Nelson Mandela said, “Denying people their human rights means challenging their humanity.” He played a crucial role in the implementation of the South African Constitution, which contains a comprehensive bill of rights. This document formed the basis of South Africa`s new democracy in 1996 and is considered one of the most progressive declarations of human rights in the world. (3) Human rights are universal. All living people – or perhaps all living people – have human rights. You don`t have to be a certain type of person or member of a particular nation or religion to have human rights. In the idea of universality, there is a notion of independent existence. People have human rights, whether or not they are to be found in the practices, morals or law of their country or culture. However, this idea of universality requires several limitations. First, some rights, such as the right to vote, are only available to adult citizens or residents and apply only to voting in their own country. Second, the human right to free movement may be temporarily deprived of a person convicted of a serious crime. Thirdly, some human rights treaties focus on the rights of vulnerable groups such as minorities, women, indigenous peoples and children. Human rights exist for all of us.
So how can we use them? It is clear that their very existence is not enough to put an end to human rights violations, because we all know that they are committed every day in all regions of the world. So, can they really make a difference? How can we use them? Beitz rightly points out that a reasonable person can accept and apply the idea of human rights without accepting any particular view of its foundations. What is less clear is whether he is right when he suggests that good justifications for human rights should avoid, as much as possible, controversial assumptions about religion, metaphysics, ideology and intrinsic value (see Public Reason). Beitz emphasizes the practical good that human rights do, not their foundation in an underlying moral reality. This helps to make human rights attractive to people around the world with their diverse religious and philosophical traditions. The general justification for human rights and their normativity offered by Beitz is that they “protect urgent special interests from foreseeable dangers (“standard threats”) to which they are exposed under conditions of life typical in a modern world order of independent states.” Human rights are freedoms established by custom or international agreements that impose standards of conduct on all nations. Human rights are distinct from civil liberties, which are freedoms established by the law of a particular state and enforced by that state in its own jurisdiction. Human rights are relevant to all of us, not just those who are victims of repression or abuse.
John Rawls introduced the idea of a political conception of human rights in his book The Law of Peoples (Rawls 1999). The basic idea is that we can understand what human rights are and what their justification requires by identifying the main roles they play in a policy area. In the law of nations, this area is that of international relations (and secondarily of national politics). Rawls attempted a normative reconstruction of international law and international law politics in the current international system, which explains why Rawls focuses on how human rights function within that system. At the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993, countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, China and Iran called for cultural and economic differences to be adapted to the practice of human rights. Western officials tended to view these countries` position as an excuse for oppression and authoritarianism. The Conference responded by adopting the Vienna Declaration. It states in Article 5 that countries must not choose between human rights: “All human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interconnected. The international community must treat human rights fairly and equitably, on the same basis and with the same vigour throughout the world.
While the importance of national and regional specificities and different historical, cultural and religious contexts must be taken into account, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. National human rights organizations such as the Vicaria de Solidaridad in Chile and the Free Legal Assistance Group in the Philippines also play an important role as guardians of human rights, often at the risk of their members. Human rights are often enshrined in law to ensure the protection of individuals and communities. But what is the law? The question of how to define law has occupied philosophers and social scientists for many centuries. While there is no simple answer to this question, it is generally accepted that the law has some key features. Associations, non-governmental organizations, charities and other citizens` initiatives play an important role in exerting pressure on States. This is the subject of the section on activism and the role of NGOs. The role of these associations is particularly relevant to the average street man and woman, not only because they often deal with individual cases, but also because they offer ordinary people the opportunity to work for the protection of the human rights of others.
After all, these associations are made up of ordinary people! We will also look at how they contribute to improving human rights and look at some examples of successful measures. A number of standard individual rights are particularly important for ethnic and religious minorities, including the rights to freedom of association, assembly, freedom of religion and non-discrimination. Human rights documents also contain rights that explicitly refer to minorities and provide them with special protection. For example, article 27 of the Civil and Political Covenant provides that persons belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities “shall not be deprived of the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion or to use their own language in community with other members of their group”. Social rights have often been defended by binding arguments that show the support they offer to the successful realization of civil and political rights. This approach was first developed philosophically by Henry Shue (Shue 1996; see also Nickel 2007 and 2016). Linking arguments defend the contested rights by demonstrating indispensable or very useful support for the uncontested rights. For example, if a government succeeds in eradicating hunger and providing education for all, it promotes people`s ability to know, use and enjoy their freedoms, the right to due process and the right to political participation.
Lack of education is often an obstacle to the realization of civil and political rights, as uneducated people often do not know what rights they have and what they can do to use and defend them. Lack of education is also a common barrier to democratic participation. Education and a minimum income make it easier for economically disadvantaged people to follow politics, participate in political campaigns, and spend the time and money needed to vote and vote. In the United Kingdom (even before formal inclusion) the effect was that legal changes in very many areas were in fact and often caused by changes in existing legal systems.
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