University Assignment: International Human Rights and Geopolitics

This essay delves into the escalating significance of human rights within the realm of international politics. It begins by defining human rights and highlighting their historical context, emphasizing the 20th-century development of international organizations and conventions designed to uph...Read More

Running head: INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
Political Science
-International Human Rights
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
Introduction:
Human Rights can be defined as the “basic rights and freedom to which all humans
are entitled to” and includes various political and civil rights such as freedom of expression,
right to property, right to live, right to for liberty, pursuit of happiness, right to equality in the
court of law, social rights, cultural rights, right to participate in social and cultural events and
gatherings, right to practice religion, right for employment and right to education to name a
few.
The issue of human rights has been avidly discussed in the international politics for
more than a century; however, repeated acts of war and geopolitical unrest have resulted in
the breach of basic human rights for millions of people. The modern concepts of human
rights developed in the later part of the 20th century with the development of several
international organizations and conventions that aim to uphold human rights globally. The
human rights treaties have been adopted by several nations as a part of their national as well
as international politics. However, for most part of the 20th century, the issue of human rights
only was a peripheral consideration for many countries.
In the 21st century, there is a gradual increase in the importance of human rights in
international politics and more nations are striving to ensure that the basic human rights are
upheld across the world. This change of focus can be attributed in the following evidences in
geopolitics:
Discussion:
Increased pressure on North Korea to stop human rights violations in the country:
Over the last few years, international pressure on the North Korean Government, the
Kim Jung dynasty to stop the human rights violations taking place in the country, especially

2INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
in the political concentration camps called Gulags. This includes active conversations with
the American Government, under the Trump Administration as well as several appeals in the
international courts to persuade the North Korean Government to close the gulags and free
the prisoners. This shows a significant deviation in the international relation with North
Korea from the earlier stance of not interfering with their internal affairs.
Increased focus on human rights crisis in Venezuela:
The global focus on the human righs crisis in Venezuela under Nicolas Maduro
caused by an economic collapse and hyperinflation has increased significantly over the last 5
years. The government is being supported through international initiatives to help the people
survive the crisis and facilitate healthcare access in the country. The support primarily is
aimed towards protecting the people of Venezuela from a loss of their livelihood and
protecting their basic human rights. Countries like USA and Mexico have also facilitated the
process of seeking asylum for Venezuelans, helping them to escape the situation.
United Nations attempt to bring ceasefire in Syria
United Nations as well as United States of America, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia
are working together to bring peace in Syria and put an end to the conflict in the region that
have violated the basic human rights of the civilian. The international efforts are aimed to
bring about a ceasefire in Syria and thereby helping the nation to get back to normalcy.
Helping the Rohingya Muslims
After the human rights crisis in Rohingya, Myanmar where more than 250,000
Muslims fled their homes and country to avoid the ethnic cleansing that have caused death of
several people. This led to the significant human rights crisis as the people did not have
access to basic human rights after being prosecuted in their own country. In order to help the

3INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS
Rohingya victims, neighboring nations such as Bangladesh and India opened its doors to the
immigrants, offering them asylum and thus helping to protect their basic human rights.
European Immigrant Crisis:
In the wake of the European Immigrant Crisis, that saw the influx of millions of
immigrants from the conflicted regions of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan during 2015 to avoid
war and violence in those countries. The refugees often had to cross the Mediterranean Sea
under perilous conditions to reach Europe for shelter and protection. To address this crisis
situation, the European Union developed an approach of accepting a certain number of
immigrants by each European Country, thereby distributing the total number of immigrants to
Europe as well as develops a collaborative approach from all European nations to help the
people of the conflicted countries to find shelter and protection. This showed that Human
Rights concerns have significantly become a part of the EU’s political framework and no
longer a peripheral aspect.
Increase in Humanitarian and Peacekeeping Interventions:
There also has been a significant increase in international humanitarian and
peacekeeping interventions to alleviate the suffering of people and bring peace in conflict
regions through the approach of armed interference. Examples of such intervention include
the NATO intervention in 2011 in Libya to end the human rights crisis that led to a civil war
in the country. A military intervention was initiated to protect the people from government
oppression and end the dictatorial and oppressive regime of Muammar Gaddafi that has been
criticized by International Human Rights Commission of violating the basic rights of its
people. Another example of humanitarian intervention is a military intervention against the
terrorist group called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014 to protect the civilians.
The ISIS have been involved in systematic exploitation and dehumanization of people living

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in their occupied territories, oppressing their rights of expression, practicing their religion,
and preventing access to healthcare, employment and education. The military intervention
helped to drive away SISI from those regions and thereby prevent the systematic exploitation
of human rights in the region and bring peace in the region.
Conclusion:
From the evidences presented above, it can be concluded that focus on the protection
of Human Rights have increased significantly in international politics. This can be seen with
an increase in global effort to end systematic exploitation of Human Rights not only within
the country, but also in other nations, creating an international collaboration to uphold the
basic rights of all people, irrespective of their national, ethnic or racial identities. The
evidences also show that international relations of a country itself significantly influenced by
the ability of the country to uphold human rights o its people.

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