Human Rights and Environmental Global Governance

key developments in international human rights law

December 1948- UDHR

December 1948- UN general assembly makes genocide a crime

1950- ECHR agreed

1959- ECtHR opened in Strasbourg

1966- International Bill of Human Rights

2002- ICC

ECHR

signed in 1950 by members of the Council of Europe

binding human rights law covering political, civil, economic, and social human rights

enforced by the ECtHR

international conventions

specific human rights laws to protect especially vulnerable groups

83 states signed the UN convention against torture in 1985

international law for those states that sign them

the ICJ

established in 1945

the courts can hear a case at the request of a state or the UN general assembly or security council

73 states have signed to permanently recognise the ICJ’s authority

not a criminal court, cannot prosecute individuals

Burkina Faso and Niger ICJ case

long running border dispute

disputed territory split between the countries

opinion delivered in 2013, immediately accepted by both countries

Cambodia and Thailand ICJ case

Cambodia told the ICJ that Thailand has occupied a piece of its territory

ICJ ruled in favour of Cambodia, Thailand accepted judgement

Gambia and Myanmar ICJ case

Gambia brought a case against Myanmar alleging that its systemic assault on the Rohingya muslims could be prosecuted under the Genocide Convention

2022 ICJ ruled that it had authority in the case

unlikely Myanmar’s military junta will cooperate with the court

Isreal ICJ case

UN general assembly asked the ICJ to provide an advisory opinion on the legality of Israel occupation of Palestine

Israel regarded the case as politically motivated and said it would ignore any advisory opinion reached

ECtHR

opened in 1959

enforces the ECHR

46 member states

Russia was expelled in 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine

example failed case of the ECtHR

in 2021 the court ruled that Russia should immediately free opposition leader Alexei Navalny from prison as there was a risk to his life in prison

Putin responded saying ‘we cannot allow any blows against Russia’s sovereignty’

example success of the ECtHR

1981- Jeffery Dudgeon appealed to the ECtHR when the Royal Ulster Constabulary searched his home for evidence that he was homosexual

court ruled that his right to private life had been breached

in 1982 same sex acts between men were decriminalised in NI

examples of international tribunals

the former Yugoslavia

Rwanda

Cambodia

international tribunal for Yugoslavia

convicted 90 war criminals

• included Radovan Karadzic (political leader of the Bosnian Serbs) and Mladic (Bosnian Serb commander responsible for the Serbian Massacre in 1995)

examples of International Tribunals establishing precedents

Jean Kambanda became the first head of gov to be convicted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

Charles Taylor became the first head of state since the Nuremberg Trials to be convicted of war crimes for his role in the Sierra Leone civil war

Rwanda trip established the precedent that the media could be prosecuted for encouraging genocide

criticisms of international tribunals

have not always achieve the reconciliation they were supposed to - Serbia has accused the Yugoslavia tribunal of being politically partisan against Serbs and Bosnian Serbs

victor’s justice

the ICC

established in 2002 by the Rome Statute

permanent criminal court to investigate and judge cases of the most serious human rights abuses - genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes

can only investigate crimes that have taken place in the 123 states party to the Rome Statute

relies on state cooperation

in 2023 had only made 10 convictions since 2002

ICC successes

the warlords Thomas Lubanga and Germain Katanga were convicted of war crimes during the Congolese civil war

in 2017 the ICC established the precedent that ‘cultural terrorism’ could be tried in international law when Ahmed al-Madhi was convicted of destroying religious buildings in Mali

Somalia humanitarian intervention

1992-93

Somalian civil war led to massive human rights violations and famine

28,000 US troops deployed in Somalia to restore stablility

US forces could not rebuild the nation due to its immense size, ethnic rivalries, and lack of gov

18 US soldiers killed in the battle of Mogadishu led to Clinton withdrawing forces in Oct 1993

Rwanda humanitarian intervention

1994

ethnic rivalry between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes became increasingly violent

UN peace keeping mission dispatched in 1993 to keep the peace - only 270 there when the genocide began

failure - UN failed to stop the killing of an estimated 800,000 people

UNAMIR peacekeepers were under equipped and restricted by a limited mandate

East Timor humanitarian intervention

1999

East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999 which prompted widespread violence

UN resolution 1264 authorised the dispatch of a peacekeeping mission

large deployment of Australian led UN peacekeepers and limited size of East Timor allowed a successful intervention

