Health, Human Rights and Intervention EQ3

Question 1

What is geopolitical intervention?

Answer 1

The use of economic, political or military power by a countries or group of countries in different nations of the world to bring about change.

Question 2

Why is intervention normally illegal?

Answer 2

The intervention of on sovereign state in the affairs of another is considered illegal under international law, as it breach’s the idea of ‘sovereignty’, meaning that intervention can only be done in extreme human rights violations.

Question 3

What is National Sovereignty?

Answer 3

Sovereignty is a counties legal right to govern themselves. It has four aspects.

Question 4

What are the four aspects of sovereignty?

Answer 4

• a government organised within the territory has authority over that territory
• the government controls movement of people and goods across the territory’s borders
• the government and territory is recognised by other governments
• other organisation outside the territory do not have higher authority

Question 5

What allow intervention to take place?

Answer 5

2005 law placed by UN ‘a country has a responsibility to protect its citizens from genocide, war crime, ethnicity cleansing and crimes against humanity’ breach of this allows other country to intervene. The 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council need to agree.

Question 6

What are the different types of geopolitical intervention?

Answer 6

• development aid (most common)
• trade embargoes
• military aid
• indirect and direct military action

Question 7

Why do interventions take place?

Answer 7

• offering development aid for poorest and least developed countries
• protecting human rights
• strengthening security and stability
• promoting international trade and protecting trade routes
• accessing resources
• increase global or regional influence

Question 8

What is development aid as a type of intervention?

Answer 8

Development aid is money and physical resources given form one county to another. It’s normally is given multilaterally or bilaterally though NGOs. It aims to improve the quality of life by meeting basic needs, internal divisions and increasing human capital.

Question 9

What is bilateral aid and its impacts?

Answer 9

Aid that is delivered from one country to another. (can be tied (self serving) and allow donors to pursue its own agenda.

Question 10

What is multilateral aid?

Answer 10

Aid given by donor countries to international aid organisation (World Bank and Oxfam) who distribute the aid to causes.
e.g. USA gives $31.55 billion to ODA

Question 11

What are trade embargoes (intervention)?

Answer 11

This are economic that prevent a countries from undertaking international trade normally. By preventing exports and banning imports aiming to put pressure on sovereign leaders to change polices to prevent their economy from suffering. Its positive as does not threaten sovereignty.

Question 12

What is military aid (Intervention)?

Answer 12

This is money given by one sovereign state to another to buy military equipment.

Question 13

What are the cons of military aid?

Answer 13

• can be seen to contradict sovereignty
• the money could be given instead to be used for social progress, can be deemed that its more for the benefit geopolitical relationships.

Question 14

What is indirect military action?

Answer 14

This is military equipment or advisers provided form one ate to another. Normally done to support one side in a civil conflict.

Question 15

What is direct military action?

Answer 15

This is armed forces from one sovereign state engaging in conflict with another. It a directly threaten a countries sovereignty so is done as a coalition.

Question 16

What types of intervention drive economic development?

Answer 16

Trade > increased trade gives less developed countries a ‘leg up’ provided the terms of trade are favourable through encouragement on exports rather and imports. Sanctions and embargoes can force ‘bad’ regimes to change.
Investment > normally undertaken for ulterior notices (securing primary resources) but they also have beneficial spin offs resulting in economic development, improved liven conditions, education and healthcare.

Question 17

Who promotes intervention?

Answer 17

• IGOs (UN, EU, World Bank and WTO)
• National governments
• NGOs (Amnesty International and Human rights watch)

Question 18

How do IGOs promote intervention?

Answer 18

• As the legal case for intervention in complex an international law usually inhibits one sovereign stater intervening with another meaning IGOS are significant in coordinating an intervention. (UN)
• Also responsible fro the distribution of aid money (World Bank) and trade patterns (WTO)

Question 19

What are the two main NGOs and how do they promote intervention?

