Strengths and Weaknesses of Human Rights Idea - Coursework Example

Identify Strengths and Weaknesses of The Human Rights Idea? Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Overview of Human Rights Ideas with its Allied Strengths and Weaknesses 3 3 Critical Argument and Synthesis between Theoretical Perspectives and Democratic Practice 6 6 Evolution with Cases and Examples 11 Conclusion 15 References 17 Introduction Human right is a group of ethical principles which is referring a standard of human behaviour and it is also protected by the legal rights for every country. In other words, human rights are the privileges of human being which eventually depend upon nationality of a human being, place of birth, gender of the individual, religion and language of the individual among others. It has been observed that human rights have been expressed by law and the main objectives of human rights are based on the values of culture and they must be represented by every country1. With reference to the notion of human rights, it has been derived that all over the world, human rights have been promoted and protected for the entire human civilisation for its fundamental freedom, political, economic and cultural issue. Human rights are equal and non-discriminatory for every human being in a society1. With these considerations, the primary objective of this study is to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the human rights ideas. Apart from this, the other objective is to analyse the prevailing purview of human rights including a critical argument between theoretical perspectives and democratic practice along with replicating an evaluation of the human rights ideas with case examples which either substantiates or challenges the laid down perspective. Overview of Human Rights Ideas with its Allied Strengths and Weaknesses The history of human rights changed along with the modern era. The idea of human rights had been designed by the human beings. The humans also govern it which is enforceable by the law. According to the law, every human being is equal and independent. Besides, no one has the right to harm/ kill anyone. Moreover, everybody has a chance of doing anything as a profession which is applicable under the law. However, it has been observed that over the years even after equalising everything a number of grave problems remain unchanged2. According to Charles R. Beitz, the idea of human rights function has been large and wide. In order to describe this, it has various positive and negative aspects. Human rights can enable to define emanating problems from a moral standpoint. According to his proposition, human right is the independent moral entity which is the key scope of human being3. It has been identified that after the establishment of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), human rights are maintained systematically by the entire world. Subsequently, plenty of countries’ government has started promoting human rights domestically and internationally2. Human rights have several advantages or strength among them a few considerations are being discussed herein. For instance, in the Muslim countries, prevention has taken place to stop mass killing. On the other hand, government of every country has imposed huge amount of significance on the civil and political rights4. Moreover, human rights have been enforced on various activities like war, criminal activities and certain other offences. It has been observed that human rights are imposed on adequate housing, business, children, climate, democracy, education, environment, food along with establishing freedom of opinion, economic, social as well as cultural rights. For different countries human rights are applicable in different ways. Human rights were traditionally called as natural rights because it is convinced as a moral and political foundation2. In terms of the findings related to strengths and weaknesses, it has been ascertained that there are several perspectives based on which the strengths and weaknesses of human rights can be acknowledged2.With regard to the findings of the prospective strengths of human rights, it can be stated that right to freedom, right to justice, right to speak, right to business and women right are the invaluable assets of the human rights idea. Primarily owing to the presence of human rights, it has been observed that over the years, human beings have started living more freely. On the other hand, if a gaze is laid down on the path of history, plenty of in-disciplined atmospheres due to the absence of human rights can be witnessed. A century earlier, most of the countries were dominated by the other powerful nations due to the absence of human rights. Even at that point of time, there were a few other things that had become more distinguished for the human society including right of privacy, freedom movement and religion worship among others5. Correspondingly, after the emergence of the idea of human rights, there are still few negative aspects that remain alive and a few more negative aspects that may arise. Every country uses preamble as an instrument of human rights. In most of the cases, it has been found during the mention of the human rights that preamble was designed without making any discrimination amid sex, languages and religion. It has been observed that unfortunately a few aspects that have common grounds of discrimination still persist within the preamble of human rights idea encompassing sexual orientation, disability, nationality and age. These aspects can be termed as its weakness3. During the observation of weaknesses of the human rights, it has further affirmed that in most of the cases, sexual orientation has become a prior problem in modern days. Most of the countries witnessed in-disciplined atmosphere in case of rights related to disability and age. From another prospective, it has been recognised that during the preparation of preamble, most of countries did not enforce law regarding this aspect as a result it had created problems for several countries over the years3. According to the report related to Philippines, it has been found that armed forces of the Philippines had killed several individuals unlawfully. According to the news published in December’ 2006, there were 115 cases being executed by the militant members and political parties. Besides, it has also been found that around 50 unlawful killings took place in between the year. Thus, it can be summarised as a negative impact of human rights as basic human right to life was violated6. Critical Argument and Synthesis between Theoretical Perspectives and Democratic Practice Universal human rights had been declared in 1948 and since then it has become a global norm which has been globally accepted everywhere. Over the years, it has faced a number of regional arguments and also it has been violated in many countries all over the globe. Along with the time, it is propounded that international politics have become more and more dominated by the power and as a result the entire world has become