Human Rights & Social Development (Edexcel A Level Geography)

• People’s access to human rights varies between countries, even though they are meant to be universal (across all countries)
• There are also significant variations within countries, especially for minority groups (e.g. ethnic minorities, women)
• This is especially evident post-colonial countries, such as:
• The Apartheid in South Africa
• The Aboriginal people of Australia
• Religious minorities in India, including Muslims
• Women in Pakistan
• Access to human rights in these post-colonial countries have been problematic due to:
• Post-colonial governments were often authoritarian and largely excluded indigenous people
• Post-colonial poverty led to a focus on economic growth rather than human rights
• The colonial borders did not recognise the importance of traditional ethnic and religious borders, so post-colonial countries often contained ethnic minority groups 
• E.g. the Afar people of Ethiopia were split amongst Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti

• A lack of human rights usually means lower levels of social development (health and education)
• Social groups with fewer human rights often have poorer levels of health and education than the dominant, more powerful groups
• Prejudice among the wider population can mean these minority groups are denied access to key services and opportunities (e.g. housing, employment)
• This all has a direct impact on their quality of life

Indigenous people of the USA

• In the USA, around 2% of the population is Native American
• These indigenous people have experienced discrimination since European colonisation
• Native Americans are the most impoverished ethnic group in the USA
• These indigenous populations are poorer, less well educated and live shorter lives than the wider population of the USA

Development indicators for the indigenous and wider USA population

• Around 1 million Native Americans now live on reservations
• There reservations can be very remote with very few resources
• Schools and healthcare services in these reservations are underfunded

Indigenous population of South America

• In Latin America, the indigenous population account for 13% of the total population
• Many live in rural areas and a small number still follow a traditional lifestyle in isolated tribes around the Amazon Basin
• They frequently lack access to services and opportunities; this can be seen in the development data below

Indigenous versus non-indigenous development data for 3 countries in Latin America

• This leave the indigenous people poorer and less educated, in worse health, and more likely to commit suicide than the rest of the population
• These communities and their environments are also under threat from mining, oil extraction, dam and road building, logging and agro-industrial projects
• They are being driven off their homelands and are ending up in urban areas, which impacts on their quality of life even more 

• The inequality in human rights and quality of life for the minority groups is viewed as unfair
• This has led to campaigns for equal human rights by these minority groups e.g. the Black Lives Matter movement 
• The progress for equality varies from country to country
• A demand for equality from women and ethnic minorities has been influential in the history of many countries, including Afghanistan and Australia 

Gender inequality in Afghanistan

• Afghanistan has been involved in conflict for around 40 years 
• Between 1992 and 2001, the country was controlled by the Taliban

Women’s rights in Afghanistan

• Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, IGOs (e.g. the UN) strongly support women’s rights in Afghanistan and have provided 4.3 million women with life-saving services e.g. medical care
• Women’s rights have been severely limited, including: 
• All women to cover their faces in public or their male relatives will be fined/imprisoned
• Only leaving the house with a male guardian or risk interrogation from the Taliban
• All women in a governmental role have been told to leave their jobs

Ethnic inequality in Australia

• In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) people have campaigned for equal rights

ATSI discrimination in Australia

• Many ATSI people still believe that they are discriminated against
• There are demands for:
• The restoration of land that was forcibly taken from ATSI people
• More cultural awareness programmes, like the cultural centre at Uluru run by aboriginal women