Deck 10: Human Rights

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of civil and political rights?

A) freedom from torture
B) state sovereignty
C) rejection of government policies that cause suffering
D) freedom of speech
E) protection of the social group

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Cultural relativism is the idea that

A) all human rights are universal, regardless of culture.
B) all cultures should respect the same human rights.
C) some rights should be prioritized over others.
D) the rights of the community should be prioritized over the rights of the individual.
E) different rights are relevant in different cultural settings.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Confucianism puts most focus on what aspect of responsibility?

A) individual rights
B) the social group
C) responsibility to those in need
D) government policies
E) responsibility to environmental concerns

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which statement is correct about human rights and international politics?

A) Human rights is a concept that first emerged in the twentieth century.
B) The rise of sovereignty increased focus on human rights.
C) Human rights issues have risen to greater prominence in international politics over the last century.
D) Human rights remain a concern at the state level, not the international level.
E) All countries follow modern human rights standards.

Question 5

Realists believe liberal states seek to spread civil and political rights because they feel it is in their national interest, as states that share these values trade with each other.

Question 6

The first global human rights movement was the

A) the antislavery movement.
B) the movement against torture.
C) the movement to protect socioeconomic rights.
D) the movement to protect group rights.
E) the movement to protect civil and political rights.

Question 7

Imposing economic sanctions on states violating rights is uncontroversial because it is so effective in changing state behavior, as evidenced by the case of South Africa and apartheid.

Question 8

Early human rights movements on slavery and protection of wounded soldiers were led by

A) powerful states.
B) NGOs.
C) the United Nations.
D) the League of Nations.
E) corporations.

Question 9

While most states repress civil rights when state security is at risk, this is not True of democracies.

Question 10

Less developed states, even liberal democratic ones, often fail to meet obligations of social and economic rights.

Question 11

States in the West are most likely to prioritize which rights?

A) economic rights
B) social rights
C) group rights
D) political rights
E) environmental rights

Question 12

Some observers argue that indicting sitting leaders like Sudan's President al-Bashir can complicate efforts to negotiate peace agreements.

Question 13

Theorists in the radical tradition place emphasis on

A) social and economic rights.
B) civil and political rights.
C) group rights for marginalized people.
D) rights related to physical security.
E) collective rights such as the right to development.

Question 14

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights acknowledges that heads of state may revoke some civil-political liberties when national security is threatened.

Question 15

The UN Charter recognized the importance of protecting human rights even if that meant violating state sovereignty.

Question 16

Which statement is True about the abolition movement?

A) The movement was led by slaves in South America.
B) International law banned all slavery in the early 1800s.
C) Individual countries adopted their own laws abolishing slavery.
D) Freed slaves immediately enjoyed full rights.
E) The Catholic Church led abolition efforts stressing religious morality.

Question 17

The R2P norm not only obligates states to take coercive action against state offenders, but it also obligates states to protect people by providing asylum and refuge.

Question 18

The United States is a strong supporter of the ICC.

Question 19

Annual human rights reports by the U.S. State Department help determine what states receive U.S. foreign aid.

Question 20

States disagree on what types of rights should be given priority.

Question 21

Realists argue the primary responsibility for protecting human rights falls to

A) individuals.
B) religious leaders.
C) NGOs.
D) states.
E) international organizations.

Question 22

There can be a tension between human rights and national security, as illustrated by what international law?

A) The Convention on Torture allows exceptions for actions against terrorists.
B) The Convention on Torture is suspended for countries at war.
C) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is suspended for countries at war.
D) The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows states to revoke some rights when national security is threatened.
E) The Convention on Torture allows exceptions for prisoners of war.

Question 23

What role did human rights have in the League of Nations?

A) The League was formed with the idea of protecting human rights.
B) The League included protection of human rights in its founding treaty, but in practice took few actions.
C) The League completely ignored human rights.
D) The League made little explicit mention of human rights, but did develop several treaties that advanced specific rights.
E) The League was rejected by the U.S. Senate because its treaty did not say enough about human rights.

Question 24

Which of the following is True of state actions to protect human rights in other states?

