POLS 285 Final Exam
The Nonaligned Movement
A group of states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members. The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru; Indonesia's first president, Sukarno; Egypt's second president, Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah; and Yugoslavia's president, Josip Broz Tito. All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for states in the Developing World between the Western and Eastern Blocs in the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat V. K. Krishna Menon in 1953, at the UN. Because the Non-Aligned Movement was formed as an attempt to thwart the Cold War, it has struggled to find relevance since the Cold War ended.
Eleanor Roosevelt
She became an outspoken champion of human rights in general and women's rights in particular. In the UN Human Rights Commission, however, which Eleanor chaired in the 1940s. Precision is difficult when gauging the influence generated by NGOs on human rights. In a speech at the UN just after the adoption of the Universal Declaration in December 1948, Eleanor aptly predicted that "a curious grapevine" of private action would spread the ideas contained in the declaration far and wide. That image in fact captures the reality, because human rights have a momentum and life of their own in a sprawling and tangled sort of way.
UNHCR
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees. People of concern to the UNHCR has ranged between 15 and 25 million in the last 10 years. The UNHCR was created by the General Assembly in 1950 and functions largely under the 1951 convention/1967 protocol as those who have crossed international border because of a well-founded fear of persecution. The General Assembly has authorized the UNHCR to deal, at least sometimes, with persons displaced within a state-internally displaced persons (IDPs), in official parlance-and with those fleeting war or a breakdown in public order.
The Vienna Accords
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. It specifies the privileges of a diplomatic mission that enable diplomats to perform their function without fear of coercion or harassment by the host country. This forms the legal basis for diplomatic immunity. Its articles are considered a cornerstone of modern international relations.
The International Bill of Rights
Was the name given to UN General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) and two international treaties established by the UN. It consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) with its two Optional Protocols and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). The two covenants entered into force in 1976, after a sufficient number of countries had ratified them.
Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and well-being which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote: A. higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; B. solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and C. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
First generation negative rights
1st gen human rights, often called "blue" rights, deal essentially with liberty and participation in political life. They are fundamentally civil and political in nature: They serve negatively to protect the individual from excesses of the state. 1st rights include, among other things, the right to life, equality before the law, freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion and voting rights. They were pioneered by the United States Bill of Rights and in France by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in the 18th century, although some of these rights and the right to due process date back to the Magna Carta of 1215 and the Rights of Englishmen, which were expressed in the English Bill of Rights in 1689. They were enshrined at the global level and given status in international law first by Articles 3 to 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In Europe, they were enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights in 1953.
Second generation positive rights
2nd gen human rights are related to equality and began to be recognized by governments after WWII. They are fundamentally economic, social, and cultural in nature. They guarantee different members of the citizenry equal conditions and treatment. Secondary rights would include a right to be employed in just and favorable condition, rights to food, housing and health care, as well as social security and unemployment benefits. Like 1st gen rights, they were also covered by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and further embodied in Articles 22 to 28 of the Universal Declaration, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. In the US, President FDR proposed a 2nd Bill of Rights, covering much the same grounds, during his State of the Union Address on January 11, 1944. Today, many nations, states, or groups of nations have developed legally binding declarations guaranteeing comprehensive sets of human rights, e.g. the European Social Charter. Some states have enacted some of these economic rights, e.g., NY has enshrined the right to a free education, as well as "the right to organize and to bargain collectively," and workers compensation, in its constitutional law. These rights are sometimes referred to as "red" rights. They impose upon the government the duty to respect and promote and fulfill them, but this depends on the availability of resources. The duty is imposed on the state because it controls its own resources. No one has the direct right to housing and right to education.
The Human Rights Council
A UN System inter-governmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. Its 47 seats are filled by member states elected for 3 year terms. The UNHRC is the successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and is a subsidiary body of the UN Gen. Assem. The council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and engages the UN's special procedures. The General Assembly established the UNHRC by adopting a resolution on March 15 2006, in order to replace the previous CHR, which had been heavily criticized for allowing countries with poor human rights records to be members. The UNHRC addresses mostly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and occasionally addresses rights-related situations in countries such as in Myanmar, Guinea, North Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Libya, Iran, and Sri Lanka, though with much lesser frequency. The UNHRC also addresses important thematic human rights issues such as freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, women's rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.
Commission on Sustainable Development
A body under the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) tasked with overseeing the outcomes of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development/Earth Summit. It was replaced in 2013 by the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which meets both under the General Assembly every four years and the ECOSOC in other years. The CSD was established in December 1992 by Gen Assem Resolution as a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council, implementing a recommendation in Chapter 38 of Agenda 21, the landmark global agreement reached at the June 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development/Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Human Development Index
A composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development. A country scores higher HDI when the lifespan is higher, the education level is higher, the GDP per capita is higher, the fertility rate is lower, and the inflation rate is lower. Top 10: Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands, US Germany, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Denmark. Bottom 10: Mozambique, Guinea, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger.
