Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a document of principles approved by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. After the experience of the second world war as a common standard of achievement for all people and nations. Everyone, no matter who they are, or where they are born is entitled to the same basic rights and freedom without distinction of any kind of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or another opinion as national or social, origin, property, birth or another status. It is however a challenge and unfortunate for the world to experience the same universal declaration of human rights. UDHR is based on 30 rights and most translated into 538 different languages some of the rights are that all human beings are born free and have equality, dignity, and the right to freedom from discrimination. These rights have been violated every single day, especially in poor countries to children, women, refugees, incarcerated people, and more. Various categories of human rights have been recognized including fundamental rights, the right to life, non-discrimination, and the idea that everyone is born equal; rights in the legal system; rights in society; political, economic, and social rights; and cultural rights.

In poor countries Universal Human rights are violated every day, Poverty destroys economic and social. Social rights such as health, adequate housing, food, safe water, and education. For those living in poverty, many human rights are out of reach, among many other deprivations. They often lack access to education, health services, safe drinking water, and basic sanitation. This causes specific human rights violations for example because if you are poor you are forced to live or work in an environment that is unsafe and unhealthy. Children can escape poverty because the state does not provide access to education, another violation of human rights. Some countries’ most basic human rights are denied for women the freedom of speech, education, or the right to vote; and any attempts to oppose these regimes often result in future imprisonment and sometimes death. Human trafficking is currently one of the largest issues on a global scale of human rights violations millions of men, women, and children are forced into labor and sexual exploitation. People with disabilities are often mistreated by organizations, society, and family members by being denied medications, safe housing acceptance, care, etc. “to deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity” -Nelson Mandela 

Another way of human rights violations can be civil and political example torture and arbitrary arrest.  Sometimes law enforcement violates human rights by breaking the laws. For example, people that are incarcerated prisoners cannot pursue the rights to vote the rights to a fair trial and presumption of innocence, freedom of participation in public affairs and elections, it prohibits arbitrary deprivation of life, tortures cruel or degrading treatment or punishment slavery and forced labor, discrimination. They do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cells. A prisoner’s cell may be searched without a warrant; A prisoner does not have the rights afforded to individuals under employment laws. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure.” (U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun) 1. Article 21 (1) of the UDHR: Nationally, an estimated 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of laws that prohibit voting by people with felony convictions. Of these, 4 million are out of prison and living and working in the community. Two states permanently ban voting by anyone with a felony record of any sort. And often people go to jail unfairly.

Although the Declaration of universal human rights is one of the most important reference points for cross-cultural discussion of human freedom and dignity of the world to all human beings, it is a failure to so many people, especially the less privileged one. Based on the UDHR framers in which every man, woman, and child lives free from hunger and is protected from oppression, violence, discrimination it should therefore be a unifying rather than a divisive force within and among all cultures. We will only be able to wholly honor the towering vision of the Universal Declaration of human rights when it’s universal.

Sources cited:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations

[PDF] Human Trafficking: An International

N Blom – academia.edu

https://wwww.ohchr.org

Huq, Samin. “What Is the Most Violated Human Right in America?” US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, 9 Aug. 2021, https://usidhr.org/what-is-the-most-violated-human-right-in-america/.