Human Rights Violations: Honor Killings The issue of human rights is an issue of unparalleled significance in all countries of the world. Though this issue has not always been called by this name throughout the course of human history, it has persisted as a critical issue nonetheless for as long as there has been injustice and destructive power dynamics within a society, which unfortunately, has been the tradition for as long as humanity has existed. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the United Nations has made a more firm and declarative stance about what human rights actually are, what the implications are for violations of such rights, and how such violations should be enforced. Human rights violations persist around the world. Solutions to human rights violations require proactivity, meticulous thought, practicality and idealism. Human rights violations must be considered of the utmost unacceptable and intolerable actions and the war for human rights implementation and government support in all countries must persist if the human race stands a chance of survival or stands a chance of being worthy of existence.
The focus of this paper is the spreading issue of what is referred to as honor killing, although it is the opinion of many people around the world that there is no honor in these killings. Honor killings are typically homicides of women and girls in conservative cultures. These women have been judged to bring dishonor and/or shame by their culturally relativistic
Two of thirty recognised human rights by the United Nations are “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Doc. 1)” or “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”(Doc. 1). However, both are still problems that continue to happen more than fifty years after the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human rights are continuously violated because when the United Nations created the document it did not legally bind any country to uphold the rights of their people, making the document little more than words on paper. Eleanor Roosevelt remarked during a meeting of the United Nations that “without concerned citizen action to uphold them, we shall look in vain for progress (Doc. 2). Eleanor Roosevelt was emphasizing that the government cannot force the people to utilize their human rights. It is a responsibility that the people must take upon themselves. For example, in the United States we have the right to freedom of speech, but we cannot be forced to speak out, but must do it of our own accord. If we do not use our right to freedom speech it becomes more easily forgotten or taken away. The human rights of people are often times violated simply because the people allow them to be or don’t recognise that they are entitled to them which is why it is important to know
“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”
Human rights are rights innate to every single individual, whatever our nationality, where you live, sex, national or ethnic birthplace, color of skin, religion, dialect/language, and many more. We are all similarly qualified for our human rights without segregation. These rights are altogether interrelated, associated and resolute. Widespread human rights are regularly communicated and ensured by law, in the types of treaties, standard global law, general standards and different wellsprings of international. International human rights law sets down commitments of Governments to act in certain routes or to cease from specific acts, keeping in mind the end goal to advance and secure human rights and central flexibilities of people or
Human rights - they are an ongoing issue in the world today, with the constant struggle against violation. The United Nations has accepted 30 articles on human rights, which help protect millions from political, social, and legal abuses (UDHR). Even with the insistence from the world’s leaders to follow and honor these rights, violation is common and provides a serious threat to people all over the world. One example of a violation of human rights such as equality and safety in possessions is shown through the issue of Japanese American internment camps (UDHR).
In both history and present day, many human rights violations have occurred in countries residing within the UN. Despite the attempts that international influence created through the UN, many countries such as the Soviet Union conducted serious human rights violations through attempts to quell uprisings or anti-government movements. Even in the present day, countries such as North Korea and China have been committing drastic human rights violations, despite existing within the United Nations. Because of these facts, it can be concluded that international influence does not necessarily create better human
The motive behind this concept has been linked to either entirely or in partial to the perpetrators needs to assert one’s self, a concept of racial superiority, or even a disagreement between perpetrator and victim taken to extreme measures. Without question, many human rights are being violated such as; article three, five, seven, eight, nine, twelve, seventeen and twenty-eight. In addition, spectators often neglect the outrageous amount of sexual assaults that accompany with the initial intention of tormenting an individual with the forms of physical abuse and subjecting them
Human rights are essential for all people, despite their nationality, gender, ethnic origin, color, or religion. Everyone is entitled to these rights without being discriminated against. For a long time, people were being denied these basic rights as they were being abused and tortured for things that they couldn’t control. People were tired of getting caught in the cross-fire, they wanted protection, a chance and the freedom to live. Although there was a lack of human rights before World War II, human rights have significantly improved over the post-war period, and officials are putting forth efforts to ensure that human rights are protected in modern-day society.
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has seen their share of criticism regarding their view of cultures. The Ayaan Hirsi Ali (AHA) Foundation has taken up a stance to do anything within their power to fight for the rights of women worldwide, specifically pertaining to honor violence. There seems to be serious philosophical tension between the AAA and the AHA. In this paper, I will set out to discuss this tension in three ways. The first thing I will do is to try and present the AAA’s position with as much accuracy and charitability as I can. The second thing I will try to do is to apply the AAA’s stance specifically to honor violence. Lastly, I will argue for my view of the AAA’s position. Hopefully, I will offer a compelling case
An “honor killing” is an epitomized murder committed against a woman for actual or perceived “immoral” behavior that is deemed to have breached the ‘honor code’ of a household or community. It is the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family name or societal standard. These so-called ‘’honor codes’’ are the product of condoning deep-seated patriarchal societal and ethnic injustices, where women are compelled to assume all responsibility for upholding the morality of an entire culture. It is the most extreme case of gender-based violence. Honor killings are the ultimate sanction against women who are deemed to have offended the collective morality of a group. Typical behaviors or suspicion of actions
The cultural interpretation explains that honor killings are “qualitatively different from other kinds of murders because it is governed by ‘the specific logic of an honour culture’”. Honor killings are acceptable because they are part of a culture and support ethical agendas. For example, in Turkey, “namus” represents sexual honor which overshadows women’s physical and moral qualities. Women are expected to protect their “namus” for their whole life. Male kin also have a duty to watch over women and punish them if they deviate.
Honor becomes an obsession and “a biased scale both men and women use to judge all women.” The problem with honor killings has to do with “domination, power and hatred of women”. They are seen as servants to the family-physically and sexually.
Women are the targets of the most serious violations of human rights, which occur in Muslim societies in general. Muslims say with great pride that Islam abolished female infanticide; true but it must also be mentioned that one of the most common crimes in a number of Muslim countries is the murder of women by their husbands. These so-called “honor-killings” are, in fact, extremely dishonorable and are frequently used to camouflage other kinds of crimes (ibid).
Honor killing is when a female relative’s life is stolen away from her by her male relative because she has tarnished the family image. This is a topic few dare to approach because it is actually legal in some countries, often justified, and traditionally accepted. The subject of honor killing is also hard to tackle but it is an issue of major value that connects all women through the bond of injustice done to some of them and connects all human beings with the sense of humanity.
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
The United Nations is widely regarded and respected as the most powerful institution that promotes international cooperation and human rights action. In theory, actions implemented by and within the United Nations are based on the mutual global goal of protecting international human rights and preventing human sufferings. These actions are constituted through three main mechanisms: the Treaty-based system, the Human Rights Council, and Security Council and Humanitarian Interventions, with the level of confrontation and seriousness in each mechanism increases respectively. While aimed to serve the mutual goal of protecting human rights over the world and have shown some successes, in a world of sovereignty, actions when implemented are in fact grounded by the national interests of each state, including embracing its national sovereignty, concreting its strategic relationships with other states, and enhancing its reputation in the international community. This paper will analyze the successes and failures of each of the three mechanisms of the United Nations regime, through which it aims to prove that when it comes to actions, states focus more on their national, and in some cases, regional interests than on the mutual goal of strengthening human rights throughout the world, thus diminishing the legitimacy of the whole United Nations system.