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More handpicked essays just for you.
Challenges to the universality and inalienability of human rights
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Our global is consist of various countries and people have different cultures. However they have one thing in common that is the rights to be an individuality. All human beings are born equally regardless of nation, gender, religion and other aspects which may discriminate people from another. Although people have the same rights, some of them are oppressed and trespassed by others in world politics. This essay will illustrate the role of human rights in world politics in three main points. Firstly, the definition of human rights will be illuminated. Secondly, it will exemplify the role of human rights in world politics. Finally, the challenge of human rights will be advanced.
What are Human Rights?
Human rights are described as the rights which valid for every people simply because they are human being (Flowers, n.d.). Human rights are not only universal rights which apply to each person without exception but also incontrovertible which absolute and innate that cannot be denied by any national government. In addition human rights are subjective, they belong to individual subjects who dominate them because of their ability for rationality, agency and autonomy (O’Byrne, 2003). Human rights infer from three main interconnect foundation according to Redman and Whalen (1998) included religion, philosophy and law.
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In society, human rights are discussed due to the development of systematised definitions and human rights become widespread. Various ways of understanding have been brought to significant problems that is to say human rights are susceptible interpretation under cross-cultural context although there are international standard. Another challenges of human rights are take place in social problems such as poverty, social justice, inequality and discrimination. Human rights should have the challenge of intervention in order to solve the social problems in various areas across the
Every day, people are denied basic necessary human rights. One well known event that striped millions of these rights was the Holocaust, recounted in Elie Wiesel’s memoir, Night. As a result of the atrocities that occur all around the world, organizations have published declarations such as the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights. It is vital that the entitlement to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind, freedom of thought and religion, and the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being of themselves be guaranteed to everyone, as these three rights are crucial to the survival of all people and their identity.
According to Thomas Jefferson, all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights. Unalienable rights are rights given to the people by their Creator rather than by government. These rights are inseparable from us and can’t be altered, denied, nullified or taken away by any government, except in extremely rare circumstances in which the government can take action against a particular right as long as it is in favor of the people’s safety. The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America mentions three examples of unalienable rights: “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. I believe these rights, since they are acquired by every human being from the day they are conceived, should always be respected, but being realistic, most of the time, the government intervenes and either diminishes or
The issue of human rights has arisen only in the post-cold war whereby it was addressed by an international institution that is the United Nation. In the United Nation’s preamble stated that human rights are given to all humans and that there is equality for everyone. There will not be any sovereign states to diminish its people from taking these rights. The globalization of capitalism after the Cold War makes the issue of human rights seems admirable as there were sufferings in other parts of the world. This is because it is perceived that the western states are the champion of democracy which therefore provides a perfect body to carry out human rights activities. Such human sufferings occur in a sovereign state humanitarian intervention led by the international institution will be carried out to end the menace.
Since the Renaissance of the 15th century, societal views have evolved drastically. One of the largest changes has been the realization of individualism, along with the recognition of inalienable human rights.(UDHR, A.1) This means that all humans are equal, free, and capable of thought; as such, the rights of one individual cannot infringe on another’s at risk of de-humanizing the infringed upon. The fact that humans have a set of natural rights is not contested in society today; the idea of human rights is a societal construction based on normative ethical codes. Human rights are defined from the hegemonic standpoint, using normative ethical values and their application to the interactions of individuals with each other and state bodies. Human rights laws are legislature put in place by the governing body to regulate these interactions.
The evolution of human rights is a remarkable process in the Post-World War II international law. Human rights went through a very influential change following 1945 as a result of the massive violations of human rights taking place during the Second World War. The next sixty years were marked by the development of sophisticated international human rights treaties. General human rights gradually climbed up to the international level and joined the club of slavery and labor rights. The adoption of the UN Char...
Human rights are the inborn and universal rights of every human being regardless of religion, class, gender, culture, age, ability or nationality, that ensure basic freedom and dignity. In order to live a life with self-respect and dignity basic human rights are required.
One of the main reasons why human rights have been put in place is to protect the public life and public space of every individual being. One fundamental characteristic of human rights is that they are equal rights; they are aimed at providing protection to every person in an equal way. These rights have been entrenched through laws that are passed by states and international conventions. Human rights laws have evolved over time, and have been shaped by several factors, including philosophical theories in the past. This paper looks at the theories of two philosophers, Emmanuel Kant and John Stuart Mills, and how their teachings can be used to explain the sources of human rights. Kant’s moral philosophy is very direct in its justification of human rights, especially the ideals of moral autonomy and equality as applied to rational human beings. John Stuart Mills’ theory of utilitarianism also forms a solid basis for human rights, especially his belief that utility is the supreme criterion for judging morality, with justice being subordinate to it. The paper looks at how the two philosophers qualify their teachings as the origins of human rights, and comes to the conclusion that the moral philosophy of Kant is better than that of Mills.
Human rights are universal and applicable to everyone no matter their cultural distinctions. The concept of human rights has been cultivated and molded for centuries. Various cultures such as Greece, Britain, and Rome have in their history all had a form of human rights within their ideologies and laws. It was not until World War II that international human rights were determined as law. Traditional legal theory focuses are reason and rationale based. Law is viewed as “application of formulated rules to established facts yielding decisions (Morris, 1958, pg. 148).” Sociologist Catherine Lane West-Newman (2005) in Feeling for Justice? Rights, Laws, and Cultural Context explores the absence of emotions and feelings within our current legal
Human Rights in international law have been an immense issue for long period of time and continues to be. International human rights began to come to question, from the way soldiers and civilians were treated in times of war. International human rights involving war issues then extended to consist of other rights. When colonialism broadened it brought problems with minorities, which led to questioning human rights. Then in western regions in the world the increase debate about women’s statu...
In the simplest of terms, human rights are those that undoubtedly belong to each person. These rights, from a philosophical standpoint, have certain characteristics that distinguish them from any other. According to Richard Wasserstrom, author of the article, "Rights, Human Rights, and Racial Discrimination," human rights embody several characteristics. Primarily, and perhaps obviously, human rights are those that belong solely to humans (Wasserstrom 631). Moreover, Wasserstrom...
The link between democracy and human rights has been recognized by many scholars. For example O’Donnell (2004) summarized the quality of democracy as: Quality of Democracy = human rights + human development. This viewpoint indicates that democracy encapsulates human rights. Several research findings strongly support the idea that states with higher levels of democracy, regardless of their election rules, are more respectful of human rights (Davenport 1997; Poe, Tate, and Keith 1999).
Human rights are regarded as the keystone of modernity. There are various international bills to entrench the modern ideas of human rights, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Human beings are entitled to civil and political rights against violation by the state, as long as the social, economic and cultural rights.
While on one hand there is a growing consensus that human rights are universal on the other exist critics who fiercely oppose the idea. Of the many questions posed by critics revolve around the world’s pluri-cultural and multipolarity nature and whether anything in such a situation can be really universal.
There have been individuals and even countries that oppose the idea that human rights are for everybody. This argument shall be investigated in this essay, by: exploring definitions and history on human rights, debating on whether it is universal while providing examples and background information while supporting my hypothesis that human rights should be based on particular cultural values and finally drawing a conclusion. A general definition of human rights is that they are rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, simply because they are human. It is the idea that ‘all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.’
The role that globalization plays in spreading and promoting human rights and democracy is a subject that is capable spurring great debate. Human rights are to be seen as the standards that gives any human walking the earth regardless of any differences equal privileges. The United Nations goes a step further and defines human rights as,