Health, Human Rights and Intervention Case Studies

Question 1

What is Sharia Law, how is it applied across the Muslim world, and which 2 countries are an example of these applications?

Answer 1

The legal system in most Muslim countries which dictates many aspects of life

It is applied differently across the Muslim world - strictly in some countries and more flexibly in others.

Indonesia = loose
Afghanistan = strict

Question 2

What are some human rights violations of strict Sharia Law?

Answer 2

Theft is punishable by the amputation of the right hand

Converting from Islam is punishable by death

A man can beat his wife for disobeying him

A woman cannot speak alone to a man who is not her husband or relative

In Saudi Arabia, women were not allowed to drive until 2018, or travel abroad without a male guardian’s permission until 2019

Question 3

Why do Aboriginal people suffer from higher rates of poverty compared to non-indigenous people in Australia?

Answer 3

A larger proportion of Aboriginal people have a lower average education level and suffer from higher rates of unemployment compared to non-indigenous Australians

This is because the Aboriginal people are discriminated against in the form of racism, so it makes it harder for them to get an education, become employed and move out of poverty

Question 4

Which people are sent to Chinese re-education camps?

Answer 4

Critics of the government along with followers of banned religions such as Uyghur Muslims

Question 5

What is the Great Chinese Firewall?

Answer 5

Many Western websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are blocked in China - these websites could spread anti-government propaganda through user-generated content. China has no control over the censorship rules of these websites, so they are blocked in China completely

Question 6

Give an example of a rich and a poor country that implements some form of Sharia Law

Answer 6

Qatar = rich
Afghanistan = poor

Question 7

How much lower is the life expectancy of an Aboriginal man in Australia compared to a non-indigenous man?

Answer 7

10.6 years

Question 8

How much lower is the life expectancy of an Aboriginal woman in Australia compared to a non-indigenous woman?

Answer 8

9.5 years

Question 9

Give 2 examples of Chinese apps that are controlled by the Chinese government, along with what happens to anti-government propaganda

Answer 9

Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and WeChat are strictly controlled by the government - anti-government propaganda is filtered out if detected by the algorithm

Question 10

Give one practice conducted by Robert Mugabe (the former president of Zimbabwe) that was corrupt and compare the GDP per capita of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2019

Answer 10

Land reforms - taking land from former White colonialists and giving it to Black Zimbabweans - corrupt process - best land went to Mugabe’s supporters

1980 - GDP per capita = $1000
2019 - GDP per capita = $1400

Question 11

Why do indigenous people have a lower life expectancy?

Answer 11

A higher proportion of Indigenous people live in remote areas compared to non-Indigenous people. These are areas where governments do not invest much money into social services. Therefore, Indigenous people are, on average, less able to access healthcare services and other social services that increase life expectancy

Their communities are increasingly under threat from deforestation, mining and oil extraction

“Leave us alone and respect our human right to continue with our traditional way of life”

Question 12

Prior to the Soviet invasion in 1979, what were women’s rights like in Afghanistan?

Answer 12

Women were given the right to vote in 1919 - only 1 year after women in the UK

1950s - purdah (gender separation) was abolished

Question 13

What are women’s rights like in Afghanistan today?

Answer 13

Women have been banned from secondary school and above

Women have been banned from entering gyms

Women have been banned from public office

Question 14

How is the production of oil threatening human health in Nigeria?

Answer 14

Oil spills are leading to the pollution of water supplies and farmland

People are ingesting contaminated food/water

Livelihoods such as fishing and farming have been threatened as a result

Question 15

How much does the Nigerian government earn from oil revenues, what is the problem with oil revenues given to Nigerians, and what is this leading to?

Answer 15

Nigerian government earns £10bn a year from oil revenues

The oil revenues are largely in the hands of the majority ethnic group - the Yoruba

All of this is leading to violent protests and kidnappings of foreign oil company workers

Question 16

What are land grabs in Kenya?

Answer 16

Privatisation of public land

Question 17

What are the problems with land grabs in Kenya?

Answer 17

88% of the population have access to less than three hectares of land

Minority ethnic groups are excluded from land ownership

Question 18

What military aid does the UK supply to Saudi Arabia according to the 2005 agreement?

Answer 18

The UK sells military equipment such as fighter planes to Saudi Arabia

Question 20

What is rendition?

Answer 20

The practice of sending terrorist suspects covertly to be interrogated in a country where the humane treatment of prisoners is less of a concern

Question 20

Give an example of rendition

Answer 20

Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen, was detained by U.S. authorities in 2002. He was subsequently rendered to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured for over a year. Arar was eventually released, where an inquiry cleared him of any connections to terrorism

Question 21

What was Botswana’s GDP per capita when it became independent compared to 2019?

Answer 21

1966 - GDP per capita = $70
2019 - GDP per capita = $8250

Question 22

How did Botswana increase its GDP?

Answer 22

Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds

Diamonds account for a third of Botswana’s GDP and about three-quarters of its exports

Question 23

How badly does Botswana suffer from aids?

Answer 23

Botswana has the 3rd highest prevalence of aids in the world. The disease has dramatically cut life expectancy

Question 24

What are some human rights abuses in Botswana?

Answer 24

Botswana retains the death penalty

LGBTQ+ groups face widespread discrimination despite homosexuality being decriminalised in 2019

Question 25

What is the political problem in Botswana?

Answer 25

Same political party has been in power for 40 years - state control of the media makes it difficult for opposition parties to campaign in elections on an equal footing

Question 26

How many Syrian residents have been affected by the civil war since 2011?

Answer 26

6.7 million Syrians have been internally displaced and a further 6.6 million have fled abroad as refugees - total deaths are between 500,000 and 600,000

Question 27

How did a Civil war in Côte d’Ivoire begin? (2010)

Answer 27

Christian President lost the election to a Muslim. The president refused to step down, resulting in a civil war

Question 28

In 2011, what was a UN peacekeeping force tasked with in Côte d’Ivoire?

Answer 28

Protecting civilians
Promoting human rights
Stopping the conflict between the Christians and the Muslims

Question 29

What happened after the UN peacekeeping force intervened in Côte d’Ivoire?

Answer 29

The president and his wife were arrested by French troops - they were then handed over to the International Criminal Court at The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity

Since 2015, Côte d’Ivoire has been relatively stable

Question 30

What are the problems with the UK supplying military aid to Saudi Arabia?

Answer 30

Saudis are mostly Sunni Muslims, so Shia Muslims may oppose this

Saudi Arabia has a poor record when it comes to human rights, as seen by the implementation of Strict Sharia law - fighter planes could be used for human rights offences such as the bombing of innocent people

Question 31

All case studies

Answer 31

UK - Saudi Arabia military aid

Côte d’Ivoire - UN peacekeeping response to the civil war

The number of Syrian people affected by the 2011 civil war

Botswana’s increase in GPD along with the problems it faces

Rendition

Land grabs in Kenya

Oil in Nigeria

Women’s rights in Afghanistan

Robert Mugabe - example of corruption

Aboriginal & other indigenous people - why their quality of life is lower and how much lower their life expectancy is compared to non-indigenous people

Sharia Law - what it is and an example of a poor vs a rich country that implements it

Great Chinese Firewall and Chinese re-education camps

Question 32

_% of Zimbabwe’s population lives below the poverty line

Answer 32

72%

Question 33

_% of India’s population lives below the poverty line

Answer 33

22%