Law Essay on Human Rights
Human rights are the various provisions and freedoms that people possess by the fact that they are humans. As such, the development of human rights was aimed at ensuring the application of justice, equality, freedom, and peace for everyone in different countries in the world. The presence of human rights has been of help to the weaken in the society due to the availability of protective measures issued by the stipulations. Despite the powers held by an individual in a particular state, the government in question is obliged to promote human rights through the use of effective implicative methods.
In some cases, people usually aim at exercising their rights to the extent of affecting others in their vicinity. Without the adequate consideration of the weak in the society, the high chances are that the international community will come to the aid of the oppressed. Thus, human rights are part of people’s lives in the universe as tabled in the United Nations Declaration.
However, despite every individual on the earth possessing rights and privileges, the exercising of such rights is limited based on the conditions in question. When one exercises their rights, they are supposed to do that in consideration of other people’s well-being in the society. For example, despite the state having authority over all the people in the given territory, there is the need to limit the excesses due to the presence of the universal human rights declared by the UN in Geneva, Switzerland. In the case of the leaders that violate the human rights, the establishment of the International Criminal Courts (ICC) comes to the rescue of the oppressed through prosecution. Interestingly, some of the leaders have been captured and detained at the court to act as a lesson to those with a similar intention. In essence, this essay paper seeks to develop an understanding of the Human Rights concept as in the United Nations Declaration, ECtHRs, HUDOC, and their implications on diverse nations across the world in relation to the saying “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”
The Concept of Human Rights and ECtHRs
In the present world, different people are increasingly involved in the fight for their freedom and well-being in the society. It is enabled by the presence of the human rights that have been primary points of reference when examining the wrong actions of others towards humanity. Despite that, the understanding of the various elements related to the concept of human rights has been low due to the unwillingness of people to study the topic. As a result, a majority of the individuals are caught in a quagmire concerning the best method of exercising the available privileges as tabled by the UN and ECtHRs. Also, due to the limited knowledge of the concept among the citizens of the particular country, the various political leaders have taken it as an advantage to impose their cruel ruling system (Heifer 2017, p.137). Therefore, the presence of such actions in the world prompted the development of the international human rights as declared by the United Nations in Geneva.
In essence, ECtHRs is a European body mandated with the development and protection of people’s rights across the universe given the increased case of infringement at different levels. As such, with the presence of ECtHRs, individuals have largely been offered protection around the continent. Interestingly, the diverse countries in the union are supposed to rely supposed to rely on the national assembly to pass friendly policies related to the development of people’s rights in the specific state. Most importantly, HUDOC is one of the most vital reference points for the various ECtHRs member states. Notably, all the various policies are supposed to be in line with the stipulations of the Geneva Convention by the United Nations.
Markedly, the complete formation of the universal human rights originated from the 1948 Geneva Convention organized by the United Nations in a bid to protect the well-being of individuals on earth. During the world meeting, the available delegates considered diverse issues such as the well-being of all persons before the declaration process. Interestingly, the formation of the human rights was based on the tabled international laws. For example, concerning the issue of armed war, the UN Declaration insisted on the consideration of all other people not partaking in the combat. For instance, due to the presence of diverse religions in the world, the dominant group might rely on their numbers to oppress the few in the particular location which tampers with the freedom of worship (Heifer 2017, p.200). Thus, the advancement of human rights was as a result of the various contributory factors leading to the interference of people’s healthy life in the society.
Moreover, during the Second World War, a lot of innocent people suffered the consequences despite that they were not the leading reasons for the growth of the heightened conflict. As a result of the war, many people died given the diverse countries in the world were the battlefields. After the Second World War, the Geneva Convention was mainly formed to address such challenges faced by humans on earth relating to the issue of war and humanity advancement. For example, the presence of selfish political leaders has the high chances of initiating armed war which required taming measures. Due to the success of the Geneva Convention, the growth of such battles was limited due to the implications on the initiators. Recently, diverse leaders have been arrested and tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) intending to promote the concept of human rights. Most importantly, the state in question also plays a vital role in the development of people’s well-being in a specific country despite their religious, political, and social affiliations.
