Human Rights II - Lecture 19

Comprehensive practice flashcards reviewing human rights treaties, international enforcement mechanisms, the International Criminal Court (ICC), transitional justice, and material incentives in human rights law.

Why has human rights law had a paradoxical impact over the past $65$ years?

While formal international human rights law has become extensive, governments still face strong incentives to ignore obligations, leading to widespread violations of even non-derogable rights.

What role do Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Transnational Advocacy Networks (TANs) play in promoting human rights?

They act as non-state advocates driven primarily by empathy to monitor state abuses, raise global awareness, and pressure governments into respecting human rights standards.

What are the primary self-interest motivations that encourage states to care about human rights abroad?

The beliefs that democratic peace fosters economic prosperity, stable neighboring states reduce security and refugee crises, and enforcing labor rights limits unfair foreign competition.

Why are international human rights inherently difficult to protect globally?

Abuses abroad rarely produce direct spillover harm, states gain no reciprocal leverage from defecting, punishing offenders is costly, and sovereignty norms limit intervention.

Under what specific conditions are states most likely to intervene or impose sanctions against foreign human rights abusers?

When domestic political pressure is intense, when violations of sovereignty can be morally or legally justified, and when intervening directly aligns with geopolitical or strategic goals.

What was established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted in $1948$?

A foundational global framework adopted by the UN General Assembly that delineates fundamental civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for all human beings.

What core prohibitions are established by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ($1948$)?

It legally defines and bans acts committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.

What is the primary focus of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)?

It legally prohibits all systemic racial discrimination and obligates state parties to dismantle segregationist practices, paying specific attention to apartheid.

What categories of rights are guaranteed under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)?

Progressive rights that require state resources to implement, including adequate standards of living, labor protections, healthcare, education, and cultural participation.

What mechanisms and substantive commitments are established by the two Optional Protocols to the ICCPR?

The First Optional Protocol permits individual citizens to submit direct human rights petitions to the UN, while the Second Optional Protocol commits member states to abolish the death penalty.

What specific areas of equality are protected under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)?

It bans gender discrimination across education, employment opportunities, healthcare services, marriage rights, and family relations.

How does the $2002$ Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (CAT) enhance compliance?

It establishes an independent system of regular inspection visits to monitor domestic detention facilities and state practices.

What two distinct harms are addressed by the $2000$ Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)?

One protocol bans children in the armed forces from participating in hostilities, while the second strictly prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.

What group is protected by the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (ICRMW)?

Migrant laborers and their family members residing and working outside their country of origin.

What obligations are established by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ($2006$)?

It mandates equal status, treatment, and accessibility for individuals with disabilities, supplemented by an optional protocol permitting individual petitions.

What specific state abuse is prohibited by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance?

The arrest, detention, or abduction of individuals by state agents without acknowledgment of their whereabouts or fate.

In the econometric model developed by Schnakenberg and Fariss, what do Human Rights Scores measure?

State respect for human rights combining measures from $9$ sources, with values ranging from approximately $-3.8$ to $5.4$, where higher values represent greater respect.

In quantitative human rights metrics, what do the boundary scores of $0$ and $8$ indicate on the Physical Integrity Index?

A score of $0$ denotes complete absence of government respect for physical integrity rights, whereas a score of $8$ indicates full government respect.

How does democratic voter accountability incentivize governments to sign human rights treaties?

Voters who care about humanitarian standards can elect leaders who prioritize human rights protections and international treaty commitments.

What role do contingent external rewards play in motivating treaty ratification?

Governments often sign human rights treaties to secure conditional material incentives, including financial foreign assistance or membership in intergovernmental organizations (IGOs).

Why are newly democratized governments more likely to bind themselves to human rights treaties than established democracies?

To lock in democratic reforms and legally constrain future successor governments from dismantling political rights.

How does the selection problem obscure whether human rights treaties actually improve state behavior?

