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This website is an interactive academic tool for CEA-UNH course: International Human Rights: Universal Principles in World Politics



Instructor: Dr. Scott Blair

CEA Paris Global Campus

Spring 2011

UNH Course Code: POL 350

Credits: 3















Sunday, May 22, 2011

Human Rights Reflection

Human rights has always been an interesting subject to me. I am glad I got to take this class and learn more in depth information on the United Nations, NGO's and other organizations. I am also so thankful that we got to meet Gilbert Michlin and hear his story of his struggle through the Holocaust. It was such an honor to get to listen to him tell his story, as well as take us to his childhood home. Learning about Human Rights has always been important to me and now I have a greater understanding of how the world works in regards to human rights.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Genocide Review


The third and final film I watched was "Genocide", a documentary on the Holocaust. Most American students have studied the horrors of the Holocaust from multiple perspectives by the time they are in college. Films, lecturs, readings such as Anne Frank's Diary, have all situated the Holocaust firmly in our minds as the quintessential human rights violation and the premier example of genocide. This human rights course was no different. Several times over the course of the semester, we have discussed the importance of the Holocaust in the modern day understanding of human rights. Indeed, it was only after the end of WWII in 1945 that a conception of univeral human rights came into existence. The Nuremburg Trials can be seen as the prototype of international justice as the world was forced to innovate in order to deal with destruction on an unparalleled scale.

    The film "Genocide" is an example of a well made documentary on human rights abuses. It chronicles every brutal action undertaken by the Nazi regime and focuses not only on the Jewish experience, but on all those who suffered during that time. The horrifying human rights violations that occured against any "different" group, Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, Slavs and politial opponents are enumerated and elaborated upon. The effect is harrowing but necessary. The documentary rehumanizes those groups that were stripped of their dignity during the Holocaust, and depicts the fact that differences between people are minimal, our similarities are far greater.
   
     The documentary also reflects on the failure of other nations to successfully step up and end the Holocaust, or help sufficiently when they could. The film was very well rounded and depicted the Holocaust from multiple angles. It was extraordinarily educational and informative, and is one of the better documentaries on the Holocaust that I have seen. Though many of the facts were simply repetition, it is perhaps "Genocide"'s refusal to allow modern audiences to become complacent that is most valuable. Most people today know what occurred during the Holocaust, and it is the duty of films such as "Genocide" to remind us of them and force us to feel horror each time. One cannot become desensitized to such tragedy.

    "Genocide" reminds the audience that again, like the Armenian genocide, events such as this are not simply flukes. They have occurred too many times to hope for the best. Instead what is necessary is concentrated action against such hatred. By showing the historic underpinnings of the Holocaust and depicting the lives of the victims before and after, one can see that genocide is always a threat. One must be proactive about preventing genocide, and that perhaps, is the most important message of the film. It is not simply a documentary made for its own sake. It hopes that through depiction, storytelling and reminder, people will be able to see the warning signs before it is too late.

Fog of War Review


    The first time I saw this film was in an AP US History course, where the focus of study was a more complete understanding of America's political atmosphere during the Cold War. The film paints a fascinating picture of the life of Robert McNamara, the Secretary of Defense under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and the face of the Vietnam War. The film edits together film clips of press conferences and new reports of the 1960s along with interviews with the then 85 year old McNamara.  Photos of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the war in Vietnam, WWII bombings and air attacks are all featured in the film. It was split into sections as "Lessons" such as "Rationality will not save us" and "Get the data." Each of these sections depicts a lesson learned by McNamara during his time as Secretary of Defense.

    This is a particularly important film to discuss in relation to human rights because it calls into question the actions of a 'superpower,' the United States, and presents the events in a way that places doubt on the US as the sole arbiter of universal moral standards. It is often easy for Americans to denounce human rights abuses as they feel that they only occur in Third World Countries. However, "The Fog of War" clearly depicts that the United States can and has been a perpetrater of human rights abuses.

     McNamara discusses his involvment in WWII, the Cuban Missile Crisis and particularly his decisions in the Vietnam War.  My second viewing of this film was interesting because this time I did not focus on the political or historical aspects of his actions, but rather on their place in an international legal framework of human rights. Until the release of the documentary, it was well known that McNamara was rather reticent about speaking of his time as Secretary of Defense. However, he holds little back as he discusses both the external events and his internal struggle to make decisions for the good of the nation. One begins to see him as a person, an individual forced to make decisions, rather than as a representative of the institution of the state. His political moves, based in a Realist understanding of the world, were made from a position of feeling forced to exert power and support America's national interests. That national interest in the time of the Cold War was the ending of the spread of Communism, and McNamara was tasked with achieving this goal at any cost.