more hypocritical. Accordingly, it can be stated that, the term human rights is used frequently but the understanding and implication has remained quite invisible. Human rights are not the subject of any political forces but in practical it has been observed that political issues are involved with these rights over and over again. Consequently, the significance of human rights does not agree completely with the laid down proposition of theoretical explanation related to human rights. The fundamental challenges of human rights are used as a democratic practice. In case of theoretical perspective, human rights act as an instrument of political issue7. Human rights have been introduced to provide natural opportunities to the human beings of the society. The aim has primarily been to offer the human beings an opportunity to live along with imposing boundaries regarding ethics and culture. Nonetheless over the years, it has been acknowledged that several critiques have deeply criticized it comprehensively. According to the analysis, it has been found that the human rights have been classified into three major fields encompassing religious, human agency and political based approaches respectively. The main objective behind such segregation has been to depict the indivisibility on these theories for human being. However, unfortunately, it has largely not been implemented as was expected. By drawing a synthesis between theoretical perspectives and democratic practices, it has been found that there can be a number of critical arguments. It has been observed that human rights have been desecrated in several ways which has negatively impacted the theoretical perspective8. According to democratic point of view the right to freedom, right to speak and right to vote among others are the key elements of democracy9. In order to explain the democratic human rights, it can be mentioned that democracy provides the natural instrument of protection and also ensures the civil and political rights. The significance of contribution of political rights on democracy is to vote10. In this regard, in the year 2000, according to a report of a commission, the practical measures of democratic practices were emphasised as below: 1) Respect for human rights along with fundamental freedoms 2) Freedom of association 3) Freedom of expression as well as opinion 4) Admittance to power as well as its exercise in keeping with the rule of law 5) The holding of intervallic free and impartial elections by world-wide suffrage and by undisclosed ballot as the manifestation of the will of the individuals 6) A pluralistic system belonging to political parties along with organizations 7) The alienation of powers 8) The independence related to the judiciary 9) Transparency as well as accountability with regard to public administration 10) Free, autonomous and pluralistic media These are the essential elements of demographic practices. In order to support democracy, the United Nations has also secured three key pillars including peace, security and development for the human rights. During the practice of human rights, United Nations has always provided high attention on these key elements to prevent any kind of in-disciplined atmosphere11. There are a few negative aspects present in case of democratic practices of human rights; which are known as democracy deficits. These include weak institutions and poor leadership. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have attempted to address those threats through technical co-operation programmes and advisory services. The main objective is to reinforce the legal framework for human rights fortification, which is related with institutional and legal aspects12. The democratic governing body of United Nations has supported the role of individuals and people for the growth of human beings and development of the society. However, it can be possible only when individuals will thoroughly enjoy the human rights. In 2011, United Nations Development Programme had contributed around US$1.5 billion among 130 countries for the development of human rights. The main objective of UNPD has been to promote efficiency, contribution and responsibility in every level. At the same time, UNPD has also aimed to upraise the rights of women and poor. On the contrary, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also promoted democratic government for the administration of justice along with increasing the capacity of parliament to involve in human right fortification, assisting civil society and building the constitutional processes. According to a survey report, it has been observed that around 90 countries all over the world have developed their position in respect of human rights13. In 2002 and 2005, couple of seminars had been organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to shed light on the main challenges of democratic human rights. The ascertained findings include: Deepening poverty Threats to human society The violations of personal rights and impairments to the gratification of basic freedoms Corrosions of the rule related to law in circumstances such as counter-terrorism Unlawful employment comprising the use of force The growth of armed conflicts Imbalanced access to righteousness by underprivileged groups Impunity These are the main challenges of democratic human rights to develop national and regional backgrounds and strategies for the understanding of democracy14. Evolution with Cases and Examples The evolution of human rights arises day-by-day due to the crisis being frequently imposed on the society. The problems of human rights in the society are increasing due the spiritual, cultural and moral transformations. The human rights theories have connected with the long evolution of philosophical, political, social reflection and legal aspects on social democratic traditions. On the other hand, it can be asserted that as human beings have identified the requirement of peace, security, health and comfortability along with fair legal systems for every person, human rights idea has been brought into practice. During the evolution of human rights, civil and political rights have been mostly taken into concern. It has been ascertained as first generation rights. And, it had been taken into concern during the seventeen and eighteen century period15. According to the first generation human rights act, eventually it has emphasised the physical and moral aspects. This right has focused on equality, liberty, freedom to practice religion, freedom of opinion and avoidance of torture and killing as a civil right. Subsequently, legal rights are normally focused on the protection of human beings related to legal and political issues, for instance right to vote and right to appeal16. Correspondingly, as a result, during the war between the European countries with Soviet bloc plenty of criticism has been done12. After the first generation act second generation rights came into existence. It is generally based on the people’s life and works together with the basic necessities of life. These