JURU4956/POLI4956

1. Jeremy Bentham argued against the idea of natural rights by:

a. rejecting the idea that there could be any law or rights outside of, or prior to, human-made positive law

b. arguing that, as the 'rights of man,' natural rights were sexist and thus did not apply to all of humanity

c. arguing that the idea of natural rights was dangerous because, as abstract concepts not anchored in the history and traditions of a particular society, the imposition of natural rights was likely to break down the bonds that tie a society together and result in chaos

d. arguing that the real function of natural rights in society was to protect the property of the bourgeois class (i.e., capitalists), and thus, to harm the interests of the workers/proletariat

2. The UN Genocide Convention is clearer with respect to punishment than prevention

Select one:

True

False

3. In 1994, the international community failed to act in the face of a massive and dramatic case of genocide. In which of the following countries did this genocide take place?

a. Somalia

b. Rwanda

c. East Timor

d. Kosovo

4. freedom of speech can be both a positive and a negative right

Select one:

True

False

5. The purpose of __________________ is to destroy or exterminate a specific group in society, and the violation of individual human rights is used as a means to this end.

a. the violation of one's economic, social, and cultural rights

b. personal integrity violations

c. the violation of one's civil and political rights

d. b and c only

6. Which of the following acts as a last resort for prosecuting individuals alleged to have committed war crimes and other human rights atrocities, but only in states that have accepted its jurisdiction?

a. the International Criminal Court

b. the Human Rights Council

c. treaty monitoring bodies

d. the Security Council

7. Which of the following is responsible for undertaking 'universal periodic review' of states' records with respect to fulfilling their human rights obligations?

a.

the Human Rights Council

b.

the International Criminal Court

c.

the Security Council

d.

treaty monitoring bodies

8. Which of the following isNotan example of a Second Generation Human Right?

a. Everyone has the right to safe and healthy work conditions

b. No one shall be subject to arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile

c. Primary education shall be made equally accessible to all

d. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, housing, clothing and medical care

9. Which generation of rights was first advocated in the 19th and 20th centuries and is also known as economic, social and cultural rights?

a. first

b. fourth

c. second

d. third

10. Why did General Pinochet have so many supporters, or better, why were many Chileans willing to give him the benefit of the doubt?

a. they agreed with his neoliberal economic reforms

b. they were willing to give up some civil and political rights to strengthen economic and social rights

c. they did not realize the extent of the repression taking place

d. all of the above

11. The generalization defined as "democratic peace" means that democracies are less likely to be repressive and democracies almost never fight________________:

a. each other

b. if the UN is against the action

c. authoritarian governments

d. without alliances

12. Karl Marx's criticism of natural rights was that they

a. are not sufficiently applied at the workplace

b. reduce people to animals in nature

c. are protected in England, but not other less developed states

d. protect private property and harm the interests of the working class

13. A quantitative study

a. is an empirical research study that relies on the analysis and interpretation of data in ways that do not involve statistical techniques

b. is a normative research study that relies on statistical techniques for the analysis and interpretation of data

c. is a normative research study that relies on the analysis and interpretation of data in ways that do not involve statistical techniques

d. is an empirical research study that relies on statistical techniques for the analysis and interpretation of data

14. Which generation of rights was first advocated in the 17th and 18th centuries and is also known as civil and political rights?

a.

third

b.

second

c.

fourth

d.

first

15. Customary international law is

a. an international obligation arising from established state practice, as opposed to obligation arising from formal written international treaties

b. a binding written agreement concluded between states

c. a piece of legislation passed into law by an international legislature like the United Nations

d. an international law that cannot be vetoed by the UN Security Council

16. A treaty is

a. a piece of legislation passed into law by an international legislature like the United Nations

b. state practice binding on states due to a period of uniform practice based on a sense of legal obligation

c. a legally binding written agreement concluded between states

d. an instrument is not, strictly speaking, legally binding but that nevertheless may influence state behavior

