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Making Human Rights Fit for the 21st Century: The Challenge of Morphological Freedom, Jessica Tatchell

By SERRC on August 8, 2015 • ( 1 )

Author Information: Jessica Tatchell, University of Warwick, [email protected]

Tatchell, Jessica. “Making Human Rights Fit for the 21 st Century: The Challenge of Morphological Freedom.” [1] Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 4, no. 8 (2015): 34-39.

The PDF of the article gives specific page numbers. Shortlink: http://wp.me/p1Bfg0-2e5

Image credit: University of Essex, via flickr

M any strong and valid arguments against the idea of human rights exist. Is it right, for example, to assume universality; that is, do all human beings in all societies require and/or desire the same rights? Are these universal rights predicated on Western values and norms, leading to discriminatory behaviour towards those who do not fit this Christian ideal of human nature (Walker 2015)? Furthermore, is it feasibly possible to legally enforce and protect the rights of individuals on a global scale without contradicting principles of national sovereignty (Fagen 2009)? These are indeed pressing issues worthy of consideration. However, this essay aims to present the argument that our contemporary notion of human rights is not fit for the 21 st century. It is not an argument against the idea of a system of rights that morally and/or legally has the intention of protecting humanity, but rather, human rights as it exists in its present form needs to respond and adapt to the emerging needs of present and future generations. 

A truly effective and valuable system of rights should be capable of reflecting and adapting to increasingly fluid notions of how we understand ourselves, others and (post/trans) humanity in general. For example, blurring boundaries between human-animal-machine raises questions about the extension of rights beyond the human (Fuller 2014). Additionally, a recent Human Rights Watch report (2015) asks how humans can be protected against fully autonomous weapons (“killer robots”) when no one can be held personally accountable for any unlawful harm caused by these machines. Furthermore, emerging technologies are shifting conventional understandings of health, the body, identities and indeed, humanity in the 21 st century. Transhumanist commentators argue that in order to fully reap the benefits as well as protect oneself against the potential coercive use of these technologies, we should be entitled to morphological freedom : that is, the right to modify or resist modification of the mind and body at one’s disposal (Sandberg 2013).

This essay is split into two parts. The first part outlines the principles that underlie our contemporary understanding of human rights. It aims to lay a foundation for how such a concept of rights exists and how it could adapt to the needs of (post/trans) humanity in the 21 st century. The second part will address what a progressive ‘right fit’ for the 21 st century could look like, using the specific example of morphological freedom.

I will first argue that a right to modify (or not to modify) one’s body is vital in technologically advanced societies. Second, I will examine how abuse to disabled people’s morphological freedom has emerged in recent policy proposals. Finally, I will outline what a right to morphological freedom might look like in practice. The essay will conclude that in order to live in a society that is truly progressive whilst the needs and rights of the most vulnerable are protected, a right to morphological freedom is imperative. Without such a right, human rights will struggle to perform as a sufficient system capable of addressing the changing nature of humanity in the contemporary age.

How Can We Understand ‘Human Rights’?

In the UK, the conception of a right as a matter of entitlement is perhaps most widely recognised in the form of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR), formally adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. Interestingly, the drafting of the UDHR was not especially motivated by the spirit of Enlightenment liberation, but ascended from the horrors of the Holocaust and the Second World War (Fagen 2009). Its original intent was to place ‘restrictions upon any state’s ability systematically to annihilate whole populations’ (Fagen 2009, 7), that is, to promote and protect certain conditions required to uphold a given quality of life for all. These historical roots grounded in fears of eugenics are perhaps why the UDHR is unique as a system of rights to declare equality of all human beings. In principle, by the mere virtue of being born human, every single person on the earth is equal, deserving of dignity and protected by this system of rights that is implemented through international law and policy (Fagen 2009).

