Human Rights
There is Global Variation in Human Rights Norms
• Human Rights- the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled
HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS
• Represent ways of living that have been inculcated into the culture of a country or area
over long periods of time- the foundation of human rights
• The UN declaration of human rights was based on the established customs and norms
drawn from all parts of the world
• International human rights laws set out the obligations of state governments- by signing
international treaties it is the duty of states respect, protect and fulfil international
human rights- governments have to put in practice domestic measures and legislation
which are compatible with the treaty
INTERVENTION
• Includes the use of military force by a state or group of states in a foreign territory to end
the gross violation of human rights
• UN Security Council only body that can legally authorise the use of force
• Military intervention is controversial:
◦ Can be effective in stopping violations, having immediate benefits for local
communities and contribute to long-term socio-economic development and political
stability
◦ However, can also lead to injuries, the death of civilians, loss of homes and
population development
• Term intervention can also be used in a wider non-military sense
◦ E.g. economic sanctions and the international criminal prosecution of individuals
responsible for the abuses
• Global governance complex and multifaceted can involve direct physical application as
well as the application of a growing number of human rights norms, laws, treaties etc.
• Effective intervention depends on the interaction and co-ordination at all scales
GEOPOLITICS
• The global balance of political power and international relations
• Pattern of political power closely related to economic power, especially in terms of
, relative wealth and international trade strength of nations and group of nations
• Historically there has been a number of geopolitical transitions in which geopolitical
world order to power has shifted
• USA only superpower, still remaining dominant militarily and politically
• Inequalities in power between individual states depending on wealth, political strength
and development
• Supranational political and economic organisations, such as UN and EU which exert
greater geopolitical influence than their individual member states
• Effects of globalisation mean trans-state organisations have considerable influence on
the countries in which they invest
Patterns of Human Rights Violations are Influenced by a Range of Factors
FORCED LABOUR
• Situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or
intimidation, or by more subtle means, such as accumulation of debt, retention of
identity papers or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities
• 21 million people victims globally
Spatial Patterns:
◦ Highest in Southeast Asia, particularly India (1.1% of population enslaved)
◦ Africa also relatively high (1.13% of DRC population, 4% of Mauritania population)
◦ However no region is completely unaffected
Reasons:
◦ Economic:
‣ Poverty
‣ Lack of economic opportunity and unemployment
‣ Low wages
◦ Political:
‣ Political instability/conflict
‣ Corruption
‣ High levels of discrimination and prejudice
◦ Social:
‣ Gender inequality
‣ Women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation
MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE
• The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy from
any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management
• In 2013, globally 289,000 women died during or following pregnancy and childbirth
Spatial Patterns:
There is Global Variation in Human Rights Norms
• Human Rights- the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled
HUMAN RIGHTS NORMS
• Represent ways of living that have been inculcated into the culture of a country or area
over long periods of time- the foundation of human rights
• The UN declaration of human rights was based on the established customs and norms
drawn from all parts of the world
• International human rights laws set out the obligations of state governments- by signing
international treaties it is the duty of states respect, protect and fulfil international
human rights- governments have to put in practice domestic measures and legislation
which are compatible with the treaty
INTERVENTION
• Includes the use of military force by a state or group of states in a foreign territory to end
the gross violation of human rights
• UN Security Council only body that can legally authorise the use of force
• Military intervention is controversial:
◦ Can be effective in stopping violations, having immediate benefits for local
communities and contribute to long-term socio-economic development and political
stability
◦ However, can also lead to injuries, the death of civilians, loss of homes and
population development
• Term intervention can also be used in a wider non-military sense
◦ E.g. economic sanctions and the international criminal prosecution of individuals
responsible for the abuses
• Global governance complex and multifaceted can involve direct physical application as
well as the application of a growing number of human rights norms, laws, treaties etc.
• Effective intervention depends on the interaction and co-ordination at all scales
GEOPOLITICS
• The global balance of political power and international relations
• Pattern of political power closely related to economic power, especially in terms of
, relative wealth and international trade strength of nations and group of nations
• Historically there has been a number of geopolitical transitions in which geopolitical
world order to power has shifted
• USA only superpower, still remaining dominant militarily and politically
• Inequalities in power between individual states depending on wealth, political strength
and development
• Supranational political and economic organisations, such as UN and EU which exert
greater geopolitical influence than their individual member states
• Effects of globalisation mean trans-state organisations have considerable influence on
the countries in which they invest
Patterns of Human Rights Violations are Influenced by a Range of Factors
FORCED LABOUR
• Situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or
intimidation, or by more subtle means, such as accumulation of debt, retention of
identity papers or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities
• 21 million people victims globally
Spatial Patterns:
◦ Highest in Southeast Asia, particularly India (1.1% of population enslaved)
◦ Africa also relatively high (1.13% of DRC population, 4% of Mauritania population)
◦ However no region is completely unaffected
Reasons:
◦ Economic:
‣ Poverty
‣ Lack of economic opportunity and unemployment
‣ Low wages
◦ Political:
‣ Political instability/conflict
‣ Corruption
‣ High levels of discrimination and prejudice
◦ Social:
‣ Gender inequality
‣ Women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation
MATERNAL MORTALITY RATE
• The death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy from
any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management
• In 2013, globally 289,000 women died during or following pregnancy and childbirth
Spatial Patterns:
