Defining Rights
What is the difference between liberty and a right?
Liberty is the freedom to act without interference, whereas a right is a legal or moral entitlement to certain liberties, often protected by law.
What does it mean to 'codify' a right in international law?
Define/Enshrine, Protect/Put into Law, Monitor/Enforce
What is distributive justice? What are its two subtypes?
Distributive justice is fairness in allocation of resources. Subtypes: needs-based (equity) and merit-based (reward).
What is the role of the ICC? Name one limitation of its power.
The ICC prosecutes individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. It’s limited by state cooperation and jurisdiction only over signatories.
What is the main idea behind cultural relativism in human rights?
That rights should be interpreted according to cultural context, not imposed as universal norms.
It's a toss up... you know who you are!
What are positive rights? Give an example from the UDHR.
Positive rights require state action to provide goods or services. An example is Article 26: the right to education.
Name the two international HR covenants that help codify the rights found in the UDHR.
ICCPR (civil and political rights) and ICESCR (economic, social, and cultural rights).
What is retributive justice and how does it differ from restorative justice?
Retributive justice focuses on punishment for wrongdoing; restorative justice focuses on repairing harm and restoring relationships.
Identify 2 regional justice actors and their jurisdictions.
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)- Council of Europe
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (AfCHPR) - African Union
Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) - OAS
ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) - ASEAN Countries
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission
- OIC
How does state sovereignty create challenges for enforcing universal human rights?
Sovereignty allows states to reject or ignore international norms, hindering enforcement.
What are the three generations of human rights and what types of rights does each include?
1st generation: civil and political rights (e.g., free speech); 2nd: economic, social, and cultural rights (e.g., healthcare); 3rd: collective rights (e.g., environmental protection).
What is the difference between signing and ratifying a treaty?
Signing expresses intent to comply; ratifying makes it legally binding under national law.
Bonus: Which states have not signed ICCPR? ICESCR?
What does John Rawls argue about justice and inequality?
Inequalities are just only if they benefit the least advantaged
Which international document established the ICC and when did it begin operating?
Rome Statute
What was Türkiye’s reason for withdrawing from the Istanbul Convention, and how does this reflect a debate between competing perspectives?
Türkiye cited protection of traditional values; it reflects tension between universalist and cultural relativist perspectives.
What is Hartford's most frequently given feedback on assessements
DEFINE YOUR TERMS!
Is the right to a fair trial a negative or positive right? Justify your answer.
It is a negative right because it protects individuals from government abuse and interference in legal processes.
What rights are protected by CEDAW, and how is it enforced?
CEDAW protects against gender discrimination across civil, political, economic, and social rights. It's enforced through the treaty - state reporting and UN committee reviews.
How does ecological justice challenge anthropocentric models of justice?
It includes the rights of non-human entities and future generations, questioning human-centered decision-making.
How do national courts contribute to protecting human rights? Provide an example.
They interpret and enforce rights within constitutions or national laws. Example: U.S. Supreme Court rulings on equal protection.
What is the significance of DEVAW, and how does it clarify the limits of CEDAW?
DEVAW clarifies violence in both public and private spheres and emphasizes cultural resistance to enforcement (asserts culture can't block enforcement related to violence against women).
True or False: Hartford is a registered Democrat.
FALSE! I am currently unregistered as I was just removed from Oregon voting registry.
Why do some scholars argue that the classification into positive and negative rights is too simplistic?
Because many rights require both non-interference and state support, and the classification doesn’t capture collective or emerging rights like digital privacy or environmental protections.
Why is the UDHR considered limited in its ability to protect rights through international law? Provide two reasons.
It is not legally binding and lacks enforcement mechanisms. It also reflects mostly Western liberal values.
Compare egalitarian and cosmopolitan justice in terms of scale and who is included in each.
Egalitarian: national scale, focuses on equal treatment within states. Cosmopolitan: global scale, includes all humans as moral equals.
Compare the powers and juristiction of the ICJ and the ICC
ICJ - UN Organ. Oversees disputes between STATES. Enforces international law
ICC - Rome Statute member states - Prosecutes individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and, more recently, the crime of aggression
In what ways does the debate between individual vs. collective rights shape which rights are prioritized globally? Provide an example or theory that explains this.
Western states often prioritize individual rights, while postcolonial states may emphasize collective rights like development or self-determination.
What was my graduate thesis topic/theme?
Post-genocide reconciliation in Bosnia-Herzegovina through non-traditional, experiential education.