Of course, the idea of an inherent form of rights is not merely a modern phenomenon. For example, natural law—the idea of a human nature that is not conditional upon existing laws or society—is oriented in Aristotelian thought. Like the modern conception of human rights, natural law implies respect for all people by virtue of being human and is predicated on the notion that there exists some sort of essential account of what it means to be human: a human nature.

The medieval Christian Church held the position that a human nature exists within us all that dictates desires and thus creates common moral standards suitable to govern human affairs (Brown, 2015). Natural law reflects the laws laid down by God, who bestows rights and duties upon humanity that reflect the natural order of his creation. It implies that within God’s vision, we all have an appropriate place and natural law tells us what that is. What it does not do is assume any form of equality and this is where it differs from the UDHR. Human rights are perhaps more aligned in this regard to natural rights, that we are all created in God’s image and therefore deserving of dignity (Jones 1994). It is these ideas of a human nature fully independent of society that modern human rights are predicated on (Fagen 2009).

The UDHR may state many rights we are granted by virtue of being human, yet the United Nations (UN), who is the global regulator of human rights, is limited in its ability to enforce these rights due to the principle of national sovereignty. Besides the right to life, freedom from genocide and freedom from torture, ‘individual nation states are under no legal obligation to recognise or implement any other human rights principles’ (Fagen 2009, 34).

At this point, it is interesting to consider the underlying principles of morality that exist within the notion of human rights. The legal positivist approach disputes the relevance of morality underpinning legal processes and argues that human rights (or laws more generally) derive their legitimacy from being legally recognised and codified. Such an approach is grounded in Bentham’s theory of law, wherein law is only legitimate when derived from an authoritative sovereign. However, the above issues of enforceability undermine such a perspective. Despite the UDHR being legally recognised and codified by the UN, this does not reflect any level of effectiveness. Arguably, our human rights are less about a legally codified UN declaration, but instead act as a moral imperative (reflective of its post-war status) encouraging recognition of a universal notion of human nature deeming us all equal. Having outlined what human rights looks like today, we can now begin to consider what a system of rights fit for the 21 st century could look like.

Morphological Freedom: A Right Fit for the 21 st Century

The term ‘morphological freedom’ was originally coined by philosopher Max More in 1993 as: ‘the ability to alter bodily form at will through technologies such as surgery, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, uploading’ (More, 1993: online). It is closely tied to the transhumanist principle of self-ownership. In order to maximise one’s personal autonomy, self-ownership asserts ownership over all aspects of the self: over one’s body, values, intellect and emotions. This principle contrasts with the religious notion of ‘original sin’, wherein believers are encouraged to hand ownership of their body and mind to a religious authority. Often such ideologies co-exist with the belief of mind-body dualism. This belief stresses the separation of the body and soul, the physical and the spiritual. Yet to assert self-ownership, the mind and body must be considered as a whole: ‘I cannot fully own my mind unless I own my body. I cannot own my body if I give up my mind’ (More 1997).

Morphological freedom therefore proposes an inherent right of ownership over one’s self and the right to modify, or resist modification at one’s discretion (Sandberg, 2013). Oxford bioethicist Anders Sandberg (2013) claims that morphological freedom should be an essential right for future democratic societies. He proposes a rights ethics framework that is derived from our existing human rights: The UDHR states that all human beings have an inalienable right to life. This is the central right that all other rights stem from. The right to life should be synonymous with the right to pursue happiness; for what is the point of humanity without the prospect of flourishing and the potential to seek happiness? A freedom to practice the pursuit of happiness is then required. But, can we truly have freedom without the right to one’s body and self-ownership? More (1997) and Sandberg (2013) argue that we cannot. The right to self-ownership then implies a right to modification and thus a right to morphological freedom is granted.

Technological developments create increased choice, complexity and a demand for usage and accessibility to these technologies. This results in even further technological development and increased pressure for the right to self-ownership in order for individuals to reap the benefits of such technologies (More 1997). The right to morphological freedom is hereby critical in order to grant people fair access to technologies that allow them to sufficiently self-express themselves and reach their full potential. However, morphological freedom is also vital to protect people from coercive biomedicine and further undesired modifications performed against an individual’s will. This is increasingly important when considering the progressively blurred boundaries between what constitutes therapy and enhancement (Sandberg 2013).

