Human beings are organisms that rely on strict adherence to laws and regulations for a peaceful co-existence. The optimal functionality of the rules depends on their equality on all people irrespective of the gender, ethnic background or financial power. Human rights refer to constitutional freedom available to all people with regard to basic human needs and fair judicial process in case of crime. The violation of the freedom by an individual, institution or the government is an infringement of the law and punishment. The primary function of human rights is to protect the citizens of the country from mistreatment and guarantee equality for a comfortable life. Therefore, the rights address the basic needs of a human being such as the right to life, protection from.
Importance of Human Rights
Human rights are fundamental to improving the lives of people. In the declaration of human rights, the law prohibits enslavement of persons in the society. All citizens have the right to work and earn salaries for their personal growth and development (Alfredsson " Eide, 1999). In this segment of the policy, the primary aim is to discourage practices evident during the era of slavery. Leaders such as Abraham Lincoln dedicated their lives to abolition of slavery and the slave trade in the United States. The right to lead a free life discourages the idea of perceiving people as commodities exchangeable in the market. Therefore, these policies guarantee all people a better life characterized by the freedom to make independent choices without external influence. Coercion of a person to work in an environment that is not friendly or withholding their payment goes against the primary foundation of human rights.
Initially, the United States formulated the policies with the sole intention of making them global. Human beings deserve comfortable lives where humanity lives in dignity. However, some countries are not in a position to guarantee equal rights. For example, extremist groups in Nigeria, Somalia, and Iraq are famous for actions that undermine these rights. Such groups kill innocent individuals and destroy their properties. Such actions go against the human rights, which advocate for the right to life, ownership of property and freedom from harassment. Violation of the rights exposes the countries to political instability and economic failure (Khan, 2015). In countries where the rule of law is paramount, the citizens live in peace and the economy benefits from the smooth coordination between the client and the service provider. Therefore, human rights are important in maintaining a peaceful environment, which is the epitome of economic growth.
Human rights are important in establishing equality in the society. In the current generation, it is right to acknowledge that every person has a unique characteristic that contributes to the success of his or her respective career. Human rights policies discourage any form of discrimination to give the people a favorable chance of maximizing on their talents. In an environment that discourages diversity, the ideas implemented in the region contain some form of monopoly. However, a diverse environment capitalizes on various ideas from people originating from different ethnic backgrounds. In enforcing the human rights, the primary initiative is to provide the people an opportunity with equal chances for growth. In countries such as Dubai, the laws and regulations in the country lock out the women from performing chores such as driving the car (Alexander, 2002). Such forms of discrimination create an environment that perceives one gender to be inferior to the other. Therefore, human rights ensure equality and talent development in the country.
Talent management is responsible for inspiring lives led by individuals. The talents might be in games such as football or athletics. Today, the huge fanaticism of games leads to income to the tune of millions of dollars for the players. However, political instability in countries that violate human rights creates an environment where such talents cannot thrive. Therefore, human rights are important in allowing the movement of people from all over the world to take part in tournaments such as the Olympics and the world cup. However, countries like Syria do not qualify to host such games due to political instability and infringement of human rights (Leverett, 2005). The violations lock out the country from the huge financial gains enjoyed through hosting the tournaments.
The implementation of human rights educates the population on the ethical interaction without violation of the law. Every citizen has the right to free movement all over the country. However, the infringement of the law gives the judicial system the power to deny a person some of those rights. For example, an individual who commits a crime and the courts find him guilty risks losing his or her rights to movement through imprisonment. The punishment is part of the criminal justice system communication on the importance accorded to the human rights by the constitution. The judicial system must be impartial in enforcing the laws to raise a society that respects human rights (Sakala, 2013). Therefore, human rights are essential in directing how people interact with each other in a manner that fosters respect and promotes mutual respect. Such instances minimize the chances of conflicts within society.
Human rights are important in providing the employees with a favorable working environment. The law prohibits an employer from denying the employee his or her rightful salary. More so, it is the right of the employee to work in a safe environment, free from any danger or discrimination of any kind (Forsythe " McMahon, 2003). On the other hand, the employee has the moral obligation to respect the employer and perform all the duties as agreed upon between two parties. Many forms of discrimination at work capitalize on gender and ethnic backgrounds. Such practices reduce the morale of the employees and a subsequent reduction on productivity. The human rights endeavor to bring out the best results on all persons by advocating for smooth working environments for all employees and a timely payment for their services for optimal productivity. In fairness, the human rights promote positive professional growth for the employee as well as the employer.