    Another reason this film is interesting from a human rights perspective is to understand the differences in the oppressor and oppressed's point of view. While the Vietnamese, rightly, saw the war as a symbol of imperialism and human rights violations in the form of bloody conflict and unconscionable bombings, the United States saw it as the means to an end. The war was the lesser of two evils, the second evil being Communism. Thus one can see how easily a nation can be swayed to commit human rights abuses under the conviction of righteousness, and it is very difficult to shake this point of view. This documentary is valuable to show Americans that there can be no moral high ground based off of one's country, as all have equally participated in violating the rights of many people.

Armenian Genocide Review


     My perception and understanding of this film will differ a bit from others, I am sure, as I am Armenian and had family affected by the tragedies of 1915. Before seeing this film, I was well informed on the topic, as it has always been told to me as "our story." I have written several research papers on the genocide, analyzing from different perspectives, and The Armenian Genocide, while dry, is extraordinarily informative. It was not a particularly exciting film, which is unfortunate because the while the genocide is horrifying, the circumstances around it are interesting, but were not necessarily prevented as such. I believe that documentaries which aim to inform the world on such serious topics should be more accessible, but the film seemed to be focused on displaying all of the facts it had obtained without necessarily creating a compelling storyline. However, I did appreciate their use of gruesome photographs that could properly depict the horrors of the genocide.

      The interview section at the end of the film was particularly interesting. It sacrificed action for fact, and while it may not be interesting to someone looking for superficial information, it is a very in depth look at the less discussed aspects of the genocide. I appreciated that they addressed the issue of current Turkish repression of information. The man they interviewed discussed his struggles to have information disclosed and the Turkish government's continued efforts to hide the facts of 1915. This is a topic that is not often discussed, and it is important to understand how current governments participate in the continued traumatization of a people by denying their suffering. This is seen in many current conflicts, and is, in my opinion, a reflection of the institutional causes of cycles of violence and oppression in human rights.

   This film was very intellectual in its presentation of the material, and I hope in doing so, did not allow the viewer to relegate it to the past. This, however, was most likely avoided by their exploration of modern day research on the Armenian genocide. I found the film to be very interesting, if at times a bit long winded.

   The Armenian Genocide is central to the understanding of human rights as we know them today. Perpetrated before there was an understanding of universal human rights, this genocide could be considered the "blueprint" of genocides. In fact, Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer who spent much of his life devoted to the study of genocide, coined the term "genocide" when analyzing the events of 1915. An often quoted phrase from Hitler, whose widescale genocide termed the Holocaust became the catalyst for a global human rights movement, states something to the effect of "Who now remembers the Armenians?" in an effort to support his Final Solution. What this film shows is continuity and that human rights violations such as genocide due not happen in a vacuum. They are not simply flukes in the system, but are part of the fabric of the system itself, and denial and diplomatic concession only furthers their suffering and leads to the opportunity for others to suffer in the same way. The Armenian Genocide should be viewed as a cautionary tale, one which seeks to use its own tragedy to prevent the same in the future.


Film Review: Genocide

One of the most graphic documentaries on the genocide of the Holocaust that graphically walked the viewer through a story line of victims. 


Genocide: the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group

The graphic nature of  genocide has been seen from the African American, Armenian, and Jewish culture. There are other areas that still encourage such harsh treatments, but the documentary mainly focuses on the harsh living conditions, gas chambers, and seperation of families during the time of the Holocaust.

Armenian Genocide

Many historical events are shunned from record books, and the Armenian genocide is one that many people try to erase some say it was one of the first known genocides. To this day many people try not to acknowledge that it happened.

"The starting date of the genocide is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria. Massacres were indiscriminate of age or gender, with rape and other sexual abuse commonplace. The majority of Armenian diaspora communities were founded as a result of the Armenian genocide."

The documentary takes the history of the genocide back in a time where such words were not even used to describe the event. The Turks still stand by the term being used in a very extreme manner.

Reflection on Human Rights

This semester has been an interesting one for me. I have not taken a Human Rights classes before, and have not discuss the topic very much prior. I did not know that there were so many factors and aspects or that the topic was so broad. The different levels that we learn came as something new to me. I did enjoy this class and feel that it has broadened my view on the world. So many things are going on in the world that deals with human rights, in the fight for them and in the violating of them as well. It is hard to believe all that is happening in the world, and how easy my life is or how different it is to somewhere else in the world. I hope that my better understanding of human rights and the different works of organization that deal with them help me try to push for a better world in the future.

