The United Declaration Of Human Rights

Human rigths is an essential component of a tolerant and individually satisfied society. They are created to defend people’s dignity, equality and liberty. However, for thousands of years people lived with no garanteed rights, until 1948, when United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But is the Universal Declaration of Human Rigths really universal to all states and humans living in them? I am going to argue if Human Rights should or should not be unically adapted to different cultures, religions and beliefs.

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

Human rights seem to be one of the most undervalued rights that people are given. Although not tangible, or even visible, in the end they are one of the most significant aspects of life (Universal 1). They keep us civil. As the

According to the United Nations, human rights are defined as “rights inherent to all human beings, whatever their nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. Humans all equally entitled to human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.”

Freedom, Webster's dictionary defines freedom as the power or right to speak, act or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. I believe that freedom is the fundamental right that all humans are born with regardless of their status or whatever label that has been put on them. Freedom is what unites all people in the sense that we are all free to make whatever we want of ourselves; to do, say and think what we please without any unjust consequence. In the opening words of the preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that the United Nations composed, it states “Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all the members of the human family is the foundation of freedom.” In other words,

The Universal Declaration of Human rights was adopted in the UN general assembly by the 10th December 1948. This is the first time that the world recognized that everyone had the right to enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom from fear and want, and many other rights. International human rights come along way; before there was no rights. The idea of having rights that led to the development of international human rights takes time. There are benchmarks developments in international human rights that pre-date the UDHR. The UDHR benchmark includes the following topic :The Magna Carta, Treaty of Westphalia (1648) , French and US revolution(18th century), and lastly, the World War I and World War II. Each of the benchmarks contributed on shaping our current conception of international human rights.

The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands as the current gold standard for every individual’s rights. Focusing on culture, one may see that cultural rights are not clearly defined and are oftentimes in conflict with other types of rights. In this paper, I will first discuss the United Nations’ use of ‘cultural’ in its universal human rights in relation to the concept of cultural relativism. Then, using South African and American practices, such as virginity testing and discriminatory criminal justice system respectively, I will describe and analyze practices violate the UN’s universal human rights in addition to the practices’ use for the community or society as a whole. Lastly, I will compare the American Anthropological Association’s rights to culture to the UN’s universal human rights by analyzing the limitations of each.

Being born in the United States automatically grants you certain rights, such as freedom of speech, religion, and press, unlike being born in another country. Many presidents and people fought to have these basic rights granted to us. One may question why it is important to have freedom of speech and religion, well here is why.

“Life, Liberty, & Pursuit of happiness,” is one of the most important parts of the declaration. That means that citizens have the right to all those things. It is a natural right. The words of the Declaration of Independence mean the right freedom, justice, equality, security, protection, and fair government. I think the two most important words are Rights and equality.

At the core of society are the undeniable rights we are afforded as human beings. These rights are outlined in the United Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a way to protect each individual’s freedoms. Since its adoption sixty-seven years ago, society and its viewpoints have changed drastically (“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights”). Therefore, while at the time the intentions for this document might have been genuine to protect all people, they are no longer sufficient. The lack of inclusion in this document has led to the creation of documents such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” as Mark Twain is often reputed to have said explains with much rhetoric that in fact history is not repeated in a sense that the same events happen over and over again, instead events embrace similar themes. The same concept of Mr. Twain’s history comparison can be brought in support of why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) drafted in 1948 by the UN --an international agreement that dictates basic rights and undeniable freedoms in which all human beings are entitled to-- should be updated. After analyzing the Human Rights Treaty it was concluded that amending the UDHR should be considered because of advancements in the world, in main part due to globalization and

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

Imagine a dog who is ill and suffering, they don’t speak nor do they voice their opinions yet you can tell that there in a world of pain and misery. You decide to put them down, put them at rest; knowing their not in pain and suffering. How can this be justified when a person who is terminally ill can’t make the decision on how they end their life. Through countless surgeries, chemotherapy and many vital medical treatments that were vital once in their life, that can now no longer be beneficial, a person cannot simply decide his or her fate.

In Tampa, Florida, Ralph Wald walked in on his former neighbor Walter Conley, in bed with his wife. After he fatally shot Conley, who was less than half his age, Wald claimed he did not recognize him and assumed he was a stranger raping his wife. He was acquitted after two days of testimony and according to the Tampa Bay Times, Wald’s defense team invoked the Stand Your Ground law noting that Wald had ‘no duty to retreat’ when facing danger within his own home. Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such

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