Lecture Week 2 Flashcards
(28 cards)
What IO got established after WWI?
League of Nations (1919) by Woodrow Wilson. Headquarters in Geneva
What was the covenant of the LoN?
- created to remain peace and security
- no explicit human rights mandate
- composition and functioning was weak (it had no US, the UK and France were the dominant countries and it was based on unanimity)
Other examples of conventions after WWI that had to do with HR?
- Slavery Convention (1929)
- High Commissioner for refugees (first one was Fridjof Nansen) -> Lots of Russians after the Oktobrerevolution fled to western countries so the West felt the need to fix this. It established a nansen passport. It was also established as a result of the Armenian Genocide.
- International Labor Organisation: They actually had a human rights mandate (for workers and indigenous people. It was baswed on treaties and reccommendations (didn’t reallt work well because the recoms were weak)
What is meant by freedoms in madated territories established by the LoN?
Some territories were given certain rights and mandates to assure certain rights there (slave trade, religion, labour conditions)
The monitoring of this system was weak (people from the LoN have never been to the mandated countries) -> only a few decision have been taken.
But very important: it was the first organisation in which it was possible to hand in complaints individually.
Minority Treaties of the LoN (1919)
Treaties in which certain rights were established for minorities: freedom, language rights, own schools/cultural institutions, equality.
Monitoring was weak: state complaints were hand in at minority commissions and the permanent Court of International Justice. They only made 1 decision. It was also based on recommendations -> countries did not feel bound.
Which authors took initiatives in the interbellum for HR?
- Alverrez: Declaration of the rihghts and duties of nations
- Mandelstam: declaration of the international rights of man
- Wells: the rights of man: or what are we fighting for
Which organisation was established after WWII?
United Nations established by Franklin Roosevelt.
What are the four freedoms introduced by the UN in 1941
- Freedom of speech
- freedom from worship
- freedom from want (right to be protected from poverty)
- freedom from fear
What UN treaty was established in 1945
UN Charter
What declaration was published in 1948?
Universal declaration of HR
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
It is not a treaty but rather a customary international law. It is used by international monitoring bodies to be able to control the international community.
How does Article 1 of the UN relates to Natural Law by Locke
Article 1: All human begins are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should at towards one antoher in a spirit of brotherhood.
Locke:
- mensen zijn van nature vrij en gelijk
- ze hebben rede om goed en kwaad te begrijpen
- ieder mens heeft van nature rechten op leven, vrijheid en eigendom
De overheid moet deze rechten beschermen.
What different human rights and duties towards community are in the declaration
Civil and political rights
Econommic, social and cultural rights
social and international order
Duties and limitations
Prohibitions of abuse of rights
CCPR (1966)
right to life
prohibition of torture
freedom of speech
freedom of religion
freedom of association
CESCR (1966)
right to work
right to housing
right to education
right to food
right to social security
What factors influenced the development of human rights from 1950s-1980s
-cold war: Talk about HR were used a lot in a political field. In the cold war western countries would say the east didn’t comply to human rights.
-decolonization:
-carter administration
-mass communication
After 1990s: the rise of phones
Wat zijn solidariteitsrechten?
Antwoord: Dit zijn rechten die een collectief karakter hebben en samenwerking van de internationale gemeenschap vereisen om een globale situatie voor volkeren/burgers te creëren.
Wat houdt het recht op vrede in?
Antwoord: Het recht om in een veilige en stabiele wereld te leven, zonder gewapende conflicten of dreigingen.
Wat zijn de kenmerken van de vierde generatie mensenrechten?
Antwoord: Deze rechten omvatten evoluties in technologie, biotechnologie, genetische manipulatie en transplantaties.
Waarom wordt toegang tot het internet als een mensenrecht gezien?
Antwoord: Omdat digitale connectiviteit essentieel is voor informatie, communicatie, en toegang tot onderwijs en economische kansen.
Kritiek op mensenrechten vanuit het unilitarianism
- Natural rights are fiction proven by civil unrest, disobedience, resistence, revolution
- Rights and freedoms are the fruit of the law: rights should be awarded and not be seen as law.
- Acts to be assesed in light of well-being with people
- They believe that “rights” should be seen as relative rights
Marxist critics on Human rights
They see human rights as liberal and therefore not emancipated and egoïstic. Human rights are the rights of the bougeosie and hide inequality and repression.
- right to freedom is rather the right to do everything which does not hinder
- right to property is rather do everything you want with poverty and do not take society int account
- right to security is rather a guarantee for egoism.
Cultural relativistic criticism on human rights
Human rights are not universal and cant be imposed on third countries. There are cultural costums that in the West would be seen as human rights violation but is actually culture.
- cultures are never completely homogenous and often great support from population for human rights
- human rights -> differentiated application in different cultural contexts, if essence remains intact
Liberal Feminist critics on human rights
Women are the same as men and so the legislation an human rights law need to guarantee sex and gender equality
