HR and globalisation

Number of Rohingya Muslims that fled 🇲🇲 2017-2019

400,000

Ethnic cleansing

Purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas

Majority religion in 🇲🇲

Buddhism

1978 Operation Dragon King

• 300,000 Rohingya Muslims forced to 🇧🇩

  • 170,000 then returned

1982

• Rohingya Muslims (1m total) denied citizenship and thus stateless

2014

• Rohingya Muslims excluded from census

2017

• 400 dead

• 400,000 pushed to 🇧🇩, with 🇲🇲 military putting landmines along the border to prevent return

2024

• ICC requested arrest warrant for 🇲🇲’s military leader

🇬🇲 (Gambia)

• Put forward a case for prevention of genocide in 🇲🇲 to the ICJ

3 reasons there should be external intervention in 🇲🇲 to enforce compliance w/ICJ ruling

1. Prevent further ethnic cleansing and genocide of Rohingya Muslims in 🇲🇲

2. 🇧🇩 is an ICC member and is involved so gives ICC jurisdiction

3. Clear HR abuse that’s affecting surrounding states

3 reasons humanitarian intervention is unlikely

1. 🇲🇲 leaders resist it and say they will deal with it as an internal matter, as well as not recognising it as a genocide

2. 🇲🇲 doesn’t recognise the ICC

3. 🇲🇲 is allied with 🇨🇳

R2P?

• If nothing was done it invalidates R2P

5 ways IL advances HR

1. State as a source of civil liberties

2. Rise in international HR-based law

3. New World Order

4. Instant news

5. 🇺🇳 war tribunals and ICC

State as a source of civil liberties

• Westphalian principles of non-interventionism mean states determine their own civil liberties

• Cultural heritage of stage impacts rights of citizens

Realist view of state as a source of civil liberties

• Rights are state-by-state basis

  • Justified by diversity of cultural traditions globally

  • Encourages stability - states have control

  • Removes legal justification (e.g. this is a HR breach) for external powers disrupting sovereignty

Liberal view of rise if international HR-based law

• Universality of HR due to common humanity

1948 UNUDHR — 2 actions

• Equal and unalienable rights of all

• Sets out core civil/political/social/religious rights for everyone

1948 UNUDHR — 2 impacts

• Used by HRW

• Not binding but has great moral persuasive power and provides a framework of accountability for judging states on

1950 ECHR

• Established ECtHR 

  • All 47 states of the council of Europe signatories

3 impacts of ECHR

• ECHR high standard of HR, impact on development of European domestic law

• ECtHR rulings binding but not enforceable, but European states have changed domestic laws to conform to rulings

• Sets a precedent/benchmark for countries to be held against

ECtHR and NI

• 1981 - ECtHR declaration that NI criminalisation of 🏳‍🌈 violated ECHR

  • 1982 - NI decriminalised ♂ 🏳‍🌈 sex

ECtHR and 🇬🇧

• 1999 - dismissal of 2 🏳‍🌈 ♂ from 🇬🇧 Navy breached right to private life. 🇬🇧 later recognised rights of 🏳‍🌈 to serve in the military

ECtHR and 🇧🇬

• 2005 - I.I. v. 🇧🇬 - suspect illegally held in prison, :( conditions, no proper examination of case

  • Legislation changed to limit circumstances that permit detention w/out charge

ECtHR and 🇵🇱 (2)

• 2007 - Baczkowski and Others v. 🇵🇱 - Mayor of Warsaw illegal for refusing to allow a march due to presence of 🏳‍🌈 groups

  • 🇵🇱 changed law to protect freedom to protest

• 2021 - ECtHR investigation of undermining of separation of powers and therefore the law  in 🇵🇱

ECtHR and 🇹🇷

• 2020 - ECtHR call for 🇹🇷 govt to release Kurdish opposition leader (imprisoned post-failed coup in 2016) due to political ulterior motive

Recent rising importance of ECHR

• ↑ authoritarian govts in 🇹🇷, 🇷🇺, 🇵🇱, 🇭🇺 → need for ECHR for opportunity to protect rights outside confines of states

