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IB Global Politics: Thematic study: Rights and justice

Human rights, justice, liberty, equality. 3 subtopics, 14 key terms.

In this topic: 2.1 · 2.2 · 2.3

2.1Nature and practice of human rights

Key terms

Human rights

Rights held by all humans by virtue of being human.

UDHR

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), non-binding.

ICCPR / ICESCR

The two 1966 covenants on civil and political, and on economic, social and cultural rights (binding).

Generations of rights

1st: civil-political; 2nd: socio-economic; 3rd: collective (development, environment).

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Created by the Rome Statute (1998), operating since 2002; tries genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, aggression.

The International Bill of Human Rights = UDHR + ICCPR + ICESCR.

The full notes, worked example and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.

Exam tip: Name treaties with years: “ICCPR (1966)” shows precise knowledge.

2.2Debates: justice, liberty and equality

Key terms

Universalism

Human rights apply to everyone everywhere.

Cultural relativism

Rights should be understood within cultural contexts.

Justice

Fairness: distributive (who gets what), retributive (punishment), restorative (repairing harm).

Liberty

Freedom: negative (from interference) and positive (to act and develop) — Berlin.

Equality

Equal rights, opportunity or outcomes.

Universalism vs relativism: e.g. debates on LGBTQ+ rights, the death penalty, “Asian values” (1990s).

The full notes, worked example and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.

Exam tip: Paper 2 rewards multiple perspectives: present at least two views and judge between them.

2.3Actors and case studies in rights and justice

Key terms

Advocacy

Campaigning to change policy or opinion.

Naming and shaming

Publicising abuses to pressure governments.

Transitional justice

Dealing with past abuses after conflict (trials, truth commissions, reparations).

Universal jurisdiction

Courts can try serious crimes regardless of where they occurred.

Case ideas: women's rights in Iran (“Woman, Life, Freedom”, 2022), Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Rohingya (ICJ case brought by The Gambia, 2019), indigenous land rights in Brazil.

The full notes, worked example and check questions for this subtopic are in the app.

Exam tip: Prepare 3–4 detailed case studies for this thematic study: actors, dates, outcomes, and which concepts they illustrate.

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