This document discusses human rights and divides them into three categories: civil and political rights, economic and social rights, and group or peoples' rights. It also examines the debate around universalism vs cultural relativism in human rights. Key points made include that civil and political rights protect against government overreach while economic and social rights gained recognition in the 20th century. The UN works to establish international human rights law to protect a range of human rights. However, applying children's rights universally is complicated by cultural differences around issues like children's freedom of expression and religion.
This document discusses human rights and divides them into three categories: civil and political rights, economic and social rights, and group or peoples' rights. It also examines the debate around universalism vs cultural relativism in human rights. Key points made include that civil and political rights protect against government overreach while economic and social rights gained recognition in the 20th century. The UN works to establish international human rights law to protect a range of human rights. However, applying children's rights universally is complicated by cultural differences around issues like children's freedom of expression and religion.
This document discusses human rights and divides them into three categories: civil and political rights, economic and social rights, and group or peoples' rights. It also examines the debate around universalism vs cultural relativism in human rights. Key points made include that civil and political rights protect against government overreach while economic and social rights gained recognition in the 20th century. The UN works to establish international human rights law to protect a range of human rights. However, applying children's rights universally is complicated by cultural differences around issues like children's freedom of expression and religion.
This document discusses human rights and divides them into three categories: civil and political rights, economic and social rights, and group or peoples' rights. It also examines the debate around universalism vs cultural relativism in human rights. Key points made include that civil and political rights protect against government overreach while economic and social rights gained recognition in the 20th century. The UN works to establish international human rights law to protect a range of human rights. However, applying children's rights universally is complicated by cultural differences around issues like children's freedom of expression and religion.
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HUMAN RIGHTS
“All individuals, solely by virtue of being human beings, have rights which no society or State should deny”
Categorization of human rights
Human rights are generally divided into three main categories:
(1) Civil and political rights
(2) Economic, social and cultural rights; and
(3) Group or peoples’ rights.
Civil and political rights (freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom from torture, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, right to a fair trial, etc.)
They protect against encroachments of government.
These rights have traditionally been given priority by Western States.
Economic, social and cultural rights (e.g., right to work, right to education, right to access to health care) attained recognition in the twentieth century with the advent of socialism. They argued that achievement of economic and social rights was a pre-condition for other rights. That is, until the economic and social rights were realized, a State was not in a position to provide civil and political rights.
Group or peoples’ rights emerged as recently as the 1970s and are supported by developing countries.
The focus is on collective as opposed to individual rights.•
Universalism and Cultural relativism
The question of the ‘universal’ or ‘relative’ character of the human rights has been a source of debate from the beginning of the human rights movement. The proponents of the “universalism” claim that international human rights like rights to equal protection by law, physical security, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of association are and must be the same everywhere.
Advocates of “cultural relativism” claim that most(or some) rights depend on cultural context, the term ‘culture’ being used in a broad way to include political and religious ideologies and institutional structures. Hence notions of right (and wrong) necessarily differ throughout the world because the cultures in which they take root differ.
International human rights law by United Nations
According to basic requirements established by the United Nations (an international
organization that includes virtually every country in the world) people, no matter where and under what government they live—have the right to pursue their universal moral and civil freedoms.
International human rights law has been specifically designed to protect the full range of human rights required for people to “have a full, free, safe, secure and healthy life” (UN, 1948). It is stated that the right to live a dignified life can never be attained unless all basic necessities of life—work, food, housing, health care, education, and culture—are adequately and equitably available to everyone. Based squarely on this fundamental principle of the global human rights system, international human rights law has established individual and group rights relating to the civil, cultural, economic, political, and social spheres.
Important civil and political rights
Some of the civil and political rights need to be discussed further because they are of fundamental importance.
1- The Right to life Art
This law was approved against the death penalty practiced in many countries. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime.
2- Cross-cultural consensus against violence
The torture—severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, that is intentionally inflicted on a person for political, religious, or ideological purposes or permitted “with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity”—is condemned and prohibited by the United Nations (UN, 1948). This rule does not activate intense debates, probably because of cross-cultural consensus against violence.
3- Freedom of thought, conscience and Art.
Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
4- Children Rights to Privacy
A more complicated dilemma occurs in relation to other human rights. According to the United Nations, children should be able to express their views freely; the state should respect children’s freedom of thought and religion, and children also “have the right to privacy and adults cannot unlawfully interfere in the child’s privacy” (UN, 1959).
Other rights include;
5- Right to Fair Trial
6- Right to education 7- Right to housing, Health and Employment
Cultural differences in freedom of Children
Meanwhile, in many countries, according to cultural customs and religious norms, children’s rights are not considered to be a subject of public debate. There is opposition from many states, for example, to the right of children to choose their own religion. The rights of children that emphasize self expression can be easily challenged in countries with authoritarian governments.
The Role of United Nation in Ensuring Children Rights
The United Nations requires that states ensure that children have access to a wide variety of resources, including a standard of living that is adequate for physical, mental, spiritual, moral, and social development. These requirements are impossible to fulfill for the countries in which the amount of resources is limited.
Human Rights Protection: Collectivistic & individualistic cultural differences
The United Nations declares the priority of children’s individual rights over their rights within a social group, such as family. Many argue that these provisions indicate the individualistic values of Western society that are very difficult to accept for individuals living in other countries—such as Pakistan, Botswana, and Thailand—with different cultural conditions, specifically of a collectivist tradition.
Thus Countries and governments vary in beliefs about:
the property distribution of power in the family,
the degree to which behavior should be regulated by individuals themselves versus external rules, the importance of individual rights versus group and family loyalties, and the scope of responsibility individuals should have for themselves and their families.
Conclusion
The Above examples, perhaps, suggest that culture may have a significant impact on how individuals and governments define the best interest of the child. Nevertheless, most of the existing contradictions exist and will continue to be an issue because of the tremendous economic burden suffered by billions of people and their general lack of protection against natural disasters and intrusive governments. It is difficult to reach agreement on human rights at the universal level on account of conflicting ideologies and interests. Agreement is easier to reach at the regional level, where States are more likely to have common values and interests.
