Human rights & IRs

JOU103(Revised on April 17, 2008)

Topic 6: Human Rights and International Relations

State sovereigntyPeace of Westphalia 威斯特法倫和約 (1648)

1. Territoriality2. The exclusion of external actors from domestic

authority structures/right of states to noninterference in their internal affairs

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2 Views on the role of HR in IR [1]1. Communitarian/statist perspective:

A tendency to accord significant moral status to political communities (i.e., government)

Respect for state sovereignty: states’ independence and territorial integrity

Communitarian ethics derive from the belief that justice, welfare, rights and responsibilities emerge from the historical, cultural, and religious experiences that the members of a political community share

Such shared experiences is the moral basis upon which states refrain from interference in the domestic affairs of other states

Interference is justified when a political community faces a serious threat–one emanating from its own government, or one that its government is unable or unwilling to counter

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2 Views on the role of HR in IR [2]2. Cosmopolitan/universal perspective

States do not acquire moral standard States’ rights to autonomy and non-interference

derive from their willingness and capacity to respect and defend the security and welfare of their citizens

Individuals are members of the community of humankind having an inherent moral standing, not states

Morality of states is contingent on their relationships with their citizens

Less inclined to respect sovereignty as a bar to interference in the domestic affairs of states when the conditions of their citizens seem to warrant it

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Human rights > Sovereignty? [i]Rights to possessed by individuals because they

are human, not because they are citizens of one or another state – represents an expansion of the domain of international law and a real erosion of state sovereignty

Universal human rights:included in international declarations and treaties, deny

states the prerogative [ 特權 ] to withhold [ 扣押 ] those rights from their own citizens

Individuals are considered to be legal entitles separate from their state of national origin

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Human rights > Sovereignty? [ii]Become the basis for intrusion by IGOs and NGOs into

the domestic affairs of states – striking at the relation of the state to its citizensE.g., Amnesty International 國際特赦組織 or Human

Right Watch 人權觀察 monitor and criticize human right violations for deterring or restraining violators

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International conventions1. 1948: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

(UN) 聯合國人權宣言2. 1966: Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 公民及政治權利公約3. 1976: Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural

Rights 經濟、社會及文化權利公約

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Right [i,1 &2]1. Life2. Liberty and security of person3. Protection against slavery4. Protection against torture and inhumane punishment5. Recognition as a person before the law6. Equal protection under the law7. Access to legal remedies for rights violations8. Protection against arbitrary arrest or detention9. Hearing before an independent and impartial

judiciary10. Presumption of innocence

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Right [ii,1 & 2]11. Protection against ex post facto laws12. Protection of privacy, family, and home13. Freedom of movement and residence14. Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion15. Freedom of opinion, expression, and the press16. Freedom of assembly and association17. Political participation

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Right [iii, 1 only]1. Own property2. Seek asylum from persecution3. nationality

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Right [iv, 2 only]1. Protection against debtor’s imprisonment2. Protection against arbitrary expulsion as an alien3. Protection against advocacy of racial or religious

hatred


Right [v, 1,2&3]1. Free trade unions2. Marry and found a family3. Special protections for children

[2&3]1. Self-determination


Right [vi, 1&3]1. Social security2. Work, under favorable conditions3. Rest and leisure4. Food, clothing and housing5. Health care and social services6. Education7. Participation in cultural life


Negative & positive rightsNegative rights: freedoms from the arbitrary exercise

of government power, unequal application of the law, and limits on political participation

Positive rights: entitlements to certain economic amenities and social welfare


LimitsIgnores the women’s rights:

Despite the popularity of international campaigns against rape, prostitution and sexual harassment, organizations and non-Western cultural traditions, norms or rituals seem to accept or encourage the mistreatment of womenE.g., female genital cutting, widow

burning (sati), female infanticide (kill girl babies), forced veiling (wear over female heads)


Humanitarian intervention [i]Key question: How to enforce the above conventions?Armed humanitarian intervention: use of military

force to interfere in the domestic affairs of an independent state without the consent of that state’s government, aiming to relieve human suffering and stop ethnic cleansing ( 種族清洗 )2 views on the act of intervention:

1. Realists: use of military force aims to maintain regional stability and defend the national interests

2. Liberals: as the remaining means to rescue the people from being abused physically and even massacred


Humanitarian intervention [ii]E.g.,

1979: Vietnam invaded Cambodia (Kampuchea) that overthrew Pol Pot and terminated the mass killing resulting from a forced collectivization campaignhttp://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ6dB0lw8Fg

1990-91: After the Gulf War, the UN Security Council set up safe havens in northern Iraq for Kurds who had fled Iraqi repression

To stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, the NATO members bombed Yugoslavia (Serbs were misled by Milošević to kill Albanians and raped the women)http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=9a0zrB_8YY8



Pol Pot


Humanitarian intervention [iii]Reflections:1. HI was used to save human or an excuse to

intervene the sovereignty of a state?2. Do you think HI has been used thoroughly, or

selectively, to save humans from being abused or killed?

3. Do you think which of these is most important in stopping the tragedy: sovereignty or human?


ReferencesGenocide Watch: http://www.genocidewatch.org/Amnesty International: http://www.amnesty.orgAmnesty Int’l HK: http://www.amnesty.org.hk/html/Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org


Government & Nonprofit

Human rights & IRs