Deck 13: Human Rights

Question 1

Which of the following would most clearly be an example of Amnesty International's core mission?

A)Launching a campaign to free a Cuban citizen imprisoned for criticizing the government.
B)Calling for the release of a Japanese citizen accused of murdering his neighbor.
C)Lobbying for a new law in Pakistan guaranteeing four months maternity leave.
D)Attempting to free a woman convicted of committing a terrorist act in France.
E)Revealing the use of child workers in Bangladesh.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following cases is most likely to lead to states imposing sanctions on violators of human rights laws?

A)Women are not allowed to drive.
B)Members of a minority ethnic group are paid less than members of the majority ethnic groups.
C)A government allows factories to hire young children.
D)A government prohibits unions from striking.
E)A government arrests and tortures leaders of the opposition party.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Why do states have an interest in guaranteeing human rights in other countries?

A)States have interests in protecting their own sovereignty,and by framing the human rights agenda they can protect themselves.
B)States are naturally curious about what happens in other states.
C)States have an interest in supporting rights that they already respect domestically,thereby making sure other states pay the same costs they already do.
D)States want to prevent the creation of new human rights norms,so they reinforce the ones that already exist.
E)States are directly and materially affected by human rights abuses occurring in other states.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which generation of human rights is most often associated with socialism,given its focus on rights of employment and labor?

A)First.
B)Second.
C)Third.
D)Fourth.
E)Fifth.

Question 5

The majority of rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)are based on ________ philosophical thought.

A)Western
B)Eastern
C)southern
D)capitalist
E)communist

Question 6

What was the basis for many of the rights in the UDHR?

A)The Bible.
B)The United Nations Charter.
C)President Franklin D.Roosevelt's New Deal.
D)The constitution of the Soviet Union.
E)The International Court of Justice.

Question 7

The United States declared the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)to be "not self-executing." This means the provisions:

A)would expire within a specified amount of time.
B)were so hopelessly naïve that no country could be expected to comply with them.
C)required enforcement by the World Court.
D)required constant monitoring by transnational advocacy networks (TAN).
E)did not take effect unless the government passed laws stating as such.

Question 8

Which of the following illustrates the limitations of human rights norms?

A)The treatment of terror suspects by the United States after the 9/11 attacks.
B)The inclusion of human rights provisions in regional trade agreements.
C)The number of states that are parties to the ICCPR.
D)The international condemnation of abuses committed in Chile by the Pinochet dictatorship.
E)The Argentine military denying they were committing human rights abuses during the Dirty War.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of a nonderogable right?

A)Freedom from torture.
B)Free primary education.
C)The right to form trade unions.
D)The right to vote.
E)Freedom to own property.

Question 10

In addition to the UDHR,the first international treaty to protect human rights covered:

A)freedom of movement.
B)freedom of speech.
C)asylum from persecution.
D)freedom from genocide.
E)access to health care.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of a second-generation human right?

A)Prohibition of slavery.
B)Guarantee of equal pay for equal work.
C)Freedom of expression.
D)Equal standing before the law.
E)Freedom of movement.

Question 12

What was apartheid?

A)The separation of religious groups in South Africa that occurred as a result of colonialism.
B)The voluntary separation of races in South Africa.
C)The term used by South African citizens when referring to their forced exile from the country.
D)The policy of the South African government to segregate races and perpetuate inequality.
E)A boycott of South African products.

Question 13

What is the International Bill of Rights?

A)The UDHR,the ICCPR,and the ICESCR.
B)The UDHR.
C)The ICCPR and the ICESCR.
D)The ICCPR.
E)The United Nations Charter.

Question 14

What are human rights?

A)Rights that all individuals have,regardless of the country in which they live.
B)Rights that are listed in the United Nations Charter.
C)Civil liberties enforced by the International Court of Justice (World Court).
D)Civil liberties observed in western Europe and the United States.
E)Constitutional rights guaranteed for people living in countries that are members of the United Nations.

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of a prisoner of conscience?

A)An individual who lives in a state despite disagreeing with the government.
B)An international organization that cannot get legal status within a particular country.
C)An individual imprisoned for his or her nonviolent political beliefs.
D)An individual imprisoned for taking up arms against the government.
E)A domestic,political organization that has had its financial accounts frozen by a state.