Without the right to morphological freedom, coercive government policy has the potential to emerge. This is especially true in the current economic climate where there are a rising number of preventative treatments and technologies able to restore ‘disabilities’; disability is increasingly viewed as an expensive ‘lifestyle’; and the UK National Health Service is under growing pressure to save money wherever possible (Sandberg, 2013). Of course, the above factors do not guarantee the creation of coercive policy that forces the disabled to undergo restorative treatments. However, it does create a space that allows those refusing treatment to be labelled as irresponsible, and policy can then be made that directly abuses their right to morphological freedom and attacks their human dignity. I argue that such policy proposals have been made recently.

For example, the UK government has threatened to withhold welfare benefits from the obese, alcoholics and drug addicts who refuse to accept treatment (Mason 2015). Such a policy coerces those unable to work into accepting treatment at the expense of losing their income. The ethical implications of this policy were quickly questioned by numerous charities, but without a right to resist modification, those at the expense of such a policy potentially have no legal protection. Interestingly, such discriminatory attitudes exist also within the transhumanist community.

Leader of the US Transhumanist Party, Zoltan Istvan recently wrote an article in response to the need for millions of dollars to be spent on repairing sidewalks that are challenging to those with mobility problems. He argued: ‘Should society instead try to use that money to eliminate physical disability altogether’ and proposed a law that ‘insists on eliminating disability’ through technology such exoskeleton suits allowing people ‘the means to jump right back into the work force’ (Istvan 2015). The discriminatory attitudes of these policies is striking and the lack of legal protection for those at negatively impacted by such policies is concerning. However, a right to morphological freedom could undermine the impact of these policies as it would allow individuals to assert which treatments they do or do not wish to undergo (Sandberg 2013).

Let us examine what morphological freedom could look like as a human right and what level of effectiveness it could hypothetically achieve. There are two types of rights: negative rights and positive rights (Fagen 2009). A negative right asserts that another person may not interfere with your right, whilst a positive right obliges actions by others to meet the needs of your right. In practice, the right to morphological freedom would comprise of both a negative and positive right. For example, when considering genetic modification (genomic freedom), a negative right may assert itself as: “You may not support my choice to genetically alter myself, but you cannot prevent me”. Whilst a positive right may be: “The state should provide affordable and accessible genetic engineering technology to fulfil my right to morphological freedom”.

At this point one might wonder whether a right to morphological freedom is more a social privilege than a human right. Even if morphological freedom could gain recognition as a universal right that is independent of society and granted to all by virtue of being human, how would it look in practice? It is difficult to think of enforcing the right to morphological freedom on a global scale. Partially because even within the technologically advanced West there is a great deal of moral and ethical resistance against some emerging technologies that morphological freedom would permit (Consider the Catholic Church’s response to ‘three-parent embryos’ (BBC 2015).). Some may also argue that in many parts of the world the existing levels of human rights abuse are atrocious, and a right to morphological freedom in such societies is currently incomprehensible. Both of these points are certainly true; however it is important to consider the morality that underpins human rights. No matter how difficult it is to enforce the UDHR, its moral standing acts as an ethical benchmark for societies to strive toward. Thus, US ethicist Allen Buchanan (2015) argues for the moral significance of human rights and their potential to create moral progress in society. On these grounds, even if the right to morphological freedom cannot be legally enforced, enlisting it as a human right could lead to significant changes in how societies come to think of notions of self-ownership.

The very nature of human rights as a universal concept does indeed make them very difficult to enforce, and potential resistance from particular groups in society may make morphological freedom even harder to legally implement. However, such changes are imperative to enable a truly progressive society that protects the right of self-ownership for the most vulnerable. Without adapting to the needs of an increasingly technologically advanced world, human rights will not sufficiently protect the inalienable dignity and equality of humanity.

