Human Rights as a Western Construct That Problematically Prioritize the Individual Ahead of the Community - Essay Example

Human Rights Author’s Name Class Name Professor’s Name School City and State Date Human Rights ‘Human rights are a western construct that problematically prioritize the individual ahead of the community.’ Critically evaluate. Introduction Human rights can be defined as the fundamental freedoms and rights that all individuals are entitled to enjoy despite their ethnic or national origin, nationality, language, race, sex, religion or another status. Human rights include political and civil rights such as right to freedom of expression and liberty, life, social, economic, and cultural rights such as right to food, right to work, right to education and the right to participate in culture (Ishay, Micheline 2008). Human rights are upheld also protected by treaties, national, and international laws. Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the basis of human rights protection in the international system that safeguards human rights. UDHR was adopted in the year 1948 December 10th by the United Nations General Assembly and is celebrated every year as the International Human Rights Day. Human rights involve a relationship that exists between people and the government that rules them or has power over them. The government exercises power over its people but with human rights, it means that this power is limited, and the government has the responsibility of protecting its people and some of their freedoms. In this paper, I will disagree with the above statement. Human rights are a western construct but do not problematically prioritize individuals ahead of their community. According to United for Human rights, human rights revolution dates back in 539 BC when the first king “Persia Cyrus the Great” conquered Babylonian city and freed all the slaves. He then established racial equality and declared that people had the right of choosing their religion. These decrees among others were recorded in a cylinder that was baked from Clay in the Akkadian language. Today this cylinder is known as Cyrus Cylinder, and it is now recognized as the first charter of human rights in the world. It has been translated to all six United Languages. From Babylon, the human rights idea spread rapidly to India, Greece and then to Rome. According to United for Human Rights (2008), the Magna Carta of 1215 is arguably the most noteworthy early influence on the human right history process. The human history process led to legislation of the constructional law in the English-speaking world. Magna Carta was a document that was signed by King John of England after violation of several ancient customs and laws. Having seen the actions of the king, his subjects forced him to sign the document MagnaCarta” which enumerated what later came to be known as human rights. The next milestone in human right revolution was the 1628 Petition of Right, which was sent to Charles 1 by English parliament. The Petition of Rights was sent to demand the government to stop using force to get taxes from people among other unpopular government’s acts. Another milestone was United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. The independence of United States of America stressed two themes namely right of revolution and individual rights. These themes were widely held by American and were spread internationally (United for Human Rights 2008). They influenced other nations particularly the French Revolution. US Constitution that was written in 1787 and the bill of rights in 1791 were another milestone that left a significant mark in formalizing the human rights. The United States Constitution is the oldest written constitution that describes the key organs of the government, their powers and the basic human rights of citizens. The other significant milestones are Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in 1789, the First Geneva Convention that took place in 1864, and the United Nations 1945 (United for Human Rights 2008). The United Nations aimed to prevent future wars by promoting peace after the Second World War that started in 1939 and 1945 left millions of people dead and millions of people homeless. In 1948, the United Nations formulated the Universal Declaration of Human rights, which outlined the freedoms, and rights to be enjoyed by citizens of all nations. All the United Nations member states pledged to work to combine efforts in the promotion of the thirty human rights articles. These articles were assembled also codified into one document for the first time in history. Consequently, these rights in diverse forms have been incorporated in many constitutional laws of democratic countries (United for Human Rights 2008). It is true that human rights emerged from the western countries. The above systematic revolution of human rights clearly shows the United Kingdom, United States, and the United Nations, which is a creation of the western countries as the major prepares in the human rights revolution. However, it is not true that the human rights problematically put the individual ahead of the community. The human rights revolution was not a creation of one individual. The process-involved individuals from different nationalities brought together by the challenges that were affecting both individuals and the community (Neier, 2012). A community is composed of many individuals living together and sharing the same goals. It is right to say that there is no community without individuals. We can also argue that the world is a larger community or global community since we all live in the same world. With such an argument, we