Definitions

Human Rights: A list of fundamental rights every person is entitled to, regardless
of their personal differences.
Human Rights are divided into positive and negative rights that determine action
and inaction respectively.
Positive Rights: An obligation by others (primarily the authority) to provide to a
person. Eg. Right to Education, Food, Housing, Employment
Negative Right: These call for the prevention of activities by others that may
infringe upon the human rights one possesses; often consisting of social and
political rights. Eg. Freedom of expression, speech, privacy, fair trial, religion
etc.
History of Human Rights Charters:
The Cyrus Cylinder- 539 BC
Magna Carta- 1215 CE
Petition of Rights- 1628 CE
United States’ Declaration of Independence- 1776
US Constitution- 1787
Declaration of Rights of the Man and of the Citizen- 1789
US Bill of Rights- 1791
The First Geneva Convention- 1864
Three Generations of Human Rights:
First Generation: Focus primarily on Civil (rights possessed by the citizens of a
country) and Political (right to participate in the politics of the country)
rights. Primarily negative rights.
Second Generation: Focus on Social and Economic rights; eg. The right to safe
working conditions, wages, equal pay, education etc. These are a combination of
positive and negative rights.
Third Generation: Rights relating to individual and collective identities
(culture). Eg. the right to pursue one’s belief, practice any religion, protection
against any form of discrimination etc. These are primarily positive rights.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
The UDHR is a foundational document of international human rights law, consisting
of a range of civil, political and economic rights possessed by people regardless
of their differences; adopted by the member states of the UN in 1948.
Link to the simplified version of the declaration: [Link]
content/uploads/2017/11/[Link]
Segregation of the rights mentioned in the UDHR:
Political Civil/ Social Economic
Article 1 Article 3 Article 17
Article 2 Article 4 Article 22
Article 6 Article 5 Article 23
Article 7 Article 12 Article 25
Article 8 Article 13
Article 9 Article 14
Article 10 Article 16
Article 11 Article 18
Article 16 Article 19
Article 21 Article 20
Article 24
Article 26
Article 27
Article 28
Article 29
Article 30
Multilateralism Vs Bilateralism
Theories of International Relations in Human Rights:
Multilateralism: The alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common objective
Multilateral implementation of human rights helps increase nations’ sense of
responsibility and facilitate national compliance towards protecting human rights
by inculcating public scrutiny.
Concrete multilateralism can result in consequences for violating human rights but
does not necessarily guarantee positive implementation.
Bilateralism: The conduct of political, economic or social relations between two
sovereign states
The allocation of resources through bilateral means is much more efficient than
multilateral.
Unilateral actions can also help prevent consequences that affect a state in the
long run
Multiple foreign policies often restrict national interests and use a narrow,
partisan perspective whilst implementing HR; bilateral agreements tend to be more
specific.
Perspectives on Human Rights:
Liberal
Realist
Social Constructivist
Critical
Non-Governmental Politics of Human Rights
Non-state actors also have a significant effect on human rights and diplomacy-
primarily non-governmental (advocacy) organisations
Civil Society: public political space that is neither the market nor the state
Civil societies operate nationally and transnationally
Strategies and resources of NGOs/ Civil societies:
Resources include the information and the human capital that NGOs/ CS possess
Strategies include the creation of public pressure and accountability on
authorities through press/journalism, campaigns or protests
Civil Society advocacy exists at a systematic level in democratic, sovereign states
The implementation of human/civil rights lies with state authority, this NGOs/ CS
must act through the state to achieve their objectives
International NGOs operate on a multilateral level to increase international
accountability among state actors
Drawbacks of NGOs:
Ineffective expression despite good intention
Lack of financial and political stability
Lack the influence/ authority that state actors possess
Power of public opinion is limited
However, NGOs/ INGOs are often more eligible to carry out Human Rights’ initiatives
as they do not have any vested interests
Many have developed reputations of accuracy and impartiality over the years; Eg.
Amnesty International, Al Jazeera
People in need to HR assistance:
Refugees
Asylum Seekers
Internally Displaced People (IDPs)
Stateless persons
International Criminal Court
Placed in Hague, Netherlands and established in Rome, Italy in the year 2002
The ICC is the permanent international court established in order to investigate,
prosecute and try individuals accused of committing crimes against humanity, war
crimes, crimes of aggression and genocide.
Crimes against Humanity: acts of crime committed against civilians systematically
during times of war or peace.
War Crimes: violation of the laws of war that holds an individual accountable for
the actions of combatants. Eg Acts of sexual violence, killing of POWs etc
Crime of aggression: where a state actor plans, initiates and executes an act of
using military force against another nation; going against ‘Charter of UN’
Genocide: Systematic killings of people belonging to a specific ethnicity,
religion, or race.
The ICC has tried over 30 cases with 17 detainees over the years
Examples of ICC’s cases:
Democratic Republic of Congo (2006): Former Congolese leaders Thomas Lubanga,
Germain Katanga and Jean- Pierre Bemba tried for war crimes and crimes against
humanity.
Ivory Coast (2002): Former president Laurent Gbagdo held responsible for crimes
against humanity.
Sudan (2003 onwards): Arrests and detention of many Janjaweed militias for war
crimes and crimes against humanity, taking into account the humanitarian crisis of
Darfur.