17. jus cogens means that

a. law on genocide must be written in Latin

b. some laws are more fundamental than others

c. laws have to be clear

d. humans have laws

18. Some argue that excluding the prohibition of language use and other cultural practices from characteristics of genocide, the genocide convention does protect against ______________

a. ethnic cleansing

b. cultural genocide

c. mass atrocities

d. regicide

19. The Nuremberg Trials and the idea of crimes against humanity played an important role in the development of the idea of human rights because:

a. they marked the reintroduction of the idea of natural law into thinking about human rights

b. they affirmed the consensus that human rights should only be understood in terms of positive law

c. by convicting Adolf Hitler they marked the beginning of the modern era of human rights

d. by outlawing slavery and the slave trade, they helped delegitimize colonialism and racism more generally

20. _____________is the term used to describe the process that occurs when a society moves away from religious practice and belief as ethical guidelines and points of normative orientation.

a. posthumanism

b. modernization

c. urbanization

d. secularism

21. How substantial does the destruction of the group have to be to qualify as "substantial" in accordance with the Genocide Convention?

a. 80-90% of the population

b. at least 50% of the population

c. the Convention is not specific about this

d. at least 50000 people

22. A qualitative study:

a. is a normative research study that relies on the analysis and interpretation of data in ways that do not involve statistical techniques

b. is an empirical research study that relies on the analysis and interpretation of data in ways that do not involve statistical techniques

c. is an empirical research study that relies on statistical techniques for the analysis and interpretation of data

d. is a normative research study that relies on statistical techniques for the analysis and interpretation of data

23. evolutionary view or justification of human rights argues that

a. human rights can only be claimed by those who have the power to protect them

b. highest pinnacle reached by the most developed beings

c. women should not have human rights

d. human rights are what is necessary to survive or develop as a species

24. ensuring the existence of affordable healthcare is often categorized as

a. a positive rights

b. a natural right

c. a negative rights

d. an unnatural right

25. According to the Genocide Convention, who can be punished for genocide?

a. those who are found to be complicit

b. those who carry out the genocide

c. those who incite to commit genocide

d. All of the above

26. Which Canadian commanded the United Nations mission to Rwanda during the 1994 genocide?

a. Romo Dallaire

b. Charles Lamarre

c. Peter McKay

d. Stephen Lewis

e.Aubrey Graham

27. The challenge(s) to recognizing SOGI rights as human rights is/are

a. States fear that even non-binding instruments would turn into soft-law

b. Sensitivity to traditional beliefs about gender, sex, and sexuality

c. Blocked lobbying efforts of activists

d. All of the above

28. The view that the law is separate from considerations of morality or justice and that it gains its legitimacy from being enacted by an appropriate institutional authority is called

a. legal positivism

b. authoritarianism

c. institutional legalism

d. natural law

29. Strictly speaking, international law created by treaties only applies to

a. contracting states (i.e. that have signed and ratified the treaties)

b. treaty monitoring bodies

c. states that are members of the United Nations

d. states that accept customary international law

30. According to the Genocide Convention, a genocide must involve the following element:

a. objective of intimidating political opponents

b. intent to destroy a group

c. persecution of an individual or group usually for political reasons

d. totalitarianism

31. With respect to the process by which a treaty is created, after a treaty has been opened for signature, the next step is

a. for additional states to elect to accede to the treaty

b. for it to be negotiated and agreed upon by the international organization that is sponsoring it

c. for the treaty to enter into force

d. for it to be ratified by contracting state parties

32. The impact of _________ on human rights has been far greater in magnitude than that of economic development.

a. exclusionary ideologies

b. war

c. militarization

d. democracy

33. The purpose of __________________ is to destroy or exterminate a specific group in society, and the violation of individual human rights is used as a means to this end.