Before this class I knew of different NGOs but did not know that they were called NGOs and what their detailed purpose were. I have a better understanding of the United Nations and its works, how it does conventions to protect human rights, and how different countries are involved. I better learned about the history of the Holocaust and how it pushes human rights forward. Meeting Gilbert was a great experience that helps me better understand and see what happen to him during his life and how his life has changed. This is a good life lesson for me that I took away from meeting Gilbert. This class has been a good experience and I have learned a lot, which will help me in my future. I am glad for this class and for all that it has taught me, and I would not want to give any of this knowledge up but learn more and spread it to others.

Review on "Invisible Children"

This is a documentary film in Sudan of the soldiering of children there. It was an amateur, or raw, film that was filmed by three college students just looking for some story, but they what they found was surprising and shocking. This adventure they took help reveal a story that not very many people knew about. In this documentary tells the story of the kidnapping and turning into solders of children. It tells how children have to travel from miles around to come to one save area that will protect the children from being taken away in the night. This documentary also shows the dangerousness that the three college students went throw just to reveal this story to the world. Not much information or knowledge of child soldiers was out before this and now that it is, changes can be pushed for. The child soldiers are used for a rebel group trying to over throw the Sudan government, and children are kidnapped at an early age and brained washed. This is how the rebel army got it soldiers and how they effectively attack, with children firing at the Sudan army.

I liked this documentary because it is moving and brings forward an issue that not very many people know about. Knowledge is power and with knowing what is going on in the world then we can better push for a better future. I feel that I have a better knowledge of the situation in Sudan and understand more of what is going on due to this documentary. This is a big issue and only one of many in the world that need to be fixed or solved. I hope that this can be solved soon before more children are kidnapped and killed with the fighting and violence. With this knowledge out there and some of the college students that filmed this documentary starting a NGO called “Invisible Children” that helps bring awareness to the issues; this might help and fight against the children soldiers.

This is a huge human rights issue, which violates the convention to protect children. This documentary helps bring forward the issue which needs to be solving to forward in the human rights fight. Hopefully when people see this will bring them to want to help solve this issue is some way. The fight for human rights is still ongoing and a long way to go, but with this documentary it might help people understand what is going on in the world and want to change it.

Somali Governmental System...Where is it?

"A roadside bomb blast targeted an MSF-Holland car, killing two
foreigners, one Kenyan and the other a white man, and a Somali driver
and a Somali journalist who was passing by on the road," witness Hussein
Abdi said.

In the area of  Kismayo which is a city in Somali known for war crimes. Kismayo has been taken over by local clan leaders, and is no longer under Somalia's interim government. Somali has been dealing with many issues concerning a division of governmental systems.


Kismayo has been the site of numerous battles in the ongoing Somali Civil War. In late 2006, Islamist militants gained control of most of the city. To reclaim possession of the territory, a new autonomous regional administration dubbed Azania was announced in 2010 and formalized the following year.

 In 2007 Somalia was consolidating under the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which recently completed a military campaign against the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The Islamic Courts Union is now part of the TFG, along with the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia The TFG is supported by the United Nations. Until recently, it governed out of an administrative capital in Baidoa. In the last days of 2006, forces of the transitional government supported by Ethiopian forces ousted the ICU from Mogadishu. Peace keeping forces from the African Union are expected to support the transitional government in its bid to control the country.

The situation has began to get worst with the recent shooting killing two Somali natives, and with the U.S. attempting to intervene and unfortunately not being successful leaves the situation at a more nervous level for the Somali people. The solution for many natives is to just depart the country in hopes of freedom elsewhere.

