What are human rights?
Rights inherent to all human beings regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, or religion.
How do scholars differ in defining human rights?
Some see them as moral/natural rights that help define justice , while others see them as political, defining the relationship between the state and the individual.
What is Natural Law?
Natural law -theory-that certain rights or values are inherent by virtue of human nature
and can be universally understood
through human reason**.
It posits that these laws are immutable and unchangeable, serving as a basis for morality and justice throughout human history.
e.g. right to life, religious freedom, reproductive rights
What are natural rights according to John Locke?
Inalienable rights that exist independently of political auhtorities (not granted by them) and are universal- regardless of nationality,ethniticity
Natural rights- inalienable right -posess due to being human
What was Lauterpacht’s view?
Int. Law reflects value of natural law.
rights of man can only be secured in the long run- operation of both law of nature and law of nations.
rights of man based in law of nature
ultimate unit of law; protecton of individual
What is positive law?
Formally enacted or codified rules by legitimate authority (e.g., government, legislature, courts) that regulate behavior within a jurisdiction and are binding in that jurisd.
Law and morality have no relation
What historical milestones are linked to human rights?
Magna Carta (1215), English Bill of Rights (1689), Haitian Revolution (1791), Latin American constitutions in the 19th century, and british abolition of slavery (1807).
What did Jeremy Bentham argue about rights?
That rights only exist through government; without government, there would be no laws, rights, or property.
What does Lynn Hunt argue about torture abolition?
That it stemmed from changing understandings of pain and personhood, recognizinghuman person as a distinct individula whose bodily integrity must be protected
How do Raz and Beitz define human rights in relation to state sovereignty and international intervention?
Raz-Human rights are those rights “whose violation is a reason for action against States in the international arena.” This shifts the focus from abstract natural law to the actual practice of intervention.
Beitz- objective of human rights is to protect urgent individual interests — interests against certain predictable dangers and standard threats that we are vulnerable to in world of sovereign states.
Beitz model has 2 operating levels - set of norms that apply to states at first instance and an int. regime that establishes pro tanto reasons for intervention when a country fails to comply with its obligations or is inacpable of doing so. States- primary responsiblity- protect HR but when they are unwilling to do so , int. community can intervene to ensure their guarantee.
pro tanto- reasons for actions but don’t overwrite competing reasons
urgent ineterest = almost any contemporary society would recognize as vital, such as (our interest in personal security and liberty, adequate nutrition, and protection against arbitrary state power),
What was stated in the 1776 Virginia Declaration of Rights?
It established that all men are equally free and independent, with inherent rights to life, liberty, and acqiuring and possessing property.
What is the International Bill of Human Rights?
A collective term for the UDHR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
What are the four main features of human rights (Vienna Declaration, 1993)?
They are Universal, Equal, Interdependent & Indivisible, and Inalienable.
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What are the three generations of human rights?
First: Civil & political rights (e.g., freedom from arrbitrary arrest, of assemble, of consience and expression). Second: Economic & social rights (e.g., education, health). Third: right to self-determination, to development, to healthy environment
What is Mutua’s critique of universalism in human rights?
He argues that the so-called universality is rooted in Western liberal values and ideals (European)- perpetuating historical prejudices - cannot ignore history- must recognise diverse exepriences
ICCPR- not hte blueprint for democratic governance but just a basic framework. Mutua says basic structure of HR is closed-predetermines- ‘outsiders’ can only adjust this but not reshape them sundamnetally.
HR should be hsitorically conscious
CREATING CULTURAL HIERARCHY
How should meaningful universality in human rights be achieved?
HR must be more pluralistic and inclusive- Through respectful engagement with diverse cultures and traditions, avoiding domination by Western norms- respect other cultures rather than demonise
while honoring diversity one can build principles that all can agree on - int. law can provide safeguards to ensure ppl can count a min. standard of HR
What is Mutua’s critique of UN?
Its rooted in western ideals- ignores indigenous justice systems and local cultural practices - reinforcing cultural dominance