a. genocide

b. totalitarianism

c. state repression

d. terrorism

34. At present, international human rights law _______ sexual orientation and gender identity rights.

a. is inconsistent with respect to

b. clearly endorses

c. is silent on

d. explicitly rejects

35. One reason the 2008 Syrian Statement on SOGI rights DID NOT support them is

a. they didn't see the difference between gender, sex, and sexual orientation

b. they claimed other humans rights need to be protected first

c. they claimed no one explained SOGI rights to them

d. they refused to support them until Western countries themselves support these rights

36. The term ratification refers to

a. the practice of a state agreeing to the terms of a treaty to enable it to be enforced

b. a statement made by a state when agreeing to a treaty, which may or may not have legal effect

c. the suspension of a state's obligations to respect certain human rights during a time of national emergency

d. a unilateral exemption from specified parts of a treaty by a state party

37. Violations of some human rights (e.g. torture, slavery and genocide) are universal crimes and subject to _________ jurisdiction. That is to say, the perpetrators can be tried anywhere in the world, irrespective of his or her nationality, that of the victim, or the State in which the violation occurred.

a. universal

b. municipal

c. regional

d. provincial

38. Which religion do some critics of human rights suggest had undue influence on the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

a. Islam

b. Christianity

c. Judaism

d. Buddhism

39. The three pillars of the standards of protection known as Responsibility to Protect that the UN adopted in 2005 are

a. focus on states, assistance of wider international community, international preparedness to act

b. humans, communities, states

c. international intervention, sovereignty, UN Charter

d. observe, help, intervene

40. The term derogation refers to

a. a statement made by a state when agreeing to a treaty, which may or may not have legal effect

b. a unilateral exemption from specified parts of a treaty by a state party

c. the suspension of a state's obligations to respect certain human rights during a time of national emergency

d. the practice of a state agreeing to the terms of a treaty to enable it to be enforced

41. The term ________ refers to a fear of or an aversion towards people who either are or are perceived as being non-heterosexual or non-gender conforming.

a. natural family

b. homophobia

c. homonormativity

d. heteronormativity

42. Which characterization of rights focuses on the idea that some rights can be realized by governments refraining from doing something?

a. solidarity rights

b. legal rights

c. negative rights

d. positive rights

43. The term ________ refers to the belief that being heterosexual, in an opposite sex-relationship, or cisgender is 'normal'.

a. natural family

b. heteronormativity

c. homophobia

d. Homonormativity

44. Two classic examples from the 18th century of the revolutionary uses of human rights were the American Declaration of Independence and

a. the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

b. the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

c. the Treaty of Paris

d. the Balfour Declaration

45. As described in the text, the danger with the corporate conception of group rights is that:

a. corporations and other businesses are able to use the courts to protect their rights and harm the rights of individuals

b. groups are not really treated as having rights at all

c. individuals and minorities within the group are treated as having greater moral standing than the group itself

d. only the group, and not individuals or minorities within the group, is treated as having moral standing

46. One of the things that cases in front of the Human Rights Committee such as Toomen v. Australia (1994) showed was that

a. other human rights, such as the right to privacy, can be used to protect SOGI rights

b. the UN was eager to recognize and protect SOGI rights

c. religion took precedence over human rights at the UN

d. the religion of the judges influences how they decide cases

47. The term reservation refers to

a. the suspension of a state's obligations to respect certain human rights during a time of national emergency

b. the practice of a state agreeing to the terms of a treaty to enable it to be enforced

c. a unilateral exemption from specified parts of a treaty by a state party

d. a statement made by a state when agreeing to a treaty, which may or may not have legal effect

48. The ________ is usually said to have started between 1660 and 1685, and to have ended with the French Revolution. Philosophers who are associated with it believed in progress through human reason and were critical of superstition and religion, along with monarchical and aristocratic political authority.

a. Renaissance

b. Reaction

c. Reformation

d. Enlightenment

49. Which generation of rights was first advocated in the 20th century and is also known as solidarity or collective rights?

a. first

b. second

c. third

d. fourth

50. That freedom of the press is not possible to protect in court means that not all human rights are __________

a. universal

b. inalienable

c. human

d. justiciable