International Studies Final Exam

Right

An entitlement to act or be treated in a particular way that has the highest priority

Duty

An obligation to act, or refrain from acting, in a particular way to satisfy someone's right

Human Rights - Universal & Inalienable

Universal and inalienable entitlements to act or be treated in a particular way.

Human Duties

A human obligation that the international community has to satisfy human rights

Civil and Political Human Rights

Rights that entitle humans to participate in the civic and political life of their society without discrimination or repression from the state

Economic and Social Human Rights

Rights that entitle humans to equal social and economic conditions without exploitation from the market

Declaration/Resolution

A non-legally binding international human rights document

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

An international declaration that affirms the civil, political, social, and economic rights of all human beings

Convention/Covenant/Charter

A legally binding international human rights treaty that involves signatories and ratification

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

An international treaty that commits states to respect the right to life, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, electoral rights, and rights to due process and fair trial

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

An international treaty that commits states to respect labor rights, the right to health, the right to education, and the right to an adequate standard of living

Universalism

The view that all humans possess an equal set of rights regardless of their culture

Relativism

The view that human rights are culturally relative and that there is no one-size-fits-all set of rights

Western Intervention

Justifications for imperialism based on real or perceived human rights violations

Western Hypocrisy

Western criticisms of human rights violations in the global south that the West is also guilty of

Conceptual Damage

The weakening or undermining of the idea of human rights itself when those rights are applied inconsistently, ignored, or selectively enforced

Relative Universalism

The incorporation of cultural relativism into a universal framework of human rights by distinguishing between concept, interpretation, and implementation

Concept

An abstract and general statement of an orienting value for a human right

Interpretation

Varying explanations of the meaning of the concept's limits as a human right

Implementation

The legal forms in which the interpretation of human rights are expressed

International Human Rights Regime

A group of international organizations that have been mandated with the duty to hold states accountable to human rights.

Monitoring

The collection, verification, and analysis of information about the extent to which human rights violators fall short of International human rights standards

The UN Human Rights Council

47 member states serving staggered three-year terms and elected by the 193 members of the UNGA

Universal Periodic Review

The review of the human rights record of all 193 UN member countries every four years

Enforcement

The use of the international human rights legal framework to investigate and prosecute human rights violators

International Criminal Court

A permanent, treaty-based international tribunal established to prosecute individuals for the world's most serious crimes.

Individual Focus

Investigates and prosecutes individuals, not states, who have committed human rights violations.

Special Mandate

Focuses on only the most flagrant human rights violations (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes).

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

Found guilty of the war crime of recruiting children under 15 to fight in a war in Congo.

Limited Jurisdiction & 2 Exceptions

Only investigates and prosecutes individuals who belong to a member country of the ICC (Rome Statute).

Exception 1

The United Nations Security Council can refer a case to the ICC even if the individual's country is not a member of the ICC.

Exception 2

ICC can take a case if an individual from a non-member state committed human rights violations in the territory of one of the ICC's member states.

Court of Last Resort

Only investigates and prosecutes individuals when national courts are unwilling or unable to.

Philippines probe

Example of unapproved killings leading to ICC investigation.

Advocacy

The communication of monitoring results to the public to raise awareness about human rights violations.

U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea

An example of advocacy focused on human rights violations.

Targeted Monitoring

The specialization of research on particular human rights violations and specific policy recommendations to address violations.

Promotion

The communication of specific human rights violations and policy recommendations to gain public support.

Congressional-Executive Commission on China

An example of promotion regarding human rights violations.

Intergovernmental Organization

An entity created by a treaty that involves two or more states that work in good faith on issues of common interest.

Example of Intergovernmental Organization

The UN or the WHO.

Collective Security

The idea that the prevention of war is the responsibility of all states working together through the common enforcement of action against a state that disrupts peace.

Example of Collective Security

The UN stepping into the Korean War conflict.

UN Charter

The foundational treaty of the United Nations that establishes the framework of the UN system that all members must legally abide by.

Example of UN Charter

Member states following the UN's authorization of military action through the Security Council during the Gulf War.

Sovereign Equality of Member States

Each member state is legally recognized as being equal to every other member state with the same rights and duties of membership.

Example of Sovereign Equality

USA is equal to China in terms of rights and duties of membership.

International Jurisdiction

The UN may only intervene in international matters and not matters that are the domestic jurisdiction of any member state.

Example of International Jurisdiction

UN interfering and stepping in to help out South Korea during Korean War.

General Prohibition on Force

All member states shall refrain from the threat or use of military or paramilitary force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any member state.

Example of General Prohibition on Force

USA can't threaten Britain.

General Duty for Peace

All member states shall settle their disputes by peaceful means, give assistance in any UN action towards an aggressor member state, and refrain from assisting an aggressor member state targeted by a UN action.

Example of General Duty for Peace

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United Nations stepped in and demanded that Iraq withdraw.

Peacekeeping

An operation involving military personnel undertaken by the UN to monitor and enforce a ceasefire or peace agreement in areas of conflict.

Example of Peacekeeping

In the Suez Crisis (1956), the UN sent troops to monitor the ceasefire and help maintain peace after the conflict.