A) States have only focused on having civil and political rights protected in other states.
B) Some states grant trade concessions to other states if human rights abuses decline.
C) States have only focused on having socioeconomic rights protected in other states.
D) States have not yet used force to protect human rights.
E) States do not take actions to protect human rights in other states.

Question 25

Overall, what statement correctly sums up recent trends in the international community?

A) Human rights was a focus after World War II, but faded away as an issue over time.
B) The international community has fully agreed on the standards for human rights, but not on how to assure compliance.
C) The international community cannot take any actions until it agrees on compliance measures.
D) Human rights is considered a domestic issue to be addressed by sovereign states.
E) The international community is moving to a soft law position that international action to protect individuals is acceptable.

Question 26

In general, states with what government type are the most likely to abuse political and civil rights?

A) liberal democracies
B) authoritarian
C) monarchies
D) oligarchies
E) parliamentary democracies

Question 27

What is referred to as the International Bill of Rights consists of

A) the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Charter.
B) only the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
C) the United Nations Charter.
D) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
E) only the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.

Question 28

What statement is correct about the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Reviews?

A) Reviews have been required since the UN's founding.
B) Reviews trigger automatic sanctions against violators.
C) After reviews, about two-thirds of the Council's recommendations have been implemented by states.
D) Democracies are exempt from review.
E) Compiling the annual reviews now takes the majority of the Council's time.

Question 29

Which of the following is True of the role NGOs have played in the area of human rights?

A) NGOs play a key role in influencing the discourse surrounding human rights but do not deal directly with states or international organizations.
B) NGOs pressure offending states, but do not force states to deal with human rights issues.
C) NGOs have been effective in helping to bring about substantive international laws protecting human rights.
D) Both NGOs and IGOs work on dealing with the issue of human rights, but they do so separately.
E) NGOs have not engaged the issue of human rights.

Question 30

Which of the following is a realist explanation for why liberal democratic states support civil and political rights in their foreign policy?

A) self-interest
B) the fundamental belief that individuals should be protected from unsavory government practices
C) the spread of norms about human rights
D) the desire to institute international human rights protections
E) to lay the groundwork for the protection of socioeconomic rights

Question 31

Which of the following is True of the actions the United Nations has taken toward human rights protections?

A) The UN sets international standards but does not engage in active monitoring because monitoring impinges on state sovereignty.
B) The UN engages in active monitoring, but has not played a role in enforcement, because enforcement impinges on state sovereignty.
C) The UN has authorized the use of economic sanctions to enforce human rights, but not the use of force because force impinges on state sovereignty.
D) The UN has authorized the use of force to protect human rights, but only with the consent of the governments of the states where the abuses are occurring.
E) The UN has authorized the use of force to protect human rights in states without the consent of the governments concerned.

Question 32

What statement is correct about the relationship between economic conditions and human rights?

A) States with deteriorating economic conditions may repress political rights as they seek to maintain authority.
B) Developed states never repress political rights.
C) Developed states all provide similar economic and social rights.
D) Even poor countries can provide all economic and social rights.
E) Poor countries are not expected to meet international standards on rights until they reach middle-class status.

Question 33

The idea of R2P

A) pushes for economic sanctions on human rights violators, but not military action.
B) pushes for monitoring of states' human rights behavior, but not enforcement actions such as sanctions and military action.
C) is controversial because it is applied selectively.
D) has not been objected to by UN Security Council members.
E) has not yet been invoked.

Question 34

The European Union encouraged human rights protections in post-Cold War Eastern Europe by

A) placing negative sanctions on rights violators.
B) using a threat of force to induce change.
C) putting violators on trial in European Union courts.
D) requiring candidates for admission to the EU to show improving political and civil liberties.
E) leading UN criticism of rights violators.

Question 35

Intentional systematic killing of a group based on race, religion, or ethnicity is called

A) genocide.
B) a regime.
C) an epistemic community.
D) a negative externality.
E) deterrence.

Question 36

What series of international agreements established the rights of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war?