Question 16

Why has the UDHR been criticized?

A)Conservatives in the United States want to push for more rights for people throughout the world.
B)Few countries have been convinced to sign the agreement.
C)The agreement has had no effect on human rights law.
D)Countries in western Europe complain that the declaration's provisions are enforced too strictly.
E)It is seen as biased toward a Western conception of rights.

Question 17

What are nonderogable rights?

A)Rights that are respected without the need for international treaties.
B)Rights that cannot be suspended for any reason.
C)Rights that will only take effect during times of war.
D)Rights that are not derived from Western legal and moral principles.
E)Proposed rights that have been rejected by most international organizations and groups.

Question 18

How did other countries react to apartheid?

A)They did nothing because they expected it to end eventually.
B)They offered to give South Africa foreign aid to change the policy.
C)They took progressively firmer stances against it.
D)They increased trade with South Africa.
E)They supported an invasion of South Africa.

Question 19

Why is the effort to promote human rights uneven?

A)The International Criminal Court (ICC)is biased about which human rights cases it chooses to enforce.
B)States consistently violate the principle of sovereignty.
C)Human rights violations in one country significantly affect the populations in other countries.
D)There is disagreement about what constitutes a human right.
E)There are fads about which human rights are most important to enforce.

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of a first-generation human right?

A)Free primary education.
B)Freedom of religion.
C)Freedom from hunger.
D)Sufficient minimum wages.
E)Equal opportunity for advancement.

Question 21

Which of the following is most likely to violate the human rights of its citizens?

A)A dictatorship led by a single dictator.
B)A single-party dictatorship.
C)A multiparty dictatorship.
D)A multiparty democracy.
E)A two-party democracy.

Question 22

States violate international human rights law for all of the following reasons EXCEPT governments:

A)do not always have the capacity to comply with human rights commitments.
B)do not understand the implications of their human rights agreements.
C)may overreact when responding to national security threats from other countries.
D)may overreact when responding to national security threats from domestic groups.
E)may attack domestic opponents in order to retain power.

Question 23

Which of the following would be an example of using a human rights agreement to "lock-in" new institutions?

A)The government of Saudi Arabia negotiating to remove from an agreement provisions that would have required the country to allow women to drive cars.
B)The government of France promoting a new medical rights agreement in order to guarantee Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)a larger role to play in international politics.
C)The International Criminal Court (ICC)coming into existence when sixty countries ratified the treaty that detailed its provisions.
D)The new democratic government of Brazil ratifying the UDHR with the hope that the next government will also comply with its provisions.
E)Many countries boycotting South Africa to pressure its government to end apartheid.

Question 24

Why have democracies been LESS likely to sign international human rights agreements?

A)Democracies are more likely to violate human rights.
B)There have been fewer democracies than dictatorships in the world.
C)Human rights agreements have been promoted by dictatorships to deflect criticism about the treatment of their citizens.
D)Democracies are more likely than dictatorships to resent interference in their domestic affairs.
E)Democracies have not thought it necessary to sign agreements,because they already protect their citizens' rights.

Question 25

According to Franklin Roosevelt and some modern international-relations scholars,why would promoting human rights be in the interest of the United States?

A)It will slow down development and competition from other states.
B)It will allow the United States the right to monitor other countries and gather information.
C)It will give the United States the right to invade other countries for not respecting human rights.
D)It will undermine totalitarian states,encourage political representation,and perhaps bring peace.
E)All states respecting human rights will help the U.S.economy.

Question 26

Which set of domestic conditions would make the imposition of sanctions by a state favorable?

A)The sanctions are likely to be as expensive as they are effective.
B)The opposing party is opposed to the use of economic sanctions.
C)War is an alternative to economic sanctions.
D)There is an upcoming election,and a leader needs to boost his or her standing on international economic policy.
E)A domestic interest group strongly supports the imposition of sanctions on a particular state.

Question 27

Why is it costly for states to enforce human rights laws?

A)States are only compensated for military intervention if they are able to win the conflict.
B)Economic sanctions on states that violate human rights also reduce the incomes of exporters in the sanctioning state.
C)States that violate human rights abuses often want to be compensated as a reward for stopping their abuses.
D)International organizations that enforce human rights require high dues payments from member states.
E)States have to reduce human rights abuses in their own territories before they enforce human rights laws in other countries.

