M ODERNITY AND G LOBALIZATION Gurminder K. Bhambra

U NIVERSAL H UMAN R IGHTS Week 18

W HAT ARE H UMAN R IGHTS ? Natural rights: Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau Critiques of Natural Rights Bentham ‘Nonsense on stilts’ Marx: Rights are social, not natural Wollstonecraft: Women should also have rights Early Modern Declarations of Rights 1776: US Declaration of Independence 1789: French Revolution: Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen 1804: Haitian Constitution

M ODERN H UMAN R IGHTS UN Charter, Article 1 (3): ‘promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms’ International Bill of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) The International Covenants on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights, The Optional Protocols on the death penalty and individual complaints

U NIVERSAL D ECLARATION OF HR Endorsed in 1948 by the General Assembly of the United Nations 48 of the, then, 58 member states voting in favour 8 abstentions and 2 countries missed the vote Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Bloc, and South Africa abstained The UN’s primary human rights activities fall into three categories: standard setting promotion and protection humanitarian function

C OVENANTS Tension over the importance of socio-economic rights in relation to civil and political rights led to the adoption, in 1966, of separate covenants These came into force in 1976, making many of the provisions of the UDHR effectively binding for the first time submission of regular reports on the measures adopted and progress made in achieving the observance of the rights recognized 1992 Vienna Declaration: the rights listed in the covenants were deemed universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated

B ACKGROUND TO ICC : Nuremberg and Tokyo trials addressed war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity 1990s : International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda These led to a general agreement that an independent, permanent criminal court was needed The ICC is the product of a multilateral treaty, whereas these Tribunals were created by the UN Security Council In 1998 the UN approved a statute to establish an International Criminal Court In 2002 this was ratified and came into force 120 countries voted for, 7 against, and 21 abstained

I NTERNATIONAL C RIMINAL C OURT The ICC is located in The Hague, Netherlands It is an independent, permanent court It tries people accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes Proceedings can be initiated by a State Party, the Prosecutor or the UN Security Council ‘Complementarity’ allows national courts the first opportunity to investigate or prosecute Investigations cannot be retrospective (i.e. before 2002 or before a country joined) It is funded by states and by voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations etc

ICC: F IRST T RIAL 26 January 2009: Opening of the first trial at the International Criminal Court. Case The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo Lubanga is allegedly responsible, as co- perpetrator, of War crimes consisting of: Enlisting and conscripting of children under the age of 15 years into the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) and using them to participate actively in hostilities in the context of an armed conflict

G LOBAL C IVIL S OCIETY AND THE ICC Lawyers Human Rights groups Women’s groups Lobbying Dissemination of information Journal articles, expert documentation Conferences General media

K EY I SSUES AND A CTORS Sovereignty Governmental authority based on the ‘will of the people’; a people are sovereign over their territory; international law protects sovereignty Globalisation Territorial sovereignty has been superseded in many areas; processes of globalisation are faster than rise of international governance; need to protect individuals globally Social Movements Challenging existing structures and hierarchies, mobilising people in an informal way NGOs Dissemination of information, standard setting, mobilising people in a formal way

‘G ENERATIONS ’ OF R IGHTS First generation: civil and political rights Second generation: socio-economic rights Third generation: rights safeguarding the environment and global resources for future generations This expansion of the substance of rights has been met with an effective relocation of human rights advocacy to the realm of ‘global civil society’ pursued by a network of NGOs

Q UESTIONS Why are human rights important? What is the role of civil society in relation to human rights? Are human rights an unreserved good? How effective are human rights organisations?

R EVISION L ECTURES Next week’s lecture (3/3/09): initial revision session and exam advice Assessed Essay advice sessions: make an appointment on the sheet on my door (R3.14) Mon 9/3/09, 1-4pm Tues 10/3/09, 1-2pm After the Easter vacation Revision Lecture 1, week 3, Tues 5/5/09 Revision Lecture 2, week 4, Tues 12/5/09