ETV GG has been united that divided in dealing with human rights

Global governance definition

cooperation between international organisations, NSs and NGOs to manage global issues such as HRs. 

Main paragraph points

1. international agreements establish universal standard of HR vs more symbolic than practical and enforced

2. ensure collective response against major HR abuses vs geopolitical rivalry undermines protection of HRs

3. regional unity in protecting HRs vs division in GG due to differing views on HRs

International agreements and shared norms point for GG protecting HRs

International agreements establish a universal standard of human rights  

examples International agreements establish a universal standard of human rights 

• UN – which has 193 member states – adopted UDHR in 1948 – creating a global benchmark for HR – Eleanor Roosevelt said it established “the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family” - accepted by nearly all countries  

• States are expected to comply with the ICJ – tries to enforce the RoL and create a more stable and peaceful world – prevents war  

• e.g.  1992 settled complicated border disputes between El Salvador and Honduras  

• Uk and Chagos islands 2024 – Mauritius agreement – sovereignty transfer to Mauritius with a 99 year lease on Diego Garcia military base  

analysis for International agreements establish a universal standard of human rights 

• Demonstrates high level of global unity  

• Accepting a shared framework 

• Acknowledging protection  of HR is a collective international responsibility vs a purely domestic issue  

liberal analysis of International agreements establish a universal standard of human rights 

Liberals see ICJ as vital in establishing a rules-based approach to international affairs – preventing war 

point for GG being divided in dealing with HRs

International agreements are often symbolic rather than practical and enforced 

evidence suggesting that International agreements are often symbolic rather than practical and enforced 

States sign agreements and treaties but do not ratify them  

• 150 countries signed ICC but many did not ratify e.g. US, Israel and Iran  

ICJ: influence undermined as liberal principles conflict with realist state egoism  

• SO … NSs ignore rulings of the ICJ  

• 2020 ICJ ordered Myanmar government to stop genocide against Rohingya Muslims but the Myanmar leader responded saying “internal armed conflict” without the need for outside interference  

UDHR = soft law as “no state has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatsoever, in the internal or external affairs of another state” as stated in UNGA resolution 2131 

what was the ICC established to prosecute

• ICC: established to prosecute genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity 

Why is the ICJ’s influence undermined

influence undermined as liberal principles conflict with realist state egoism  

analysis for International agreements are often symbolic rather than practical and enforced 

• When major powers refuse to ratify treaties aiming to protect HR, this weakens the universality of international justice and demonstrates divisions within global governance  

• Refusal to comply with the ICJ demonstrates that enforcement ultimately depends on the willingness of states to cooperate  

• UDHR – reflect western liberal values, not representative of whole world  

 

realist analysis for International agreements are often symbolic rather than practical and enforced 

• dominance of state sovereignty in GP

• IGO’s lack authority to compel compliance

Kenneth Waltz’s belief on archaic international system

• defensive realist

• international system is anarchic

• no central authority above states

• states prioritise their own security and survival – not an international protection of HR

point for GG promoting collective action and cooperation

Global governance can be united when responding to major abuses.

R2P aiming to prevent genocide, war, crimes ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity 

point for GG not promoting collective action and cooperation

Geopolitical rivalry often divides global governance protecting HRs 

examples of Geopolitical rivalry dividing global governance protecting HRs 

Powerful states may block action through veto powers in the UNSC  

• Divisions between the US, Russia and increasingly China prevent coordinated responses to HR crises 

• Syrian Civil War: Russia and China repeatedly vetoed  UNSC resolutions condemning Assad’s regime and imposing sanctions – preventing coordinated international action to stop HR abuses - so western countries like the US and UK were unable to enforce meaningful intervention due to these vetoes  

- Israel-Palestine – USA often used veto power to block UN resolution critical of Israel – showing it is not just non-western countries that prevent human rights protection. 

Analysis of Geopolitical rivalry dividing global governance protecting HRs 

• demonstrates even when there is international concern, institutional mechanisms in GG can be paralysed by great-power disagreement  

•  All major powers prioritise their own and their allies strategic and national interests over universal human rights principles – weakening the collective capacity of GG institutions to respond to HR crises 

realist analysis for Geopolitical rivalry dividing global governance protecting HRs 

• National interests  

• Cooperation on HR only occur when it aligns with the strategic interests of powerful states 

example of GG being united when responding to major HR abuses

The UN has authorised peacekeeping missions and investigations into HR violations  

• East Timor 1999: Australian led UN force was able to establish the necessary conditions for maintaining security and free elections   

• NGOs such as Amnesty international and HRW also cooperate internationally to expose abuses and pressure governments  

 

analysis for GG being united when responding to major HR abuses

• R2P: norm demonstrates a shared international understanding that states have obligations to their citizens and the international community has a duty to intervene when states fail to protect populations 

• East Timor – GG can stabilise, enforce security and promoting democracy   

• NGOs – illustrate transnational cooperation   

Liberal analysis for GG being united when responding to major HR abuses

• Pooling of sovereignty – multilateralism and collaboration between states and international organisations can achieve outcomes that no single state could accomplish alone.  

• JD Bowen – uses analogy of IR being like an enormous college campus where more can be achieved by working together than by acting alone  

point for GG being united in regional responses to HR abuses

Some regions demonstrate strong unity in protecting HRs 

examples of Some regions demonstrate strong unity in protecting HRs 

The council of Europe established the European Court of HR which allows individuals to challenge governments  

• Protecting the individual from persecution  

• Carries great moral authority  

analysis of Some regions demonstrating strong unity in protecting HRs 

• enforce human rights standards  

• Can create strong and enforceable mechanisms for protecting individual rights  

• By allowing individuals to bring cases directly against their Govs, the court strengthens accountability and ensures states are held to common legal standards  

• Again reinforcing states are willing to pool sovereignty and accept external oversight in order to uphold HRs 

• GG can be united especially when states share similar political values and legal traditions  

Liberal analysis of Some regions demonstrating strong unity in protecting HRs 

• success of ECtHR demonstrates the importance of international institutions, cooperation and shared norms protecting HR 

• Robert Keohane After Hegemony (2005) - leading proponent of complex interdependence – states fortunes are inextricably linked – arguing it is more rational and increasingly in states’ NI to cooperate.

point for GG being divided due to difference in global approaches to HRs

GG remains divided due to different views on HRs  

examples of GG being divided due to different views on HRs  

- some governments argue that Western human rights standards conflict with national sovereignty or cultural traditions 

-  Western NSs generally influenced by the principles of the Enlightenment – emphasising the importance of individualism and tolerance  

- 1993 Bangkok Declaration of Asian Governments – reject West’s focus on rights of the individual and focus on communal rights. So many states like China, use this reasoning to justify the death penalty.  

what did the 1993 Bangkok declaration of Asian governments do

rejected the West’s focus on rights of the individual and focus on communal rights.

analysis of GG being divided due to different views on HRs  

• HR = too Euro-centric as does not consider competing claims of very different cultural traditions  

• Universal standard of HR = another example of western cultural imperialism 

• Criticise the west for seeking a moral empire through the transmission of its values via the ICC and the UDHR   

Edward W. Said quote criticising a universal standard of HR

• “what is right for one society may not be right for other societies”  

 

realist analysis of GG being divided due to different views on HRs  

• Argue accusations of Western cultural imperialism reflect power politics underlying global governance.  

• IGOs may promote universal norms but can’t compel states to abandon policies which serve their NI.  

• International systems characterised by competing values and sovereign authority meaning it will remain divided in enforcing HR