New International Economic Order
A set of proposals put forward during the 1970s by some developing countries through the UN Conference on Trade and Development to promote their interests by improving their terms of trade, increasing development assistance, developed-country tariff reductions, and other means. It was meant to be a revision of the international economic system in favour of 3rd World countries, replacing the Bretton Woods system, which had benefited the leading states that had created it - especially the US. The term was derived from the Declaration for the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, adopted by the UN Gen Assem in 1974, and referred to a wide range of trade, financial, commodity, and debt-related issues. Focusing on restructuring of the world's economy to permit greater participation by and benefits to developing countries.
Truth Commissions
A truth commission or truth and reconciliation commission is a commission tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state actors also), in the hope of resolving conflict left over from the past. Truth commissions are, under various names, occasionally set up by states emerging from periods of internal unrest, civil war, or dictatorship. In both their truth-seeking and reconciling functions, truth commissions have political implications: they "constantly make choices when they define such basic objectives as truth, reconciliation, justice, memory, reparation, and recognition, and decide how these objectives should be met and whose needs should be served. "A truth commission (1) is focused on the past, rather than ongoing, events; (2) investigates a pattern of events that took place over a period of time; (3) engages directly and broadly with the affected population, gathering information on their experiences; (4) is a temporary body, with the aim of concluding with a final report; and (5) is officially authorized or empowered by the state under review."
The International Criminal Court
An intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The ICC is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore only exercise its jurisdiction when certain conditions are met, such as when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals or when the United Nations Security Council or individual states refer investigations to the Court. The ICC has four principal organs: the Presidency, the Judicial Divisions, the Office of the Prosecutor, and the Registry. The President is the most senior judge chosen by his or her peers in the Judicial Division, which hears cases before the Court. The Office of the Prosecutor is headed by the Prosecutor who investigates crimes and initiates proceedings before the Judicial Division. The Registry is headed by the Registrar and is charged with managing all the administrative functions of the ICC, including the headquarters, detention unit, and public defense office.
World Trade Organization
An intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which commenced in 1948. The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986-1994). The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, which was launched in 2001 with an explicit focus on developing countries. As of June 2012, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain: the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round is still incomplete. The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but retention of protectionism on farm subsidies to domestic agricultural sector (requested by developed countries) and the substantiation of fair trade on agricultural products (requested by developing countries) remain the major obstacles. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round. As a result, there have been an increasing number of bilateral free trade agreements between governments.
International Monetary Fund
An international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., of "189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2010, the fund had SDR476.8 billion, about US$755.7 billion at then exchange rates. Through the fund, and other activities such as the gathering of statistics and analysis, surveillance of its members' economies and the demand for particular policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries. The organization's objectives stated in the Articles of Agreement are: to promote international monetary cooperation, international trade, high employment, exchange-rate stability, sustainable economic growth, and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.
Human rights vs Humanitarian affairs
Human rights: fundamental entitlements of persons, constituting means to the end of minimal human dignity or social justice. Tend to be more aggressive. Humanitarian affairs: the aid and action designed to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain and protect human dignity during and in the aftermath of man-made crises and natural disasters, as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness for the occurrence of such situations. Tend to be more diplomatic in situations.
The 1503 procedure
It enables 2 UN bodies, the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection on Human Rights and the Commission on Human Rights to investigate specific types of complaints- those which appear to show consistent or widespread patterns of gross and reliably attested human rights abuses. The 1503 Procedure applies broadly to any country in the world, not only UN members. It also allows the complaints to remain confidential, unless the national government indicates that they should be made public. Individuals as well as NGOs can file a complaint.
Principle of complementarity
Partnership highlights the fact that the relationship with States that are genuinely investigating and prosecuting can and should be a positive, constructive one. The Prosecutor can, acting within the mandate provided by the Statute, encourage the State concerned to initiate national proceedings, help develop cooperative anti-impunity strategies, and possibly provide advice and certain forms of assistance to facilitate national efforts. There may also be situations where the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) and the State concerned agree that a consensual division of labour is in the best interests of justice; for example, where a conflict-torn State is unable to carry out effective proceedings against persons most responsible. Vigilance marks the converse principle that, at the same time, the ICC must diligently carry out its responsibilities under the Statute. The Prosecutor must be able to gather information in order to verify that national procedures are carried out genuinely. Cooperative States should generally benefit from a presumption of bona fides and baseline levels of scrutiny, but where there are indicia that a national process is not genuine, the Prosecutor must be poised to take follow-up steps, leading if necessary to an exercise of jurisdiction.
