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Chapter 10: Social and Humanitarian Issues

Refugees Major Human Rights Agreements UN Agencies and Human Rights Regional Human Rights Accords and

Agencies NGOS and Human Rights Humanitarian Intervention Rwanda and Yugoslavia

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Violation of Human Rights

Can you specify what is “Violation of Human Rights”?

Do violation of human rights issues threaten the world peace?

NoYes

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Role of IOs in Protecting Human Rights

How can IOs contribute to solving the humanitarian problems?

Protect refugees Provide humanitarian assistance in the forms

of Food, Medical treatment, Medicine, Place to stay.

Humanitarian Intervention

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Who are refugees?

De jure refugees

A legal status granted by a state to an asylum seeker for reasons of an individual persecution.

Does it include people running from civil unrest

& general violence? No! What happens to those?

De facto RefugeesRefugee-like people protected by UNHCR*

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How important is it?

There are more than 20 million people in the status of refugee-like situations.

WWII Europeans, Africans

Arab-Israel Palestinians

Central America & Haiti many left their nation

Afghanistan millions of Afghans fled

When these people move into neighboring states they seek shelter, food and water. When people are left without basic needs diseases spread around.

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Which UN body protects refugees?

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was formed by UN in 1950.

Nonrefoulement: The legal obligation of states set in the 1951 convention; States have a legal obligation not to return refugees.

NationNation

Individual:

Fear of being persecuted for

race, religion, nationality,

membership to a social group

or political opinion.

Seeks asylum

Has the right to offer asylum for individuals

1. Voluntary Repatriation

2. Resettlement

3. Assimilation

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UNHCR

Promotion of human rights is the primary concern of UN.

The UNHCR spends $ 400 million to $1 billion annually.

Contributions come from US, Japan, Germany and other industrialized countries.

Cooperates with other UN bodies in delivering help such as WHO.

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What is the “Most Translated Document in the World ?”

Clue: related to UN

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Human Rights and the UN

According to the Guinness Book of records the most translated document in the world is Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

Passed by UN in 1948. South Africa USSR and Eastern Bloc countries abstained from it.

Not binding on states but thirty basic principles related to human dignity. Right to work, to form unions, standard of living besides basic political and civil rights.

The binding international law could not follow the UDHR. There was conflict among the states.

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Human Rights Conflictual??? Three important debates:1

West.

Led by US.

Civil and political rights are important.

If you give individuals these rights they can actualize for themselves their economic and social rights.

Criticized USSR for civil rights.

East

Led by USSR

Criticized racial discrimination in the US.

The states has a role in securing a min. standards of living.

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Human Rights Conflictual??? Three important debates:2

North

Differences of rich and poor.

Western nations heavily criticized others for civil rights but themselves supported brutal colonial regimes and authoritarian governments.

South

Believed North systematically ignored the basic needs of people in the developing world.

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Human Rights Conflictual??? Three important debates:3

Universal

Human Rights is universal.

Applicable to all.

Two international treaties:The International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural rights.

The International covenant on Civil and Political rights.

Cultural relativism

Human Rights should be understood in the light of culture. It is all conceptualized by the West and UN.

Isn’t West imposing its culture on the world?

What about religious traditions of the Middle East, Indians, Chinese?

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UN and Human Rights

2005 a new Human Rights Council was established, has 47 members elected by the General Assembly.

1993: The Vienna Declaration, created a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), is charged with promoting human rights. Can not force states to adopt the international practice.

1994 OIC declared the Cairo declaration, which adopts the Islamic interpretation of human rights.

ILO works on international labor standards.

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Regional Human Rights Accords

European Convention on Human Rights (1953)

Petitions go through European Court of Human Rights

Good human rights record in general

Inter-American Convention

Concerned in promoting human rights.

Poor record of member states.

Low level of enforcement.

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NGOs and Human RightsInt. Com. for the Red CrossAids the victims of warWas active in Ethiopia,Sudan, Bosnia and Chechnya

Human Rights WatchAn active and

reputable groupWorking on investigating and publisizing abuses.

