Rights & Justice Global Politics Vocab

Equality

As a political value, the idea that all people are of equal worth. (Voting age of 18 for all US Citizens)

Equity

Ensuring fair access to resources, opportunities, and Justice for all people. (Extra tutoring programs for underfunded schools)

Negative Liberty

freedom from coercion,meaning people shouldn't be forced to do something they don't want to do. (Freedom of speech protections in democratic countries)

Positive Liberty

People being able to do what they want to do. (Government funded public education systems)

Justice

How people as individuals or as part of a society should or should not be treated, often associated with individiuals or groups being treated fairly or getting what they deserve. (Criminal trials for war crimes in international courts)

Rights

Fundamental entitlements inherent to all humans, demanding state protection and promoting equality. (Right to vote in national elections)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A document that defines what many have come to think of as the most essential entitlements and obligations. The UDHR informs how human rights are defined. (Used to criticize China's treatment of Uyghurs)

Civil Rights

The rights of citizen to political and social freedoms and equality. (Black lives matter movement)

Civil Liberties

Fundamental rights protected by law acting as essential checks against government power. (Freedom of religion protected in the U.S. constitution

Legal rights

Rights of individuals or groups that are established and guaranteed by law. (Right to a lawyer when arrested).

Social Rights

Rights of social and welfare provision held by all citizens in a national community, including, for example, the right to a nationality. (Universal healthcare in Canada)

Economic Rights

Rights needed to earn a living and to acquire and transfer property or to produce goods and services. Like the right to own property. (Minimum wage laws)

Political rights

the rights guaranteeing a citizen's ability to participate in politics, including the right to vote and the right to hold an elected office. (Right to run for public office)

Cultural and solidarity rights

Right to participate in your community's cultural life. (Protection of Native American languages)

Non-binding International law

Agreements that contain political or moral commitments but are not legally enforceable. Therefore, if a state breaks the rules of these kinds of agreements it will not face legal consequences. (UN General Assembly resolutions)

Natural rights

the idea that all humans are born with rights, which include the right to life, liberty, and property. (John Locke's idea of life, liberty, and property)

Positive rights

Rights that require the authorities, such as governments to take action. Positive rights place responsibility on those in power. (Government-provided unemployment benefits)

Negative rights

Those with power are required to respect individuals' rights simply by doing nothing at all. Negative rights prohibit certain actions by those within power. (Freedom from unlawful arrest)

First generation rights

civil and political rights. Include freedom from slavery, right to be treated equally, right to privacy, etc. (freedom of speech)

Second generation rights

economic, social and cultural rights. Include right to fair and safe working conditions, right to decent housing, right to social security, etc. (right to education)

Third generation rights

These are collective rights for all communities, societies, and nations. Generation 3 rights are a response to globalization and interdependence. Include the right for all people to live in a clean environment, right to economic development, right to benefit from world trade, etc. (right to a clean environment)

Collective rights

The rights of groups of people or communities.(indigenous land ownership rights)

Universality of Rights

each actor is treated with same level of consideration; assumes equality of rights. (Global opposition to child labor)

cultural relativism

Believe all cultures have unique characteristics, and so concepts of right and wrong should be determined by moral codes of the community on a moral scale. (Defending traditional marriage laws based on culture)

Social justice

Comparisons of different people living within a region, state, or globally. The goal is to minimize inequalities. (Advocacy for equal pay for women)

Political justice

Power members of society have in making decisions or change. The goal is that there is equal treatment of all groups before the law. (Fair and free elections monitored internationally)

Egalitarian justice

Focuses on social justice and treating people with equal respect & dignity. (Progressive taxation(higher taxes for the wealthy))

cosmopolitan Justice

Extension of egalitarian justice on a global scale, via the obligation to act by global & regional IGOs. (International climate agreements like the Paris accord)

Ecological Justice

Concern over the state of the environment & its impact on the health & well-being of all humankind. (Laws protecting communities affected by pollution)

Zulu Ubuntu

Idea that community is the essential building block for society. (South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Purpose is to settle disputes between states in accordance with international law and to provide legal opinions to the UN and its agencies as requested. (South Africa V. Israel case (2024-present))

International Criminal Court (ICC)

First permanent international criminal court to target individuals guilty of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. (Charges against Vladimir Putin)

UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

Council with purpose of working towards ensuring people know about their rights and that they can use them. (Investigations into Myanmar's military)

UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)

A global organization designed to protect refugees, people forcibly displaced within their own states, and those denied a nationality therefore stateless. (Aid to Syrian refugees)

Regional human rights tribunals

IGO's founded that attempt to address the protection and enforcement of human rights within specific geographical regions. (European Court of Human Rights rulings)

Human rights civil society organizations

Groups or organizations voluntarily formed by people with a common goal. (Amnesty International)

Marginalized populations

Occurs when people are percieved as 'different' by the wider society because of their social identities. Race, gender, sexuality, nationality, social class well as economic status are ised to deny people basic rights and justice. (LGTBQ+ communities in restrictive countries)

Vulnerable populations

Marginalized people who are denied basic rights and access due to race, gender, sexuality, nationality, social class and economic status. (Children in war zones like Gaza or Ukraine)

Codification of rights

Provides a formal, legal framework for the protection and enforcement of rights and justice. (Making rights legal) (Human rights written into national constitutions)

International Humanitarian Law

Set of regulations to limit the harm of armed conflicts.Attempts to make rules that states follow so that damage can be minimized. (Geneva Conventions governing war conduct)

Human rights treaties

Legally binding international agreements where states commit to upholding specific human rights standards, creating a framework that holds governments accountable. (Convention on the rights of the child)

Human Rights Monitoring

The systematic observation, fact-finding, documentation and assessment of a state's compliance with its human rights obligations. (UN reports on North Korea)

Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

Idea that sometimes it might be necessary to intervene in a state in cases of extreme human rights catastrophe. (International response discussions on Sudan)

Humanitarian Intervention

Refers to the use of military force. (NATO intervention in Kosovo)

Sanctions

Used by states or IGOS to try to force a state, group, or individual to change their behavior. (Economic sanctions on Russia)

Indigenous Rights

Rights of native groups of people who have a long history on the land they live. (Land pipeline protests by the Standing Rock Sioux)

Sharia Law

Means correct path comes from the Quran, its meaning is interpreted differently by religious leaders and political systems. (Family law courts in parts of Saudi Arabia)