Answer 19

NGOs role is to campaign solely for human rights and human development
Amnesty International > founded in the Uk and focuses on the investigation and exposure of Human Rights abuses around the world, includes campaigning and education to people re made aware of there human rights
Human Rights Watch > Role in to monitor the former Soviet Unions compliance (Reducing Cold War tensions) puts pressure of government to take action and intervene

Question 20

Why could intervention be difficult to take place?

Answer 20

• NGOS have little power to intervene
• UN has no miliar y force of its own relying on member states
• geography might make intervention technically difficult (Landlocked, dense jungles)
• geopolitical considerations may prevent intervention (risk that it should led to wider conflict)

Question 21

How do Western government intervene in the affairs of other sovereign states?

Answer 21

They do this by using economic levers to apply pressures
- Offering aid to help social and economic development buy attaching certain conditions that seek to improve some aspects of Human rights (education of women)
- Negotiating trade agreements such as lower tariffs and quotas, on the conditions hat human rights are improved

Question 22

What are the positives and negatives on Western government intervention?

Answer 22

+ uses the power of trade and aid to improve lives of people and strengthen human rights
- interference of sovereign affairs by effectively facing the country to change internal policy in order to gain benefit from another country

Question 23

Key aspects of Haiti development aid?

Answer 23

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere its had foreign countries exploiting its natural resources, dictatorships (high corruption), high amounts go natural disasters and high dependency on aid.
- between 1990-2009 Haiti received aid over $5 billion, little has been achieved with this
- after 2010 earthquake high amounts of international aid pledges (only halved received), 5 years later 500,000 people living in temporary accommodation, break puts of cholera
-

Question 24

What are the positive impacts of development aid?

Answer 24

• progress in the fight against disease (Malaria)
• improvements in some aspects of human rights (gender equality and access to education)

Question 25

How has development aid help to fight disease such as Malaria?

Answer 25

• aid given by NGOs has improved anti-malaria drugs and the distribution of mosquito nets reducing mortality rates
• education on personal hygiene and sanitation reducing the spread on contagious diseases (Cholera and Typhoid)

c > up to 2 million people still die each year from Malaria

Question 26

How has development aid has success with poverty and human rights?

Answer 26

• number of people living in extreme poverty declines from 1.9 billion to 836 million
• improvements in gender equality and access to education
• slow rates of progress, argued that this is caused by the difficulties of changing mindsets that have been ingrained in societies

Question 27

What are the concerns of development aid?

Answer 27

• encourages dependency (hindering economic progress, make countries economically lazy)
• promotes corruption (aid money siphoned into the pockets of the elite as the expense of human rights and minority groups)
• capital grants/loans could be considered inappropriate (better donated to skills training)

Question 28

What os an example of development aid gone wrong?

Answer 28

Akosombo Dam (Ghana):
- Topdown strategy to aid with development, which involved the building if the dam in the 1960 using loans from USA and UK (tied aid)
- aim to to achieve a reliable water source and improve tourism
- evolved a trade deal with America involving bauxite
- took 15 years to build, several communities had to relocate, the high evaporation rates (arid region) were not taken into consideration
- resulting in a poor water source, and high levels of dept

Question 29

What are the negatives on economic development?

Answer 29

Economic development by superpowers and TNCs can improve human rights and welfare (500 million Chinese lifted out of poverty), however in LIC countries development is often focuses in the primary economic sectors (obtaining of raw materials) and often led to
- pollution (oil spills, polluted water)
- deforestation
- disregard for the land rights of local and indigenous people
worsened by lack of environmental laws and monitoring

Question 30

What is an example of problems caused by economic development (Oil in Niger Delta)?

Answer 30

Oil in the Niger Delta:
- oil exports represent about 25% of Nigerias GDP
- Oil drilling by foreign TNCS has generated conflict with indigenous population over land rights
- thousands of oil spills over 9 million barrels since 1950 caused widespread damage to forests and human health

Question 31

What is an example of problems caused by economic development (Land grabs in Kenya)?

