health and human rights

• examples of economic development negatively affecting minority groups is oil spills in Nigeria and land grabs in Kenya
• land grabs in Kenya was done by President Moi in the 1980s and 90s and still occurs today
• Afghanistan (2001-2021) and Libya (2011) are examples of failed interventions
• When US Troops were removed from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban regained power and women's rights declined, meaning the intervention was not successful as it did not end human rights violations
• The US invaded Afghanistan as the Taliban hid Al-Qaeda bombers responsible for 9/11. The US tried to rebuild an Afghan government and defeat the Taliban
• The UK and US invaded Iraq in 2003 as part of the 'war on terror' as they believed that Saddam Hussein had WMDs since he refused UN weapons checks
• The Iraq intervention was semi-successful as Saddam Hussein was killed and it stopped Iraq from obtaining nuclear weapons.
• negative social effects of the Iraq war: 300,000 Iraqis killed, 4,000 American soldiers killed and 9m Iraqis displaced
• the war on terror cost the US $8 trillion
• in 1994 800,000 Tutsis were killed in Rwanda in 100 days by the Hutus
• The West failed to intervene in Rwanda, perhaps because there was no economic gain or interests to protect in the country
• after the failure to intervene in the Rwandan genocide the UN created a 'responsibility to protect (R2P)' principle which says that if a country cannot prevent human rights violations, it is down to the international community to step in
• R2P was used by NATO to justify the Libyan intervention in 2011 as Gaddafi committed many human rights violations
• An example of failed development aid is Haiti
• an example of successful military intervention is Sierra Leone
• The British government's intervention in Sierra Leone from 2000-2002 ended the civil war (which killed over 50,000 people) and was successful as it only caused the death of 1 civilian and 5 british soldiers
• the most successful MDGs were improving education and reducing extreme poverty
• the Millenium development goals are criticised because there were massive variations in success between different countries, it is hard to tell if successes can just be attributed to the MDGs and even though some people move past $1.25 a day (extreme poverty) it doesn't mean they aren't still poor
• In 2020 Aboriginal life expectancy for men was 8.8 years less than non-Aboriginal males in Australia
• Aboriginal people are 3 times more likely to have diabetes and 6 times more likely to die from it compared to non-Aboriginal people
• 25% of child suicides were by Aboriginal children, even though they only make up 5% of child population in Austrailia
• The UN says quality of life for Aboriginal people is 2nd worst in the world
• aboriginal health gap is due to: discrimination in workplaces prevent them getting jobs, poor quality unsanitary housing, lack of gov investment, living in rural areas so no transport links
• the US put a trade embargo on Cuba in 1962 because of the Cuban missile crisis with Castro sponsoring the USSR
• It is estimated that the Cuba embargo has cost Cuba $130bn
• In 2023 most countries voted to lift the embargo in the UN
• haiti has received $13bn in aid from 2011-2021
• an example of good development aid was the Oxford Malaria vaccine
• criticisms of development aid are: large sums of money being inappropriate compared to donating skills training or goods, corruption, aid can create dependency
• the Happy Planet Index looks at experienced well-being, life expectancy and ecological footprint. Costa Rica is ranked no1
• President Morales was the first indigenous leader in Bolivia and used a socialist approach to maximise money made from Bolivia's natural resources to lift people out of poverty
• UNESCO focuses on ensuring universal healthcare
• Life expectancy in England is almost 78 while in Scotland it is 75
• whether economic development translates to social development depends on the government and how much they spend on services and what their attitudes to human rights are like
• democratically elected governments spend more on healthcare and education as they would be outvoted otherwise, while dictators are not accountable to their people
• UDHR set out 30 rights in 1948. All UN members have agreed to respect these rights but they are not legally binding as it is a declaration not a treaty. It is often used to justify intervention
• the Geneva convention protects civilians and prisoners of war during a conflict. It is ratified by all UN member states
• The UK is not bound by the ECHR as the ECtHR ruled Rwanda is not a safe country but they undid that ruling with the Safety Of Rwanda Act 2024
• China has questionable human rights including the death penalty (for a large number of offences), banned trade unions, internet restrictions, reeducation labour camps, poor labour practices in Africa, harsh lockdowns, reshaping religions and mistreatment of Uyghur muslims
• India's human rights violations include discrimination of Dalits due to caste system, forcibly returning Rohingya muslims to Myanmar where they are unsafe and high rape rates