NWO and HR

• Post-❄ War ideological divide showed need for universal HR

3 examples of NWO and HR

• Steps being taken to resolve conflicts in 🇵🇸, 🇮🇪, 🇿🇦

• 1993 - UNGA - unanimous vote to establish post of UNHCfHR

• Focus on HR by global figures - Nelson Mandela (🇿🇦 President), Bill Clinton (🇺🇸 President), Tony Blair (🇬🇧 PM), Kofi Annan (former UN Secretary General)

Importance of NWO

• Global cooperation needed to prevent another war

Instant news and HR

• Instant publication of HR abuses means they become global news immediately

3 examples of instant news and HR

• Global pressure groups - HRW, Amnesty International - ↑ profile of HR abuses

• 1994 - UN failure to intervene in 🇷🇼 genocide 

• 1991-5 - UN hesitancy to act in 🇧🇦 Civil War

Wider impact of instant news on HR

• ↑ sense that global community needs to do more to enforce an international standard of HR

UN war crimes tribunals, the ICC and HR

• 1993 - UNSC establishment of ICT to deal with war crimes during the Balkan conflict by Yugoslavia

• 2002 - ICC established (sign Rome Statute)

  • Creation of global consensus that an internationally recognised court would challenge Westphalian principles of state sovereignty, → increase influence of HR law

3 examples of UN war crimes tribunals, the ICC and HR

• War crimes tribunals investigated HR abuses in 🇰🇭, 🇷🇼, 🇸🇱

• 2002-2020 - ICC made 8 convictions and 4 acquittals

• 2021 - 123 nation-states part of ICC

3 ways IL has failed to advance HR

1. State sovereignty

2. ICC

3. ECtHR

State sovereignty and HR

• Often used as a rival claim to HR

• IGOs have v. little strong influence 

• International HR law only works if nation-states will let it

2 examples of state sovereignty colliding with HR

• UN UDHR only soft power

• ECtHR, ICC - require cooperation of states to be effective

• States assert own dominance and sovereignty by ignoring rulings

Wider impact of state sovereignty on HR

• Shows continued importance of state as final port of call for HR

• Nationalist leaders increasingly self-assertive (🇹🇷, 🇷🇺, 🇨🇳) so this will continue

Impact of states on ICC

• Nation-states that do not accept its jurisdiction massively undermine its authority 

6 examples of states undermining ICC

• ⅗ permanent members of UNSC don’t accept ICC’s jurisdiction - 🇺🇸, 🇷🇺, 🇨🇳

• 🇮🇳 not member despite increasing influence

• 2014 - ICC withdrew indictment of President Kenyatta of 🇰🇪 for inciting ethnic violence because 🇰🇪 govt didn’t cooperate

• 2016 - 🇷🇺 withdrew signature from Rome Statute after ICC claimed annexation of Crimea was illegal

• 2019 - 🇵🇭 withdrew from ICC after investigation into its govt under Duterte had committed HR abuses during campaign against drugs

• Most of the world lives outside of the ICC’s jurisdiction

2 limitations of ECtHR

• Limited influence due to ability to derogate from ECHR during national emergencies (Article 15)

• Cannot enforce judgements on states if do not obey

6 examples of limitations of ECtHR

• 1975 - 🇬🇧 withdrew under article 15 to prevent republicans arrested during Operation Demetrius in NI from appealing their arrest

• 2005 — 🇬🇧 ignored judgement re enfranchisment of prisoners

• 2026 — 🇬🇧 considering leaving and replacing with a British Bill of HR

• 2015 - 🇷🇺 asserted primacy of domestic law over ECHR

• 2020 - UK govt criticised for not complying with ECHR rulings over reopening cases about possibly illegal killings by security forces in NI

• ECtHR critical of 🇹🇷 suppression of civil liberties

  • 2020 demanded release of Kavala, held in custody w/out trial since 2017 for trying to overthrow the govt

  • 🇹🇷 did not comply