Development Of Human Rights In International Law - Case Study Example

Development Of Human Rights In International Law I. Description of Human Rights Human Rights is defined as “rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.” (United Nations Human Rights "What are Human Rights?") Throughout history, people were able to obtain rights and obligations based on the organizations they belonged to – the basic unit of society or family, nation, spiritual group, community or state. II. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights It was on December 10, 1948 where the Declaration of Human Rights was presented to the world by the United Nations. It is a product of cruel acts and abuse committed during the Second World War. This was established by the convention of the UN in order to promite freedom and equity among nations. Listed below is a summary version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As human beings, it is important to understand and know what we are entitled to in order to achieve a healthy and satisfying existence and to be able to contribute fully in society. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1 - We are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be treated in the same way. Article 2 - These rights belong to everybody; whether we are rich or poor, whatever country we live in, whatever sex or whatever colour we are, whatever language we speak, whatever we think or whatever we believe. Article 3 - We all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety. Article 4 - Nobody has any right to make us a slave. We cannot make anyone else our slave. Article 5 - Nobody has any right to hurt us or to torture us. Article 6 - We all have the same right to use the law. Article 7 - The law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly. Article 8 - We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not treated fairly. Article 9 - Nobody has the right to put us in prison without a good reason, to keep us there or to send us away from our country. Article 10 - If someone is accused of breaking the law they have the right to a fair and public trial. Article 11 - Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it has been proved that they did it. If people say we did something bad, we have the right to show this was not true. Nobody should punish us for something that we did not do, or for doing something which was not against the law when we did it. Article 12 - Nobody should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home, open our letters, or bother us or our family without a very good reason. Article 13 - We all have the right to go where we want to in our own country and to travel abroad as we wish. Article 14 - If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe. Article 15 - We all have the right to belong to a country. Article 16 - Every grown up has the right to marry and have a family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are married, and when they are separated. Article 17 - Everyone has the right to own things or share them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason. Article 18 - We all have the right to believe in what we want to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want. Article 19 - We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people wherever they live, through books, radio, television and in other ways. Article 20 - We all have the right to meet our friends and to work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if we don't want to. Article 21 - We all have the right to take part in the government of our country. Every grown up should be allowed to choose their own leaders from time to time and should have a vote which should be made in secret. Article 22 - We all have the right to a home, to have enough money to live on and medical help if we are ill. We should all be allowed to enjoy music, art, craft, sport and to make use of our skills. Article 23 - Every grown up has the right to a job, to get a fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union. Article 24 - We all have the right to rest from work and relax. Article 25 - We all have the right to a good life, with enough food, clothing, housing, and healthcare. Mothers and children, people without work, old and disabled people all have the right to help. Article 26 - We all have the right to an education, and to finish primary school, which should be free. We should be able learn a career, or to make use of all our skills. We should learn about the United Nations and about how to get on with other people and respect their rights. Our parents have the right to choose how and what we will learn. Article 27 - We all have the right to our own way of life, and to enjoy the good things that science and learning bring. Article 28 - We have a right to peace and order so we can all enjoy rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world. Article 29 - We have a duty to other people, and we should protect their rights and freedoms. Article 30 - Nobody can take away these rights and freedoms from us. (Amnesty international, UK, 2008) III. Charactersistics of Human Rights a. Universal – because they are equally applicable to everyone b. Inalienable – because these are rights that have been bestowed on individuals the moment they are born and cannot be easily taken away c. Indivisible – all rights are interconnected and cannot be separated into small sections. A violation of one right could lead to the violation of another, and so on. (Amnesty international, UK, 2008) Civil and governmental rights, industrial and social rights, environmental and cultural rights should co-exist. How will a person be able to exercise these without one complimenting the other? Say for example, how will a person be able to enjoy education and freedom of expression among others if he/she hasn’t been given the privilege to live in the first place? IV. Two Contradicting Points of View a. Human Rights Are Not Universal According to an online journal entry written by Shashi Tharoor, the issue regarding whether or