Are Human Rights Universal? - Essay

“Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future generations from a repeat of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 and invited states to sign and ratify it”

The concept of the universal declaration of human rights is to give everyone equal rights and to take away single incidents or “accidents”. The value of people’s views keep peace and justice in the world. The quote “whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of justice and peace in the world” (UN Commission 1-3). The text also explains how the man is inclined to the right of other men and the ability to provide justice does not require

On a global political stand point there was a uniting of ideas and governments; what we know today as the United Nations (UN). One of the main ideas which the UN has grown up around is ‘The individual possess rights simply by virtue of being Human’ (The Universal Declaration of human rights); which was adopted by the general assembly in 10th December 1948. This statement is reflect in the core principles

Despite the recognition accorded to the Human right by national constitutions, these rights were sometimes violated or eliminated by legislation or by some arbitrary means. Moreover, human rights which had their status as legal rights, were sometimes violated by States too.

The historic development of rights is associated with the development of western philosophical ideas and political principles. The recognition of man as a moral entity with self-worth and human dignity are ideas rediscovered in the Age of Enlightenment, most famously by the philosopher Immanuel Kant, ideas which challenged the authority of institutions deep rooted into society like the church and state. Although pre-Enlightenment, Britain already had a set of codified rights laid out in documents like the ‘Magna Carta of 1215’ or ‘The Bill of Rights of 1968’ . The rights contained in both documents were not human rights but rather political settlements between the monarch and property owning men. It was therefore until 1789, with the creation of the ‘Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in France’, and the ‘Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution’, that had there been an article which laid out a formal

The universal character of human rights is based on the belief that human rights are natural attribute of human beings. The social-cultural and political conditions of the people do not define human rights. The UN general assembly (United Nations, 1948) proclaims the Universal declaration of Human Rights

Human rights is specify as the right that belong to all human being whatever race,gender,religious beliefs,ethnic origins and other status.This idea was used to protect people from the law and from other.But the idea was officially created as the universal idea of human right was created in December 10, 1948 by United Nation after world war 2 in Paris,France.The universal idea of human right is an international agreement on how humans should be treated.

The United Nations created the Declaration of Human Rights listing rights that they thought everyone should have. The articles of the Declaration can be interpreted in different ways by different people. Many times throughout history, the rights stated in this document have been denied to

“A right is not what someone gives you, it’s what no one can take from you,” said by Ramsey Clark (NY Times 1977), lawyer and human rights activist. Human rights are important in the relationship between the people, and the government that has power over them. These sets of rights draw a line in the sand for what the people in power can and cannot do to their citizens. Globally, there are millions of people whose rights are violated daily and nothing is done to protect these individuals. While governments have always been obsessed with external threats and conflicts, they have continuously overlooked the basic human rights of their people, which has resulted in the enslavement, discrimination and racism because of a lack of involvement and the bystander effect violations continue with no change in sight.

When I first read the "United Nations Declaration of Human Rights", I thought about how anyone could argue that these rights are not universal or could disagree with the four articles that were stated. Upon reading the textbook and learning about ethical relativist, I now realize why someone would think that this list is useless. In the eyes of an ethical relativist, there is no universal moral code that would or could unify the different cultures.

The Sierra Leone civil war began in 1991 with the attacks of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), led by former army corporal Foday Sankoh, on government military and civilian targets. As a response to the corrupt government of President Joseph Saidu Momoh, the RUF quickly turned to acts of terror and violence with little regard to its apparent political agenda . The RUF is fighting the government for control of the diamond fields so they can purchase arms for war. They terrorise the local tribes, capturing men to work in the diamond mines and forcing innocent boys to learn to kill for the RUF cause. The Civil war has claimed over 10,000 lives and forced as many as two million people to flee the conflict zones, producing a long-term refugee

The doctrine of human rights were created to protect every single human regardless of race, gender, sex, nationality, sexual orientation and other differences. It is based on human dignity and the belief that no one has the right to take this away from another human being. The doctrine states that every ‘man’ has inalienable rights of equality, but is this true? Are human rights universal? Whether human rights are universal has been debated for decades. There have been individuals and even countries that oppose the idea that human rights are for everybody. This argument shall be investigated in this essay, by: exploring definitions and history on human rights, debating on whether it is universal while providing examples and background

In 10 December 1948 “The Universal declaration of human rights” was declared to protect the freedom of every human being of the planet. These human rights were declared as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. After World War II, a committee heated by Mrs. Roosevelt wrote a special document and its main purpose was to bring peace around the world. Although human rights was declared to give freedom and rights to every living being in the planet, I claim that not all of the human right is protected, one of which I believe is violation of women’s right because of gender discrimination, education and increasing women poverty and violence against women.

In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) set forth a declaration of universal human rights. The goal was to set a common standard of rights based on “recognition of the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” It was meant to become the perfect social contract but unfortunately was not upheld even by the signatory nations themselves. Many critics now looking back have cited the overreaching ideals as the downfall of the declaration but yet many have responded saying it is simply in the nature of humanity to disregard the social contract when it no longer suits them. With these arguments in mind, what are basic human rights, if any exist, where are these rights drawn from, and are any rights truly inalienable.

Human rights are universal rights that we are entitled to. It is a freedom that is guaranteed based on the principle of respect for an individual. As mentioned in the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights are a “recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all member of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world” (Kent, page 80). When asked what our rights are, we tend to get different answers and meanings. Some people recite the rights that they know; but let’s face it, not everyone knows all of the rights that they truly have. The rights we have consist of many things such as the right of having an adequate food supply. The right to