Almost every nation of the world values the concept of human rights. One of the principal problems in the protection of human rights, however, lies in the inability of governments to agree on a specific definition.
Declaration of Human Rights:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN on Dec.10, 1948. It guarantees many individual, social, economic and political rights. These include rights to such things as equal protection under law, to a fair hearing, to be presumed innocent, to free movement, to marry and have a family, to social security, to work, to join trade unions, to adequate standard of living for health and well-being, and to education. As pointed out by in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, subsequent treaties added group rights such as the "protections of ethnic groups against genocide and the ownership by countries of their national territories and resources."
Definition of Human Rights:
The definition of human rights is a subject of debate. As Julio de Santa Ana puts it, in The Rights to Development and Economic Justice, "theoretically, all human beings (even the most authoritarian!) accept human rights. But not all are ready to implement them and to defend them." The developing countries maintain that economic rights to food, shelter and education supersede rights of free speech and representation. Non-democratic countries (e.g. Peoples Republic of China) often bristle at intense pressure to give their people more political rights. They maintain that the definition of human rights should concentrate on the immediate needs of the people and that the West (e.g. United States) needs to provide additional assistance in meeting these immediate needs. Additionally, the fragile nature of young democracies precludes the granting of widespread political freedoms because, it is argued, political instability and violence would result.
Clearly, nations must often consider the negative economic effects that a principled commitment to a human rights doctrine may lead to. For the USA, potentially lucrative trading relationships with the PRC, for instance, have apparently outweighed human rights considerations.
Points of Discussion:
Much time has passed since the inception of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations; still, nations disagree on how the Declaration should be implemented. Moreover, nations continue to argue over how the Declaration should be interpreted. Because of this prolonged debate, there are many in the World community that are constantly calling for a dialogue on the definition of human rights. For instance, as stated by UN independent human rights expert and special Raporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, after a deadly conflict in Peru over mining and oil development: " it is necessary that all parties respect the right to life and other fundamental human rights and ensure that the legitimate protests of indigenous peoples to defend their rights, and the response by law enforcement, do not create situations that endanger the lives and safety of protesters and other citizens."
Conferencing:
World issues are all about negotiations: Each side puts forth a position and then everyone works toward a compromise. This teaching tool asks people to take the role of nations and attempt, through conferencing, to reach agreements on human rights definition questions (see image).
A suggested procedure is as follows: (see images)
- Assign participants a country (perhaps in an economic zone e.g. ASEAN or APEC): an equal number of supporters of economic and political human rights;
- Have participants investigate the point of view held by their country on the issue of human rights e.g. suspend political rights-detention of government critics (Note: Could introduce Edward De Bono’s Thinking Hats)
- Investigate articles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights: speculate on articles of the declaration that other nations might think are being violated?
- Gather around a conference table: display a sign identifying countries being represented.
- Assign or elect a chairperson and vice chairperson.
- Discuss the agenda questions with the intention of finding points of agreement.
- Sign off on points of agreement and complete majority and minority reports.
Conferencing Assessment Form:
Leader or peers check off points based on suggested criteria (see image). The form could be altered and adjusted.
Summit Sample Reports:
Majority Report
- Describe and account for the areas of agreement in the negotiations for the majority of nations represented. e.g. As regards most matters, Canada, Australia, USA and New Zealand agreed because all of the governments of these countries are democratic.
Minority Report
- Describe and account for the areas of disagreement in the negotiations for the minority of nations represented. e.g. North Korea and China disagreed with the other nations. These two governments were basically similar in that their governments rule the people. They emphasized economic rights over political rights, therefore, human rights in general is not a big issue for them.
Sources:
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations.
- James Nickel. Human Rights. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Aug.24, 2010
- Julio de Santa Ana. The Rights to Development and Economic Justice. WARC.
- Peru: UN expert on indigenous rights calls for dialogue after deadly mining protests UN News Centre. July 6, 2011
James Gibson - James Gibson is a retired teacher and small business owner. He is a published writer and has a wide spectrum of interests.
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