not Human Rights is universal has continually been debated upon by critics. She states that “the perception that human rights as a universal discourse is … being questioned and resisted by both intellectuals and states…nothing can be universal; that all rights and values are defined and limited by cultural perceptions.” (Tharoor, 1998) Cultural backgrounds and religious views affect the implementation of human rights all over the world. Non-western civilizations and individuals are not endowed with the same rights as what the Westerners are accustomed to. Many argue that some human rights are not applicable to their societies. For example, “the right to paid vacations” may be something that under-developed countries would highly dispute. Why would their governments agree to give out all-expense-paid trips whereas the masses are experiencing hunger and poverty? Another example would be the issue regarding religion. There has been debates that religion should not be universal because people have their own spiritual preferences. People have their own distinct orientations and ways of excercising their personal beliefs in God. Some are even agnostic, meaning that they question the existence of a Higher Being; while some are simply anti-religion. A second online article, written by Dr. Balakrishnan, argues about gender rights. He argues that “there can be no universal rights because experiences of men and women are meaningful within a cultural context and that transcultural rights are an impossibility.” (Balakrishnan) This approach demands that even if women are not visibly active in societal/political sects, women issues should be seen within the boundaries of cultural facts rather than as controversies facing women in general. In Afghanistan, the Talibans ( the governing Muslim group) only allow women to leave their houses if and only if they are accompanied by a husband or brother. They are also denied the access to education. Not only do they want to spread their influences to other states, but they also require to be left alone to continue practicing their own religious and cultural values at home without foreign intervention. (Franck, 2001) b. Human Rights Are Universal Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Social Contract theories state that man entered into society to protect his rights and to flourish and grow in a climate of relative peace and order. He subsumed his nature to be governed by a set of rules to prevent anarchy and destruction. He provided his talents to improve and advance society, thereby enhancing the quality of life within that society. In return, he expected the society or the state to protect his basic rights as a human being and as a member of the society and continues to uphold the social contract. Another article attests to the fact that Human Rights are indeed universal because they equally apply to every individual everywhere in the world. Men were created equal regardless of race, culture, social, political and religious differences and therefore, deserve to have a universal stand on human rights.  One rule should apply to all. When it comes to cultural discussions, those who are in developing countries state that the implementation of such rights would be dysfunctional since their tasks concerning nation building and economic reinforcements have yet to be completed. The saying “Old habits die hard” may be true, but culture in any society is perpetually changing and there is no stopping it. Thus, it is unnecessary to let congenial human rights be affected by ever-changing cultural diversities. An example is about African women being regarded to as worldy posessions. That outlook is completely unacceptable nowadays. Human rights should not be look upon as a threat to traditional culture since both humanitarian aspects inculcates the same attributes of conserving life, freedom and security. Hence, these should be used to enlighten specific cultures to appreciate cultural rectitude and divergence without endangering the universal standard of human rights. . V. Conclusion All men were born equal and are meant to co-exist harmoniously and peacefully among societies and nations.. I believe that Human Rights should be universally specific. It should be implemented comprehensively throughout the world but only up to a certain level. It is impossible to execute these rights because not all people consider these appropriate to the cultures and traditions they have grown accustomed to. Grim insistence would most likely disorder the peace and solitude of a nation. The basic rights to be excercised should be narrowed down in its simplest and most acceptable decorum such as: the right to medical/health benefits and food, freedom to vote, freedom of speech, and the right to take part in social, economic and political affairs. Leaders should be unified on their stand without admonishing each of the nations cultural , social and religious differences. VI. References "What are Human Rights?." United Nations Human Rights. 2009. Web. 5 Dec 2009. . Amnesty international, UK, . "What are our human rights?." amnesty.org.uk (2008): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . "Human Rights." Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission (2009): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . Tharoor, Shashi. "Are Human Rights Universal? ." WORLD POLICY JOURNAL XVI.4 (1998): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . Balakrishnan, Dr. "THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW ." n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . Franck, Thomas. "Are Human Rights Universal?." Council on Foreign Relations (2001): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . Rousseau, Jean Jacques. "Social Contract: Book 1." (1762): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . Samson, nyombi mwebaza . "Definition of Human Rights." ArticlesGratuits.com n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . "What are human rights? ." United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (2009): n. pag. Web. 9 Dec 2009. . Read More