Consent of the Parties

All parties involved in conflict resolution must agree to the presence of peacekeepers within their country's borders.

Example of Consent of the Parties

Both sides in the conflict (Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots) agreed to allow UN peacekeepers to be stationed on the island.

Neutrality

The absence of favor or prejudice towards any of the parties involved in a conflict.

Example of Neutrality

UN peacekeeping in Lebanon shows neutrality because UN forces do not favor either side and work to maintain peace impartially.

Force as Self-Defense

Use of force can only be applied if peacekeepers are threatened and respond as an act of self-defense.

Example of Force as Self-Defense

During UN peacekeeping in Mali, UN peacekeepers have been sometimes attacked by groups, so they are allowed to use force only to defend themselves.

Humanitarian Intervention

The UN authorization of the use of force across borders in the event of a mass humanitarian crisis based on the three principles of the 'responsibility to protect.'

Example of Humanitarian Intervention

During the Libyan Civil War (2011), the UN authorized the use of force to protect civilians after the Libyan government threatened mass violence against its own population.

Non-Consent of the Parties

The responsibility of states to protect their own citizens, and if they do not, the UN can authorize intervention without the permission of the responsible state.

Example of Non-Consent of the Parties

During the Libyan Civil War (2011), the UN authorized military intervention to protect civilians, even though the Libyan government didn't consent to outside involvement.

Humanitarian Crisis

Intervention can be authorized only in response to the most dire humanitarian crises, such as genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, or war crimes.

Example of Humanitarian Crisis

During the Libyan Civil War (2011), the UN authorized military intervention.

Use of Force

The responsibility of members of the UN to authorize the use of force by a non-UN organization to relieve mass suffering.

Example of Use of Force

During the Bosnian War, the UN authorized NATO to use force in response to mass atrocities and ethnic cleansing.

Sanctions

The UN authorization of complete or partial restrictions on customary economic relations with a targeted member country.

Example of Sanctions

Arms embargoes, diplomatic suspensions, the freezing of assets, travel bans, and commodity sanctions.

Comprehensive Sanctions

Sanctions prohibiting all types of economic transactions with a targeted member country.

Example of Comprehensive Sanctions

The UN authorized restrictions on all trade with Iraq in 1990 when it tried to invade Kuwait, leading to a 13 year period of malnutrition, water contamination, and high infant and child mortality rates.

Targeted Sanctions

Sanctions that are limited to restricting certain types of economic transactions with targets including governments, individual politicians, leaders' family members, rebel groups, companies, and businesspeople.

Example of Targeted Sanctions

Sanctions placed on North Korean officials and companies by the United Nations due to the country's nuclear weapons program.

UN General Assembly

The main deliberative, policymaking, and representative body of the UN

Universal Equal Membership

Membership is made up of all 193 states, with the allocation of one vote per member state

Budget Approval

⅔ majority is required to approve the UN's regular budget formula, which is based on each member country's capacity to pay

Appointments

⅔ majority required to approve UN appointments, including the Secretary General, the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, new members to the General Assembly, and new members to subsidiary organs

Creation of Subsidiary Organs

⅔ majority is required to approve the creation of subsidiary organs under the purview of the General Assembly

Passing Resolution

A simple majority or ⅔ majority is required to pass non-legally binding recommendations that formally express the will or opinion of the General Assembly

Political Impact

Over time, resolutions can indirectly influence the behavior of states and stigmatize or isolate the practice of states that do not conform to it

Legal Impact

Resolutions touching on a legal matter that reflect the opinion of a large number of member states can lead to the creation of a new legal norm in a member state

UN Security Council

An emergency group of the UN tasked with the primary responsibility of maintaining peace and collective security when there are major international threats or crises

Limited Unequal Membership

Membership is made up of 5 permanent members and 10 rotating non-permanent members, with the allocation of one vote per member state, with permanent members retaining a veto vote

Passing Resolutions (Security Council)

9/15 votes without veto required to pass legally binding resolutions authorizing UN peacekeeping, humanitarian intervention, and/or sanctions

Concert Theory

A model of international order in which the great powers collectively manage global security through coordination, consensus, and mutual accommodation

International Court of Justice

The primary judicial organ of the UN that impartially settles legal disputes between member states

Court Composition

Made up of 15 judges serving nine-year terms who are elected by a simple majority in the General Assembly and the Security Council

Non-Compulsory Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is gained by consent of the UN's member states either through submission of the dispute to the court or due to an international treaty granting jurisdiction over member states in advance

Mobility

All forms of human movement of people from their residence to another place

Migratory Mobility

The change of residence when moving across international borders

Non-Migratory Mobility

No change of residence when moving across international borders

Migration Aspirations

Various desires that motivate humans to migrate

Economic Migration Aspirations

Desires related to poverty, unemployment, job opportunities, higher wages, and education

Political Migration Aspirations

Desires related to warfare, persecution, human rights abuses, instability, and state policies

Cultural Migration Aspirations

Desires related to culture, values, history, language, and geography

Migration Capabilities

The ability to access the various goods that enable humans to migrate

Natural Goods

Genetic and environmental factors affecting migration

Infrastructural Goods

Physical structures and facilities that facilitate migration