Human rights are applicable within individual countries as well as in the international treaties signed by different governments. The rights give people a sense of identity to their land and the resources. In case a country like China needed resources from an emerging economy like Kenya, the human rights dictate that the two countries must come to an agreement that represents the views of the two sides (Marsh " Alagona, 2010, p. 189). In the agreement, the states will deliberate on the benefits associated with the deal for mutual gain. In the colonial times, the developed nations took control of their colonies and the entire resources at their disposal. Such actions are not possible in the current times due to the legal binding that the smaller countries enjoy under the protection of human rights. Therefore, human rights are essential in helping the developing nations protect their resources and sign treaties that are important for their growth.
Human rights are important in the provision of justice for offenders. Before incarceration of the offenders, policies dictate that the courts need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the individual is guilty. In neutralizing the ground for poor and rich, human rights have an obligation to getting a lawyer for a person without the financial power to afford a private attorney (Campbell et al. 2003). Therefore, human rights guarantee all offenders a right to fair treatment, free from preconceived notion of guilt of lack of it. Cases of persons receiving unfair judicial process in countries that do not observe human rights are common for unstable countries. In such regimes, those that tend to be a threat to the government experience an infringement of their rights to curb their zeal in fighting for their policies. However, an ethical government will prioritize the rights of the people at all times.
The proponents of human rights implicit that education would be necessary for all people to compete equally in the employment sector (Campbell et al. 2003). Currently, technology is taking over the world at a very high rate. It has become mandatory for persons with lower education to invest in advanced training to improve their competence. Therefore, the lack of schooling confined the people into a lifetime of challenges in trying to fit into the changing world. The human rights imply that knowledge is one of the basic requirements and lists it as one of the priority to communicate the standard needs of life. However, it is impossible for the person to enjoy the rights without the preservation of life. The first part dictates that a human being has the freedom to live. No one has the power to take the life of another person. The right is the fundamental reason behind the abolishment of the death penalty from the criminal justice department.
Role of Human Rights
Human rights have the fundamental role of protecting individual lives as well as the entire country. According to Birch and Cobb (1985), the entitlement to life is an international accord reinforced through the human rights. Human beings have the obligation to respect the lives of other people at all times without undertaking actions threaten other people. The rights reinforce the religious perception of life as being sacred. The sanctity of life means that all the people should live for as long as possible without interference from any individual or the government. Apart from the lives of the people, human rights shield all citizens from any form of discrimination. The absence of human rights risks all these advantages. For example, the majority groups would discriminate on the minority leading to mistreatment and unfair interaction. Policies supporting the majority would succeed while those in favor of the minority would fail. Therefore, human rights are effective in protecting all groups in equal measure.
The right to discrimination eliminates instances where people would live in fear of an uncertain future. Discrimination in academic institutions has the power to deny student the right to admission or employment in the professional field. Thus, the policies protect the interaction of the people with one another in a fair form without discrimination or stereotypic mentality within the population. For example, people who owned the slaves perceived themselves as more important in the society by having higher freedom to that enjoyed by the slaves (Donald " Leach, 2016). The freedoms accorded to all people in the constitution do not favor one group over the other due to numbers, financial power or academic achievements. Therefore, the implementation of the rights seeks to protect the entire population by creating a uniform environment.
The human rights prioritize the safety from actions such as assault and harassment. For example, a person has the freedom to move from one country to another, however, the change of location does not deny his or her human rights. Countries torn through civil wars guarantee the safety of their people by giving them a refugee status for safe movement to other countries (Forsythe, 2012). Apart from the refugees, political leaders have the right to seek asylum from other countries to guarantee their survival. When refugees move with their properties to the new land, the government has the ethical obligation of offering protection to both the individual and their possessions.
Human rights offer people a right to belong to a specific country. A change of nationality is permissible at the free will of the citizen without any influence or coercion (Sobel, 2016). Through the right, it is impossible to find a person without a citizenship of any country. Changes in laws have made it possible for citizens in countries like Canada to bear the citizenship of more than one country. It is worth noting that adult human beings stand a higher chance of capitalizing on the rights as opposed to a child. For example, the rights allow adults to take part in voting for a leader though a democratic process. Such rights are accessible when the person turns eighteen years. Therefore, the ethical observation of the law cannot allow the state to bar some of the people from exercising their democratic right in the election of leaders.
