HCI 2008_H1 Hist_Prelim P1

HISTORY 8814/01 PAPER 1 International History c.1945-2000 27 August 2008 3.0 hours Additional Materials: Answer Paper READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name and CT on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper. Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid. Answer four questions. You must answer Question 1 (Section A) and any three questions from Section B. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together. All questions in this paper carry equal marks. HWA CHONG INSTITUTION College 2 Preliminary Examination 2008 General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Higher 1 This document consists 4 printed pages. HWA CHONG INSTITUTION [Turn over 1

Section A You must answer Question 1. The United Nations and Human Rights 1 Read the sources and then answer the question. Source A The United Nations has been crucial to the promotion of human right s, largely through the setting through treaties. This role is logical, given that t he UN is the only global intergovernmental organisation to define universal human rights. Global rights treaties can be developed outside the UN, as shown by the development of humanitarian law- with the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) serving as drafting secretariat and the Swiss government serving as convenor of diplomatic conferences. Yet, the UN has provided a crucial contribution by spec ifying standards. The UN’s other promotional work, such as its educational and technical assistance activities in the field of rights, has been less prominent. This does not mean that these activities are not important or should be expanded. An excerpt taken from an academic text on the subject published in 2001. Source B Unfortunately, the states which founded the UN did not recognise that this could only be done if a system was established for effective examination of the human rights situation within individual states, ra ther than talking in general terms and issuing pious declarations. This required a sacrifice of sovereignty which few of them were willing to contemplate. They created t herefore a system in which the UN was responsible mainly for enunciating general principles in this field, rather than securing any assurance that those principles would be actually fulfilled. This was to prove, at least for the first twenty- five years, a fatal weakness of the system. An excerpt taken from an academic text on the subject published in 1979. Source C The greatest work done for human rights in our generation is that of the human rights organisations in tandem with UN Human Rights Commission. Organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have kept the banner of human rig