The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

“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”

“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

The universal fear and horror of WW2 and the relief following provided the perfect opportunity for the emergence of the UN in 1945, and emerging from that, amazingly, the agreement, with a few notable abstentions, on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Having human rights in place imposes certain obligations on the government and justifies the complaints of those whose rights and freedoms have not been respected. Everyone is entitled to human rights regardless of their nationality, gender, race, religion, or political opinion. The failure to recognize these rights results in conflict and a vicious cycle of violence as more human rights are violated. To avoid such clashes, human rights have become a fundamental part of global law and policy. However, they have not always been that way. Catastrophic events in history that claimed thousands of lives ran their vicious course before it was recognized that there had to be human rights established. The most famous example of genocide is the Holocaust, which killed around six million Jews. After the Holocaust, the United Nations recognized that there had to be human rights put into place. Two human rights from the United Nations’ “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” that were perversely violated during the Holocaust are Article 5 (the protection against inhumane treatment or punishment) and Article 25 (the right to a standard of living.) Light is shed upon the exploitation of human rights during the Holocaust in both Night by Elie Wiesel and The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal. The Holocaust was a devastating event that opened our eyes to just how cruel humans can be, and why human rights must be enforced and protected.

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).

The concept that morals are not inherent or universal but are developed by the necessities of a given society at any certain time, as presented in William Graham Sumner’s Folkways, is inadequate and displeasing. While some moral practices are relative to particular cultures, that does not mean that there are no rights that belong to everyone, nor does it mean that just because an activity is practiced that it is morally justifiable. Each human being is entitled to a certain set of liberties, which are outlined in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” All individuals are supposed to have equal access to these rights, but according to Sumner, all rights are cultural and none are universal.

After the prosecution of Nazis in the Nuremburg trials on the basis of “crimes against humanity” and genocide, the abuse of human rights has become a more salient issue in international society (Buchanan 136). However, when situations of human rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 11, states: "Everyone charged with a penal offense has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.” This is not the case for Tom Robinson. In Maycomb, we see a town divided. Most townsfolk cannot fathom the idea that Maycomb’s black residents are equal to its white ones. But others - Atticus, Miss Maudie, Judge Taylor - treat everyone equally, with respect, kindness, and reason. Yet it is not through these characters that we see Tom Robinson’s trial. We watch from the balcony through the eyes of the children - Scout, Jem, and Dill. We see them learn the law and the unwritten rules

According to the Universal Declaration of Human rights there are rights that apply to all human beings: such as a right to life, liberty and security of person, the right to protection against discrimination, and the right to public service and medical care (General Assembly Resolution 217A). Article 25 specifically states:

Not only has it taken several years for human rights to be a legitimate international concern throughout the world, it is yet to be settled. They are still under development and require a range of actions before human rights are fully enforced. But what are human rights? Human rights could be defined in various number of statements. It could be people gifted with a set of rights and protections because they are human. Or simply, a right which belongs to every individual. With a number of major treaties governing the issue of human rights you would think that these rights would be already established, sadly there is still much more to be done before there is a universal set of human rights, governing and ensuring the equal treatment of every individual. After addressing numerous issues and injustices, and the events of the Second World War and the Holocaust, we begin to see a movement. This point created a permanent place for human rights on international agendas. and the human rights regime had began to push forward. Despite this movement forward there are still a vast range of barriers creating a hurdle for the achievement of universal human rights. These barriers can be broken into three categories, Cultural objectives, Religious objectives, and Economic objectives. Firstly, we shall dive into cultural objectives and the barriers they create from human rights being recognised as truly universal. Secondly, there are various religious objectives which create lesser number of

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.

The foundational international charter for human rights is the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration adopted in 1948, contains thirty articles, listing the UN’s defined entitlements and rights of human beings. During the 1993 World Human Rights Conference, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, stressed that “the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question.”[1] Though it is lauded by many in the UN as universal, opposition is also widespread. The consensus of “Western” nations that human rights are universal has been heavily scrutinised by critics around the world. Such critics often pose the question of whether human rights can be surmised as

The belief that by virtue, every person is entitled to certain rights is a new concept. In history, many cultures traditionally denied rights to people based on gender, religion, status, and other forces of life that deemed them undeserving. Human rights protection entered the international system at full force with the creation of the United Nations chapter in 1945. The idea for human rights laws emerged stronger subsequently after many failed attempts because of World War 2 and the extermination of over six million Jewish, homosexual, disabled persons, and more by the German Nazi’s. This crime against humanity showed the world the greatest horrors that mankind is capable of doing to one another. The leaders of the defeated countries were tried in Tokyo and Nuremberg and charged with war crimes, crimes against peace, and crimes against humanity. The Allies in the war adopted the Four Freedoms- freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from fear, and freedom from want as a way to reaffirm faith in the human race. In 1947, the United Nations charted t the commission of human rights. Spearheaded by Elenor Roosevelt, the committee was made up of 18 member of different political, cultural and, ethnic

The notion of universal human rights is a fairly new concept, coming into existence only after the Second World War as enshrined in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The system of rights was premised on the main assumption that since no one could control his or her birth, it should then follow that everyone should have a birthright to be protected from certain ills, or guaranteed certain liberties.