Universal Promise of Human Rights
Friday, August 5th, 2011Looking forward to the inauguration of the new president of the us, I began considering what type of world we may are thinking about creating, and also the initiatives we must undertake to be able to see that vision become reality.
From my perspective it seemed logical that ensuring basic human rights for everyone on the planet needs to happen first. However the topic of human rights is quite broad in its nature, and I wondered if everyone’s meaning of human rights was exactly the same. As the discussion went on for thousands of years, my research brought me to a fairly recent definition – one which was decided to by world leaders after World War II and shortly following the birth from the Un.
United Nations Sixty-Three Years Hence
Founded in 1945 with just 51 original members, the Un has grown to include 192 members and has involved itself in a long list of international situations in that time. Peacekeeping forces have operated in several countries, witnessing countless acts of violence and coping with extremes of poverty, social injustice and hunger. Though providing an optimistic influence during these arenas of conflict, the UN has met with mixed success in their charter to maintain peace.
Looking forward to the inauguration of the new president of the United States, I started thinking about what type of world we might want to create, and also the initiatives we must undertake in order to see that vision become reality.
From my perspective it seemed logical that ensuring basic human rights for everybody on the planet must happen first. But the topic of human rights is very broad in the nature, and that i wondered if everyone’s definition of human rights was exactly the same. While the discussion went on for thousands of years, my research brought me to some fairly recent definition – one that was decided to by world leaders after The second world war and very soon after the birth from the Un.
United Nations Sixty-Three Years Hence
Founded in 1945 with just 51 original members, the United Nations is continuing to grow to include 192 members and it has involved itself inside a large list of international situations during that time. Peacekeeping forces have operated in several countries, witnessing countless acts of violence and coping with extremes of poverty, social injustice and hunger. Though providing a positive influence during these arenas of conflict, the UN has met with mixed success in their charter to maintain peace.
Angola
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Cambodia
Democratic Republic of Congo
Croatia
El Salvador
Guatemala
Haiti
Iran
Iraq
Kuwait
Lebanon
Rwanda
Somalia
Much has changed since 1945. Millions have died in countless conflicts, 80 nations once under colonial rule have gained their independence and joined the UN, while other countries happen to be birthed and borders redrawn. The demise of the USSR greatly altered that region’s landscape.
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
The building blocks of Human Rights
It’s difficult to fathom the wars, conflicts, invasions, genocides, torture, abuse and neglect which have ravaged our global society reading The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Adopted by the United Nations once the organization only agreed to be Three years old, this important document set the stage based on how governments and their citizens were ‘supposed’ to treat each other. Unfortunately the objectives contained within have repeatedly been ignored by world leaders of developed and third world countries alike. It appears those who are tasked with upholding the 30 articles simply pick and choose what they wish to follow and under what circumstances.
While commentary can easily be written on each of the articles, I’ve chosen a limited number to mirror upon in light of events which are ongoing or have occurred in the past. Those living in the Civilized world are, typically, shielded from the pain and suffering that exists for the millions whose rights happen to be denied. The nearest we obtain to experiencing their plight is watching a few minutes of television coverage. However the real picture isn’t a pretty one, and regardless of the efforts of both government and non-government agencies, there doesn’t appear to be any relief in sight.
Article #1 States: “All people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards each other in a spirit of brotherhood.”
Any overview of the violence which continues to be wagged in a variety of areas of the world would note the truth that our ability to act ‘in a spirit of brotherhood’ has been seriously compromised. And all sorts of too often governments only give lip plan to the crisis, offering public condemnations along with a dose of back-room diplomacy. Current events within the Democratic Republic of Congo verify that, with the death toll now approaching Six million.
Article #3 States: “Everyone has got the to life, liberty and security of person.”
