Health, Human Rights and International Interventions

Recent example of a trade embargo

• After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the EU imposed an arms embargo

• The sanctions prohibited any involvement in the supply of arms and services to Russian military  

• It also included technology which might contribute to Russia’s military 

• These sanctions aim to encourage Russia to cease actions against Ukraine, which are threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine

Recent example of developmental aid being given

• 2022 UK announced 3 year package of £100 million ODA

• Designed to support the most vulnerable parts of the Ukrainian economy and reduce Ukraine’s reliance on gas imports

• Ukraine is heavily reliant on energy imports such as coal and gas, which Russia exploits

• ODA funds have also been directed to those countries taking in large amounts of Ukrainian refugees eg. Moldova

Recent example of military aid

• The U.S. announced several rounds of military aid to Ukraine since Russia's invasion in 2022

• One aid package, worth $775 million, includes additional advanced rocket systems, artillery systems and ammunition, drones, vehicles, and anti-armour weapons

• The military aid aims to help Ukraine defend itself over the long term 

Example of indirect military action

• For example, in 2017, British army personnel trained Nigerian forces to help them improve the country’s security and fight the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram

Example of direct military action

• For example, in 2003, the USA and UK were among a coalition of countries who sent troops and carried out airstrikes in Iraq against the government of Saddam Hussein

Ways in which IGOs try to protect human rights

• putting conditions on aid or withholding aid

• Imposing trade embargoes

• Expressing disapproval of human rights abuses

Ways in which NGOs try to protect human rights

• Monitoring the status of human rights globally

• Campaigning for the protection of human rights

• Petitioning and lobbying of authoritarian governments e.g. to free protestors imprisoned unfairly

• Encouraging IGOs and governments to intervene in human rights abuses

Examples of human rights NGOs

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch

Reasons why it is hard to come to an agreement when it comes to intervention

• The organisations or countries involved have different aims e.g. increasing global influence or protecting human rights

• The superpower countries could be seeking to assist and control less-powerful countries for political and economic purposes

• The UN has no military force, relying on member states to provide and fund it

• The intervention could be for the intervening country’s self-interest e.g. oil reserves

• The risks the intervention could lead to a wider conflict

• Cutting off development aid can reduce a country’s ability to support its citizens’ basic needs

• Military action can lead to the injury or death of civilians

What is the “responsibility to protect” or “R2P”?

• UN resolution in 2005 endorsed by all member states

• Each individual states has the responsibility to protect their population from

  • genocide

  • war crimes

  • ethnic cleansing

  • human rights violations

• If they fail the responsibility falls to the international government

debate between national sovereignty and R2P

Libya case study

• North Africa

• 10th largest oil reserve

Violations

• Protesters against Gaddafi’s government corruption and against economic stagnation were repressed

• hundreds of people killed

Intervention

• UN authorized bombing raids by the UK and France

• In support of civilians and rebels

National sovereignty concerns

• 5 countries were concerned about inefficient evidence for intervention

• AND about the intervening countries own HR inconsistencies

• It is also claimed that the UK intervened to gain more access to oil reserves

Outcome

• Gaddafi was killed in 2011

• rebel groups are in conflict with new government and others

• government is too unstable to hold elections

what % of ODA given is bilateral?

72%

What is bilateral aid?

When one government gives directly to another country (either projects or the government itself)

2022 UK announced £100 million ODA over 3 years to Ukraine (UK gov is giving to Ukraine not a charity)

Governments prefer bi-lateral aid as they can control its spending and which countries receive it

Some people call it tied aid because it can often come with conditions on using it

What is multilateral aid?

governments give their money to organisations, such as NGOs

fairer as NGOs do no have political self-interest

In 2022 how much money did the World Bank loan to poorer countries?

$37.7 billion USD

Concerns over loans

• The economic influence the World Bank has over the recipient countries due to the conditions stated in the loans

• The prioritising of economic development over environmental protection e.g. deforestation

• Human rights abuses, such as the displacement of indigenous people

Aid case study Haiti

Background

• Experiences natural disasters eg Earthquakes and hurricanes

• have up to 10,000 NGOs working there at any one time

• One of the poorest countries in the world

• Extremely corrupt

• receiving over $13 billion in aid over the last decade, it remains one of the world’s poorest countries

The Need

• 2010 earthquake - 220,000 deaths

• 1.5 million people became homeless (had to live in emergency tents)

• Cholera outbreak in the tent cities causing 9,000 deaths

The Aid

• Within months £12 billion was raised by govs, NGOs, IGOs and members of public

• Used in a number of ways eg, provide emergency shelters and restore access to clean water

Concerns

• Corrupt government so money was either ‘lost’ or not used effectively

• 2 years later 500,000 people still living in temporary shelters

• Aid given with the condition of using it within 18 months

  • only 40% was used after 18 months

• government and NGOs were unable to co-ordinate and use the money effectively

• Dependency on aid has increased eg 70% of healthcare and 85% of schooling relies on the funding from international aid

• Majority of emergency aid money does not reach haitians as most of the money is going into rebuilding US companies in the area only 1% went to haitian businesses

• It is thought that a lot of money was spent on salaries and accommodation of NGO workers many of whom were not from Haiti

Development Aid Malaria case study

Malaria is preventable with

• Providing free mosquito nets

  Taking anti-malarial drugs

  Improved diagnosis

Due to international aid programmes (e.g. Nets for Life), the global death rate from malaria fell by 25% between 2000 and 2020, preventing 6.2 million deaths

Nets for life provided 30 million nets

The UN has championed the gender equality issue for nearly 50 years, resulting in…

45% of bilateral aid specifically funding programmes targeted at gender equality

concerns over development aid

Loans are now not recommended because:

• Of the increasing size of debts

• Technical assistance and skills training are more preferable

Developing countries can become aid dependent

• Haiti dependency on aid has increased eg 70% of healthcare and 85% of schooling relies on the funding from international aid

• easier for governments to rely on aid money, rather than helping local industries and systems to develop

• At risk if aid suddenly stops

Aid is sometimes used by the political elite to ensure they remain in power and repress citizens (building a powerful army, buying votes)

Corruption

Oil in the Niger Delta

• diverse ecosystems, including mangrove forests, freshwater swamps and tropical rainforest

• 31 million people and 40 different ethnic groups,

  • Ogoni people, who believe the land and rivers are sacred

• Vast oil supply - 7th larges exporter of oil

• wealthiest country in Africa

• Nigerian government earns £10 billion in oil

• Oil been exploited since the 1950’s

Damage to Environment

• 40 million litres of oil are spilled every year across the Niger Delta

• Mangrove forests and rainforests are regularly damaged

  • greatly affecting fish populations

• Oil spills pollute groundwater, surface water and soil

Minority groups suffer

• 70% of people live on less than $2 per day in the Niger Delta

• Access to clean and safe drinking water is limited due to oil spills

• Fishing and agriculture affected by spills affecting incomes and traditions

Human rights abuses

• Conflict over oil lead to HR abuses

• During the 1990s, the Nigerian military government repeatedly violated the Ogoni tribe’s human rights

  Around 1,000 Ogonis were killed

  30,000 people were made homeless as villages were burnt down

Land Grabbing in Kenya

• Land grabbing in Kenya became popular in the 1980s amongst its political elite, to use as a resource for bribes

• Important government officials still continue this practice of land grabbing

• The land is used for cash crops for export, biofuel crops and the production of renewable energy

• 85% of Kenya’s population relies on agriculture for its livelihood, so land grabbing puts huge pressure on the land and creates tensions between different ethnic groups

• Land grabs increase the chance of food insecurity and puts Kenya’s population at risk

NATO intervention in Bosnia

• In 1995, an attack on Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serbs led to 8,000 deaths

• This led to a NATO operation, involving an air and bombing campaign against the Bosnian Serbs

• There was a strong human rights justification (genocide, torture), which led to war crimes arrests among Bosnian Serb military leaders

• Radovan Karadžić, the former Bosnian Serb leader, was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity by an international criminal tribunal

2000 UK intervention in Sierra Leone

• viewed as successful after it helped bring an end to the civil war

• British soldiers helped disarm the rebel group trying to overthrow the government

• They trained the Sierra Leone Army

• A ceasefire was agreed and upheld

Pros and Cons of Military aid

Pros

• A strong military could help enforce human rights within a nation

• Attaching conditions to the aid may force recipient countries to stop human rights abuses

• Stopping aid could threaten national interests, such as access to valuable resources

Cons

• Further human rights abuses may be committed using the weapons provided

• Supporting a government that represses its people undermines the main principle of human rights

• Ignoring human rights violations condones it

Why is development easier to measure than human rights?

more data for development eg literacy rates, life expectancy etc

why are democratic institutions and freedom of speech vital to development

• economic growth

  • People have the freedom to make their own political and economic choices (with capitalism and democracy)

• Human rights

  • especially for women and wellbeing

  • more likely to be held up by a democracy rather than authoritarian regime

• Conflict

  • democracies are less likely to go to war or have internal conflict if political disagreements arise

• EXAMPLE

  • Iraq after military intervention (2011—)

  • removal of Saddam Hussein

  • now has regular elections for national assembly and president

  • national assembly has wrote a new constitution

what % of people live in countries that are considered to be free?

less than 40% of the worlds population

Relation between freedom of speech an democracy

people can criticise the government and hold it accountable

Independent papers can publish their political opinions so people can make a more informed decision of who they vote for

Bangladesh - case study for economic success after aid

• Independence in 1971

• Democracy

• classed as one of the least developed countries

• suffered from political instability, floods and famine

• GDP growth of almost 6% 2023

• foreign aid has greatly helped since 2000

  • as economy grew aid changed from humanitarian (food ect) aid to project (funding infrastructure, education ect for specific activities) aid

  • In 2000, 48% of Bangladesh’s development projects (e.g. transport, infrastructure, energy, water supply) were funded by foreign aid

  • In 2019, this had decreased to 32% 

    • less dependent/reliant

• Effects

  • LE raised by 7 years to 72 years

  • secondary school enrollment rates increased by 21%

    • total enrollment is rates is 72%

  • GNI/capita has increased by $1,870 to $2,300

• Human rights

  • reduction in freedom of expression

  • sexual abuse and violence against women

  • Poor treatment of the million refugees living in camps

nations focused economic growth tend to not have what?

a holistic approach to development - they believe it could slow down economic growth

Example of a development aid success story - Ebola

• First cases recorded in 2014

• Ran unchecked because of inadequate healthcare in these countries

• People not trusting the government also contributed and didn’t listen to their advice on quarantines etc

• many West Africans thought Ebola was a ploy to generate more aid funding or reinforce the position of ruling elites

• epidemic killed over 11,000 people

  • Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were greatly affected

• WHO declared it an emergency

• Individual countries provided support with building treatment centers

• NGOs like doctors without borders sent medical staff and equipment

• Intervention helped slow and stop the spread of the disease

  • Cost of $4 billion in aid to stop outbreak

• Epidemic over in 2014-2016

• When there was a second outbreak the countries were more prepared to handle it effectively and not create a large epidemic

  • 2018-2020 only 2,000 died

  • Vaccine was also created and distributed in 2019

• CONS

  • early warning signs were mostly ignored by others until cases started cropping up in the USA

Mismanagement of aid Haiti case study

• receiving over $13 billion in aid over the last decade, it remains one of the world’s poorest countries