States that voluntarily ratify treaties are often those already predisposed to respect rights anyway, making it difficult to isolate the causal impact of international law.

Why does weak enforcement limit the effectiveness of international human rights law?

Treaties typically lack centralized coercive enforcement bodies, allowing non-compliant states to violate agreements without facing immediate or automatic penalties.

Why do repressive governments frequently ratify international human rights agreements?

They seek symbolic international legitimacy and reputational benefits, anticipating that weak international enforcement will not hold them accountable.

What counterintuitive finding explains the mixed empirical evidence regarding human rights treaty effectiveness?

The most severe human rights violators may actually be more likely to ratify treaties to mask ongoing abuses and deflect international criticism.

Under what complementary domestic conditions does international human rights law demonstrate measurable success?

When supported by democratic institutions, strong domestic courts capable of enforcing law, and active non-governmental organizations mobilizing public pressure.

What are the five major institutional innovations developed to improve human rights protections globally?

The International Criminal Court (ICC), transitional justice, individual petition rights, harnessing material interests via trade, and guiding principles for business.

In what year did the International Criminal Court (ICC) come into force, and approximately how many states are parties to it?

The ICC came into force in $2002$ and has over $125$ state parties.

What is the official policy stance of the United States toward the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

The United States remains formally opposed to the court and has refused to become a state party.

What two basic territorial and citizenship criteria grant the International Criminal Court standard jurisdiction?

The accused perpetrator must be a citizen of a state party, or the alleged crime must have taken place on the territory of a state party.

How can the International Criminal Court obtain jurisdiction over individuals who are not citizens of a state party and committed crimes outside state party territory?

If the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) formally refers the case to the ICC prosecutor.

What complementary requirement must be satisfied before the International Criminal Court can exercise jurisdiction?

No national judicial authority has genuinely investigated or prosecuted the case, meaning the ICC acts solely as a court of last resort.

How many cases have been brought before the International Criminal Court?

Exactly $34$ cases.

Who was the Congolese warlord convicted in the first-ever verdict delivered by the International Criminal Court?

Thomas Lubanga, a rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo convicted for recruiting child soldiers under the age of $15$.

Why was former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte referred to the International Criminal Court?

Over widespread killings and alleged crimes against humanity associated with his administration's violent 'war on drugs' policies.

When did the International Criminal Court issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and on what grounds?

In March $2023$, over war crimes involving the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Which Israeli and Hamas figures had arrest warrants issued against them by the ICC on November $21$, $2024$?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif.

What rationale was cited in the executive order signed by Donald Trump on February $7$, $2025$, sanctioning the ICC?

The order accused the ICC of illegitimately asserting jurisdiction over non-member sovereign states and abusing its judicial power.

Which major global powers criticize the International Criminal Court on the grounds of violating national sovereignty?

The United States, Russia, China, and India.

What criticism regarding bias and selective enforcement has been leveled against the International Criminal Court?

African countries and smaller states argue that the court disproportionately prosecutes their leaders while ignoring abuses committed by major world powers.

What non-criminal and non-judicial mechanisms are central to transitional justice?

Truth and reconciliation commissions, victim reparations, public memorials, and institutional reforms.

What two strategic arguments are advanced by proponents in favor of transitional justice?

It encourages entrenched human rights abusers to relinquish power peacefully without fearing trial, and it helps end cycles of retaliatory violence.

What are the three primary critiques leveled against transitional justice mechanisms?

They create a difficult tension between peace and justice, set a dangerous precedent of avoiding criminal accountability, and potentially undermine international human rights law.

According to Emilie M. Hafner-Burton, how do 'hard' human rights standards in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) differ from 'soft' standards?

Hard standards link material market access benefits directly to compliance through coercion, whereas soft standards lack enforcement mechanisms and fail to systematically reduce repression.

What is the purpose of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights endorsed in $2011$?

To establish an authoritative global standard outlining corporate responsibilities to prevent abuses, respect human rights, and provide accessible remedies.