Question 28

The United States violated civil and political rights of its citizens in all of the following cases EXCEPT:

A)from 1917-1920,when 4,000-10,000 individuals were arrested without due process.
B)during World War II,when 110,000 Japanese Americans were interned in camps.
C)during the 1980s,when refugees from Nicaragua were allowed to enter the United States.
D)from 1947-1957,when suspected American communists were blacklisted,jailed,and deported.
E)after September 11,2001,when alleged terrorists were detained as "enemy combatants."

Question 29

States care about human rights in countries other than their own for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A)individuals in these states empathize with humans who are suffering in other countries.
B)states can build more support for their own domestic rights if human rights principles are accepted internationally.
C)states with better human rights records tend to have higher barriers to trade.
D)people have been socialized to believe in and accept universal human rights.
E)the suppression of human rights in other countries could cause civil conflicts that could indirectly affect them.

Question 30

Why would domestic labor groups promote international human rights standards?

A)Human rights standards are clearly the ethical norm for groups to support.
B)Adopting such rights would level the economic and political playing fields for workers.
C)Firms are reluctant to invest in other countries that have poor human rights practices.
D)Laborers want to make sure that their rights will be respected if they have to ever move to another country.
E)Firms force labor unions to promote human rights,even if it is against the interests of the workers.

Question 31

When are states most likely to take action on human rights?

A)When states have no self-interest in the country where abuses are taking place.
B)When states can reconcile the principle of sovereignty with intervention in the name of human rights.
C)When there is little public information on the abuses,so that states can encourage abusers to "save face" and stop violating their citizens' rights before the information becomes public.
D)When there is no international court with jurisdiction to enforce human rights in the country where the abuses are taking place.
E)When dictators,who do not need to pay attention to domestic opponents,decide to stop human rights abuses in neighboring countries.

Question 32

Why are states inconsistent in their enforcement of human rights law?

A)There is significant support for human rights norms but few incentives to punish those who violate human rights.
B)There is significant support for human rights norms but no way to punish those who violate human rights.
C)There is significant support for human rights norms,but current international human rights law is unrealistic about what rights should be enforced.
D)Only weak states truly support human rights norms,and they are too weak to enforce human rights law in stronger states.
E)States sign human rights treaties,but there is little real acceptance of international human rights norms.

Question 33

What has been the trend in human rights practices in recent decades?

A)Human rights abuses have mostly ceased occurring.
B)Human rights abuses have decreased.
C)Human rights abuses have not changed much.
D)Human rights abuses have increased.
E)Human rights abuses have become commonplace.

Question 34

During times of war states can suspend numerous human rights,but they CANNOT suspend ________ rights.

A)third-generation
B)universal
C)first-generation
D)nonderogable
E)POC

Question 35

Which of the following is the best example of how a transnational advocacy network (TAN)can enforce human rights standards?

A)International nongovernmental organizations arranged a boycott of Nestlé products to improve the health and welfare of infants in developing countries.
B)Multinational corporations arranged a coup in Guatemala to help protect their commercial interests from being infringed.
C)The United States,Great Britain,and other countries invaded Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein's abusive government.
D)International nongovernmental organizations caused the U.S.government to cut aid to Argentina by reporting on human rights abuses.
E)The Organization of American States suspended Cuba's membership after the communist revolution of 1959.

Question 36

Why might signing human rights treaties be associated with worse human rights practice?

A)Human rights law does not cause states to stop abusing their citizens.
B)States cannot enforce human rights law,because of the self-help nature of international politics.
C)States sign human rights treaties to mask the fact that they actually commit human rights abuses.
D)The conflict over human rights treaties makes states commit more human rights abuses.
E)Human rights law actually violates the human right of sovereignty.

Question 37

Countries sign human rights agreements for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A)a government can try to ensure that its successor will continue to respect human rights.
B)some countries commit to scrutiny of their own rights record so that they can better examine the human rights practices of other countries.
C)governments think that supporting human rights is the right thing to do.
D)transnational advocacy networks can force countries to sign human rights agreements.
E)states may be required to sign human rights agreements in order to receive foreign aid.

Question 38

In which of these regions have human rights abuses declined the most in the past 25 years?

A)South America.
B)North America.
C)Asia.
D)Western Europe.
E)Africa.