necessities of life depend upon the social, economic and cultural rights. Social rights can be defined as the right of education, right of recreation, health care and right of privacy. Apart from these, economic rights include the right to work, right to live and the necessity of human dignity. Conversely, critical rights refer to the cultural life of the community and also the right of education. These social, economic and cultural rights outline the various limitations of human kind12. Over the years, social and economic rights have assured the benefits of standard of living, housing and conditions of employment which are inter-related with human dignity. Social and economic rights have ensured the distribution of discipline in a massive way throughout the entire world. In accordance with this perspective, it can be emphasised that second generation rights are more effective than the first generation rights. Also, second generation human rights are more realistic or reliable than the first generation human rights. From the experts’ point of view, it can be inferred that many independent countries have applied this second generation human rights to ensure the requirement of the human kind successfully12. Human rights are the fundamental unchangeable rights that human beings need to obey. In this regard, government can also pass the law or enforce the law to protect human rights. Even, it can also be apparently observed that the rights which are passed by government have to be maintained by the citizens17. A few of those human rights are include the ‘right of life’, the ‘right of liberty and freedom’, the ‘right of pursuit of happiness’, the ‘right to live once life free of discrimination’, and the ‘right of freedom of speech’ among others. These are known as fundamental human rights. These rights would exist even without government protection or intervention12. On the other hand, there are a few controversial human rights which are completely different from the perspective of the fundamental aspects. Those human rights include the right to reproductive freedom, right to choose abortion, right to marry a person of the same sex, the right to bear arms and right to regulate and affordable health insurance subsidized among others. These human rights are most controversial; correspondingly most people accept these rights because of social safety12. The third generation rights have also been internationally recognised. The third generation human rights idea is termed as solidarity and it has been introduced to hold collective rights for society or people. The third generation human rights idea has brought certain sustainable developments in the environment. In order to uphold a healthy environment, these rights have attempted to avoid the war, poverty and ecological and natural disasters. For this reason, many people affirmed that third generation human rights have ensured the appropriate condition of the society. Thus, it can be asserted that this set of human rights i.e. third generation has provided much more benefits than that of first and second generation rights12. Even in the 21st century, people are still fighting for human rights18. During the Syria conflict, thousands of people died. Primarily owing to the irresponsibility of the government, massive number of people died and still those who are alive are fighting for their human rights. According to the experts view, human rights are important everywhere but it is not the solution of war; it cannot stop the conflict between two independent entities19. At the same time, in Nigeria’s Zamfara state, about 400 children were killed during the process of extracting gold from the gold mine due to lead poisoning since the year 2010. It has been also observed that in excess of 3500 children are in need of immediate treatment for life saving purpose, but unfortunately half of the children are not able to find any medical attention till now. It has been also determined that most of the children are affected due to the lead contaminated dust effect and they were also exposed to toxic lead elements in polluted food and water sources20. Conclusion The idea of human rights has developed the modern society in a massive way over the years. It has played a crucial role in society around the entire world. In order to conclude the discussion, it can be asserted that human rights are the moral values and ethics of human kind. During the analysis of the human rights from the historical period to modern era, it is acknowledged that along with the time and circumstances human rights have been classified into three generations. Moreover, it has been also identified that the presence of the human rights idea facilitates to ensure the development of the culture, society and life-style of the human beings. Besides, the objective is to focus on the protection of individuals and groups against powerful alliances. Altogether it can be asserted that human rights idea possesses different theoretical perspectives for the entire world. According to the preferences, the country-wise democratic practices of human rights have been uphold by various nations around the world. The way a country leads its democratic practices of human rights ideas, according to that proportion, the country can develop its outfits, for instance judiciary system, political situation and economic status among others. Conclusively, from the evolution of human rights idea one of the essential elements learnt is its undeniable impact on society and human life. In the future perspective, in order to ensure that global societies are able to maintain a peaceful environment for people to live, the human rights idea will play a massive and decisive role. References BBC. ‘News Magazine’, A Point Of View: Two Cheers for Human Rights, , 2013 (accessed 08 April 2014). Benhabib, S. Dignity in Adversity: Human Rights in Troubled Times. John Wiley & Sons, United Kingdom, 2011. Chun, L. ‘Human Rights and Democracy: The Case for Decoupling’. The International Journal of Human Rights. Vol. 5, issue 3, 2001, pp.19-44. Council on Foreign Relations. ‘The Global Human Rights Regime’, Human Rights: Strengths and Weaknesses, , 2013 (accessed 08 April 2014). Council on Foreign Relations. ‘The Global Human Rights Regime’, Scope of the Challenge, , 2013 (accessed 08 April 2014). Council of Europe. ‘The Evolution of Human Rights’, Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People, n.d. pp.291-295. Dinsmore, G. ‘Debate: When Less Really is Less – What's Wrong with Minimalist Approaches to Human Rights’. Journal of Political Philosophy, Vol. 15, issue 4, 2007, pp.473-483. Fields, A. B. Rethinking Human Rights for the New Millennium. Palgrave Macmillan, United Kingdom, 2003. Human Rights Watch, ‘Human Rights Issues Regarding the Philippines Submitted by Human Rights Watch to the UN Human Rights Committee’, Paramilitary and Militia Abuses, Vol. 1, issue 1, 2012, pp.1-4. Human Rights Watch. ‘World Report 2013’, A Heavy Price, Vol 1, issue 1, n.d. pp.1-663. 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