Characteristics of Human Rights in the case of ECtHRs
Markedly, the development and application of human rights were made more exclusive with the tabling of the various features attached to the concept of its components. As a result, all the available characteristics of human rights are linked to their application and usage in the world despite the condition in place. Nonetheless, in the case where one’s freedom interferes with the well-being of others in the society, such characteristics are not applicable based on the constitution of the particular nation. For example, in the case of human rights activists, there is the need to adequately consider the issue of speech to deter a negative impact of the growth of others in the given state. Also, prisoners cannot enjoy their freedom of movement since they are detained for breaking the law (Smith 2016, p.37). In essence, the following is an analysis of the various characteristics of human rights as in the United Nations Declaration of 1948 in Geneva, Switzerland and adopted by ECtHRs.
- Universal. According to the UN Declaration, human rights are universal such that they are supposed to apply to every human being on earth. As such, despite the location of an individual, one is supposed to enjoy all the privileges fully. Thus, the universality of human rights is a critical development of the concept since it aims at the promotion of all humans wellness.
- Inherent. Moreover, human rights have the intrinsic nature since they are not owned by anyone such that every person is born with their possession. The inherent trait of human rights means that one acquires through birth and not provided by the authorities. Hence, the development of human rights is based on the intrinsic factor for the right application for all the people on earth.
- Inalienable. Interestingly, the other characteristic of human rights lies upon their inalienability nature since they are part and parcel of an individual. As such, despite the location of an individual, the many tabled human rights cannot be scrapped from their lives (Shelton 2015, p.22). Nonetheless, in some instances, the application of the reasons is determined by the situation in place as in the case of prisoners.
- Equally Applicable. Additionally, the equal applicability of human rights is another critical nature of human rights due to the presence of diverse persons in the society. Since everyone fights for their well-being in the given country, the high chances are that some might not feel the impacts of such privileges are leading to their oppression by the strong. Thus, across the different parts of the world, all people are supposed to be equally treated reading the available human rights as declared by the United Nations.
- Fundamental. Furthermore, another essential nature of human rights is the issue of fundamentality due to the meaning of people‘s lives. The growth of the social privileges was mainly based on the promotion of dignity and respect for people’s lives. For example, in the case of civil war, all the involved combats are supposed to keenly consider the presence of innocent citizens in a particular location (Shelton 2015, p.32). Subsequently, for the respect of people’s lives, the fundamental characteristic of human rights plays a vital role in their advancement within the society.
- Interdependent. Most importantly, the presence of human rights is enabled by the interdependence factor since they cannot be applied singlehandedly as postulated in the United Nations Declaration. As such, one cannot be given the freedom to speak without having life. For freedom of speech, one has to possess experience which is one of the human rights tabled by the UN in the Geneva Convention (Otto 2017, p.306). Arguably, the interdependence nature of human rights primarily aims at the promotion of people wellness in a specific location.
The Concept of Punishment, Human Rights, and ECtHRs
In the present world, the issue of human rights has increasingly led to the development of different debates concerning their applicability in the well-being of individuals in the society. As a result of the need to promote the positive growth of every person in the community, human rights have been put in place to offer the necessary guidance when dealing with individuals at all levels. For example, at the several courts in the universe, the decision made by the judge in question is supposed to factor in respect of the individual’s rights in the world. Nevertheless, the application of human rights for every person is depended with their respect or interference with other people wellness despite the condition in question (Shelton 015, p.49). Notably, the following is an analysis of the impact of the rehabilitation and death sentencing types of punishment on the development of people’s rights across the world.