Human Rights Reflection

The birth of the Declaration of Human Rights after the Holocaust and the steadily progressing idea of universal human rights are concepts that are setting the framework for the future of international cooperation. Human Rights has grown from a concept that was virtually non existent that is now a key issue within the UN, ICC, and NGOs which all focus on human rights and human rights violations. Within about a period of 60 years human rights has become one of the main concerns and focuses of the international community. In today's ever growing technologically advancing society people have more access to education on human rights through visual documentaries, the internet news reports (human rights watch), and other forms of easily accessible information to create a sense of awareness to people who are not directly being effected by human rights violations. For example when the creators of the NGO Invisible Children created their low budget documentary in Uganda they had no idea that this would lead to a massive response from millions of people wanting to know how they could help improve the situation for the displaced children in Uganda.
Basically, during the time of the Holocaust the brutality taking place in the concentration camps was virtually unknown until the defeat of the Nazi party when the media started releasing photographs and video depicting the horrors of genocide. Today media through photographs and video documentation have made the individual more aware of the world and the brutal acts against humanity that happen. With more pressure from individuals throughout the world governments, IGOs, and NGOs are more likely to act and react accordingly to human rights violations.
With respect to state soverginty and the non existence of international law which makes it difficult for humanitarian intervention especially with the use of force leaves responsibility to the state for being the main protector but more often times the main violator of human rights. But if more states recognize the individual rights of human and are more willing to react to violations (genocide) many more lives could be saved in the future. States more often then not act in self interest and self benefit, until states act in a more selfless matter and proceed with more pure motives of intervention violations in weakened and vulnerable states will continue.
Human Rights is a very bitter sweet issue; we as an international community have made great strides in recognizing human rights as a world wide concern. Yet states stand idol while genocide continues in Darfur. As individuals in the west are concerned with freedom of speech, healthcare, ect... , individuals in undeveloped nations don't have clean water, food, and are exposed to brutal acts of human rights violations, ultimately they are fighting for the right to live the right to be recognized as a human being, the core and the soul of human rights. Reflecting on human rights makes me as an individual realize how privileged and different my demands as an individual in a western state are from those who are not allowed to have a voice, those who are not protected, and those who fight for the right to live everyday.

Last Update on Saudi Arabia

Many events are happening in the Arab world, and in those countries, some are calling for reform of the government and others have already rebelled/revoked. These events of revoke are causing other countries in the Arab world to want reform, to want better rights as well. In Saudi Arabia, the freedom of speech was again restricted and many people over the spring have been arrested, all to help keep order. However, despite the arrests and attempts to stop protests by the government, many groups of Saudi Arabians have written petitions to the King calling for reform. Many protests are still happening all over the country and many people are being arrested in hopes to scare the people in stopping but the opposite affect might happen. Amnesty International 2011 annual report gives information about protests that were planned to call for reform of the government. A rally was held on March 4 and there it was planned to have a “Day of Rage” the following Friday. When the government heard of this, they took action and the reports states: ” Amid reports that further protests were planned, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement on 5 March reiterating the ban on demonstrations and stating that security forces would take “all necessary measures” against those who attempted to “disrupt order”. The country’s religious leaders, the Shura Council and religious police instructed people not to join the “Day of Rage”, and some media reports suggested that some 10,000 soldiers were to be deployed to stop the protests”. This stop that protest and maybe prevented a few more from happening. Also many arrests have and still will happen over the next few month or longer. All this events may lead to something in the future but for now the government is trying to control the events and the people. However, if people really push for better human rights then the government will not be able to stop them.

Review on "Genocide"

The film Genocide is a very moving but gruesome telling of the horrors of the Holocaust. It presents many graphic images and detailed stories of events that took place in concentration camp, and this made the film even more emotional. The information given were surprising even after studying the Holocaust and seeing other films or reading other books, meaning that there are still many things to learn about this horrible event. The balance of footage and photographs used in a combination help set up the emotion wanted from the viewer and gave the right information in a correct manner. Even the personal information given through the letters read helps give insight to the lives of those who went through the Holocaust. This film gives not only information from multiple different sources but gives it in a way that the viewer can feel the emotions of what is happening and the viewer can see the courage from the people in the film, like when they sang in Hebrew “we will outlive you”. The emotions felt from watching this film helps open the eyes of the viewer, to help understand all that is being told about these events.

This film, Genocide, for me was a good, not done over the top, film about the Holocaust. I might have gotten emotional while watching but that was not the purpose of this film, to make someone feel sad about the Holocaust. The point of the film is to get you in the right state of mind to take in the information given to you and help you better understand what you are seeing and being told about. The information I gathered from this film from the letters to the first hand experience helped me better see what happen and understand so that I may learn from it and push for a better future. I appreciate this film in it giving me better insight to the Holocaust that was not or could not be given by other films or books.

Genocide, the film about the Holocaust, gave a great insight to this horrible event and this horrible event is what jump started the motion of human rights to the scale it is today. The Holocaust was a gruesome and terrible thing and it redefined the meaning of human rights. It eliminated boarders, races, gender, and much more from being separate issues to being one great issue of human rights, creating an international movement. The horrible things that happen open the eyes of the world and created the want for a better life for all humans. It striped boarders and united the world for a better cause, a better world. It is sad to say, but it is possible that if this event, the Holocaust, did not happen, that the drive for human rights would not have been as strong as it was. The World War itself pushed for the United Nations but the motion for human rights got a lot of momentum from the knowledge of the Holocaust. No one wants an event so horrible to happen again and many things have been put in place by the State members of the UN to prevent or punish if something were to happen again. This film helps give different, personal view to the Holocaust in hopes that the viewers will learn, understand, and push for a better future, to not let it happen again.