can then conclude that a community that is part of a global community carried out human rights revolution. With the emergence of human rights and groups that fight for human rights, slavery trade was put to a halt. Powerful merchants in the community carried out the slave trade. People had no input to what these powerful goons decided. The community belonged to the few powerful individuals who made decisions on what was good for the community. Individuals as well as the community suffered. When somebody comes and take what rightfully belongs to you or something you have struggled to acquire, you feel offended. When someone forces you to do something against your will, you feel not only helpless but also offended. When nothing is done to that person, you feel oppressed. If you lack power or strength to deal with such a person, you feel oppressed. Such acts happen in communities where human rights are not upheld (Neier, 2012). These actions took place in our communities before the human rights revolution took place. Problems in the community were many, and they could not be solved because everyone had a right to do what he felt it was good for him and did not care the consequences of his actions to others. Such acts prove that the absence of human rights led to problems in the community. It is through human rights that we can cater for the welfare of the community. My argument here is human rights exist because of the community. If the world had only one individual, it means he or she would not require human rights because he neither has somebody to respect nor does he have someone to respect him. This argument shows that human rights are in place because of the community and not the vice versa. Human rights exist to enable us leave harmoniously with one another in the community. The human rights are also in place to ensure that the people in power do not oppress their subjects. Human rights and democracy compliments one another. Human rights limit the right of human beings by safeguarding the fundamental human rights. For people to enjoy the basic human rights they have to limit some of their practices that in their own eyes may seem right but are not right for others. For example, one may want to kill somebody else because he has wronged him. However, the human rights state that every person has a right to life. Having the right to life means that even a thief deserves to live, and nobody has the right to take somebody else life. However, to help tame the thief that you may want to kill, the human right further states that every person has a right to possess or own property. If one violates the human rights, there are measures put in place, for example, the courts that help deliver justice. The human freedom does not require any person to take the law into their hands but to seek justice through the stipulated legal channels. Upholding the human rights ensures that there is justice for individuals hence justice for the community. We have observed that his forced King John of England subject to sign the Great Charter (Magna Carter) by his subject after he violated the customs and ancient laws of England. The subjects wanted the church to operate without interference from the government. The subject also wanted the king to be protected from the excessive taxes as well as to be allowed to own property (Ishay, Micheline 2008). To push for these rights was not the work of individuals but the work of the community. Individuals did not fight for human rights rather the community fought for human rights. When the rights of citizens or individuals are violated, the rights of the community cannot stand. It is through the community that rights of individuals are achieved. The 1975 and 1976, Sex Discrimination Act and the Race Relation Act illegalized any act of discrimination against any person on the grounds of ethnicity or gender and introduced the indirect discrimination concept. By promoting individual rights as a community, we promote the rights of the community as well. When communities embrace the human rights, people are able to live harmoniously and express themselves without fear. People can own property, move freely from one place to another and more also people have freedom to worship. To access all these freedoms, people must be willing to give the same freedom to other human beings. By promoting human rights, the community can experience development because people live with one another without feeling insecure thus; they can focus their energies on building themselves hence building the community. Conclusion Human rights are a western construct that is neither problematic nor does it put individuals ahead of the community. It promotes individual rights and through which the rights of the community are upheld. The history of human rights shows the problems that were faced by the communities existed because of lack of it. Human rights have helped bring order to the communities by promoting peace and enhancing respect for individuals. Human a rights is a remedy to problems that existed and not a problem itself. The rights of the community depend on the rights of the individuals. Communities exist because individuals exist. Human rights are Western construct but do not problematic prioritize individuals ahead of the community. References ISHAY, M. R. (2008). The history of human rights: from ancient times to the globalization era. Berkeley, Calif. [u.a.], Univ. of California Press. NEIER, A. (2012). The international human rights movement: a history. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press. United for Human Rights. (2008). Website. 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