Human Rights: Personal Philosophy

Human Rights: Personal Philosophy

I believe that each and every individual is entitled to certain rights by virtue of being human. Besides having the right to live, eat and freedom of belief, each and every individual needs to be treated equally by the law. Individuals are entitled to freedom or religion, freedom of opinion and information, freedom of marriage and to have a family, right to participate actively in politics either by voting or being voted, right to education and finally, right to equal treatment and accordance of dignity. In general, all humans need to be treated as such and given their fundamental rights and freedom. This is undeniably imperative in enhancing self worth, dignity and acceptance.

Although these have been safeguarded and even ingrained in the legal domain, practically, this seems far from being implemented. Notably, the fundamental human rights have been violated since historical times. This assumes different forms that range from the historic slavery and modern human trafficking to racism and religious intolerance that characterize the present day society. The inherent abuses and disregard for human rights can be attributed to lack of awareness about the rights and political dominance. Indeed, the society has failed dismally to enforce these rights that are critical in enhancement of the quality of life of each individual.

The universal Declaration of Human Rights was developed by the United Nations to protect all individuals by fighting against all types of human violations. It is central in making final decisions with respect to the abuse of poor by the wealthy and powerful in the society. Put differently, it plays an important role of providing a common understanding regarding the rights of each and every individual. Essentially, it provides a basement upon which global peace, justice and freedom are founded. Despite the establishment of this institution, minimal efforts have been undertaken to protect the vulnerable. They still suffer immensely from incidences of discrimination, injustice, religious intolerance, modern forms of slavery and oppression.

It is certain that the United Nation has failed to curb the inherent violations in all countries across the globe. Thus these injustices still persist and currently, a significant percentage of the population can be considered to have suffered immensely. Research indicates that the solutions to human rights have proved unattainable due to the fact that each country has individual governmental laws and principles that are defined differently by the natives (Claphan, 2007). Hence while certain activities constitute abuse from the outlook, the cultural and religious beliefs of the respective countries consider them rightful. This has made it increasingly difficult to find a universal definition of human rights.

Perhaps the most pervasive form of violation of human rights pertains to differences between different sexes. Since historical times, women have been victims of indifferent treatment from the patriarchal society. Although most countries have made significant efforts to improve the worth of women, they still experience worrying levels of discrimination.

I believe that human rights are essential for survival and need to be protected by the society. Besides setting institutions and structures in place to address the violations, societies need to assume the responsibility of enforcing protection of these rights. These need to be aligned to the local beliefs and practices in order to enhance harmonic coexistence that is equally essential for sustainable living. Nonetheless, the rights need to be acceptable and current standards should be employed as benchmarks in determining which are acceptable and which are not.

Human Rights: Critical Reflection

Peace is a fundamental aspect in realization of human rights and sustainable development. Development, peace and democracy are intricate and augmenting factors that are essential for sustainable development. Respective governments need to lay great emphasis on providing peaceful conditions in their countries. Attainment of this desirable state requires close collaboration between different agencies and populations. Essentially, each and every individual within the country needs to take practical measures that are geared towards attaining this good. Although the role of the government in this is central, I believe populations also need to participate actively in the given governance.

It is because they are the most affected with decisions that are made by this institution. Moreover, they have over time proved to be effective in providing certain checks to the governments towards attaining democracy. Donnelly (2002) ascertains that peaceful conditions provide viable environment that is useful in the enforcement of human rights. Conversely, conflict situations in themselves undermine the ability of the population and governments to uphold human rights. The characteristic deaths and abuses are violations against these important rights. Although various countries have made major efforts towards securing peace through regional and national agreements, I believe so much still needs to be done to secure these ideal conditions in countries of the Middle East and Africa.

Apart from securing peace, education and awareness creation is also fundamental in enhancing the attainment of human rights. Notably, most of the violations of human rights occur on the premise of the need to uphold culture and societal traditions. Women in developing countries for instance have persistently been denied a chance to explore different opportunity because of the cultural traditions that postulate that they should be reserved. They have been denied a chance to pursue higher education because of their gender.

I challenge the developing economies to assume the sole responsibility of investing in education and awareness creation. Al.............