- Rehabilitation. In the justice corridors, rehabilitation is one of the most commonly used types of punishment at the various courts of law. During the judging process, the individual in question is supposed to weigh the crime of a person to match it with the correct rehabilitation period. For example, with petty offences, the judge in question cannot give life sentencing to the criminal under arrest. However, rehabilitation increasingly interferes with the complete exercising of a person’s human rights. According to the available stipulations based on the UN Declaration, everyone in the society is entitled to the freedom of movement (Forsythe 2017, p.74). For the prisoners, rehabilitation in the various facilities prevents them from interacting freely with others in the community. Thus, regarding rehabilitation type of punishment, the freedom of movement and association is mostly affected.
- Capital Punishment. Capital punishment is another highly debated type of discipline across the justice corridors given the impact it has on the criminal in question as well as the interested parties in ECtHRs. With capital punishment, one is deterred from his/her freedom to live since it primarily aims at eliminating the person. As a result, various human rights groups have continued to project their views regarding the application of the capital punishment factor given its effects on the development of universal human rights. In Europe, the presence of activists has led to the reconsideration of this punishment since it affects the life of the person in question (Smith 2016, p.43). Therefore, for the effectiveness of the universal human rights, as declared by the UN in the year 1948, there is the need for scrapping out death sentencing since it highly leads to the infringement of the right to owning life.
The concept of freedom of expression and ECtHRs
Considerably, the advancement of human rights by the United Nations also touched on the idea of the freedom of expression for all the people in the world which are subject of application by ECtHRs. As such, regarding the projection of the various issues within the society, every individual has the right to speak their mind. With the presence of such rights, diverse human rights groups have emerged to fighting to the well-being of others in the society. In the present Europe, the availability of human rights organizations has aided the implicative respect for people’s rights. Nonetheless, during such practices, all the involved persons are supposed to ensure that other people’s rights are also respected. In several cases, human rights activists in diverse countries have been arrested and arraigned in court for uttering words contrary to the stipulations of the given country’s constitution.
As long one’s freedom to speech does not cause harm to the society; the UN human rights declaration protects their well-being in the community. In some cases, some of the statements projected by some of the human rights groups prompt the given group to continue performing unwanted actions in a particular country. For instance, given the recent development of terrorism in the world, the available human rights groups cannot rise to object governmental actions regarding such unscrupulous deeds (Donnelly & Whelan, 2017, p.23). In essence, concerning the issue of freedom of expression for persons, limitations are applicable in the case of interference with other people’s growth and well-being in the society.
Conclusion
In summation, the development of human rights has been an essential aspect in the present world given the presence of different people with diverse intentions towards their counterparts in the society. Due to the need of protecting the weakness from the excesses of the authorities and the abled, the United Nations Declaration of 1948 specifically targeted the consideration of the factors is limiting the positive growth of every individual in the society. In essence, ECtHRs is an important body in Europe that works towards the protection of people’s right across the continent. According to the declaration, all the rights regarding the well-being of the oppressed are supposed to be upheld despite the situation in question. Nonetheless, the applicability of all the human freedoms is aimed at supporting everyone’s development in the society. For example, in the case of prisoners, enjoying the rights to movement and association is deterred due to the rehabilitation concept. Also, the freedom of expression is exercised based on the present topic, and it impacts on the development of the society. Consequently, the advancement of human rights was hit by a lot of alteration given the presence of diverse factors in the justice corridors proving the saying “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”
List of References
Donnelly, J & Whelan, DJ 2017, International human rights. Hachette UK.
Forsythe, DP 2017, Human rights in international relations. Cambridge University Press.
Heifer, LR 2017, “Overlegalizing human rights: International relations theory and the Commonwealth Caribbean backlash against human rights regimes,” In International Law and Society. Routledge.
Otto, D 2017, “Rethinking universals: Opening transformative possibilities in international human rights law,” Human Rights. Routledge.
Shelton, D 2015, Remedies in international human rights law. Oxford University Press, USA.
Smith, RK 2016, Textbook on international human rights. Oxford University Press.