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Human Human RightsRights

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A DefinitionA Definition

HUMAN RIGHTS are rights to which all human beings are entitled just because they are human, regardless of the society, the culture, or the times in which they live.

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A Very Old IdeaA Very Old Idea

Philosophers in ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, in the Middle Ages, and in the Age of Enlightenment were all familiar with the belief that human beings have certain “natural rights” just as a matter of the laws of nature.

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Human Rights ≠ Civil Human Rights ≠ Civil RightsRightsHuman Rights are ideals that

people agree to, but there are only limited and indirect means to enforce them.

Civil Rights are established by law, and there is a means of enforcement.

Human Rights give powerful “moral authority”to our arguments and our political actions.

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Examples of “human rights” Examples of “human rights” thinkingthinking

US

Declaration Of Independence

1776

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…Whenever Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it.”

French

Declaration of the Rights of Man

1789

“The representatives of the French people, organized as a National Assembly, believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties…”

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Examples of “human rights” Examples of “human rights” thinkingthinking

United Nations Charter1945

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and

to affirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and

to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and

to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good

neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods,

that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and

social advancement of all peoples,

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Human Rights Human Rights DocumentsDocuments

IF there are human rights,

THEN we should be able to identify them, write them down, and agree on them.

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Countries on the Countries on the Committee that Drafted Committee that Drafted the UDHRthe UDHR

AustraliaBelgium BelarusChileChinaEgyptFrance India Iran

PhilippinesPanamaLebanonUnited KingdomUnited StatesUnion of Soviet

Socialist RepublicsUruguayYugoslavia

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U.N. arguments U.N. arguments forfor “human “human rights”rights” Because recognizing the natural value and the equal and permanent

rights of all members of the human family is the basis of freedom, justice and peace in the world;

Because ignoring and despising human rights resulted in barbarous acts which outraged mankind;

Because the greatest hope of the common people is the creation of a world in which human beings will have freedom of speech and belief, and freedom from fear and want;

Because it is essential to develop friendly relations between nations;

Because Member States, in co-operation with the United Nations, have promised to achieve the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

And because a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge:

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Human Rights Human Rights StatementStatement

The U.N Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

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Converting principles into a Converting principles into a treatytreaty

1948UN’s

Universal Declaration of Human

Rights

1966UN’s

International Covenant

on Civil and Political Rights

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Ratified the treatyRatified the treatySigned but did not ratify the treatySigned but did not ratify the treatyNeither signed nor ratified the treatyNeither signed nor ratified the treaty

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Signed, not ratified

Not signed, Not Ratified

ChinaComorosCubaGuinea-BissauLaosNauruPakistanSão Tomé and Príncipe

Antigua and Barbuda; BhutanBrunei BurmaFijiKiribatiMicronesiaSaint LuciaSaudi Arabia SingaporeSolomon IslandsTongaUnited Arab Emirates VanuatuVatican City

The ICCPR Treaty as of The ICCPR Treaty as of 20102010

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How can the world respond to How can the world respond to human rights violations?human rights violations?

Talk privately to the nation?

Publicly criticize the nation?

Adopt a UN resolution condemning the nation?

Impose trade penalties on the nation?

Boycott all business and travel with the nation?

Support insurrections within the nation?

Take military action against the nation?

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Arguments Arguments againstagainst “human “human rights”rights”

Philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) said that the very idea of natural rights was pure nonsense, in fact “nonsense on stilts”.

Where do these rights come from? Who says they are rights?

Jeane Kirkpatrick, US ambassador to the United Nations during the President Ronald Reagan years, called the Universal Declaration on Human Rights “ a letter to Santa Claus”.

Human rights are unrealistic, cost too much, require very high taxation

Iran's President Ali Khamene'i "When we want to find out what is right and what is wrong, we

do not go to the United Nations; we go to the Holy Koran (Qur'an). For us, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is nothing but a collection of mumbo-jumbo by disciples of Satan." So, in 1990, a number of Islamic nations meeting in Cairo, Egypt, crafted their own Islamic version of a human rights statement. Rights are culturally relative

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An Alternative Human Rights An Alternative Human Rights StatementStatementCairo Declaration of Human

Rights in Islam (1990)

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Human RightsHuman Rights

Monitoring/Advocacy Monitoring/Advocacy GroupsGroups

Amnesty International

Human Rights Watch

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The U.N Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)

Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (1990)