Answer 31

Land Grabs in Kenya
- Foreign TNCs buying up farmland in developing countries
- land used for cash cropping (coffee and palm oil)
- the ability of local people to feed themselves has been reduces
- 85% of population relies on agriculture for its livelihood

Question 32

What are the motives to justify military intervention?

Answer 32

Defending human rights is normally the persuasive motive behind many military interventions (moral high ground), however intervention through military aid is normally done for global strategic interests and to protect the interests of Western powers.
e.g. a need to protect oil supply from the Middle East, drove the intervention in Drag int he 1990s and 2000s

Question 33

What are the motives behind superpowers providing military aid?

Answer 33

Normally done by superpowers on behalf of less powerful countries to keep them on the same side as
- the country has strategic value in a wider power struggle
- to deal with incursions that threaten a countries stability and alliance
- to ensure access to valuable resources

Question 34

What are the motives behind intervention on behalf of protecting western powers?

Answer 34

• a need to protect strategic resources (oil supply from Middle East)
• protect shipping routes for oil, gas and goods (Choke points from interference)
• to prevent wider conflict destabilising a whole region

Question 35

What is an example of military intervention? (Libya)

Answer 35

Libya:
- Involved the overthrow of president Gaddafi in 2011
- Him and his immediate supports were through to be complicit in a number of terrorist attacks, and serious abuse of human rights
- intervention included armed embargoes, imposition of a ‘no fly zone’
- this meant Gaddafi could not conduct airstrikes

Question 36

What is an example of military intervention? (Russia and Ukraine)

Answer 36

Russia in Ukraine:
- Russia 2014 annexed Crimea (Ukraine) in 2014 and full blown invasion in 2022, with aims of extending their influence and regaining control over oil pipelines
- Western nations responded with economic sanctions, embargoes and indirect military aid through supplying Ukraine with tanks.

Question 37

What is an example of military intervention not taking place to preserve Western interests? (UK in Saudi Arabia)

Answer 37

Uk to Saudi Arabia:
- 2005 an agreement signed were Uk supplied Saudi with fighter planes. Since then uk has sole £10 billion in defence equipment, and Said has invested £60 billion into the UK (real estate, joined ventures)
- Saudi has several human rights violations which are said to be ‘overlooked’ by the UK in attempts to ‘not rock the boat’.

Question 38

What are the different ways to supply military aid?

Answer 38

• Training personnel
• weapons sales
  e.g. USA provides military aid for over 100 countries

Question 39

Why is military aid controversial?

Answer 39

• It is often used to support countries, that themselves have questionable human rights records.
• arguable that the money could be used to improve human rights and quality of life (water supply, education ect)
  e.g. Most aid goes to the Middle East, used to fight terrorism, and rebuild military and police forgers

Question 40

What does ‘War on terror’ refer to?

Answer 40

This phase was first used in 2001 by US president George W.Bush, after the 9/11 attacks. It refers to a ward against Islamic Extremism and the groups that support it (Taliban, ISIS ect)

Question 41

What motivates the ‘war on terror’?

Answer 41

• political stability of the Middle East
• Safeguarding access to the regions great oil reserves
• serious abuse of human rights

Question 42

What has western countries done in the ‘war on terror’?

Answer 42

• drone strikes in Afghanistan, Somalia ect
• 2003 invasion of Iraq
• conflict in Afghanistan in 2001-2018
• air strikes and special force operations in Syria and Iraq
• Renditions (practise of sending foreign criminals/terrorists suspect to be interrogated in a country where there in less concern about the humane treatment of prisoners.

Question 43

What controversies does the ‘war on terror’ raise against the UDHR?

Answer 43

• Western Countries undermining their own attitudes towards UDHR via volitions through use of renditions and torture (c > protects national security)
• demonising all muslims and creating a permanent cultural divide and mistrust between Western and Muslim countries
• Loss of innocent civilians
  e.g. USA psot 9/11 where 3000 innocent civilians killed resulted in the imprisonment of suspects without trial at the US bases at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba