HHRI: Facts and Case Studies

Achieving a higher quality of life for all people through economic development, social development and environmental protection, which are all interdependent

Types:

Economic → GDP/GNI, FDI, trade, industrial sectors

Social → HDI, education, healthcare, equality, sanitation

Demographic → pop size/growth/age

Cultural → art, music, film, religion, language, food

Political → democracy, autocracy, freedom of speech

→ Economic/Social focus

→ link to modernisation theory: explains how countries develop their wealth and reinforce the development continuum

LDC

→ first decided by UN to determine who needs aid urgently

• behind in several aspects of dev = less resilient

  • poorest economies

  • civil conflict

• 1 bil people, 46 countries

  • 33 Africa, 9 Asia, 3 Pacific, 1 Caribbean

  • similar trend to Brandt Line

• e.g. Ethiopia, Myanmar, HAITI

LEDC

• low levels of dec

• mainly primary industry

• e.g. Kenya

OPEC

• 60% proven oil reserves

  • wealth from oil not always translated into sustained economic growth

• wealth/gender inequality sometimes issue

  • elites who own industries have the wealth

• e.g. Saudi Arabia, UAE

RIC

• rapid develop 1980s-90s

• e.g. Russia, Brazil

NIC

• rapid develop 1960s-70s

• 3bil people

• high levels of growth (replacing MEDCs as engines of global economy)

• e.g. Asian Tigers (China, India)

  • development follows flying geese

MEDC

• wealthiest countries → dominated global economy past 50 years

• some legacy superpowers (industrial revolution/imperial)

• mainly tertiary/quaternary sector

• e.g. USA, UK, Japan

‘rich north, poor south’

• designed to create action from wealthier countries to reduce wealth inequality

• BUT ended up as an excuse for exploitation in the ‘poor south’ (dependency theory) + lack of social reform

• false dichotomy: too simplistic only focussing on wealth + out of date

Wealth First

→ dominant views on development are Eurocentric (Western)

• Focussing on equal rights, democracy, and capitalism seen as successful in promoting development since historically western countries have been and are leading in economic/political significance

• BUT some govs don’t want to adopt Western governance and values → may go against traditions and culture (Western-Northern hegemony)

  • Escobar’s view → plus thinks development + dev aid should be empowerment and community participation (grassroots approach - would be slower but more sustainable)

Health First

‘You move faster if you are healthy first than if you are wealthy first’

→ Social/Environmental Focus

→ improvements in environmental quality, health, life expectancy and human rights are more significant goals for development; economic growth only means of delivering them

Example: Some Asian Tigers

• South Korea/China saw large drops in infant mortality before rapid economic growth (improved human capital)

→ Social focus

→ Model of non-secular governance

• The law of Islam

• Muslims believe God is showing them the way to happiness based on the fulfilment of:

  o Necessities: preservation of religion, life, intellect, lineage, and wealth

  o Comforts: things sought to ensure a good life and avoid hardship, though not essential

  → This recognises wider aspects through this, such as the importance of investing in human capital (e.g., education and intellect)

• Severity of implementation contested

  • Saudi Arabia one of the strictest → controversy over gender inequality and having the death penalty

    o   BUT due to their oil wealth they’re still central in the world’s economy

→ Environmental Focus

→ Links with Gaia Theory: the Earth is a living being, if you try and interfere with it, it’ll counter to correct itself

Inherited Several Issues:

• Economic: high inflation, selling of state assets and high levels of poverty

• Social: exclusion of indigenous people from the political system (himself apart of indigenous Aymara group)

Morales values communal ownership and cooperation with his socialist and traditional Andean values

He made significant changes:

• Renationalised Bolivia’s oil and gas industries with the revenue funding public works projects and social programmes to combat poverty = extreme poverty reduced by 43%

• Lead creation of the 2009 Constitution focused on the Law of Mother Earth (Gaia Theory)

  • government’s duty is to protect Mother Nature by reduced resource consumption and removal of all weapons of mass destruction

  • ‘nature-first’

• BUT still one of South America’s poorest countries + still dependent on natural resources for economic growth

→ traditionally measured using growth of GDP but may not be best option…

Happy Planet Index

→ relationship between quality of life and levels of wealth complex

→ composite indicator

2019 Data:

Best: Costa Rica (62.1)

Worst: Qatar (152^nd, 24.3)

USA: 122^nd

^{→ scores so low due to its consumerist, capitalist model not being sustainable}

China: 94^th

HDI

→ composite indicator (e.g. life expectancy, infant/maternal mortality rate, years in school)

2021 Data:

Best: Switzerland

Worst: South Sudan (191^st)

USA: 21^st

^{→ good but likely not best due to healthcare not being free}

China: 79^th

Gini Coefficient

→ measures income equality

2023 Data:

Best: South Africa (63)

Worst: Slovakia (163^rd, 23.2)

USA: 47^th (42)

China: 68^th (38)

→ education is central to economic development by increasing value of human capital

→ view not universally shared = variation

Poverty

→ better education helps break the cycle of poverty as higher wage jobs can be accessed with greater skill

No Education (2020):

• Africa = 22% (BUT improved from 59% in 1970)

• North America = 0%

Post Secondary (2020):

• Africa = 9%

• North America = 24%

Gender Inequality

occurs in education where boys are valued over girls

54% world’s non-schooled population are girls

→ Sub-Saharan Africa

low income + education often paid = boys prioritised

• primary completion: 72% boys vs 66% girls

→ Middle East

poverty + boys often valued over girls for religious/cultural reasons

• primary completion: 93% boys vs 87% girls

→ Afghanistan

education system devastated by 3 decades of conflict and natural disasters = general low primary completion

but worse for girls due to traditional norms of women’s role in society (e.g. marrying young) + lack of female teachers esp. rural

• only 16% schools girls-only and many have poor sanitation, further reducing attendance

• 17% girls marry before 15 years old

• natural disasters: floods, earthquakes, landslides (= parental concern for safety if send to school)

→ life expectancy no longer increasing (unlike other developed economies (unlike other developed economies such as Hong Kong)

→ is becoming more equal, however

• men: 79.4

• women: 83.0

Wider Determinants

→ occupation, education, income, housing (links to deprivation)

• Rising wealth inequality

  • wealthiest in Kensington/Chelsea live 16 years longer than lowest income

  • partly due to cost of living crisis

• Lack of affordable housing + varying quality

  • black mould + issues with landlords not taking responsibility = Manchester rent strikes

Preventative Healthcare

→ immunisation, education on healthcare, technologies (e.g. pacemakers)

• cuts to government spending on NHS and education (due to 2008 financial crisis and covid-19 + Tories)

→ life expectancy increasing

• 2015: 68.3

• 1990: 58.0

Lifestyle Choices

• non-communicable disease increasing

  • 26.2% die from 4 main (e.g. heart attack, diabetes, cancer) between ages 30-70

  • changes in diet partly reason (globalisation = westernised consumption)

Preventative Healthcare

• very unequal - WHO

  • scored 70 in 2005 on relative inequality for accessing reproductive, maternal, and new-born health interventions

• successful immunisation

• sanitation improvement (but not best)

  • 2015: 94% drinking from improved sources

  • BUT globally ¼ improved water contaminated with faeces

→ life expectancy high for non-indigenous population (83 avg.) BUT inequality for ATSI people

Wider Determinants

→ differences in income/employment for ATSI communities compared to non-indigenous population

• in remote areas (decreased access to healthcare services)

• historic discrimination

  • no legal right to housing/education

  • children taken to live with white Australians = lack of trust in authorities (inc. healthcare professionals)

  = life expectancy on avg. 17 years lower

Lifestyle Choices

• 44% over ATSI people over the age of 15 smoke (2.6x the amount of non-indigenous) as part of culture

  • more at risk of non-communicable disease such as cancer

Successful Goals

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

→ All target met/excellent progress or good progress

• Official development assistance from developed countries increased by 66% 2000-2014, reaching $135.2 billion

• Proportion of external debt revenue in developing countries fell from 12% in 2000 to 3% in 2013

  • e.g. Malawi

• Internet conver increased from 6% of all people in 2000 to 43% in 2015

.+ due to globalisation +.

• Improved technology (e.g. mobile phones, faster internet, social media)

• Increased international agreements (inc. trade)

Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality

→ target met/excellent progress, good progress, and only 1 fair progress

• global under-5 mortality rate has declined by over 50%, despite population growth in developing regions

• improved preventative healthcare

  • e.g. 2000-2013 measles vaccine helped prevent 15.6 million deaths + reported cases declined by 67%

Unsuccessful Goals

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

→ Moderate/Good success in education

• Southern Asia

  • 1990: 74 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 1990

  • 2023: 103 girls are enrolled for every 100 boys

→ BUT least achievement in equal representation in national parliaments

• 1 in 5 members of parliament are women

Successful Regions

Southeast Asia

→ education improvements (goal 3)

→ China as a rapidly economically developing country and having increased economic/political ties to other SE Asian countries for trade also increase the whole areas development (can afford greater spending into HD e.g. hospitals)

Unsuccessful Regions

Oceania

• Only part of Goal 6 (to reduce spread of HIV/AIDS → preventative healthcare) had the target met/excellent progress, mostly fair progress or poor progress/deterioration

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Only 1 target met/excellent progress (halt or reverse HIV/AIDS, Goal 6)

• Poverty makes other goals hard to tackle

→ SDGS widened from solely socially focussed to include targets like economic development and environmental action (as also influence HD)

→ Partly due to change in who drafted them:

• MDGs: financial and social experts basing them on the world’s poorest countries

• SDGs: individual UN member states, stakeholders and civil society organizations

-> Differed Intentions

• MDGs: lessen or halve the rates of poverty, mortality and other detrimental social occurrences

• SDGs: build upon the previous goals to completely solve these issues

-> SDGs are updated to modern standards

• e.g. equality for all (i.e. all minority groups) whereas MDGs only mention gender equality

→World Bank, IMF, WTO traditionally promoted neo-liberal views of development based on adoption of free trade, privatisation, and deregulation of financial markets

Malawi:

→ BUT recent programmes aimed at improving environmental quality, health, education, and HR

UDHR

→ signed 1948 by 48 nations (UN agreement)

AIM: make HR specified in 1945 United Nations Charter more clearly defined to increase common understanding of human rights for freedom, justice, and peace

→ response to the Holocaust (killed up to 17 million) to ensure such actions never repeat

Since it's adoption, the UDHR has been used:

• to place political pressure on countries seen to be denying people basic human rights, and to press for change

• as a justification for economic sanctions against countries

• as a justification for military intervention in foreign countries seen to be committing genocide or widespread human rights abuses.

• to give ground to campaigners

BUT:

• not legally binding = hard to punish so hard to force change

  • BUT does provide framework for foreign policy to explain economic/military intervention

• not everyone signed

  • USSR: felt didn’t condemn fascism/Nazism enough

  • South Africa: to protect their apartheid system which violates numerous articles - USA would condemn

  • Saudi Arabia: stated violated Sharia Law (Iran agreed UDHR secular understanding, Pakistan challenged them by signing)

• West’s history of colonialism made them a problematic normal representative for the rest of the world

ICC and ICJ

→ system of prosecuting war criminals

ICC: between people

• Radovan Karadzic, found guilty of genocide in Srebrenica = sentenced 40 years in prison

ICJ: between states

→ 2000

→ resolution for UDHR (too secular/westernised)

→ members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation support Cairo Declaration instead (e.g. Saudi Arabia and Iran)

→ 1950

→ Set up by Council of Europe

→ 47 members (inc. 28 EU members)

AIM: to protect basic HR through 14 articles + establish better relations between European countries post-WWII

= provides framework for countries to more easily implement HR into law

HOW: all member states include in their national law (e.g. UK 1998 [delayed] as part of Human Rights Act) so cases can first be heard in home country, before European Court

BUT:

• Decreases self-determination

  • undermines national sovereignty by overturning national court hearings

  • if 1 country sets a standard, others may follow (e.g. UK government leaving the EU to self-determine HR in part → damaging e.g. Rwanda)

• European Court slow to make decisions

→ NGO promoting intervention

→ founded 1961

→ HQ in London

• mass membership funded by members + supporters

• promotes direct action

  • protests/campaigning

  • letter writing

→ already exceed 2015 target (goal 6)

• malaria rates fell 70% 2001-2006

• action: insecticide-treated bed nets + active case detection + public awareness campaigns

→ have own agendas and power to implement

USSR:

Refusal to sign UDHR

Veto in UN Security Council to limit western efforts to advance/protect HR through economic pressure and military intervention

• e.g. protect own interests in Ukraine against western condemnation despite HR violations

USA:

Guantanamo Bay

• est. 2002 for ‘enemy combatants’ from 9/11

• Only US know details of what goes on + as hegemony cannot be challenged for HR abuses

• Detained before trialled → only 7/779 convicted (but also don’t know how many of there)

• Failure of UDHR: signatories aided US

  • UK: allowed aircraft to refuel in UK

China:

Publicly reject criticism of political repression of citizens

Offer diplomatic + economic support to HR violators (e.g. Sudan) for own economic interests

→ developing status may make implementing a framework for protecting HR into law very difficult (lacking political/economic stability)

Brazil

→ use local police use torture, believe it effectively maintain law and order

→ if the national gov remove torture they’d need to:

• create well-paid investigatory units to monitor police

• fire police forces and increase salaries of replacements

• overhaul entire judicary system

= people may argue its best to use limited resources in a way more likely to help people (e.g. building schools/hospitals)

→ harder to achieve environmental sustainability goal due to continuous conflict (40yrs) and no prospect of resolution

• hardest to provide clean water and safe disposal of waste

  • 80% Afghans drink contaminated water

  • Kabul: one of fastest growing cities (pop 5mil) but only 35 public toilets

→ abolished school fees 2002

→ made schools compulsory for all 7-13yr olds

• = national primary school enrolment 59% 2000 → 95.4% 2010

  • appear on track to achieve universal education target

  • BUT increase in participation not matched with increased in resources = teachers, books, classrooms in short supply = concern over quality of education

    • national tutor-pupil ratio increased from 1:41 2000 → 1:51 2010

  • + BUT rural-urban inequality (true enrolment figure may be 75%)

  • + BUT drop out rates high, especially for girls vulnerable to cultural expectations

→ introduced 2009

→ helping achieve goals 4 + 5

→ possible with funding from UK Department for International Development for a 5-year Safe Motherhood Programme

→ before:

• 32% childbirths attended by a healthcare worker

• new born died every 20mins

→ after:

• 225,000 women benefit

• 281 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births

Governance

→ democratic republic

→ has independent judiciary (separate from gov = increased HR protection)

GDP per capita: $1,596

total spending on education: 1-3% of GDP

total spending on health: 4% GDP

HR Violations

ethnic inequality

→ minority groups: indigenous populations are often in remote area (e.g. Adivao’s)

= differences in quality of life such as poor education + access to services

→ gender inequality

Rate of Development

→ slower than Chinas

→ BUT rapid population growth and the establishment of democracy (largest democracy in world) are increasing level of development

Governance

→ socialist republic / authoritarian

→ no independent judiciary system = corruption more likely (government influence outcomes)

GDP per capita: $7,593

total spending on education: 4.3%

total spending on health: 5.6%

HR Violations

religious freedom

→ Christianity barely tolerated, communist party members must be atheist

→ Buddhism + Islam supressed

• 100,000s native Uighur Muslims detained in ‘re-education’ camps → alleged sterilisation

freedom of speech

→ internet is censored (e.g. 3Ts)

political freedom

→ Chinese communist party, in practice, is the only political party

• policies controlled by estate, little regard to population = enables further HR violations as gov rejects idea of HR entirely and cannot be challenged (by voting against)

freedom of press

→ not free: media monitored by comm party

46 crimes punishable by death

Rate of Development

→ faster than India

• rapid economic development > HR protection

  • e.g. freedom of speech brings no economic benefit

  • exploitation of workers in SEZs

  • argue once economic development achieved, HR can then follow (like Kuznets of HR)

• not a democracy = opposition to lack of HR protection for economic development difficult

→ democratic republic

GDP per capita: $565 (small)

• More likely to prioritise economic development > social development and HR

Total Expenditure on Education: 5.5%

• Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest nations, but its government system = more likely to invest in education than other types of systems.

Total Expenditure on Health: 5.1% (GDP per capita) / $25

→ Protects HR less than other democratic republics who usually promote HR the strongest (such as the US) as they are less economically and culturally secure:

• Countries more economically and culturally secure use organisations (such as the UN) to raise specific HR issues for wider debate, so therefore is more likely to lead to action (depending on a Security Council veto)

• Developing countries (like Ethiopia) that become democratic are expected to promote human rights, but are often ‘flawed’ so prioritise economic development (to improve their economic security) and internal security, which may infringe the rights of some

  • flawed democracy: elections are fair and civil liberties are protected, but there are problems, e.g. the media may not be free

  • HR protection brings financial costs (e.g. providing education and healthcare), this money could be ‘better’ spent on economic infrastructure

    • also China’s argument (like Kuznets of HR, violate HR to economically develop to then improve HR)

  • government security forces, militias, and non-state armed groups responsible for systematic abuses

• Due to many neighbouring countries being previously colonised, may wish to show their political independence by making their own decisions rather than having international human rights directives imposed on them

• Struggles to eradicate HR violations within their own country (esp. with lower economic security)

  • civil war → federal system didn’t foresee potential sources of conflict in a nation of more than 90 ethnic groups

    • the system created competition for power and influence (affected the safety of citizens as well as the freedom of movement) → now, Ethiopia’s government structure is a federation of nine regions

  • September 2023: 2.9 million internally displaced people and over 141,000 Ethiopian refugees and asylum seekers in neighbouring countries

  • April 2023, Ethiopian authorities arrested 8 journalists who had reported on the deteriorating situation in the Amhara region

→ socialist republic

GDP per capita: $6789.8

Total Expenditure on Education: 13.6%

Total Expenditure on Health: 8.8% (GDP per capita) / $603

• Cuba reflects socialist commitment to equal access to education

  • Education is free for all, including university

→ Struggles with freedom of speech

• Repression of July 2021 protests

  • 100s in detention + harsh sentencing (e.g. some given 30-year sentences for ‘throwing rocks at law enforcement officials’)

• Hurricane Ian: protests following widespread power outages

  • authorities deployed military cadets to repress

  • authorities appeared to intentionally shut down internet access, an increasingly common tactic to limit communication in Cuba in moments of political sensitivity

GDP per capita: $1,203.8

Total Expenditure on Education: 0.6%

Total Expenditure on Health: 1.8% (GDP per capita) / $14

→ corruption linked to HR violations

• Totalitarian regimes my decrease financial investment in education, health, and welfare for fear of the population becoming too well informed

• Corruption provokes public protest (which authorities supress) and benefits power elites, to the detriment of disadvantaged groups

1949

→ rules to protect armed forces, those no longer fighting (injured/surrendered) and civilians

→ outlines limits of war (war crimes)

• e.g. certain weapons banned (cluster bombs, chemical weapons such as mustard gas)

→ all UN member and observer states (196) have ratified the Geneva Convention

Ukraine/Russia

allegations of war crimes:

• UN Commission of Inequality on Ukraine say Russian authorities took 16,221 Ukrainian children into Russian foster families

• March 2022: Russian air strike on theatre in Mariupol which was sheltering children

• alleged torture from both sides

Limitations

• inconsistent

  • e.g. USA + Guantanamo Bay HR violations (no consequences due to superpower status)

• several countries still use torture or carry out genocide of minorities (e.g. Gaza)

• still large numbers of refugees and asylum seekers

• few cases actually go to trial

→ corruption linked to HR violations

• corrupt regimes may decrease financial investment in education, health, and welfare for fear of the population becoming too well informed

• corruption provokes public protest (which authorities supress) and benefits power elites, to the detriment of disadvantaged groups

Corruption Index

→ scores countries globally based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be

source:

• 13 different external sources

• perception of experts / surveys of businesspeople

reliable: only countries with data from at least 3 of the 13 sources included

limitations:

• Changed system in 2012 = cannot compare CPI scores from after 2012 to before 2012

• Doesn’t measure everything (e.g. tax fraud)

• Corruption hard to measure as its designed to stay hidden, so only comes to light with scandals, investigations or prosecutions = still no measure of ‘real’ levels of corruption

Most Corrupt: Somalia -> 11/100 score, 180^th rank

Least Corrupt: Denmark -> 90/100 score, 1^st rank

Analysis

→ generally, greater economic development = lower corruption score (e.g. less corruption is seen in Western Europe and North Americas vs more corruption in many countries in the Sahel)

Anomalies:

Bhutan → 26^th

• higher than other South Asian countries ranking despite ranking 178^th for total GDP by IMF 2022

Italy → 42^nd

• lower than most Western Europe despite being highly economically developed (ranking 8^th for total GDP)

→ generally, authoritarian governments score lower than democracies

Myanmar → 162^nd (totalitarian)

Finland → 2^nd (full democracy)

Anomaly:

India → 93^rd (largest democracy globally)

China → 76^th (low but higher than idea despite functioning as authoritarian)

UK

rank: 20^th

→ okay but lower than expected

• lower than most of West Europe: Germany (ranked 9^th) and Switzerland (ranked 6^th)

• low for democratic governance

• low for high economic development (6^th globally for total GDP, World Bank 2022)

→ explained by

• superpower status associated with exploitation

• ineffectiveness in governance

  • e.g. money going to friends of MPs discretely

  • disrupts economic security (may be partly reason for the current cost of living crisis)

Afghanistan → Gender Inequality

Myanmar → Ethnic Inequality (the Rohingya people)

• The Rohingya are Muslims people living in Rakhine State (NW Myanmar), a majority Buddhist country

• Under the 1982 Myanmar Nationality Law the Rohingya were denied nationality = have no HR protection

• Between 1978-2018 several military persecutions have forced 740,000+ Rohingya to flee as refugees to Bangladesh

  • The 2015-18 crisis was labelled a genocide and crime against humanity

USA

→ decreased HR protection for indigenous populations compared to general population

High School Diploma: 83% vs 87%

Households in Poverty: 27% vs 15%

Life expectancy: 73 vs 79

→ progress towards equality happening at different rates and is often slow

Australia (ATSI)

ATSI Australians only counted in the national census, and allowed to vote in 1967

Starting in 1976, some land rights have been granted, entitling them to some traditional lands

HOWEVER

• ATSI Australians still feel under-represented in politics and business

• still feel their rights (especially rights to land) have not been met

• life expectancy nearly 10 years less than white Australians

Afghanistan (women lack equality)

→ progress in women's education made 1973-1992

BUT dramatically reversed with Taliban taking power 1996-2001 and again 2021

• Taliban = fundamentalist religious and political group, following extremely strict version of Sharia Law which treats women with brutality

• women can’t go out alone, appear on TV, be visible in a house from the street, be employed or get medical attention

• 2001-2021, limited progress made with a more moderate government, but was no better than in the 1970s + now decreasing again as they’ve resumed power

Intervention is action taken by one or more sovereign states, within the territory of another, in order to change their political and social conditions

Development Aid - money, technical help, or supplies given to developing countries to support long term econ/pol/soc/env development

Trade Embargo - government/international ban to restrict trade with a particular sovereign state, to pressurise its leaders into changing policies

Military Aid - money, weapons, expertise given to developing countries to strengthen their military (e.g. so they can better protect borders, fight terrorism, combat piracy, prevent trafficking etc)

Military Action

• Direct: air strikes or troops from one sovereign state acting in another

• Indirect - equipment, or advisers, are provided from one sovereign state to another/a military group within them

→ UN can prosecute war criminals

Example: Srebrenica Massacre

→ aimed to kill every ‘able-bodied male’ and drive out Bosnian Muslim population

• Karadzic, former Bosnian-Serb leader, found guilty of the Srebrenica Massacre = convicted of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity

• sentenced 40 years in prison

  = end of systematic campaign of terror violating HR

HOWEVER
successful prosecution of countries, organisations, or individuals who commit war crimes is rare

→ ‘fog of war’ can obscure circumstances of offences + leaves little reliable evidence/witnesses to base prosecutions

→ international law normally stops one sovereign state intervening in the internal affairs of another

→ the UN Security Council can authorise intervention only if all five permanent members agree

→ so the UN can only prosecute if the state fails to do so first + state may not agree to extradite them [hand over (a person accused or convicted of a crime) to the jurisdiction of the foreign state] + enforcement of the trial convictions by the UN is the state’s responsibility

Example: Darfur War Crimes 2003-2008 (limits of ICC due to UN bureaucracy)

• Omar-al-Bashir, dictator of Sudan at time, oversaw

• 300,000 killed

• ICC issues a warrant for al-Bashir’s arrest in 2009

  • five accounts of crimes against humanity

  • two counts of war crimes

  • genocide charges added in 2010

• BUT are unable to detain him

  = until al-Bashir is arrested and transferred to The Hague (ICJ), the case will remain in the Pre-Trial stage (even if transferred, the long period since the genocide conviction makes difficult → requires strong set of witnesses, who will now be less available)

Responsibility to Protect (R2P), 2005

→ each individual state responsible for protecting population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity

→ when state lacks capacity to prevent these things, the international community is responsible for assisting (through getting a UN resolution)

→ created after atrocities of Rwandan massacre

→ changing intervention calculation

MORE PROACTIVE = would lead to more interventions

• leaders consider whether will be prosecuted under R2P = more likely to refrain violating HR

• applies not only for HR violations but if a government looses control (e.g. gangs take over)

• UN not only can intervene but should

Libya, 2011

FIRST USE OF R2P

HR Violations:

widespread attacks against civilians after demonstrations occurred 2011 (inspired by Arab Spring), 100s killed/injured

= UN Council initiated R2P, demanding end to violence

• imposed series of international sanctions

• referred case to ICC

• March 2011: demanded ceasefire + authorised all member states to ‘take all necessary measures’

  = NATO plane strikes on Gaddafi’s forces

HOWEVER

→ international intervention not widely supported (5 countries abstained vote):

• insufficient evidence to justify interfering national sovereignty

• may set president for international community having a say in how other sovereign states treat pop (e.g. Russia/China)

→ since this intervention Libya has suffered civil war without a stable government system (shifted source of violence > solved)

→ founded 1961

→ HQ in London

→ a mass-membership organisation funded by members and supporters, that promotes direct action such as protests, letter writing and campaigning

→ founded 1978

→ HQ in New York

→ largely funded by wealthy individuals, it puts pressure on governments to take action and intervene

→ often widespread agreement between govs, IGOs, and NGOs that HR violations have occurred:

• 2015-18 persecution of the Muslim Rohingya nation by the Burmese government military forces

• Bosnian genocide of Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica 1992-5

• The genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda by Hutu forces 1994

• Forced inequality of women under the Taliban in Afghanistan 1996-2001 + 2021-today

HOWEVER

often disagreement whether HR violations justify intervention:

→ NGOs little power to intervene, unless they are invited by a sovereign state, or protected by the forces of another

→ UN no military forces, relies on members providing and funding them

→ physical factors make aid technically difficult: land-locked countries, dense jungle, lack of air-strips to land personnel and supplies

→ geopolitical considerations may prevent interventions

• risk that intervention could lead to wider conflict (e.g. Libiya)

• different sides of a conflict being allied to opposing powerful countries

  • e.g. the USA and Russia

→ any intervention breaches sovereignty of a state = needs to be very strong moral and ethical grounds for direct military intervention (e.g. widespread and serious HR violations)

• = often western govs intervene indirectly (economically)

  • economic aid for social development with policy change required to receive (e.g. ODA)

  • making trade agreements with conditions of HR improvement

→ $150 billion of aid each year from developed countries to developing countries aiming to improve welfare + HR

• 0 out of top 10 recipients are democracies or flawed democracies (EIU Democracy Index)

  • UK: mainly authoritarian

  • USA: mainly hybrid

• large sums of money

  • USA: $16bil 2017 dev aid (+$10bil military aid)

  • BUT UK sometimes larger proportion of income

    • 1970 UN resolution of wealthy members committing 0.7% GNI annually to dev aid (voluntary)

    • UK: 2015 made legal requirement to hit, 2021 0.7% GNI

    • USA: 2021 0.2% GNI

• in sub-Saharan Africa, aid targeted to developing countries

  • to improve HD (e.g. education, healthcare)

  • for geopolitical influence, creating allies (countering influence of China/Russia)

• USA main donation: Afghanistan, $1,000,000,000

• UK main donation: Pakistan, £402 million 

Bilateral Aid
given from one country to another, either monetary, technical, or supplies
Multilateral Aid
given from an IGO (e.g. World Bank), often involves loans

→ UK funding: 36% multilateral, 64% bilateral
Aid from NGOs (Voluntary Aid)
by charities such as Oxfam and Christian Aid, funded by donations from ordinary people 
Emergency Aid
short-term aid, to cope with a natural disaster, often from NGOs and governments

complex, may include:

→ genuine desire to improve human rights and human welfare (altruism)

→ political ties, such as providing aid to ex-colonies (guilt or responsibility for past exploitation)

→ to gain economic access for businesses (or prevent other countries from gaining influence)

→ to strengthen political alliances 

→ outbreak in West AFrica first reported 2014, became deadliest occurence of Ebola

• killed 5x more than all other outbreaks combined (11,000)

• 28,637 cases

  → poverty + fewer deaths than other epidemics = little incentive for drug companies to invest, so work of non-profits essential

→ aiding ability of healthcare, sanitation, and education systems important for tackling:

• the dehydration the virus causes leads to deaths = rehydration therapy reduced mortality rate 90%→25%

• spreads through bodily fluids = less contagious

  • poor sanitation systems increase spread

  • traditional burial practices spread

→ UN, IGO

• ability to declare global health emergencies

  → needed to access greater funding from UN + others (e.g. UK gov + Wellcome Trust)

  → 1st on hierarchy of response

• supported training

  • of safe burial practices

  • of healthcare workers in hygiene practices (e.g. gov +NGOs, inc. MSF)

→ national government, through DFID (old name)

• DFID worked with WHO

• leading role (esp. in Sierra Leone)

  • £427mil of direct support

  • supported regular cargo flights (partly funded by EU) to SL

• supported 1400 treatment/isolation beds + 6 treatment centres

  • = isolate fast + limit spread

• trained 4000+ healthcare workers

• £10mil to increase burial teams (to 100), quickening response

• radio messaging increased awareness and understanding

→ NGO, charitable organisation

• rapid response, funding research under R2HC

  • a £6.5mil initiative funded by Wellcome + DFID

  • research covers epidemiology, diagnosis, disease prevention

• gave initial £40mil to launch DELTAS Africa

  • long term plan to develop African health researchers

  • would help manage/decrease other persistent health threats too (e.g. HIV and cancer)

→ NGO, Doctors Without Borders

• employed 4000 national and 325 international staff

• ran 15 management centres (partly funded by EU)

  • admitted 10,310 patients

  • confirmed 3201 cases (1/3 of all WHO confirmed cases)

• first 5 months handled 85% of hospitalised cases

• continued support post-epidemic in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone (Ebola survivor clinics)

→ IGO

• provided $2.25bil in aid

• short term medical supplies + health workers

• medical research projects (e.g. vaccines)

→ money funded research projects and training of new healthcare workers/researchers to prevent future outbreaks (Wellcome Trust)

→ vaccines being trialled, though slow (EU/Wellcome Trust)

→ effective response

• treatment centres = reduce deaths

• effective isolation/containment → mostly only 3 countries (WHO’s coordination)

→ WHO argued to have declared international emergency too late = possible unnecessary death (still 11,000 deaths)

→ Epidemic negatively impacted economic growth, most aid short-term/specific to treating Ebola

• BUT EU, 60% aid for development

  • treating underlying problem (sanitation, infrastructure)

→ healthcare workers still spread thin (1-2 workers per facility) and not enough PEE (e.g. masks) in peripheral health facilities

BUT without international intervention Ebola could have spread in an uncontrolled way with even worse consequences

argument that dev aid increases corruption:

→ it reduces innovation, free enterprise and entrepreneurship because it provides a basic level of economic support

→ it creates dependency, so countries begin to rely on aid 'handouts' rather than fostering economic development

→ struggled to develop + experienced political violence from birth

• slaves rebelled and won independence from France in 1804 = isolated by other slave-owning countries

→ heavy debt

• feared invasion = pay back 90 million gold francs over the following 122 years to France

• 1964-1986 ruled by the corrupt and oppressive Duvalier family (with western, anti-communist support -> had to pay back US economic aid they provided)

→ long term debt

• didn't qualify for HIPC (IMF - failures of IGOs) initiative despite poorest country in Americas

• democratically elected President Aristide suggested French pay $21bil in reparations, soon after overthrown by a military coup supported by the US

→ devastating 2010 EQ =debt raised to $1.3bil as new loans given as aid (grants better)

→ weak government systems

• US intervention in elections

• ranks 164/180 on the corruption index

Haiti

→ 164/180 on corruption index (2^nd most corrupt in western hemisphere)

→ corruption meant dev aid grew debt as its misspent

→ meant less aid went directly to local officials who understand where needs lie better than international organisations

• only $582mil (9.1%) of $6.43bil of multilateral and bilateral aid (2010-2012) directly to Haitian government

• especially important as people in dire situation: rife poverty (70% on less than $2 a day) and 2 million homeless

→ corruption of aiding superpowers (prevented some foreign debt but not foreign domination)

• 2010: USA interferes with elections - effectively banning one party, preventing Aristide’s return and influencing the vote counting process

  • prevented possibility of receiving reparations from France

→ loans > grants = more debt

• even though HIPC cancelled debt, new reconstruction funds offered as loans

  • 2017: 20% GDP still spent on foreign debts

→ neo-colonialism (superpowers at fault)

• relying on external aid (no longer able to independently develop)

  • [Libya → 25% GDP dev aid]

• aid money spent of contracts with American rather than local companies

→ better system for providing development aid needed to decrease dependency

• e.g. going straight to Haitian NGOs so they can control where investment is given (know the needs of people better)

