The Obligations of States Regarding International Human Rights - Assignment Example

The Obligations of s Regarding International Human Rights Human rights are fundamental rights that every person is inherently en d to because they are human beings. These rights are thus universal and can also be described as international human rights. Just to give a brief history; these rights were initially advocated for by the international human rights movement. The movement was strengthened in 1948 when Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (Ishay 12). These rights were drafted and described as a common standard of achievement for all nations and all people. For the first time in the history of humanity, the declaration spelled out basic political, civic, economic, cultural and social rights that all human beings were entitled to enjoy. Over time, these rights have come to be accepted as the fundamental human rights that all persons should respect and protect. International customary law and international treaties form the backbone of the law protecting international human rights. Other instruments include principles, guidelines and declarations adopted at international level. The respect for these rights requires the establishment of laws which should be accomplished both at national and international levels. Obligations of states The international human rights law outlines obligations that all states should respect in regard to international human rights. Beitz (162), states that by becoming parties to treaties made at international levels, states automatically assume duties and obligations under international law to protect, respect and fulfil these human rights. The obligation to respect the human rights means that states should not in any way interfere with or curtail the enjoyment of these rights. Under the obligation to protect, states are required to protect individual persons and groups against the abuse of their human rights. Under the obligation to fulfil, states are required to undertake positive and appropriate actions that will facilitate the enjoyment of these human rights. In conformity to this, Shaw (98) states that it is the obligation of the state to ensure that its citizens enjoy all the human rights that are guarded by international customary law. These include the prohibition of genocide, slavery, torture and discrimination. In order to achieve these three major obligations, it is the duty of every state to formulate national laws and policies that work together towards the protection of these rights. Beitz (163) states that governments undertake to establish domestic legislation and measures that are compatible with their treaty duties and obligations. The extend to which the concept of human rights should accommodate diversity Human rights do not respect cultural diversity among the various societies across the globe because the rights are universal. Neither was it formulated to accommodate it. However, this does not mean that these rights are in total conflict with many cultures across the globe. Evidently, there seems to be a great agreement with many of the cultural aspects of several societies globally and this also includes various religions. For example Christianity and other major religions are grounded on human dignity and every person is expected to respect the dignity and worth of humanity. This complements the secular perspective of the same subject. The practices of different cultures also indicate a great respect for human rights. From the above explanation, it means that to some extend, but not intentional, the concept of human rights accommodates cultural diversity. At the same time, it is also evident that, intentionally, it does not accommodate cultural diversity. In my view, the concept of human rights should accommodate cultural diversity only to levels in which the enjoyment of basic human rights are not interfered with. This means that only those actions that do not hint discrimination by gender or age, infliction of pain, denial of the rights to live and all other outlined should be incorporated into the human rights of various cultures and respected internationally. If this not done, that is, if this is not strictly limited, then there will be massive cases of abuse of human rights in many cases. Difficulties with such an approach to human rights One of the difficulties that is evident with the accommodation of cultural diversity in international human rights is that it leads to an akward relationships between people of different cultural backgrounds and confusion of roles. For example, western feminists campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) as a way of promoting human rights among women. FGM is a violation of human rights because it involves a dangerous, painful and irreversible procedure that impacts negatively on the child bearing, general health and educational opportunities of women and girls. It also increases their risks of being infected with HIV/AIDs. At the same time, the western feminists want to be tolerant to the cultures of other people and, FGM being part of the culture of some people (UCL Centre for Applied Global Citizenship 1). Such an approach also leads to tension between cultural commitments and the demands of human rights (Caney and Jones 3). this is because some of the cultural [practices are in conflict with the requirements of the international human rights law for example, early marriages in some communities yet the international human rights law protects education for all people. Conclusion Every person is entitled to equal and full enjoyment of all human rights. These are categorised as social, political, civil, cultural and economic rights. It is therefore the obligation to ensure that it protects, respects and facilitates the enjoyment of all rights granted trough international treaties, principles, guidelines and declarations adopted at international level, and those protected by the international customary law. In order to facilitate this, the governments of various states should establish domestic legislation and measures that are compatible with their treaty duties and obligations. The respect for cultural is important. However, this is not more important as the protection of human rights. This means that if the concept of human rights is to be allowed to accommodate cultural diversity, it should be limited to extends where the full and equal enjoyment of human rights is not interfered with. Works Cited Beitz Charles. The idea of human rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2009.  Caney Simon and Peter Jones. Human rights and global diversity. London. Frank Cass Publishers. Ishay Micheline. The history of human rights: from ancient times to the globalization era. Berkeley, Calif. University of California Press. 2008. Shaw Malcom. International Law (6th Ed). Leiden. Cambridge University Press. 2008. UCL Centre for Applied Global Citizenship.(2010). “How do Human Rights accommodate Cultural Diversity?” www.intact-network.net/.../1294572931_.. Retrieved 17th November 2011. Read More