The most troubling aspect of war, even if the experience is generally deemed to become justified, pertains to the innocent those who are the unwilling victims such conflict. We are often told ‘that’s the buying price of freedom’, or even the deaths are classified as ‘unintended consequences’ or the more common ‘collateral damage’, as if developing a more sanitized label makes it any less tragic. Over 100,000 civilians have left in Iraq because the invasion began, despite the fact that it is difficult to accurately measure the additional related deaths from disease, starvation and other causes, chances are that the equal number have left in this way.
Article #5 States: “No one shall be put through torture in order to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Simple in concept, yet we witnessed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and acts of torture and abuse inside the walls of the Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 shocked the planet. But many incidents of torture go unreported, as they are committed within veil of secrecy. Extraordinary Rendition is one such practice involved in by the United States government during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it represents a flagrant violation of internationally agreed upon human rights.
Article #9 States: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.”
Yet this really is this type of prevalent problem in several countries, from Russia to China to Pakistan. The most known example at the moment requires the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the imprisonment of detainees without charges being filed. The place was chosen because of the fact that it is beyond US legal jurisdiction, and the prisoners were classified as ‘enemy combatants’ to deny them the rights presented to POWs underneath the Geneva convention. This legal no man’s land has become a human rights black hole.
Article #10 States: “Everyone is entitled entirely equality to some fair and public hearing by a completely independent and impartial tribunal, in the resolution of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.”
Once more, their email list of countries that violate this basic right is very long, by its very nature, illegal imprisonment usually involves a denial of the to a fair hearing. Saddam Hussein used the identical Abu Ghraib prison to accommodate a large number of political prisoners. Denied access to an impartial tribunal, many were executed without a lot like a proper trail.
Article #19 States: “Everyone has got the to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to keep opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and no matter frontiers.”
Suppression of free speech happens in the majority of the third world to 1 extent or another, but can also be widely practiced in developed countries. China, Russia and Pakistan once again make that list, while Robert Mugabe’s blatant campaign of violence and intimidation was adopted to commit election fraud in Zimbabwe. Blog censorship has additionally be a major problem, as many countries have a problem with their citizen’s new found capability to communicate outside the traditional channels of television, radio and newspaper – channels that may be easily controlled in the past.
Article #28 States: “Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be full realized.”
The Un was supposed to have been your body which ensures the presence of this social and international order, yet that goal has always been elusive for these 63 years. When major violations of basic human rights are committed through the people in the Un Security Council, it’s unwise to assume the UN would be the organization to pursue violations want to know ,.
The Role of the us
It’s not realistic to visualize the United States will solve this dilemma alone, nor should it assume sole responsibility, as this issue of human rights includes everyone and can require all governments and organizations to participate. But America has an opportunity to play a special role, not just because it has the world’s largest economic and organizational expertise, but because of its ability to rally support for causes and play a leadership role which will increase the efforts undertaken.
Come January 20, 2009, this should be a priority of the new administration – to once again claim the moral high ground regarding upholding and promoting the articles as established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to function as the leader the world needs at this type of precarious amount of time in its history. There’s much work to become done in order to remedy our past missteps, but that must happen before meaningful progress can be made, and also the world can’t wait much longer.
How do we accomplish this difficult goal of providing Universal Human Rights?
Much has changed since 1945. Millions have left in countless conflicts, 80 nations once under colonial rule have gained their independence and joined the UN, while other countries happen to be birthed and borders redrawn. The demise from the USSR greatly altered that region’s landscape.
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Estonia
Georgia
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
The building blocks of Human Rights
It’s tough to fathom the wars, conflicts, invasions, genocides, torture, abuse and neglect that have ravaged our global society reading The Universal Promise of Human Rights. Adopted through the Un when the organization only agreed to be 3 years old, this important document set happens based on how governments and their citizens were ‘supposed’ to deal with each other. Unfortunately the objectives contained within have repeatedly been ignored by world leaders of developed and third world countries alike. It appears those people who are given the job of upholding the 30 articles simply pick and choose what they desire to follow and under what circumstances.