Amnesty InternationalTo save prisoners

Doctors Without Borders2,000 volunteers,

provides medical relief

NGOs play central roles, they report to the International Commission human Rights, but abuses continue to occur.

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Humanitarian Intervention

Dictatorial interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state

to secure and enforce human rights.

According to UN Charter UN can’t intervene in the

domestic jurisdiction.

???

Nonforcible measures

Economic sanctions, witholding of aid, funding of opposition parties.

Forcible Measures

Use of Military units without the government’s consent.

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Humanitarian InterventionDictatorial interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state

to secure and enforce human rights.

Security Council can determine

any existence of any threat to the

peace.

Nonforcible measures

1966 -1968 economic sanctions against Zimbabwe.white gov. Had declared independence from UK, implemented minority rule.

1977 Arms embargo against South Africa white minority government practiced apartheid.

World Bank cut off assistance to Kenya in 1992.

Forcible Measures

1991- Persian Gulf Crisis UN sent units to North Iraq for Kurds without the consent of Iraq gov. Security Council decided there was threat to peace.

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Humanitarian Intervention

Dictatorial interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state

to secure and enforce human rights.

Can IOs use human rights violations to mask other motives to intervene ?

UN intervention is only against weaker members.

Is there a double standard?

1992 breakdown of civil order in Somalia. Security Council found the situation as a threat to security and provided immediate assistance. Could not help the political stabilization and UN was chased out of Somalia.

UN interrupted in Somalia but not to Burundi, Mozambique, East Timor, North Korea.

Violations of economic and social rights by IMF and World

Bank ???

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Rwanda

A small country in east-central Africa. 10 million inhabitants.

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Rwanda

Belgian colony between 1918-1962. The populations of Rwanda and Burundi were divided into three ethnic-based classes: Hutus, Tutsis and Twas.

In 1994 genocide, between 800,000 and one million people were killed. Mostly Tutsis.

The mass movement of people created a humanitarian disaster in the border regionsespecially in Tanzania.

Refugee camp in Zaire

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Ethnic Conflict in Rwanda

TutsisBelgian Government favoured the

Tutsi minority, created a Tutsi aristocracy.

Tutsis received preferential rights, education and employment and access to many more resources.

Racialization of the Hutu-Tutsi difference took place under colonialism and is at the root of the genocide.

HutusMajority group in the country. Felt

suppressed, inferiority complex.

In 1959 the king died and power struggle started. Hutus took control in 1961 and declared independence in 1962, joined UN. Many Tutsis were persecuted.

In 1963 Tutsis from Burundi invaded Rwanda. It was a failed attempt. Many Tutsis fled to neighbouring countries.

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Rwanda

In 1993 UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda was established in order to help implement the cease-fire between the Hutu government and Tutsi rebels.

2.500 blue helmets consisted of troops from Belgium, Ghana and Pakistan.

The first woman prime minister and the ten peacekeepers were raped and killed.

Leaders of Tutsis were killed, thousands of them went to UN camps for protection.

UNAMIR was unable to stop the war because they were not armed and inadequate. It withdraw from Rwanda. Hutus went to camps and killed the inhabitants.

Finally Kigali fell into the hands of the Tutsis and one million Hutus fled to neighbouring countries. A new coalition gov. formed, with Tutsis represented in the new gov.

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What factors contributed to the genocide?

Rwanda Genocide

LiberalsUN needs to protect its peacekeepers.Explanation: Lack of political by member countries to act.

RealistUS didn’t want to intervene because of failure in Somalia. UN followed US.Hutus knew if they killed a few peacekeepers the rest would shy away.

MarxistsIn history Belgian gov. used the conflict for improving its colonial power.Hutus were kept poor.UN has a role in the crisis.

FeministsWomen are capable of violence.During the geneocide there were women who helped the mass murder of Tutsis.

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International Criminal Courts

The genocides in Rwanda and former Yugoslavia have prompted the international community to criminal courts to prosecute those accused of war crimes.

International Criminal Tribunal was set up for former Yugoslavia.

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International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. How effective was UN?

Yugoslavia Genocide

Liberals.

Realist

Marxists Feminists.