Question 39

Since the adoption of the UDHR and the twin covenants:

A)states have pulled back from issuing such strong human rights protections.
B)states have refused to enforce the provisions of the documents.
C)additional rights have been guaranteed through supplemental agreements.
D)many rights have been redefined as being nonderogable.
E)Western states have lost interest in protecting human rights.

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of states using linkage to get other states to sign international human rights treaties?

A)Argentina and Brazil signed a trade agreement that eventually led to the creation of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur).
B)The Mexican government pushed for an improved human rights situation in Guatemala in order to reduce the number of refugees crossing the border.
C)The United States insisted that countries sign bilateral agreements after the International Criminal Court (ICC)was created.
D)Costa Rican leaders led negotiations to end civil wars in Central America.
E)Poland had to agree to end the use of the death penalty in order to join the European Union.

Question 41

The ICC is a court established to:

A)coordinate prosecution of international criminal networks.
B)try individuals accused of committing serious human rights abuses.
C)try states accused of genocide.
D)craft a universal human rights law.
E)hear cases arising in the European Union.

Question 42

Why would it be important to frame a human rights issue in an African country as an anticolonial struggle in order to gain widespread support?

A)The former colonial powers are easy to blame for the problems of African countries.
B)The United States,which did not colonize African colonies,will be more likely to join in the campaign.
C)Emphasizing anticolonialism helps overcome objections about violating sovereignty.
D)African countries are always willing to join a movement that attacks former colonial powers.
E)The former colonial powers may feel guilty about past exploitation and help resolve the issue.

Question 43

Whereas we used to think that the rate of global human rights violations had ________ in the past 35 years,recent scholarship has indicated that it has ________.

A)decreased;increased
B)increased;stayed the same
C)increased;decreased
D)stayed the same;decreased
E)stayed the same;increased

Question 44

Has human rights law been effective? What has helped it be effective and what has prevented it from being more effective?

Question 45

Which of the following is an example of individual petition?

A)Nicaragua sued the United States in the World Court over U.S.mining of Nicaragua's port.
B)A Spanish judge issued an arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
C)A Kurdish immigrant asked to be granted refugee status in Germany,because of human rights abuses she suffered in Turkey.
D)A person with a same-sex partner filed a petition with the European Court of Justice alleging that her government had violated her rights.
E)International human rights groups asked the government of Iran to release a journalist who had been detained by police in Tehran.

Question 46

Why does the proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs)encourage optimism about the reduction of human rights abuses?

A)The ease of travel across borders makes it easier to flee abusive governments.
B)Prosperity from trade leads to the elimination of human rights abuses.
C)Trade agreements lead to regional integration and the elimination of governments that violate human rights.
D)Members of RTAs enforce human rights provisions in other member countries.
E)Nearly all trade agreements include provisions on human rights.

Question 47

Which of the following illustrates defining an issue as being anticolonial to try and gain support for the cause of human rights?

A)Describing the peacekeeping force in Sierra Leone as an attempt to reduce violence and human rights abuses.
B)Describing the campaign against apartheid as a struggle of black Africans against white minority rulers.
C)Calling for increased trade between African countries and their former colonial powers in order to remedy past exploitation and improve the living standards of Africans.
D)Advocating acceptance of human rights treaties by African countries so these countries can have legal grounds to criticize the human rights records of former colonial powers.
E)TANs publishing reports on the abuses committed by European powers when they colonized Africa and Asia.

Question 48

What does it mean for the International Criminal Court (ICC)to be a court of last resort?

A)Plaintiffs must use all of their national appeals before taking a case to the ICC.
B)The United Nations must take a case to the Security Council for mediation before it can come before the ICC.
C)Only those who live in countries that have not ratified the ICC can bring cases.
D)The court will only hear a case if there is no other feasible method of resolving it.
E)It cannot act if a national judicial authority has already prosecuted the case.

Question 49

Why was international opposition to apartheid an important turning point for states' pressure to end human rights abuses in other states?

Question 50

Why does the self-interest of protectionist groups increase the effectiveness of RTAs in enforcing human rights law?