While commentary may be easily written on each one of the articles, I’ve chosen a limited number to mirror upon considering events that are ongoing or have took place the past. Those residing in the Civilized world are, for the most part, shielded in the pain and suffering that exists for the millions whose rights have been denied. The closest we obtain to experiencing their plight is watching a couple of minutes of television coverage. But the real picture is not a pretty one, and despite the efforts of both government and non-government agencies, there doesn’t appear to be any relief around the corner.
Article #1 States: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
Any review of the violence which remains wagged in a variety of areas of the world would note the truth that our capability to act ‘in a spirit of brotherhood’ continues to be seriously compromised. And all sorts of too often governments only give lip plan to the crisis, offering public condemnations and a dose of back-room diplomacy. Current events within the Democratic Republic of Congo attest to that, using the death toll now approaching 6 million.
Article #3 States: “Everyone has the to life, liberty and security of person.”
Probably the most troubling facet of war, even when the experience is usually deemed to become justified, pertains to the innocent people who are the unwilling victims such conflict. We’re often told ‘that’s the price of freedom’, or the deaths are classified as ‘unintended consequences’ or even the more prevalent ‘collateral damage’, as if creating a more sanitized label makes it any less tragic. Over 100,000 civilians have left in Iraq because the invasion began, despite the fact that it is not easy to accurately assess the additional related deaths from disease, starvation along with other causes, chances are that an equal number have died in this manner.
Article #5 States: “No one shall be put through torture in order to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Simple in concept, yet we witnessed the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and acts of torture and abuse inside the walls of the Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 shocked the planet. But many incidents of torture go unreported, as they are committed under a veil of secrecy. Extraordinary Rendition is a such practice involved in through the United States government throughout the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and it represents a flagrant violation of internationally agreed upon human rights.
Article #9 States: “No one shall be put through arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.”
Yet this is this type of common problem in many countries, from Russia to China to Pakistan. The most notable example at the moment requires the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and also the imprisonment of detainees without charges being filed. The place was chosen because of the fact that it’s outside of US legal jurisdiction, and also the prisoners were classified as ‘enemy combatants’ to deny them the rights provided to POWs underneath the Geneva convention. This legal no man’s land has turned into a human rights black hole.
Article #10 States: “Everyone is entitled entirely equality to some fair and public hearing by a completely independent and impartial tribunal, within the determination of his rights and obligations as well as any criminal charge against him.”
Once more, the list of countries that violate this basic right is very long, and by its very nature, illegal imprisonment usually involves a denial from the to a fair hearing. Saddam Hussein used the identical Abu Ghraib prison to accommodate a large number of political prisoners. Denied access to an impartial tribunal, many were executed without a lot as a proper trail.
Article #19 States: “Everyone has got the to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to keep opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and no matter frontiers.”
Suppression of free speech happens in most of the third world to 1 extent or another, but is also widely practiced in developed countries. China, Russia and Pakistan once again make that list, while Robert Mugabe’s blatant campaign of violence and intimidation was adopted to commit election fraud in Zimbabwe. Blog censorship has also be a major problem, as numerous countries have a problem with their citizen’s new found capability to communicate away from traditional channels of television, radio and newspaper – channels that may be easily controlled in the past.
Article #28 States: “Everyone is eligible for a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration could be full realized.”
The United Nations was supposed to have been the body which ensures the presence of this social and international order, yet that goal has remained elusive of these 63 years. When major violations of basic human rights are committed through the people in the United Nations Security Council, it’s unwise to assume that the UN would be the organization to pursue violations of this article.
The Role of the us
It is not realistic to assume the United States will solve this dilemma alone, nor should it assume sole responsibility, as this issue of human rights includes everyone and can require all governments and organizations to participate. But America comes with an chance to play a unique role, not only since it has got the world’s largest economic and organizational skill set, but due to the capability to rally support for causes and play a leadership role which will increase the efforts undertaken.