Human Rights 2

Convention Against Torture (CAT)

UN treaty banning torture and requiring states to prevent and punish it.

Refoulement

The illegal act of sending refugees back to danger or persecution.

Jus Cogens

Fundamental international law norms (like bans on genocide) that allow no exceptions.

Extraordinary Rendition

Secretly transferring detainees between countries, often to places where torture occurs.

Bybee Memos

U.S. legal documents (2002) that narrowly defined torture to justify harsh interrogation post-9/11.

Enemy Combatants

A legal category used to deny traditional prisoner-of-war rights.

Physical Integrity Rights

Protection from torture, execution, disappearance, or political imprisonment.

Abu-Ghraib

Iraqi prison scandal where U.S. forces committed torture and abuse

“The Dark Side” / “Ticking Time Bomb”

Ethical debates on using torture in hypothetical emergencies.

DNA Harvesting

Collecting genetic data, raising privacy and consent concerns.

ILO (International Labor Organization)

UN body promoting labor rights and fair work.

Core Labor Rights

Freedom of association, collective bargaining, elimination of forced and child labor, equality.

Violence Against Organizers

Repression of unions or activists defending labor rights.

Rentier State / Petro State

Economies reliant on resource rents (like oil), often with weak democracy.

New Deal

1930s U.S. recovery programs expanding welfare and regulation.

Neoliberal Economic Policy

Market-driven reforms: deregulation, privatization, free trade.

Shock Therapy

Rapid transition to capitalism (e.g., post-Soviet states) often causing social hardship.

Washington Consensus

1990s policy package of fiscal austerity, trade liberalization, and privatization.

American Exceptionalism

Belief that the U.S. has a unique mission or moral standing globally.

Collective Action Problem

Individuals’ rational choices conflict with group interest (e.g., climate inaction).

Human-Created Famines / Market Failures

Disasters caused by political and economic mismanagement, not scarcity.

Convergent Spaces / International Radicalism

Transnational movements for justice linking struggles worldwide.

Economic Migrants

People relocating primarily for work or economic opportunity.

Cancer Alleys

Areas with high industrial pollution and illness.

Emergent Rights

New rights developing with societal or technological change (e.g., digital privacy).

Reciprocity Principle

Ethical idea that rights and obligations are mutual among individuals or states.

Paramilitary Group

Non-state armed forces often linked to political violence.

Pop Culture and Torture / Zero Dark Thirty

How entertainment normalizes or critiques state violence (torture)

Concepts/Debates Around Solidarity

How workers or marginalized groups unite across divisions.

Economic Justice & Market Failures

Evaluating when markets harm equity and human welfare.

Solidarity Rights vs. Individual Rights

Solidarity rights (like environment, peace) protect groups/collective goods; individual rights protect personal freedoms.

“Climate Refugees” (Controversies)

People displaced by climate change; currently not legally recognized under refugee law.

Transitional Justice

Ways societies address past mass violence (truth commissions, trials, reparations).

CEDAW

UN treaty on eliminating discrimination against women.

De Facto vs. De Jure

In practice vs. in law; many rights exist legally but not in lived reality.

Missing Women Problem

Surplus male population due to gender discrimination, selective abortion, violence.

Intersectionality

How overlapping identities (race, gender, class) create layered discrimination.

Essentialism

Reducing identities to fixed traits; criticized in gender and race debates.

DEVAW

UN Declaration on Elimination of Violence Against Women

Evolving Capacities of the Child

Children gain autonomy as they mature; rights adjust with age.

CRC

Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Rights to privacy in a digital age

Modern extension of privacy rights to data, surveillance, and AI contexts.

Rights of Ecosystems, Indigenous Rights, Property Rights

Competing frameworks for environmental and land claims.

CRISPR

Gene-editing technology; raises ethics of genetic modification.

Ancestry/23andMe & “Golden State Killer”

DNA databases solving crimes but threatening privacy.

The “Germ Line”

Heritable genetic changes; key bioethics boundary.

Artificial Intelligence

Systems performing tasks like learning and decision-making; human rights concerns around labor, bias, privacy.

Algorithmic Bias

Biased outputs due to biased data or design.

NSO/Pegasus Authoritarian Surveillanc

Spyware used by governments to target journalists/dissidents.

The Panama Papers

Leak exposing offshore tax shelters and global elites’ financial secrecy.

Transparency International

NGO fighting corruption; publishes Corruption Perceptions Index.

Ecuadorian Constitution

First constitution to grant legal rights to nature (Pachamama).

Images and Human Rights

Power of visuals in storytelling, advocacy, and shaping public opinion.

Authenticity / Context / Audience

Ethical frameworks for representing suffering; avoid dehumanizing or sensationalizing.

Empathy

Tool for mobilizing support, but can be selective or manipulated.

International Criminal Tribunals

Temporary courts prosecuting war crimes (e.g., Rwanda, Yugoslavia).

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Permanent court for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity (state consent issues).

Truth Commissions

Non-judicial investigations into past abuses (e.g., South Africa).

Hybrid Courts

Mix of local and international judges (e.g., Sierra Leone).

Right to Jurisdiction / Right to Prosecute

Legal authority for a court or state to pursue cases.

Ancestry DNA cases

Individuals can request removal of online data (EU privacy law).

Right to be Forgotten

Who owns genetic data? Risks of surveillance and discrimination.