A) the Geneva Conventions
B) the League of Nations Covenant
C) the United Nations Charter
D) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
E) the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Question 37

The soft law position toward human rights argues that

A) discourse is the key to changing state behavior regarding human rights.
B) NGOs should be the key players in pushing for human rights protections.
C) IGOs should be the key players in pushing for human rights protections.
D) setting standards is the only way to achieve human rights protections.
E) first and foremost, states have a responsibility to treat their people humanely.

Question 38

Which of the following is True of the crime of genocide according to international law?

A) The killing could be intentional or unintentional and still be considered genocide if enough people are killed.
B) Intentionality is required, but what constitutes evidence of intentionality is not clearly defined.
C) Any systematic killing, even if not targeted at a particular group can count as genocide if enough people are killed.
D) More than 1 million people have to die for a killing to be considered genocide.
E) The definition of genocide includes systematic killing based on race, but not religion.

Question 39

IGOs' compliance efforts against South Africa's apartheid government

A) were quickly and clearly effective.
B) were the only case of sanctions being imposed on a human rights violator.
C) included coercive economic measures.
D) centered on the threat of invasion if changes were not made.
E) were never implemented because of disputes among UN members.

Question 40

The Convention on the Prevention of Genocide was adopted in what year?

A) 1648
B) 1830
C) 1920
D) 1948
E) 1991

Question 41

A major difference between the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) was that

A) the United States opposed the ICTY, but supported the ICC.
B) the ICTY failed to convict anyone.
C) the ICC has much broader jurisdiction than the ICTY.
D) the ICTY built off the procedures of the ICC.
E) the ICTY brought cases only against low-level officials.

Question 42

Which of the following is True about refugees?

A) Internally displaced people are no longer under their state's protection.
B) Countries have coordinated and now all approach the refugee problem in the same way.
C) The number of refugees today is less than it was at the end of World War II.
D) The R2P norm obligates states to protect people by providing refuge.
E) EU member states are accepting all the refugees that are coming, creating a crisis.

Question 43

To be considered "genocide" under international law, how many people must be killed?

A) more than 100
B) more than 1,000
C) more than 10,000
D) more than 1 million
E) No specific number is included in the definition.

Question 44

In current international law, rape is considered

A) an acceptable tactic of war.
B) a domestic issue.
C) a crime against humanity.
D) an issue to be addressed by states, not internationally.
E) not to be a crime.

Question 45

If human rights violations occur,

A) realists believe states should intervene if they find it in their national interest.
B) liberals believe states should not intervene because of sovereignty.
C) radicals believe there is no point in intervening because capitalism will cause such efforts to be unsuccessful.
D) realists believe states should never intervene.
E) liberals believe states should intervene only in cases where democracy is threatened.

Question 46

Which statement is True about the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)?

A) CEDAW was agreed to in the early 1950s, building off the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
B) CEDAW addresses only political rights.
C) CEDAW has been ratified by a majority of states in the world.
D) CEDAW addresses only socioeconomic rights.
E) States were not permitted to enter reservations when they ratified CEDAW.

Question 47

Non-refoulement means that

A) refugees are not going to be accepted into a country.
B) a refugee cannot be forced to return to their country of origin.
C) human rights have not been violated.
D) a refugee committed a crime in their country of origin and must be sent back.
E) a refugee is not allowed into a country because of a crime they committed.

Question 48

An organization designed to uncover the truth about crimes that have been committed and move forward with the reconciliation process is

A) the International Criminal Court.
B) the UN Human Rights Council.
C) a Truth Commission.
D) the European Commission on Human Rights.
E) the UN Universal Human Rights Commission

Question 49

During the war in the former Yugoslavia, the term ________ was coined to mean removing a group from their territory, but not necessarily killing them all.

A) genocide
B) mass murder
C) ethnic cleansing
D) purifying
E) sanctioning

Question 50

What is one reason why the U.S. government has objected to the International Criminal Court?

A) It resents having to pay such a high share of its costs.
B) It believes it will be ineffective in pursuing war criminals.
C) It argues it infringes on U.S. sovereignty.
D) It feels only national courts should address human rights violations.
E) It feels international courts are always biased.

