Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Research Paper

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.

Documents to protect them but instead they are violated in the U.S daily . Many

Throughout the readings and the films it is clear that women play important roles in Middle Eastern society. In the readings and films there are many traditions for how women are supposed to act and how men are supposed to treat women. These customs and traditions regarding women are contradictory and ironic. One reading that is especially enlightening on traditions in some parts of the Middle East is “Unwritten Laws Affecting the Arab Woman of Palestine” by T. Canaan.

In many places throughout the Middle East, women have recognizably far fewer rights than men have. The lack of rights that is affecting the women is becoming more and more about gender more so than just a culture. This issue is not only affecting the women of the Middle East, but also women everywhere. Many organizations have been created to try and eradicate the problem, but an issue this big cannot simply be resolved overnight. All human beings, regardless of race or gender, deserve the same treatment, and are entitled to their “unalienable rights”, and all women in the Middle East deserve fair treatment.

Women are extremely oppressed across the world, and although the 21st century image of a woman is an image of prosperity, confidence, health, and beauty, for billions of women in the world, this image is not their reality. A plethora of women still experience violence, isolation, enforced ignorance and oppression in the world; while some progress has been made for women’s rights around the globe, there is magnitude of work that needs to be done. Taina Bien-Aime, executive director of New York-based Equality Now stated, "there is not one single country where women can feel absolutely safe." Education, violence, and restrictive laws are just some of the issues causing barriers for women. One of the worst countries for women, in today’s world is Afghanistan. The Middle East Institute reported, “starving widows, under-age girls forced into marriage, high maternal death rates, rape, murder, incest, abductions, wife-beatings, self-immolation, deprivation of education, burning of girls’ schools, restricted

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).

In recent years, America’s attention has been gripped by stories of women who have escaped from the Middle East. Each has a unique story, but they all have the same themes of oppression, abuse, and domination. Americans rushed onto the scene ready to “save” Middle Eastern women and many of the activists are now been highly praised for the influence they made in the region. Others, however, have come to question whether the Muslim women in the Middle East really needed the U.S. to rescue them from Islam. *Insert Thesis*

Rich or poor, black or white, basic human rights are something that everyone deserves and are needed to keep human life fair and just. Fortunately, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was published. This set of laws provides and describes every single right each human is entitled to. All countries are supposed to follow these laws for the integrity and health of their people, but sadly some don’t. The laws around child labor, slavery, and other parts of the declaration are ignored in certain countries. Even in our own country, the rights have been broken, for example, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK was an intense and horrid group whose purpose was to fight for white supremacy.

Present day, there are numerous social problems affecting many world regions and their inhabitants. Of these problems, there is one in particular that is prevalent and emerging: women’s rights. Often times, women are looked down upon in society and are considered subordinate to males. This is especially true in the Middle East, where females battle to keep their unalienable rights and achieve gender equality. Relative to other regions, the Middle East specifically is facing crucial conflicts regarding women’s equality; this is mainly due to the massive wars taking place. Even though all citizens are impacted during a war, the effect has impacted women quite severely. Women have been brutally raped in their homes, kidnapped off of the streets, and even murdered as honor killings.

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

The Middle East is often viewed homogeneously as a wasteland for women’s rights, and although some regions are making strides towards equality, others seem to be left in the Dark Ages. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, founded in 1932, is often noted as one of the most oppressive countries in this region in the name of women’s equality. It can be seen, however, that the ideology of this region has predated the founding of the country and even the birth of Islam. The cultural norms of the Arabian Peninsula, Islamic faith affirming these standards, and the legislative support of these values have led to the degradation of Saudi women’s rights.

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.

For decades, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been used as an overall basis for the rights every human is enabled to, no matter their differences. Without a doubt, there are several countries that violate this declaration and have no respect for their citizens’ rights. Many may agree that Pakistan is among the numerous countries that don’t take the steps to make sure that every man and woman is enabled to these rights. In recent years, Pakistan has discriminated against their own citizens, whether it be because of their religion, gender, or even caste, which violated Article 2 of the declaration. In addition, Article 16, or the right of someone to marry who they please and have the right to raise a family has also been violated thousands of times, whether it be by the government, a citizen’s village, or even his/hers own family. The right to have good working conditions and pay, which is Article 23, has also been violated by Pakistan, as many adults and children alike have faced work brutality. As a result of these numerous violations, it is clear that Pakistan does not follow Articles 2,16, and 23, and therefore this country violates the Declaration of Human Rights.

All around the world, basic human rights, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are being violated. As Thomas Pogge argues, these violations contribute to the rise of poverty in multiple nations. The global rate of death caused by poverty is astounding, “…360 million human beings have died prematurely from poverty related causes, with some 18 million more added each year”, and unfortunately these figures are substantially larger than the death count of many wars (Pogge, p.50). The concept of globalization should, in theory, propose solutions to this depressing yet preventable issue. However, due to the power of corporations and the lack of incentive for affluent citizens to change their own spending habits, it only leads to a vicious cycle masked by "solutions" that end up propagating human rights violations.

The Office of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR) defines Human Rights as, “rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.”