What Are Human Rights and How Far are States Concerned to Promote or Protect Them - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Democracy is the ideology whose main basis is ensuring equality for all and since many countries exercise democracy or its many variations, it means that many attempt to protect the human rights for the people under their protection. There is a direct correlation between the level of human rights protection and democracy, such that the closer to an ideal democracy a country is, the higher its likelihood of upholding high standards of human rights.1 This essay defines human rights, states the role of the state in upholding high human rights standards, and analyses Iceland and Pakistan and their levels of human rights protection. Definition of Human Rights By virtue of being human beings, people are entitled to rights and freedoms that should be universally accepted and available for everyone. In national and international laws, human rights exist as natural or legal rights; if they are not stated in the constitution, they are natural rights; otherwise, they are known as legal rights.2 Most public policies are based on the doctrine of human rights, including international and regional institutions, state policies, and activities of non-governmental organizations. However, due to the strong claims made for ideal human rights, they are hard to implement in they entirety, especially considering that many countries are just emerging from dictatorial and colonial rule. Moreover, it is not even clear what the term right means, mainly because in order to adhere to some of these rights, some people have to be favored over others. For instance, everyone has the right to a decent life; this means that states have to favor the unemployed people in an attempt to give them a life that is comparable to those who are employed. In any case, people believe they are entitled to some rights and privileges by virtue of their age, gender and economic status among other factors. Role of the State The state is responsible for enforcing the human rights of the people within its jurisdiction, and punishing offenders. It does this mainly by ensuring that people enjoy their human rights without interfering with those of others; laws, policies and Acts are the main tools used for this purpose. However, it does not mean that human rights have to be written; since they are basic rights, it means that if someone infringes into the rights of others, it is clear, though there may be some complications where religion and culture are involved. The level at which a government can enforce human rights is dependent on the structure of the government, with ideal democracies and dictatorships having the most and least respect for human rights respectively. Nowadays many countries lie between these two extremes, and their level of human rights enforcement varies depending on how much they share a characteristic with these two opposite ends.3 Most constitutional republics have a clause of human rights in their supreme law, which is uniform across all states. The level of implementation of these rights varies from time to time as governments change, changes in political stability, social factors and other environmental factors. The state ensures that all its people’s rights are protected at all times as conditions may permit. For instance, the basic rights of the people are limited if the country is in a state of emergency or undergoing a military coup. Moreover, the state is charged with ensuring that all local or international individuals, corporates, and other entities respect the human rights of its citizens wherever they may be.4 State Analysis As mentioned above, various states have varied levels of implementation ...Download file to see next pagesRead More