World Issues of Human Rights - Essay Example

Human Rights World Issues Introduction Human Rights exist. The Office of the Higher Commissioner for Human Rights defines Human rights as the basic rights and freedoms that all human beings are entitled to irrespective of nationality, race, language, sex, national or ethnic origin, religion, or other status. Human rights have several characteristics, they are: universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent (Office of the Higher Commissioner for Human Rights, 1). What are they (i.e. which rights)? According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (1), every person has the Right to life. It does not include a right to die. The right to life is absolute; despite that, there are circumstances when this right does not apply. An individual’s right to life is not violated if they die when a public authority utilizes the needed force to: stop an uprising or riot, make a lawful arrest, and stop them from carrying out unlawful violence or escaping lawful detainment. There is Freedom from torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. This right protects a person from torture (mental, physical or both); degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment; as well as deportation if there is a real risk that the person might face torture or degrading or inhuman treatment or punishment. There is the Freedom from slavery and forced labor. The law relating to forced labor is not applicable to work that one must do as part of a prison sentence or a community sentence, work that the government requires one to do in a state of emergency, and also it does include normal civic obligations, for deducting taxes from your employees’ wages if you are an employer. Everyone has a right to a fair and public trial; however, it does not all the time apply to cases involving: extradition, voting rights, immigration law, or tax. Every person has the Right to liberty and security. However this right can be limited if a person is: mentally ill, capable of spreading infectious disease, trying to enter the country illegal, going to be extradited or deported, or found guilty of an offence after conviction and sent to prison (Equality And Human Rights Commission, 2). There is the freedom of thought, belief and religion; however, public authorities in some situations may impede with right so as to protect: public order, public safety, the rights and freedoms of other people, and health or morals. Every individual should have the Freedom of expression, that is, the right to hold their own opinions and to convey them freely without interference from the government. However, this right is restricted in order to: prevent crime or disorder, protect national security or public safety, protect the rights and reputations of other people, protect health or morals, maintain the authority and impartiality of the judiciary, or prevent the disclosure of information received in confidence. Every person also has the Right to marry and start a family, Right to peaceful enjoyment of your property, Freedom of assembly and association, Right to participate in free elections, right to education, and the right to be protected from discrimination with regard to these rights and freedoms (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2). What is their source? According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, ideas regarding human rights have grown in several centuries. However, these ideas attained strong international support following World War II and the Holocaust. In 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) so as to defend future generations from a repeat of these terrors, and invited countries to sign and endorse it. For the first time, the Universal Declaration defined the fundamental rights as well as freedoms shared by all persons (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 3). If they do exist, who should be responsible for ensuring they are not violated? Why? Each state– national government – bears the primary responsibility of making human rights a reality. Governments are required to respect peoples rights; they should not breach these rights. They have an obligation to protect peoples rights by making sure that other people or bodies do not violent these rights (Amnesty International, 2014). 2. What have you learned in this class about global issues and problems? I’ve learned some different facts which are very useful and intellectual in life, and this course prepares me for my social life. Global issues and problems are growing in magnitude and will neither resolve themselves nor go away. They call for action. That action, in turn, if it is to be effective will need people who are trained as well as willing to tackle difficult and complex global issues. Which problems most important to you? Why? Terrorism has been and is a major problem posing serious threat to world peace and security. Terrorism, according to Waxman (3), is a form of psychological warfare against a society. It is intended to strike fear into the heart of the society targeted by terrorists, and it usually is successful in doing so (Waxman, 3). The first and most immediate effects of terrorism are psychological. Terrorist campaigns can be anticipated to psychologically affect a significant portion of the population of a targeted society, either directly, through harming a person or their family, or indirectly, through the far-reaching media coverage of terrorist attacks. The greater the number of attacks and the more fatal those attacks are, the more people that will be psychologically affected by them. The social effects of terrorism can be pronounced and broad. A sense of victimhood is common to a society experiencing terrorism. Civilians are not expected to be victims of terrorism; thus, a society will always feel victimized when it is the targeted by terrorist. The more the civilian population is targeted, the more this sense of victimhood increases. In turn this sense of victimization brings about a de-legitimization of the terrorists as well as the people they allege to stand for. The threat of terrorism amplifies a group’s dependency on stereotypes, resulting to more negative stereotyping by members of the society targeted by terrorists. Another social effect of terrorism is an increase in ethnocentrism and racism as a group increases its unity in the face of violence, hence, support for, and identification with, the in-group grows because of terrorism, whereas, support for and identification with, any out-group declines (Waxman, 4). The economic effects of terrorism can be divided into its direct costs, connected to the damage brought about by an act of terrorism, for instance, the damage caused to life and property at the site of the attack, as well as its indirect costs, which affect almost every aspect of the economy of a targeted state. The indirect economic effects of terrorism are numerous and varied. Terrorism can affect an economy in many ways. A long-running terrorist campaign can without doubt impact a country’s GDP, like what happened to Israel during the second Intifada. A terrorist campaign can make an economy more unstable, which in turn amplifies risk in the economy. With a higher risk and the same or slightly lower potential return, foreign direct investment in the targeted country’s economy can lessen. A country’s tourism industry is mostly hard hit by terrorism seeing as tourist destinations can easily be substituted, and dangerous ones typically become immediately unattractive to foreign tourists (Waxman, 5). What are the causes of these problems? The main causes of terrorism in Turkey are the terrorist organizations living in Turkey. These organizations are classified into four groups: Right-wing groups, Left-wing groups, Separatists movement such as PKK, and A-Qaeda connected international terrorism. The Right-wing groups include religiously inspired terrorist groups such as, Turkish Hezbollah. The Left-wing group is composed of the DHKP/C, Marxist-Leninist Community Party (MLKP), and Turkish Communist Party/ Marxist-Leninist-Partisan TKP/ML (TIKKO). They advocate a Marxist ideology. This group seeks to destroy the current political system so as to establish a Marxist regime (Robert & Andrei, 2006). How might they be solved? Turkey is trying to solve the issue of terrorism by addressing the causes of terrorism. Turkey seeks to undermine the sources of terrorism. In order to succeed such efforts should be directed towards the sympathizers and supporters of a terrorist organization. This approach should emphasize how terrorist organizations enlist new members particularly on the Southeastern part of Turkey which is a problematic area in terms of the activities of the PKK and the Hezbollah. Turkey has also tried to fight terrorism using diplomacy. Its diplomacy involves bilateral relation. This country has tried very hard to achieve a level of success in terms of establishing multilateral cooperation as well as bilateral (Robert & Andrei, 2006). Works Cited Amnesty International. (2014). Economic, Social And Cultural Rights. Amnesty.org. Web 8 May 2014. Equality And Human Rights Commission. (2014). Human rights. Equalityhumanrights.com. Web 8 May 2014. Office Of The Higher Commissioner For Human Rights. (2014). What are human rights? Ohchr.org. Web 8 May 2014. Robert W., & Andreĭ M. (2006). National Counter-terrorism Strategies. Amsterdam: IOS Press. Waxman, D. (2011). Living With Terror, Not Living In Terror: The Impact Of Chronic Terrorism On Israeli Society. Terrorismanalysts.com. Web 8 May 2014. Read More