POLS1005 Lecture Notes - Henry Dunant, Negative And Positive Rights, Patina
21 May 2018
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[Lecture 10]
HUMAN RIGHTS & REFUGEES
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
(CEDAW)
• Instituted in 1981
• Ratified by 189 states
- Australia ratified in 1983
- Myanmar acceded in 19977
• Non-members
- Iran
- Palau
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Tonga
- United States
• Last acceded state was South Sudan in 2015
TODAY’S TWO PUZZLES
1. The modern state system is predicate don the ideal of state sovereignty. However, the
evolving human rights regime has put constraints on the choices that sovereigns can make
- Can universal human rights and state sovereignty co-exist?
2. States often encourage the free flow of money and goods, but they take a markedly different
approach to the movement of people, including refugees.
- Why is forced migration seen as a potential threat to national and international
security?
EVOLUTION OF A HUMAN RIGHTS REGIME
Evolving norms of human rights
• The human rights regime developed across three levels of analysis:
1. Individuals like Henry Dunant and Ralph Lemkin
2. States signing (and abiding by) international treaties
3. Shifting systematic norms of welfare and political, economic, and social
responsibilities and IOs like the International Court of Justice and the UN High
Commission for Human Rights
• It is still a work in progress, and human rights are often observed in the breach
Defining human rights
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1:
- “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”
• You can think of them as grouped into positive and negative rights
- Negative rights require state inaction (e.g. don’t torture)
- Positive rights require state action (e.g. provide public education)
Types of human rights
• Many human rights have been articulated
• They can be grouped into a few general categories
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Physical integrity rights
- Social and cultural rights
- Economic rights
- Civic political rights
• As well as first and second generation rights
Physical Integrity Rights
• Political imprisonment
• Torture
• Disappearance
• Extrajudicial killing
Economic Rights
• Worker’s rights and citizens’ economic rights (e.g. a job, food) as well as a particular focus
on women’s economic rights
- Economic rights are a focus for some countries (often developing states) and not
others (often developed states)
• The most important IO focused on economic rights, the International Labour Organisation
(ILO), was created in 1910
• The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the first treaty to explicitly
include labor rights provisions
• 75% of states have preferential trade agreements with human rights provisisons (Aaronson
& Chauffor 2011)
Political, social, and cultural rights
• E.g. freedom of speech, religion, movement, assembly, and association
• Rights of political participation (e.g. right to vote, run for political office, hold elected and
government positions, and right to join political parties)
• Women’s social rights – e.g. equal inheritance, enter into marriage on a basis of equality,
travel abroad, and initiate a divorce
• Rights for these and economic rights spelled out in the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• Enforcement mechanisms, for economic, social, and cultural rights are less advanced than
for civil and political rights
The Growing International Human Rights Regime
• The evolution of the many human rights-focused organisations, treaties, conventions, and
protocols demonstrate:
- Shifting norms
- The growth of a human rights regime
• Of course, there have been many violations
• However, those who violate human rights now feel pressure to at least put a patina of
justification for their actions
• Human rights are increasingly tied to many seemingly unrelated issues like international
trade
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (cedaw) Instituted in 1981: ratified by 189 states. United states: last acceded state was south sudan in 2015. Today"s two puzzles: the modern state system is predicate don the ideal of state sovereignty. However, the evolving human rights regime has put constraints on the choices that sovereigns can make. Can universal human rights and state sovereignty co-exist: states often encourage the free flow of money and goods, but they take a markedly different approach to the movement of people, including refugees. It is still a work in progress, and human rights are often observed in the breach. Defining human rights: universal declaration of human rights, article 1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights : you can think of them as grouped into positive and negative rights. Negative rights require state inaction (e. g. don"t torture) Positive rights require state action (e. g. provide public education)
