Global governance: human rights and environmental Flashcards
(39 cards)
What is international law?
set of legal rules that govern the relationships between states and other international actors. It is developed through treaties, customs, and institutions like the UN.
Why is international law important to global politics?
- enables cooperation
- holds states accountable
- protects human rights
What is the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)?
A foundational document stating universal rights all humans are entitled to. It laid the moral groundwork for modern international law.
🧾 Example: Used as a basis for ECHR and ICC rulings.
Why is the UDHR influential despite not being legally binding?
It set global standards and inspired later treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).
What is the International Court of Justice (ICJ)?
The UN’s main judicial body that settles disputes between states and gives advisory opinions.
Give an example of the ICJ in action.
Qatar v. UAE (2018): Qatar accused UAE of human rights abuses. The ICJ ordered the UAE to ensure family reunification and education access.
What is the main limitation of the ICJ?
It can only rule if both parties agree to the court’s jurisdiction and has no enforcement power.
What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)?
An independent court that tries individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
Example of an ICC conviction?
Thomas Lubanga (2012): Convicted of using child soldiers in the DRC — the ICC’s first ever conviction.
What are the criticisms of the ICC?
Accused of bias (mostly African defendants), lacks enforcement power, and major powers like the US, China, and Russia don’t accept its jurisdiction.
What are UN special tribunals?
Temporary courts created to prosecute crimes in specific conflicts.
🧾 Example: International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), created after the 1994 genocide.
What was the significance of the ICTR?
It delivered the first-ever genocide conviction (Jean-Paul Akayesu, 1998) and developed international jurisprudence on sexual violence.
What is the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)?
A court that enforces the European Convention on Human Rights. Individuals can bring cases against their own governments.
Example of an ECHR case?
Hirst v. UK (2005): The ECHR ruled that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoner voting breached human rights.
How have these institutions shaped global politics?
They promote a rules-based international order, limit unchecked state power, and embed human rights into international relations.
How does international human rights law challenge state sovereignty?
Institutions like the ICC or ECHR can prosecute or condemn states, even against their will, for human rights violations.
What is humanitarian intervention?
The use of force by a state or group of states to protect people in another state from mass human rights abuses.
What sparked the rise of humanitarian intervention in the 1990s?
Post-Cold War consensus, especially after failures in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, led to growing belief in a moral duty to intervene.
Example of successful humanitarian intervention?
Kosovo (1999): NATO intervened without UN authorisation to stop Serbian ethnic cleansing.
🧠 Success: Human rights protected, but legally controversial.
example of failed humanitarian intervention?
Somalia (1992-93): US-led UN mission ended in disaster after the “Black Hawk Down” incident.
🧠 Failure: Poor planning, loss of life, US withdrawal.
What is selective interventionism?
When powerful countries choose to intervene in some crises but ignore others, often based on national interest.
Why is selective intervention criticised?
It undermines global justice and human rights consistency.
🧠 Example: West intervened in Libya (2011) but not Syria (post-2011).
What is the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)?
A 2005 UN principle stating that the international community has a duty to protect populations from genocide and mass atrocities if their own state fails to do so.
How does R2P conflict with state sovereignty?
It allows intervention without state consent, which undermines the traditional idea that states have absolute control within their borders.
