Human rights

See also: Freedom | Civil Rights

The fundamental freedoms and rights which a special to all humans. Human rights celebrate diversity and equality. They deem that all human life has liberty and free will and autonomy. Therefore everyone has a right to life and the needs for survival such as food, wather, clothing and shelter.

These rights pronounce free will, freedom of thought and expression, and equality betweens peers before the law. Human rights are the same no matter where some lives or visits, no matter someone’s original birthplace, nationality, sex, race or ethnicity. They include the right to just work conditions and the right to an education, the freedom of sexual preference and gender identity.

Humanitarian organisations include Red Cross, United Nations. The much heralded Universal Declaration of Human Rights (http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html) is important due to its detailed specification of our human rights.

According to the Glossary of Human Rights (http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/education/glossary.html), human rights become enforceable when they are codified as conventions, covenants, or international treaties, or as they become customary international law.

The two most important international treaties relating to human rights are the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Convention on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

These fundamental human rights are expected to be granted even in times of war. The 1949 Geneva Convention univeral declaration covers prisoners of war and treatment of civilians, including sections related to no targetting or shielding of non-combatants.

Violations

Human history is blighted by brutal savagery in which our rights were non-existant. Extreme forms of human rights violations which continue today, include discrimination, apartheid, genocide, war crimes, mental torture, etc.

Around the world there are many oppressive regimes, such as the communist party in China and various dictatorships which routinely abuse human and civil rights.

Countries that regularly break the Geneva Convention by imposing collective “punishments” on whole towns and villages include Israel and coalition forces in Iraq. The USA‘s treatment of prisoners, without charge continues to defy the protocols set out out in the convention as well.

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