Human rights have the responsibility averting abuse of persons in the society. Abuse might be in the form of malnutrition, oppression at work or through cultural practices. In diversity, the rights allow all people to uphold their traditional values. However, the values must not interfere with the rights of other people or lead to their abuse in whichever way. As much as the law protects the citizen, it is the expectation that the person will also take an active role in behaving in the right way for a fruitful interaction (Forsythe, 2012, 36). The law is applicable to the relationships between guardians and the children. For example, some parents practice poor parenting through denial of the rights of the children to education, food or proper housing. Parents must respect the law by creating the optimal environment for the children at all times. When the parent fails to guarantee such, the state has the power of moving the child to foster care for the best care.
Human rights create and maintain order in society. Instead of solving conflicts, human rights promote measures that minimize the chances of a conflict arising in the first place. For example, people who live according to the demands of the human rights have minimal chances of getting into conflicts. For the leaders, human rights ensure they respect the will of the people during elections and avoid instances of election malpractices. Post-election violence is one of the instances where leaders seek to impose themselves on the people leading to war between them and their supporters. Human rights perform the role of guaranteeing good leadership in the country by placing the decision on the citizenship of the country (Bessette, 2014). Therefore, ethical electioneering processes keep the country in a peaceful state and the support accorded to the new leaders is anonymous.
In the right to social security, the citizenship of the state must get affordable housing, medication and enough income to sustain their lives (Connolly, 2006). Therefore, when an employer pays an employee, it is not a privilege but rather a right enshrined in the constitution. In the developed nations, the government calculates the minimum wage that an employee should receive from the employer. The calculation protects the employee from investing his or her time in a job that will not sustain his or her basic needs. It is the right of any person to make enough money to lead comfortable lives without reliance on foreign aid for the basic needs. The minimum wage is a policy that seeks to guarantee conformity to the human rights by the employers.
In the formulation of laws in different countries, human rights act as the point of reference for the practitioners. In every step, the legislators must ensure that the proposals made do not conflict with the universal rules that govern the lives and freedom of people. For example, many countries sentenced serious offenders to death. However, the human rights acknowledge the right to life for all people irrespective of the crime committed (Wicks, 2010). A conflict between human rights and the respective laws of any land would create a huge confusion hence the need to guarantee their synchronization. Countries such as Mongolia appreciated the human rights and modified their laws to eliminate the death penalty, which goes against the right to life. In other countries, human rights policies have altered the educational system by making it free for all people. The cost of education is expensive, and some people cannot afford it. However, many donors and non-governmental organizations took to the role of funding the education systems in developing nations to make it accessible.
The accessibility of the education guarantees all the people an opportunity to gain education and use the acquired knowledge in improving their lives. Therefore, the human rights are responsible for creating a foundation on which majority of the countries formulate their laws. Even though some countries are defiant of the rights, the overall changes produced by the policies are good. For example, financial aid given to people in calamities such as droughts and hurricanes is responsible for the sustenance of life (McEntire, 2007). In the absence of the help, many people would die from the natural disasters leaving some countries isolated.
In the religious perspective, human rights allow the persons from all the religious backgrounds to worship in peace. In this era of religious extremism, some worshippers believe that their religion is superior to others and create an environment where religious tolerance is minimal. A good example is the Boko Haram militants in Nigeria who are fond of bombing religious buildings where other worshipers pray. Such mannerisms go against the fundamental principles used in designing human rights (Newlands, 2006). If a person believes that the religious beliefs of another person are not right, it is not within his or her right to interfere with them. The ethical measures to adopt are letting the people continue with their practices as long as they do not interfere with theirs. The human rights practices seek to create an environment where all people can live in peace and harmony from the physical interaction, mental and spiritual states. Therefore, it is right to conclude that human rights are a significant step towards enhancing equality from the local to international levels.
Conclusion
Human rights are a declaration of equality for all people from all over the world without discrimination based on color, gender, and ethnic backgrounds. The privileges guarantee humanity legal protection from the law on their lives and property. After maturity, human rights accord the people an opportunity to marry, own a home and children without interference from the government or an intruder. Despite the positive aspect of the policies, it is regrettable that some of the countries disregard human rights and treat people in horrible ways. The slavery of people and payment of funds below the minimum wage are some of the instances where humanity experiences a violation of their rights. The judicial bodies in all countries have the responsibility of ensuring the people enjoy their rights as accorded by the constitution. The departments punish those people who violate the rights of others while ensuring that the offense is equal to the crime committed. Therefore, human rights are responsible for protecting the population; providing better living conditions and creating a good design for the enactment of laws that uphold the rights of the people.
References
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