The Role Of Standardisation Of Human Rights

This research is based on the “universalist” theory of human rights. The Universalist theory supposes that human rights are universal since they are said to belong to all humans in every society. Human rights are also supposed to be inalienable; because they flow from and protect human existence, they cannot be taken away without endangering the value of that existence. However, these universal and inalienable qualities of human rights are disputable in both their conception and operation (Heard A, 1997).

Gender discrimination and violence against women were not part of the Human Rights Agenda until the 1990s when feminists began to push for this change (p84/book). One of the slogans of their campaign was that “Women’s Rights

The topic of human rights has been a well-documented and deliberated subject throughout history. There are various conflicting views about human rights, many of which have led to conflict’s in the past. American philosopher Martha Nussbaum detailed her capabilities approach on the theory of human rights in 2001 in “Capabilities as fundamental entitlements: Sen and Social Justice. Nussbaum’s central human capabilities have since been used in a wide variety of philosophy literature, notably in “Cosmopolitanism a philosophy for global ethics” by Stan Van Hooft. Nussbaum’s capabilities theory is centred around 10 major elements. This essay will critique and analyse Nussbaum’s theory, and assess if Nussbaum’s elements are of central importance to understanding human rights. In my opinion, what is of central importance to human rights is fair values and equal opportunity. This entails that every individual no matter what situation they are born into should have adequate access to resources to reach their full potential. This includes and is not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation and religion. Society has recently started to take a stand against this violation of our human rights and will hopefully continue to stamp out any negative behaviour hindering the potential of individuals in society. Throughout this essay the capabilities that Nussbaum outlined will be individually evaluated on whether they are of central importance in understanding human rights and if they follow within what I believe to be of central importance to understanding human rights.

Human rights, coined in the late 1940s, are typically described as entitlements or privileges belonging inherently to all persons regardless of status such as nationality, sex, religion, etc. (Tomaševski). One fundamental issue with the ability for women to exercise basic human rights lies with baseless stereotyping and corruption within institutions of power that are meant to protect these rights ("What Are Human Rights"). Many people strongly believe that with time comes advancement. This is true to some extent, but much progress is yet to be seen as revealed by current feminist issues that are undoubtedly comparable to those of the early 20th century.

Although many places in the world have made many advancements in granting women rights equivalent to those of men, there are still far too many places that refuse to recognize that women’s rights is still an issue, and an important one at that. Many developing countries in the world have caused outrage in the population of women as a whole and rifts in society and its social order. Worldwide, people are done with the fact that women are still not treated as equals. Although advancements have been made for the population of women globally in places like the US, Canada, and many parts of Europe; many developing countries throughout the world have refrained from allowing women equal opportunity politically, economically, and culturally.

Social justice is a long debated subject that continues to prove controversial and divisive all over the world. Opinions on what constitutes social justice vary on a continuum from more conservative opinions which note individual responsibility to a more liberal stance which promotes a moral responsibility to support social equality (Mapp, 2008). Despite the varying opinions of what establishes social justice, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) serves as the first step in promoting social justice by outlining the basic rights that should be afforded to humanity (United Nations, n.d.). More specifically, Article 22 of the UDHR states that all people should have access to social security protection that works to provide essential needs, provisions for preserving dignity, and freedom to pursue personal interest (United Nations, n.d.). In spite of the established declaration, social justice remains unavailable for too many people. Worldwide, the lack of social protection leads to 1.4 billion people struggling to meet their essential needs due to lack of access to resources which promote a decent standard of living. Another 100 million fall into poverty due to unforeseen complications (GIPSPSI, 2011). Therefore, there is a crucial need to recognize social protection as a human right in order to guarantee equal access to basic services and equal opportunity to all of humankind.

The human rights norms envelop a broad range of aspects of human existence which are regarded as imperative for living life in security, dignity, happiness and accomplishment. Several of these norms pertain to the liberty of a person to act as he desires so long as such actions do not impinge upon the rights and freedoms of others. These freedom related rights are commonly referred to as civil and political rights including freedom of speech and religion, the right to fair trial, and the right to be free from torture and arbitrary arrest amongst others. Then there are other rights which pertain to conditions necessary to meet basic human needs, such as food, shelter, education, health care, and employment. The latter are referred to as social

Sisters, daughters, mothers, wives — women make up half the world’s population, and their rights or lack thereof have dominated much of the political debate in the past hundred years. Whether it be suffrage, freedom from sexual violence, corporate equity and fair wages, abortion, or access to education, every nation has to grapple with freedom and equality in the arena of gender. The 20th century and early years the 21st have seen enormous advancements for women in the west, but stagnation in much of the Middle East and Africa. Iran, in particular, has implemented policies that have regressed the rights of women, while the United Kingdom has achieved steady legal egalitarianism and social progress.

The mistreatment of women in the Middle East desecrates the human rights Americans claim all should have. In the second article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” 203 countries around the world recognize the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and are apart of the United Nations organization itself, if 203 countries agree to govern and provide the rights the Declaration states, then why must women in certain regions receive permission

Human rights which include the right to life and liberty as well as freedom that belong to all human beings inherently despite of their statuses without discrimination (United Nations, 1948). Among issues of human rights, women’s rights could be one of the most serious ones. In the 1990s, women’s rights were not generally accepted as human rights and suffered various violations (Bunch, 1990). Despite women’s rights have been improved so far in most regions that female have almost equal employment opportunities and enhanced status in society, the issues of female rights need to be considered because they still have inferior positions compared with men in workplace and society due to a lot of factors.

Joel A. Schoenmeyer, Book Review: From Basic Needs to Basic Rights: Women's Claim to Human Rights. Edited by Margaret A. Schuler. Washington, D.C.: Women, Law and Development International (1996), University of Michigan Law School.

The “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” was created, after the Holocaust, in 1948. The terrible unfair treatment that occurred, during the Holocaust, most likely helped to create many of the articles in the “Universal Declaration of Human RIghts.” Articles such as, Article 2 Article 3, Article 5, and Article 12 are some of the articles that would have been violated during the time of the Holocaust.

“Woman must have her freedom, the fundamental freedom of choosing whether or not she will be a mother and how many children she will have. Regardless of what man’s attitude maybe, that problem is hers- and before it can be his, it is hers alone. She goes through the vale of her death alone, each time a babe is born. As it is the right neither of man nor the state to coerce her into this ideal, so it is her right to decide whether she will endure it.”(Magaret Sanger) Women’s rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. In some countries, these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local, custom, and behavior, whereas in other countries they are ignored and suppressed. Some issues commonly

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

capacity is not conceded by all cultures.” It is important to note the significant influence culture has on women’s rights issues. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) raised a variety of questions dealing with the inference of the term “universal.” It infers that the declaration is meant to represent human rights in all countries, including those that are non-Western with highly complex cultures and societies. By creating this agreement and applying it as universal it has the “contradictory effect of undermining communities’ autonomous rights to enjoy their own culture.” Additionally, in looking at historic actions of Western countries Anthropologists were concerned that the UDHR was a “series of attempts by the West to impose its values on other societies.” This can very well be the case because of the many debates that occurred surrounding women’s rights and female genital mutilation practices. Many criticized Western scholars claiming that they could not “legitimately criticize ‘traditional’ practices that seemed to violate women’s rights.” The context in which cultural practices are birthed are placed within the social construct of the origin society. One cannot possibly understand the human rights implications of another cultures if they don’t understand the culture as a participant. Also, there