Phases/approaches to development
Phase I: National State Capitalism (1945-1962) Phase II: International Affirmative Action (1962-1981) Phase III: Return to Neoliberalism (1981-1989) Phase IV: Sustainable Development and Globalization (1989-present)
Special procedures
Special procedures are individual independent human rights experts, or groups of such experts, who report and advise on human rights issues. They are called by many names, including Special Rapporteurs, Special Representatives, Working Groups, and Independent Experts. Special procedures have either thematic or country-specific mandates. Special procedures mandate holders serve in their personal capacities, meaning they are not UN staff, are not paid a salary for their work, and do not represent their countries of citizenship. Each mandate holder may serve for a maximum of six years. This independent status is intended to allow these experts to carry out their functions with impartiality.
The Earth Summit
The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, Rio Summit, Rio Conference, and Earth Summit, was a major UN conference held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In 2012, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development was also held in Rio and is also commonly called Rio+20 or Rio Earth Summit 2012. An important achievement of the summit was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. Another agreement was to "not to carry out any activities on the lands of indigenous peoples that would cause environmental degradation or that would be culturally inappropriate."
Millennium Development Goals
The world's time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights-the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security.
Country mandates and thematic mandates
Thematic: Focuses on human rights challenges that cut across national boundaries. Recent examples of thematic mandates include human rights and transnational corporations, the enjoyment of human rights of people with albinism, and arbitrary detention. Country: Focuses on the human rights situations in specific member states, for instance the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Eritrea, and Cambodia.
Neoliberalism
These include extensive economic liberalization policies such as privatization, fiscal austerity, deregulation, free trade, and reductions in government spending in order to enhance the role of the private sector in the economy. The implementation of neoliberal policies and the acceptance of neoliberal economic theories in the 1970s are seen by some academics as the root of financialization, with the financial crisis of 2007-08 as one of the ultimate results. The term has been used since 1938 but became more prevalent in its current meaning in the 1970s and '80s by scholars in a wide variety of social sciences and critics. Advocates of free market policies avoid the term "neoliberal". The definition and usage of the term has changed over time. It was originally an economic philosophy that emerged among European liberal scholars in the 1930s in an attempt to trace a so-called 'Third' or 'Middle Way' between the conflicting philosophies of classical liberalism and socialist planning. The impetus for this development arose from a desire to avoid repeating the economic failures of the early 1930s, which were mostly blamed by neoliberals on the economic policy of classical liberalism. In the decades that followed, the use of the term neoliberal tended to refer to theories at variance with the more laissez-faire doctrine of classical liberalism, and promoted instead a market economy under the guidance and rules of a strong state, a model which came to be known as the social market economy.
The Red Cross (IRCR - International Committee of the Red Cross)
To ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife. It does so through its direct action around the world, as well as by encouraging the development of international humanitarian law (IHL) and promoting respect for it by governments and all weapon bearers. Associated but autonomous independent International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
UNCTAD
UN Conference on Trade and Development was est in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the UN Gen Assam dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. The organization's goals are to: "maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis." The primary objective of UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid, transport, finance and technology. The conference ordinarily meets once in four years; the permanent secretariat is in Geneva. One of the principal achievements of UNCTAD has been to conceive and implement the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). It was argued in UNCTAD that to promote exports of manufactured goods from developing countries, it would be necessary to offer special tariff concessions to such exports. Accepting this argument, the developed countries formulated the GSP scheme under which manufacturers' exports and some agricultural goods from the developing countries enter duty-free or at reduced rates in the developed countries. Since imports of such items from other developed countries are subject to the normal rates of duties, imports of the same items from developing countries would enjoy a competitive advantage. The creation of UNCTAD in 1964 was based on concerns of developing countries over the international market, multi-national corporations, and great disparity between developed nations and developing nations.
World Bank
World Bank: an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. It comprises 2 institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. The WB is a component of the WB Group, which is part of the UN system. The WB's stated official goal is the reduction of poverty. All its decisions must be guided by a commitment to the promotion of foreign investment and international trade and to the facilitation of Capital investment.
Geneva Conventions (ICRC)
in 1949 the international community of states adopted 4 conventions for victims of war. Initially drafted by the ICRC in consultation with governments, the Geneva Conventions of Aug 1949 sought to codify and improve on the humanitarian practices undertaken during WWII. For the first time in history, a treaty was directed to the rights of civilians in international armed conflict and in occupied territory resulting from armed conflict. Each of the 4 Geneva Conventions of 1949 contained an article (hence Common Article 3) that extended written humanitarian law in to internal armed conflict. The ICRC, although technically a private Swiss NGO, was given the right in public international law to see detainees resulting form international armed conflict. And for the first time in history, civilians in occupied territory were recognized as having a right to humanitarian assistance.
