Prompt:
You have set up a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Qatar to monitor human rights in the (fictitious) Republic of Gussia.
Gussia is severely repressing freedom of the press and freedom of peaceful assembly. Various websites have been closed down by the government’s orders, and journalists’ licenses have been revoked. Gussian military forces have also been repressing religious minorities living in West Gussia, preventing them from having access to clean water, destroying places of worship and imposing clothing restrictions on religious attire. During recent protests on womens’ rights and the right to abortion, the law enforcement authorities has been using lethal force, which resulted in the injury and subsequent death of about 200 protesters. Also, following the pandemic, the Gussian government has passed a law that penalizes by 19 years imprisonment and 100,000$ fine anyone who gathers in public space or does not wear a mask.
You also realize that Gussia has agreed with HUBI, a French oil firm, to drill for oil on the basis of an agreement that sees very few revenues going to the Gussian government. HUBI, in turn, is released from all taxes, is insured by the government against all risks, and will moreover receive 80 per cent of all revenues, even though the norm in the global oil market is that all oil companies pay corporate taxes of about 20 per cent, pay their own insurance and receive royalties of no more than 10-15 per cent from the proceeds of operations.
Non-governmental organizations play a very important role in supporting and guiding states. These organizations can either be independent or under certain states, however, they mostly operate on a non-profit basis and usually exist with humanitarian motives. Many states do rely on and refer to NGOs for different reasons, furthermore many organizations have proven to be very influential not only within the realm of organizations but also across states. This paper will discuss the path in which a non-governmental organization, that is based in Qatar would look into and report acts that are committed by the state of Gussia, a state that is bound to its member agreement with the United nation in addition to its agreement with the council of Europe.
Being an NGO outside the western context gives this specific NGO and edge since countries are less likely to cultivate countries that are within the same region. This is not restrictive to states but also non-governmental organizations and those that are independent of the state. A foreign organization or one that is not attached and distant from the field that is being tested results in a lower chance of bias when it comes to assessing the violations that the state is committing. Furthermore, the NGO happens to be in Qatar which is a state that dealt with supporting religious minorities outside the context of the Qatari state and having an NGO that was exposed so close to such an environment will help it figure exactly what should and should not be considered as violations and oppression of the rights of these religious minorities. Cultural relativism also plays a role in the judgment since the NGO exists in a country that managed to balance it’s bound with the united nations but still managed to great its own rights system and to act according to both systems rather than acting with a unified universal law. In addition, it is a non-secular state, and one would assume that being restricted to culture and religion would give it a flexible aspect.
Violations of Human rights articles.
It is evident that the state of Gussia is invading more than one article of the universal declaration of human rights agreement. Hence, for the purposes of this paper, I will be listing all the relevant article that is thought to be invaded and the exact way in which they have been invaded under each article.
Article 2
“ Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.”
This article has been directly invaded by the state of gussia. The state has been assigning military for the purposes of directly repressing religious minorities. The oppression of any minority is against the UDHR law. This could also be related to the act of preventing these minorities from accessing clean water which is a right of theirs and it also violates it when the state destroyed places of worship since that is also a form of oppression.
Article 3
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person”
Violations of this article took place when the state restricted clothing that could be worn by people of religious minorities, and this threatens the security and liberty of that person. In addition, the state of Gussia repressed the freedom of the press and peaceful assembly severely and that was against the will of those people which therefore invades their liberty. This also applies to the act of shutting websites that people willingly opened in a peaceful manner and the revoking of journalist license, these are people who carry the job of discussing reporting and speaking up, revoking the license of these people is and also goes beyond the basic understanding of limiting the freedom of speech.
Article 5
“ No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
A clear violation of this article has been made through imposing very strong penalties that do not weigh out the act being committed. This took place when the state-imposed 19 years imprisonment and a 100,000$ fine for anyone who gathers in public space or does not wear a mask. Furthermore, this law was also invaded when the state prevented religious minorities from accessing clean water.
Article 7
“All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.”
This article has been directly violated through the restriction of clothing and worshiping and also through restricting access to water.
Article 10
“Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”
This article basically dis justifies and bias in courts or any other governmental institutions. In the case of Gussia, the whole state seems to be corrupt things that are against the law have been sliding. This is the agreement with the French oil company, which is very extreme and against all oil market norms. In addition, oppressing religious minorities is also a massive indicator that the system and judgment are biased. Who would a person from any minority complain to in the state if they are being oppressed by the state itself?
Articles 19
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
Article 20
“(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.”
Both articles 19 and 20 clearly ban any restrictions on freedom of speech, press, and thought. And the state of Gussia has been doing exactly this when it closed websites and revoked journalist license. This has also been revoked when force was used against the women’s rights movement protestors.
Article 21 - 3
“ (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.”
This is also violated through oppressing protestors and using such force against them which led to the injury and death of 200 protestors.
Article 26 - 2
“(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance, and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.”
This part of the article has been violated specifically when the state used to force through the military to repress religious minorities.
Article 27 - 1
“(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.”
This article basically insists that money derived from the state is supposed to be invested in the state itself for the good of the people and community as a whole and the importance of reinvesting the money in the development of people of the population. And when wasting and allowing the french oil company with the taxation and revenue money the state is preventing this money from being invested in the people for those purposes.
Article 28
“Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.”
The state of Gussia is also violating this article since it is not implementing it and it is yet to be seen.
Violations of articles within the council of Europe
Articles of this agreement are very similar to the UDHR’s articles, hence this also means that these have been violated by the state of Gussia. Examples of these articles are article 2 which grants all people the right to life and this has been discussed above, as well as article 9 which grants freedom of thought and practice, and article 10 which grants freedom of expression.
judicial and non-judicial mechanisms that could handle this case and conclusion
Judicial organizations that could handle this report well would be the ICC or the UN sanctions since they have a good history of tackling intense cases with great violations. Effective non-judicial mechanisms would be international pressure, either through social movements or through media which has proved to be very effective. Ministry is also a very good option since the effects it has been directly seen in the state of qatar. And this is exactly what I hope to see in the future, where violations are dealt with and ended exactly the way they did when a report about minimum wages was issued against Qatar and the government had to raise the minimum wage.
References
Council of Europe. (1988). Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights) as amended by Protocol No. 11. In Council of Europe Treaty Series 155. Council of Europe.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2020, from https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/