Question 51

Some African states are critical of the ICC because

A) the ICC docket disproportionally deals with African leaders.
B) the ICC is not addressing cases in Africa.
C) the United States is critical, and they are taking their position based on U.S. arguments.
D) the United States has not joined.
E) the ICC threatens U.S. hegemony.

Question 52

Which of the following is True about the mass killings by Serbs against Bosnians in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s?

A) It is one of the few cases where the term genocide was used to describe a mass killing.
B) No investigation was ever made into the case.
C) The case was referred to the International Criminal Court.
D) The International Court of Justice officially ruled that the case was not one of genocide.
E) The Security Council Commission of Experts concluded that genocide was being committed by all sides, not just Serbia.

Question 53

Someone who has been uprooted from their home but remains in the country is known as a(n)

A) asylum seeker.
B) refugee.
C) cultural relativist.
D) internally displaced person.
E) non-refouler.

Question 54

During the 1960s and 1970s, more attention was paid to the issue of women and

A) political human rights.
B) economic and social human rights.
C) gender-based violence against women.
D) female genital mutilation.
E) the right to vote.

Question 55

Which of the following is True of the International Criminal Court?

A) It was first tasked with prosecuting individuals for war crimes committed in Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
B) Even heads of state and military leaders are not immune from its jurisdiction.
C) It has been so proactive that it has stepped in even before national courts have been able to rule on cases.
D) It deals with the crime of genocide, but not other war crimes.
E) It is supported by all states on the UN Security Council.

Question 56

Supporters of truth commissions argue that they are better than courts under what circumstances?

A) when there have been massive violations
B) when the parties must live together in the future
C) when there were no deaths involved
D) when countries are uninterested in documenting past violations
E) when there are no local courts

Question 57

Early United Nations efforts following the 1949 Universal Declaration of Human Rights focused on getting states to grant women ________.

A) civil and political rights
B) socioeconomic rights
C) freedom from gender-based violence
D) workers' rights
E) religious rights

Question 58

A person who because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or unwilling to avail himself to the protection of that country is known as a(n)

A) trafficker.
B) cultural relativist.
C) radicalist.
D) internally displaced person.
E) refugee.

Question 59

The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials after World War II were not considered legitimate precedents because

A) they did not succeed in convicting anyone.
B) they were seen as "victor's punishment."
C) they only addressed actions committed by the United States and its allies.
D) they focused on use of the atomic bomb, but not other possible crimes.
E) they were conducted without the public's knowledge.

Question 60

What statement is True about the crime of genocide?

A) The Convention on Genocide lays out specific actions that the international community must take in response to declared genocides.
B) Since the Convention on Genocide was adopted, mass killings have been prevented.
C) Despite mass killings, no peacekeeping force was sent to Darfur, Sudan.
D) In the cases of Rwanda and Darfur, politicians intentionally did not use the word "genocide" to describe the events.
E) No interventions have ever been undertaken in response to mass killings.

Question 61

Compare and contrast various options for dealing with crimes against humanity and war crimes at the international level. Which of these options do you think is most effective and why?

Question 62

There are many different types of human rights, and different states and theories place importance on different rights. Compare and contrast these different types of rights. Which of these rights do you think is most important and why?

Question 63

In general, will states have more success using forms of engagement or forms of punishment, such as sanctions, trials, and force, when they seek to change the human rights policies of other states?

Question 64

In a world with many cultures and levels of economic development, is it possible to establish universal human rights standards? What should those standards be based on?

Question 65

With regard to intervention, radicals believe

A) nongovernmental actors should take the lead in humanitarian crises, not states.
B) states should take the lead in humanitarian crises, not nongovernmental actors.
C) it is a state's duty to intervene in blatant cases of human rights abuses.
D) states should only intervene when it is in their national interest.
E) intervention must be applied without discrimination.

Question 66

Are dramatic NGO reports and videos, such as Invisible Children's KONY 2012 video, positive developments because they bring attention to abuses or negative developments because they may be overly simplified portrayals of the case or call for overly harsh tactics such as the use of force?