At the brink of famine in conflict and natural disaster zones: human rights approach to extreme hunger and malnutrition*

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-43
Author(s):  
Hilal Elver
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Disaster

Famine Crimes in International Law

2003 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Major Element ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
Ethiopian Government ◽  
The Government

Some of the worst human rights catastrophes of the twentieth century were famines created or manipulated by governments. In 1932 at least five million Ukrainians starved to death, while hunger was largely unknown across the border in Russia.The Soviet government imposed disastrous grain quotas on the Ukraine, then let its own citizens literally collapse in the streets while it exported grain to further its “revolutionary” objectives.The Ethiopian famine of 1983-1985, preserved in popular memory as a natural disaster of biblical proportions, most fiercely struck those parts of the country that harbored irredentist movements. In a stunning, but telling, rejoinder to international pity for the purportedly hapless Ethiopian government, the Ethiopian foreign minister told a U.S. chargé d’affaires that “food is a major element in our strategy against the secessionists.” Since 1994, more than two million out of a population of twenty-two million in North Korea have starved to death, while South Koreans, affected by similar weather patterns, have remained completely untouched by famine. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), trying to distribute aid earmarked for famine victims, have watched helplessly as the government callously interfered and have arrived at the conclusion that “the authorities are deliberately depriving hundreds of thousands of truly needy Koreans of assistance.”

scholarly journals Między stanem epidemii a stanem klęski żywiołowej – COVID-19 a niektóre prawa człowieka

Radca Prawny ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 11-42
Author(s):  
Sławomir Czarnow
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
The Republic

In between a state of epidemic and a state of natural disaster – COVID-19 and certain human rights The article examines the means of restricting selected human rights and freedoms during a state of epidemic against the requirements of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. The analysis particularly concerns the practice of restricting these rights and freedoms through ordinances as well as the imposition of fines and penalties for violations of epidemic orders and bans.

scholarly journals Emergencies: on the misuse of government powers

Public Choice ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Bjørnskov ◽  
Stefan Voigt
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
The State ◽  
Unexpected Result ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Presidential Democracies

AbstractNine out of 10 constitutions contain explicit emergency provisions, intended to help governments cope with extraordinary events that endanger many people or the existence of the state. We ask two questions: (1) does the constitutionalization of emergency provisions help governments to cope with disasters and other extraordinary events? (2) What particular parts of emergency constitutions fare best? We find that the more advantages emergency constitutions confer to the executive, the higher the number of people killed as a consequence of a natural disaster, controlling for its severity. As this is an unexpected result, we discuss a number of potential explanations, the most plausible being that governments use natural disasters as a pretext to enhance their power. Furthermore, the easier it is to call a state of emergency, the larger the negative effects on basic human rights. Interestingly, presidential democracies are better able to cope with natural disasters than parliamentary ones in terms of lives saved, whereas autocracies do significantly worse in the sense that empowerment rights seriously suffer in the aftermath of a disaster.

scholarly journals Activities of the Local Government During a State of Natural Disaster

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Czuryk
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Civil Liberties ◽  
The State ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Decision Taking ◽  
Executive Body

<p>As one of the states of exception, a state of a natural disaster often makes public administration, including local governments, take actions that restrict the sphere of human rights and civil liberties. One-person bodies are entrusted with being in charge in matters related to a state of natural disaster. Actions taken during a state of natural disaster to prevent or remove its effects are managed by the commune executive body when the state of a natural disaster was introduced only in the territory of the commune. However, if the state of a natural disaster was introduced in more than one commune in a district, then the starost is in charge of the operations. As a monocratic body is entrusted with executive powers, decisions can be taken faster and time is essential from the point of view of the effects of a natural disaster. Due to a formalized method of decision-taking, a collegial body may not respond adequately to a dynamically developing threat.</p>

scholarly journals Protecting the Endangered Human: Toward an International Treaty Prohibiting Cloning and Inheritable Alterations

2002 ◽  
Vol 28 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 151-178
Author(s):  
George J. Annas ◽  
Lori B. Andrews ◽  
Rosario M. Isasi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Human Species ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
American Consumer ◽  
Great Stress

We humans tend to worry first about our own happiness, then about our families, then about our communities. In times of great stress, such as war or natural disaster, we may focus temporarily on our country but we rarely think about Earth as a whole or the human species as a whole. This narrow perspective, perhaps best exemplified by the American consumer, has led to the environmental degradation of our planet, a grossly widening gap in living standards between rich and poor people and nations and a scientific research agenda that focuses almost exclusively on the needs and desires of the wealthy few. Reversing the worldwide trends toward market-based atomization and increasing indifference to the suffering of others will require a human rights focus, forged by the development of what Vaclav Havel has termed a “species consciousness.”

