
-Not free - basic political rights and civil liberties are absent or systematically violated (China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Angola, DRC, Ethiopia, Cambodia…)

Question 23

How many countries were given the very worst freedom ratings on the freedom index (score of 7)?

Answer 23

In 2015 there were 9 countries with the worst ‘freedom rating’ (7). Five were in Africa, two in Asia and two in the Middle East and in terms of economic status all buy one of these countries has very low GDP per capita. The notable exception is oil rich Saudi Arabia which ranks in the top ten richest counties.

Question 24

What are human rights like in North Korea?

Answer 24

North Korea is a self-sufficient totalitarian one party state ran around a personality cult of the Kim Jong family. It is isolated from the rest of the world and is seen as a rogue state due to its vast military forces and nuclear weapons.

NK executes dissidents, does not have fair trials, ten arrests foreigners for espionage, does not allow its own citizens to leave under any non-diplomatic circumstances, has no freedom of speech and it takes no accountability for any violations on the international stage… it is the pinnacle of a human rights-less authoritarian state.

Question 25

What are human rights like in South Korea?

Answer 25

SK has embraced capitalism and has transformed itself from a war-torn country into a high-income advanced economy with booming businesses like Samsung and LG.

Today, the Democracy Index ranks South Korea number two in Asia. Large-scale public protests and confrontations with heavy-handed police are not unknown, but it also ranks among the highest in the world in terms of education, healthcare and ease of doing business. It does, however, live in the shadow of a belligerent and menacing neighbour.

Question 26

What is the correlation between corruption and democracy?

Answer 26

the more corrupt a country is, the less democratic it is. For example, Canada, Finland and Denmark rank in the 9-10 bracket of democracy in the democracy index (highest) and also rank in the 90-100 bracket in the Corruption Perception Index (cleanest). Similarly, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan all rank in the least democratic bracket of the democracy index, 1-2 bracket, and also fall into the worst bracket of the CPI, 0-9. However, there are some slight anomalies. Saudi Arabia is in the lowest bracket of democracy, 1-2, whereas, it is in a relatively clean CPI bracket, the 60-69 bracket. This is because corruption undermines the democratic nature of a government and reduces the fairness of political systems. However, it can also be argued that the less democratic a country is, the corrupt it becomes, because democracy brings a level of accountability that ensures that those who abuse their power and are corrupt are removed from positions of power. Either way there is a strong positive correlation between the two.

Question 27

What is an example of a country with a lack of corruption and a good human rights record?

Answer 27

Sweden

Question 28

What is an example of a country with high corruption and a bad human rights record?

Answer 28

Zimbabwe. It has a problem with bribery, nepotism, cronyism, extortion and embezzlement with bureaucrats stealing huge amounts public money whilst the average Zimbabwean has limited access to the most basic of services. 25% of public service users in Zimbabwe have reportedly paid a bribe in the previous 12 months (this was just 1% in Sweden).

Question 29

Is there a difference between the rights of women and oppressed ethnic groups in some post colonial states?

Answer 29

Yes there is a huge difference in the rights of women and oppressed ethnic groups in some post colonial states.

Question 30

How can the education of women make a huge change in the status of women and the social and economic development of a country?

Answer 30

Education of women = knowledge of contraception = smaller family size = women go back to work = higher household income

Education of women = can provide healthier meals for family = less people to provide for and less stress on the health service

Question 31

What is the main example of ethnic minorities having different rights?

Answer 31

Rwanda.

In 1994 the death of Hutu Rwandan President after his plane was shut down (suspected to have been done by a Tutsi rebel group led by current President Paul Kagame). Despite speaking the same language and follow my nearly identical traditions, their phenotypic features distinguished them to some degree with the Tutsi minority being seen as the racial superiors during the colonial period but the Hutus having control in the 90s.

In 100 day period from 7th April - mid July 1994 it is estimated that 800,000 people died as the Hutu government carried out a genocide against the Tutsi population, approximately 8,000 died per day.

Question 32

How does the health and education of indigenous communities compare to the health and education of the non-native population in South America?

Answer 32

-Indigenous communities and their homes are increasingly under threat from mining, oil extraction, dam and road building, logging and agro-industrial projects driving them from their homelands into urban areas meaning they are paying the costs of development yet getting few benefits
-Those that stay within isolated indigenous communities receive no government investment into basic social services and so have limited access to healthcare, quality education, justice and participation, in fact any are not even registered at birth
-Across the Americas indigenous people are poorer and less educated, more likely to commit suicide, and are generally in worse health than the rest of the population
-Some indigenous people want to not have to buy into the mainstream education system and would rather let the next generation learn about how to live with the natural
-Indigenous people expected to accept mainstream education when many value knowledge of nature, their culture and the environment as more important

Question 33

How does the health and education of indigenous communities compare to the health and education of the non-native population in North America?

Answer 33

-In the US indigenous territories are theoretically sovereign, but in reality are subject to treaties and federal laws through the Borough of Indian Affairs, and only tribes officially recognised are entitled to assistance (although state laws may provides for this also)
-The health and education is provided through and regulated by the Indian Health Service (IHS), which provides care for about 2 million
-Since 1972 the IHS has tried to make provisions off reservation areas, but is finding it difficult due to the spread and isolation of the indigenous population and has been greatly underfunded with sterilisation equipment, errors in medical records and unqualified medical staff
-Less than half of the indigenous population has health insurance, and thus their access to the US healthcare system is restricted but their needs are greater than the US White population
-In 2012 indigenous educational performance levels were about 10% below the US White population and while 5% of indigenous children attend schools with a curriculum emphasising “native ways of knowing”, these schools, run by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), have poor-quality buildings and poor governance
-The 2016 US budget proposed 20.8 billion USD, an 8% increase from 2015 including 5.1 billion for the IHS and the funding was to improve federal, tribal and urban programmes in over 650 facilities in 35 states
-In 2016 funding for BIE schools was 904 million USD, a 12% increase from 2015, directed at improving education and those that stay within isolated indigenous communities receive less government investment into basic social services
-Indigenous Americans in the US and Canada have much higher suicide rates than the white population for a variety of reasons whether it be a lack of opportunities, high rates of alcoholism, high rates of domestic abuse and the effects of intergenerational trauma as well as higher rates of diabetes, infant mortality and TB.