A)Protectionist groups would prefer to have free-trade agreements revoked,which makes them more vigilant in examining the human rights records of other member states.
B)Since protectionist groups approve of free-trade agreements only with democratic states,their governments tend to sign treaties with states that already have good human rights records.
C)Protectionist groups want trade agreements to succeed,so they advocate for more aid to help other countries avoid human rights abuses that would jeopardize their trading status.
D)Protectionist unions promote free-trade agreements so that other countries will become wealthier,which will lead to greater democracy and thus better political conditions for their fellow workers.
E)Protectionist factory owners hope a free-trade agreement will encourage lower-paid workers from other countries to immigrate,which will allow the owners to pay lower wages and the workers to enjoy better human rights.

Question 51

Which of the following is an example of transitional justice?

A)A state extraditing a former president that abused human rights.
B)A new government setting up a truth and reconciliation committee.
C)The creation of an international court on human rights.
D)Invading another country to depose an existing regime that violates human rights.
E)A firm changing its name to distance itself from its past.

Question 52

Why have scholars recently changed their opinion on whether global human rights violations have increased or decreased over the past 35 years?

A)The United Nations has placed more emphasis on tracking human rights violations.
B)Countries have come out and admitted to older human rights violations about which we did not previously know.
C)Few scholars were looking into human rights issues earlier than 2000.
D)Reliable statistics have only recently become available for the 1980s.
E)The definition for what counts as a human rights violation has expanded over time.

Question 53

The United States has taken all of the following actions in relation to the ICC EXCEPT the United States:

A)signed the treaty establishing the ICC.
B)ratified the treaty establishing the ICC.
C)"unsigned" the treaty establishing the ICC.
D)pushed countries to sign bilateral agreements guaranteeing that American nationals in their territories will not be sent to the ICC.
E)cut off aid to countries that refused to sign agreements limiting their right to send American nationals to the ICC.

Question 54

What is the most important role that TANs have in stopping human rights abuses?

A)Providing information that sparks public outrage about a country's human rights abuses.
B)Creating boycotts that lead countries to stop perpetrating human rights abuses.
C)Using the United Nations to force a government to stop committing human rights abuses.
D)Blocking regional trade agreements between countries that have poor human rights records.
E)Convincingly persuading multiparty dictatorships that persecuting political opponents is counterproductive.

Question 55

Why does the United States object to the ICC?

A)The ICC has consistently ruled against the United States.
B)Many U.S.personnel have committed acts that the ICC would consider serious human rights abuses.
C)U.S.legal procedure does not meet the standards required by the ICC.
D)Leaders in the United States think that the judges and prosecutors have too much independence.
E)The laws the ICC uses are too specific about human rights abuses.

Question 56

All of the following are important ongoing innovations in international human rights EXCEPT:

A)bilateral negotiations.
B)individual petition.
C)transitional justice.
D)the International Criminal Court.
E)harnessing material interests.

Question 57

All of the following are within the jurisdiction of the ICC EXCEPT the:

A)accused is a citizen of a state that has ratified the treaty establishing the ICC.
B)crime in question took place on the territory of a state that has ratified the treaty establishing the ICC.
C)accused has already been tried and found innocent by the courts of his own country.
D)United Nations Security Council refers the case to the ICC prosecutor.
E)country of the accused criminal has refused to investigate the case.

Question 58

Why do states have interests in enforcing human rights law in other countries? Do they always have an interest in enforcing human rights laws?

Question 59

Explain why states commit human rights abuses against their own citizens,even though their actions violate international human rights law.

Question 60

How did transnational advocacy networks (TANs)affect the campaign against apartheid in South Africa?

Question 61

Explain the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC),its purpose,and its jurisdiction.Why and how has the United States opposed the creation of the ICC?

Question 62

Why has it been difficult to figure out whether the number of global human rights violations has been increasing or decreasing?

Question 63

How have TANs affected the adoption of human rights norms?

Question 64

What does it mean that "although all rights are equal,some rights are more equal than others"?

Question 65

What is transitional justice? Why would a state opt for that approach toward human rights abuses rather than one that is more focused on direct punishment of offenders? Which approach do you believe to be superior?

Question 66

When are states most likely to take action on human rights abuses?

Question 67

How and why do states "lock-in" new institutions and improved practices by signing human rights agreements?

Question 68

How do institutions,interests,and interactions of states explain the inconsistent enforcement of international human rights?

Question 69

Why do countries sign human rights agreements,even if they are not likely to follow them in the future?