scholarly journals Contested Terrain of Sustainable Development Paradigm in Sierra Leone

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11
Author(s):  
Emerson Abraham Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Everyday Language ◽  
Contested Terrain ◽  
Development Paradigm

Abstract It is surprising sometimes to note that the term Sustainable Development [SD] as used by people in everyday language is not as well understood by people and therefore, needed some level of contestation on their delivery to ensure nations are able to protect the environment, while at the same time ensuring citizens have decent standard of living without resorting to any form of destruction to the earth’s surface. In this article, efforts were explored through qualitative study to address concerns around SD agenda in a country like Sierra Leone where lots of concerns around natural disaster has made it possible for those in authority to take proactive actions in setting up strategies to protect the environment. The outcome of the study shows highlights of concerns around infringement of Human Rights freedom and poverty, whole at the same time, people are ready to be consulted as a way of expressing their views about the direction of SD agendas and its immense benefits to communities and the country as a whole.

“Inamura no hi” (“the rice bale fire”), its evolving story and global relevance: the politics of tsunami preparedness in Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Scott Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Japanese Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
Tsunami Preparedness ◽  
The Way

PurposeThis paper aims to reintroduce to proponents of natural disaster readiness worldwide the history and content of the most renowned tsunami mitigation tale in Japan, “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) for the purpose of reconnecting with its many virtues that have made it a cross-cultural pedagogical catalyst for tsunami preparedness education. At a time in the planet's history when global warming mitigation and pandemic advertence in a milieu in which equity, diversity and human rights are highly valued, the insights it contains pertaining to tsunami preparedness, plot design and the politics of its popularity make it particularly instructive.Design/methodology/approachThe study used methods, approaches and techniques prevalent in cultural anthropology, i.e. primary texts, historical analysis, linguistic natural hazard preparedness education theory and ethnographic insights to assess how and why “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) has come to be used so broadly on an international scale as a tsunami preparedness teaching tool and the politics involved in this process.FindingsThe study revealed that the cross-cultural relevance of “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) is related to its unique authorship and development which has cultivated in it three qualities highly compatible with effective disaster mitigation at the international level. These are the simplicity of its message, the practical advice it dispenses and the universally agreeable morality it supports. However, the way in which the Japanese Government has promoted this story does not effectively encourage equity, diversity, or a respect for human rights as a major facilitator of preparedness among the many nations like itself in the region and in the world that are vulnerable to natural hazards.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations of the study are that it is based on a historic investigation of the origins of “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) using materials in English and Japanese, a genealogical interpretation of the story using approaches prevalent in translation studies and a qualitative analysis of historical uses of the story, all of which are difficult to quantify. Since the study seeks to find social and cultural patterns in the relevant material presented, the analysis reflects a subjectivity common in all social scientific studies of this kind.Practical implicationsEducating its readers about tsunami preparedness is one of the most important functions of this paper. The study confirms that “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) provides Japanese and non-Japanese alike with the opportunity to envision and construct a customized culturally specific sense of tsunami readiness by harnessing this dynamic. For Japanese, the story provides a chance to contemplate an astute view of Japanese-style tsunami management from the viewpoint of an outsider who became a well-respected citizen. For non-Japanese, the story offers an opportunity to be reflexive about tsunami readiness based on a cross-culturally adaptable template that Hamaguchi's protagonist Gohei provides.Social implicationsPedagogically speaking, “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) makes the most sense when regarded as a starting point for preparing for any natural disaster anywhere. The story reminds us that the most educational, globally relevant tsunami preparedness narratives are those that complement and extend the latest of what the world knows about these destructive ocean waves to keep vulnerable citizens safe and alive. This study reveals that as important as the story is the politics of its delivery to provide the best first line of defense against tsunami amnesia which in Japan and many other countries has historically taken far too many lives.Originality/valueThe paper argues that “Inamura no Hi” (“The Rice Bale Fire”) is an example of a tsunami preparedness story that contains a variety of insights that continue to contribute to tsunami awareness education cross culturally that must not be underestimated. However, the way it is currently promoted by the Japanese Government needs to be improved, so that more representatives from more countries involved in tsunami preparedness and natural hazard readiness worldwide can benefit. These are insights not accessible by a researcher who is not bilingual in English and Japanese; thus, by using an ethnographic approach and participant observation utilizing both languages as part of long-term fieldwork, the researcher can gain these insights.

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