China human rights abuse example

USA has accused China of carrying out a policy of genocide against the Uyghur Muslims

China’s huge military and economic power makes US intervention impossible

China’s veto on the security council makes UN intervention not possible

Syria human rights abuse example

2022 - 306,000 civilians had been killed in Syria since the outbreak of civil war in 2011

military intervention by Russia in 2015 and failures in Iraq dramatically weakened the case for Western Intervention

western influence limiting humanitarian intervention example

Turkey’s gov has become increasingly repressive and authoritarian with the rights of women and minorities being restricted

Turkey’s vital strategic position and NATO membership have limited western criticism

why is humanitarian intervention controversial

-nation states tend to prioritise their national interests over human rights abuses in other states

-many human rights abuses occur in civil wars which makes intervention dangerous

-may not result in governments being overthrown, intervening forces may either stay to maintain order or risk a dangerous power vacuum

positives of humanitarian intervention in protecting human rights

-can be successful when they have international legitimacy, sufficient force is deployed and their is a strong mandate e.g. East Timor and Sierra Leone

-demonstrates the international communities refusal to tolerate human rights abuses

negatives of humanitarian intervention in protecting human rights

can be poorly planned and insufficiently resourced

can contribute to long term instability

can create a power vacuum

undermines the principle of state sovereignty

tragedy of the commons

the theory that individual actors place economic self interest above the collective good of the community, depleting the planet’s resources

global commons

the natural environment that all states share

e.g. atmosphere, oceans, polar regions, outer space

Shallow greens

protects the environment so that human beings can continue to benefit from it

anthropocentric approach to environmental sustainability

manage a consumerist/capitalist society so that it avoids the worst consequences of climate change

Sustainable Development Goals maintain this focus

Sustainable Development Goals

launched in 2015

17 sustainable targets for nation states to work towards by 2030

Deep Greens

natural environment should be protected for its own sake rather than the benefit of humans

philanthropic plant-centred approach to the environment

not widely shared among states or IGOs

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

established by the UN at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992

legally binding, by 2023 had been ratified by 198 parties

yearly COP summits to discuss climate change

strengths of the Rio (Brazil) Earth Summit 1992

attended by 117 world leaders

made climate change an issue of global significance

established the UNFCCC as a framework

commitment to reduce carbon emissions to protect the planet

weaknesses of the Rio (Brazil) Earth Summit 1992

failed to commit member states to specific action

strengths of the 2009 Copenhagen (Denmark) COP summit

states agreed that the global temp rise should be limited to 2 degrees during the century

states expected to make public how they would reduce their carbon emissions

$100 billion fund to help developing countries reduce their carbon emissions

China and India agreed for the first time to reduce their carbon emissions

weaknesses of the 2009 Copenhagen (Denmark) COP summit

did not include any legally binding targets on carbon emissions

no consensus reached on how greenhouse gas reduction could be fairly shared between the developed and the developing world

strengths of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 2022 COP Summit 2022

fund was established to help countries exposed to climate change deal with the returning ‘loss and damage’

weaknesses of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 2022 COP Summit 2022

COP members made insufficient progress on making their NDCs more ambitious

since 2021 only 34 out of 194 members submitted upwardly revised targets

the Paris Agreement 2016

breakthrough in international climate agreements - basis for current climate negotiations

allows states to set their own emissions targets and require these to increase in ambition every 5 years

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

international panel of scientists that gathers scientific evidence to analyse the pace and severity of climate change, its causes, and the required solutions

established in 1988

publishes regular reports on the speed of climate change

IPCC 2022 report

warned that much of the impact of climate change was already irreversible and that temp would pass 1.5 degrees by 2040

key obstacles in climate change negotiations

disagreement between the developed and developing states

tragedy of the commons

politicians prioritise short term objectives

nation states resent supranational targets being imposed on them

global civil society

plays an increasingly important role in pressuring states to take climate change more seriously

NGOs such as Greenpeace and Ocean Conservancy raise public awareness

n 2022 The Gates Foundation donated $1.4 billion to help small farmers in the developing world adapt to climate change

political organisation in climate change

EU is a COP member and since the Kyoto Protocol has been a global leader in setting ambitious greenhouse gas emissions targets for its members

target is to be carbon neutral by 2050

300 billion euro Global Gateway is designed to encourage sustainable development in the developing world