• however, corruption = don’t trust to misspend money

• = transparent and accountable system is needed (e.g. giving regular updates on what is being done – if not enough being done, money can be retracted - seen with Ethiopian dam dev aid)

→ HIPC not good enough for any country, let alone Haiti

• must accept harmful economic policy of IMF (e.g. privatisation)

• many debts not included -> Haiti still ‘owed’ $900mil in 2009

• developed countries didn’t accept their role in creating Haiti’s unjust debt, instead saw as charity

didn’t solve human rights abuses:

→ 2015 Human Rights Watch reported high numbers of arbitrary arrests and pre-trial detentions by Haitian police

BUT: helped right to basic necessities after 2010 disaster

• e.g. temporary homes for 2 million made homeless

→ HIPC aid better than no aid

→ DEC Appeal after the 2010 disaster

• 1.8mil+ assisted with £107mil of DEC funds

• 2010-2012:

  • improved water supplies of 340,000 people

  • supplied drugs to 5 cholera treating facilities serving 18,000 people

  • gave info to 116,000 people about preparing for future disasters

  • helped to reduce gender inequality: literacy classes for 60,000 vulnerable women

Global Vaccination Programmes

→ led by WHO (UN) since the 1960s, immunisation reduced disease in developing countries.

• smallpox was eradicated in 1977

• measles deaths fell by 85% in Africa from 2000 to 2014

• worldwide polio cases have fallen by 99% since 1988

= can better access education + employment = improved social capital + HD (positive multiplier effect)

can improve human rights and welfare

→ if businesses grow, they provide jobs and incomes and people's lives improve (positive multiplier)

• China: poverty reduced from 88% in 1981 to 5% in 2018

  • largely driven by job creation in cities, fuelled by FDI in Chinese industry

  • BUT poor working conditions in SEZs → low wages + dangerous

→ negatives often seen in developing countries where exploitation of primary industries leads to social and environmental degradation (lack of environmental laws and monitoring + corruption)

• Niger Delta = Shell (oil)

→ oil exports = 25% of Nigeria's GDP

→ conflict with the indigenous Ogoni people over land rights

→ oil spills

• approx. 9 million oil barrels since 1950s

• caused widespread damage to forests, swamps and human health

  • e.g. oil leaking out of cassavas → used to make traditional meal grassi + its farming employs many women

→ ability of local people to feed themselves through farming is reduced

→ often justified on human rights grounds but some interventions are more about wider global strategic interests

NATO Intervention in Bosnia, 1992-5

→ Srebrenica Massacre 1995

• attack on Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs

• 8,000 deaths

  = the NATO Operation Deliberate Force → an offensive air and bombing campaign against the Bosnian Serbs

• strong human rights justification, which eventually led to war crimes arrests (e.g. Karadzic, former Bosnian-Serb leader sentenced 40 years in prison)

2003 Invasion of Iraq

→ US and UK led invasion = downfall of Saddam Hussein

→ justified on the basis of removing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (weapons that kill large numbers of people indiscriminately), especially chemical weapons, and Iraq's support for terrorism

→ BUT weapons of mass destruction were never found by USA and UK forces, and its aftermath may have inflicted greater HR abuses than before the invasion.

→ 2017, the USA exported $42 billion worth of arms to other countries

• often to countries with questionable HR records

  • e.g. UAE (homosexuality is a crime, women need the permission of a male guardian to marry)

→ provides military aid to over 100 countries each year

• partly used to fight terrorism, and partly to rebuild military and police forces after many years of conflict

• partly for wider geopolitical interests

  • e.g. arming Iraq (2016: $5280 million), Afghanistan ($5100 million)to create strong allies against Iran

→ phrase 'war on terror' first used in 2001 by US President George Bush, shortly after the 9/11 attacks

→ used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq (promoting HR of minority communities)

→ BUT idea compromised by use of torture by western, combatant states who signed the UDHR

• USA Guantanamo Bay

→ ALSO compromised by Muslim countries often lack of support for UDHR

• 1990, 48 Muslim countries signed the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam (UDHR fails to account for Sharia Law)

→ Western governments, especially the USA, see the promotion of democracy and freedom of expression as a key outcome of intervention

→ 40% of the world's population live in countries that are 'free.' (Much of Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand)

→ less attention to holistic development (human well-being, HR, and development of democracy + economic growth)

developing countries: without government-funded welfare systems = pay for own education, healthcare and clean water: rising incomes make this possible more than the right to vote

→ BUT risks authoritarian rule and corruption and possibly even persecution of minority groups

→ YET Ecuador (1979) transitioned to democracy as they have developed economically

Haiti

HDI - Improved

• small and slow

  • 1990: 0.409, 54.6 years

  • 2017: 0.498, 63.1 years (+16%)

    = increase life expectancy since 1990

Gini Coefficient - Unimproved

• income inequality

  • richest 20% - 47.1% of income

  • poorest 20% - 5.5% of income

  = development progress may be benefiting the wealthy more than the poor