The Evolution of International Human Rights

816 Words4 Pages
Chapter 1 1. Why did human rights become an international concern after World War II? -Mass Holocaust Genocide -State was Sovereign, thus killing Germans was not an international concern - A reasoning for punishment for Nazis was needed, crimes against humanity developed as a reasoning behind sentencing these mass murderers on an international stage -Commission of Human Rights Established in 1946 -Creation of Universal Declaration of Human Rights 2. What factors made the promotion and protection of human rights still difficult in the post-World War II era? -The Cold War put a halt to the establishment of a treaty to give binding international legal force to human rights norms -President Eisenhower pressured into not supporting human rights treaty that emerged from the United Nations -International enforcement becomes a problem 3. What “actor” is best suited to promote and protect human rights: individuals, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOS) like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, or Inter-governmental Organizations (IGOs) like the UN, the EU, the League of Arab States? Why? -Individuals tend to have the most freedom out of the three, however they have little power. There are little to no limitations on what individuals can say or do to influence the promotion and protection of human rights. The rights and interests of individuals are protected only by states acting for them. -NGOs can mainly be described as journalists who expose and publicize human rights violations. They are basically large groups that lobby for action on certain violations that are taking place, however their power really only lies on the persuasiveness and impact that they have on governments and other individuals. They do not have any authoritative power. -IGOs Individuals most likely are the most well suited “actor” to

More about The Evolution of International Human Rights

Open Document