IB Global Politics Paper 2 - Rights & Justice Flashcards

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards for IB Global Politics Paper 2 - Rights & Justice based on the provided review guide.

Human Rights

Rights and freedoms considered inherent to all human beings regardless of nationality, identity, status, religion, race, sex, or other characteristics.

Justice

Fairness in the distribution of rights, opportunities, responsibilities, punishment, and resources.

Rule of Law

The idea that everyone, including governments, is subject to publicly known laws applied consistently and fairly.

Sovereignty

A state’s authority to govern its territory and population without external interference.

Legitimacy

The accepted right to rule or exercise authority.

Accountability

The ability to hold actors responsible for violations through courts, investigations, sanctions, political pressure, or public exposure.

Universalism

The argument that human rights apply to all people everywhere because they are based on common human dignity.

Cultural Relativism

The argument that rights should be understood within cultural, historical, religious, or social contexts rather than imposed through one global standard.

Positive Rights

Rights requiring active state action or resources, such as healthcare, education, housing, and social security.

Negative Rights

Rights requiring the state to refrain from interference, such as freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and protection from arbitrary detention.

Soft Power

Influence through attraction, persuasion, norms, reputation, and legitimacy rather than coercion.

Hard Power

Influence through coercion, including military force, sanctions, legal punishment, or economic pressure.

First Generation Rights

Civil and political rights focused on liberty, such as life, free speech, voting, and due process, often described as negative rights.

Second Generation Rights

Economic, social, and cultural rights focused on equality, such as education, healthcare, and housing, often described as positive rights.

Third Generation Rights

Collective or solidarity rights focused on community, such as self-determination, development, peace, and environmental protection.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

A non-binding declaration adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948 containing 30 articles covering civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

A 1966 treaty that legally codifies civil and political rights as part of the International Bill of Human Rights.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

A 1966 treaty that legally codifies economic, social, and cultural rights as part of the International Bill of Human Rights.

African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

A regional framework emphasizing peoples’ rights and duties alongside individual rights.

Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam

A regional framework that places rights within an Islamic legal framework.

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

A regional framework including language about national and regional context and duties.

International Human Rights Law (IHRL)

A legal framework that applies in peace and generally continues during armed conflict, focusing on rights individuals hold against states and other actors.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

A legal framework applying specifically during armed conflict that limits how war is fought and protects people not participating in hostilities.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

A body of 47 member states that promotes and protects human rights globally using mechanisms like the Universal Periodic Review.

UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies

Committees of independent experts that monitor the implementation of specific treaties.

UNHCR

The UN Refugee Agency that protects refugees, asylum seekers, displaced populations, and stateless people through humanitarian assistance and legal protection.

International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The main judicial organ of the UN that settles legal disputes between states and does not prosecute individuals.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

A court based on the Rome Statute that prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.

Refugee

A person outside their country who cannot safely return because of a well-founded fear of persecution or related protected grounds under refugee law.

Asylum Seeker

A person asking another country for protection whose claim has not yet been finally decided.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

A person forced from home who remains inside their own country.

Migrant

A broader term for a person moving from one place or country to another, not all of whom are refugees.

Stateless Person

Someone who is not considered a national by any state under its laws.

The Gambia v Myanmar

An ICJ case under the Genocide Convention where the court ordered provisional measures in 2020 requiring Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts and preserve evidence.

KlimaSeniorinnen v Switzerland (2024)

A European Court of Human Rights ruling holding that the European Convention requires effective state protection against serious adverse effects of climate change under Article 8.