Human Rights

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Human Rights

Every person is entitled to human rights irrespective of his or her moral character, race, nationality, gender, sex or any other distinguishing feature. Human rights are applicable to people by the virtue of the fact that they are human beings. Therefore, no individual, organization, or government should infringe on another person’s human rights. They ensure the preservation of humanity and personal dignity. Every person has a right to life and security. People should be treated in humane ways irrespective of their actions and character. Events and actions such as genocides, slavery, torture, rape, and deliberate starvation are a clear sign of human rights violations. Although human rights are universal, some people tend to think that their rights are more superior and they should be more respected. This stems from a feeling of superiority, which can be determined by race, gender, intellect, or any other distinguishing character.

Recent events involving the unfair treatments of different individuals have highlighted the need to consider the application of human rights in the country. Discrimination of some based on race has led some people to question the universal application of human rights. Although there are many different cultures and races represented in the country, some people tend to think that they are more superior. This becomes a problem if the sentiments and perceptions they have cause them to treat others in inhumane ways. The aimless killing of people because of their race even though they have committed crime is a violation of human rights.

Formulation and establishment of laws determine how the rest of the population upholds human rights. If the law allows for discrimination against a select people, then the rest of the population will not apply human rights universally. The law should treat every person equally irrespective of his or her background and social status. Poor people have the same human rights as rich people do. Whites and blacks have the same basic human rights. Failure to have fair, just, and adequate laws in place will encourage discrimination to take place. Hence, if the laws do not recognize the rights of the black people, white people will tend to develop the feeling that they are more superior and that they should not consider the rights of others. This happened when slavery was common in the country. Blacks often suffered because of their race, since most of them were slaves.

Culture should not dictate human rights, although some cultures tend to feel that they are entitled to more rights. Cultures are different and some practices in one culture may seem inferior to another. Some people might develop the perception that their cultures are more superior compared to others. However, this does not give them a license to infringe on other people’s rights. Human rights are birthrights and not privileges. Infringing on a person’s rights because of his or her culture is discriminatory. Some cultures observe practices that would be considered a violation of human rights in another culture. In such cases, the government and the international community intervenes on behalf of the people to ensure that such practices are abandoned. However, there is minimal protection of human dignity and observation of human rights does not mean a total change of culture. Every culture should observe human rights. People should abandon practices that lead to human rights violations