BBC. “Churches Oppose Three-Person Baby Plan.” BBC News . 30 January 2015. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31063500 .

Brown, Chris. “Human Rights and Human Nature.” In Human Rights: The Hard Questions , edited by Cindy Holder and David Reidy, 23-38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Buchanan, Allen. ‘”Moral Progress and Human Rights.” In Human Rights: The Hard Questions , edited by Cindy Holder and David Reidy, 399-417. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Fagen, Adam. Human Rights: Confronting Myths and Misunderstandings . Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009.

Fuller, Steve. “‘Personhood Beyond the Human’: Reflections on an Important Conference.” Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective 3, no. 2 (2014): 1-11.

Human Rights Watch. “Mind the Gap: The Lack of Accountability for Killer Robots.” (2015): http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/arms0415_ForUpload_0.pdf

Istvan, Zoltan. “In the Transhumanist Age, We Should be Repairing Disabilities, Not Sidewalks.” Motherboard (2015): http://motherboard.vice.com/read/in-the-transhumanist-age-we-should-be-repairing-disabilities-not-sidewalk s.

Jones, Peter. Rights . Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1994.

Mason, Rowena. 2015 “David Cameron Calls on Obese to Accept Help or Risk Losing Benefits.” The Guardian , 14 February. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/14/david-cameron-obese-addicts-accept-help-risk-losing-benefits .

More, Max. “Self-Ownership: A Core Transhuman Virtue.” 1997. http://www.maxmore.com/selfown.htm .

More, Max. “Technological Self-Transformation: Expanding Personal Extropy.” 1993. http://www.maxmore.com/selftrns.htm .

Sandberg, Anders. “Morphological Freedom—Why We Not Just Want It, But Need It.” In The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology and Philosophy of the Human Future, edited by Max More and Natasha Vita-More, 56-64. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

Walker, Neil. “Universalism and Particularism in Human Rights.” In Human Rights: The Hard Questions , edited by Cindy Holder and David Reidy, 399-417. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

[1] Jessica Tatchell wrote this essay in response to a question posed in Steve Fuller’s “Social Theory of Law” undergraduate class in Spring 2015: ‘What do you take to be the strongest argument against the idea of human rights?’ Tatchell was awarded Warwick Sociology Department’s 2015 prize for best academic performance by a second year student.

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Human Rights in the 21st Century

Continuity and Change since 9/11

• © 2011
• Michael Goodhart (Associate Professor of Political Science and Women’s Studies) 0 ,
• Anja Mihr (Associate Professor at the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights (SIM)) 1

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Human Rights

Approaches to Human Rights: Concepts, Conceptions, and Controversies

Human Rights: A Concrete Utopian Concept

• human rights
• development policy

Table of contents (15 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

• Michael Goodhart, Anja Mihr

Perspectives

International human rights since 9/11: more continuity than change.

• Jack Donnelly

Why Human Rights Will Prevail in the War on Terror

• Morton Winston

The War on Terror through a Feminist Lens

• Julie Mertus, Tazreena Sajjad

Human Rights Discourses

Reverting to form: american exceptionalism and international human rights.

Michael Goodhart

Continuity and Change in the Russian Federation’s Human Rights Policies in the Fight against Terror

• Lauri Mälksoo

Change? Transatlantic Responses to 9/11

The high price of american exceptionalism: comparing torture by the united states and europe after 9/11.

• Jamie Mayerfeld

Europe’s Human Rights Regime after 9/11: Human Rights versus Terrorism

Terror blacklists on trial: smart sanctions challenged by human rights.

• Patricia Schneider

Human Rights and Counterterrorism: The Case of the Netherlands

• Peter R. Baehr

Caught in the Storm: Middle Powers as Barometers for the West’s Changing Attitude toward Security and Human Rights after 9/11

• Yan St. Pierre

Continuity? Global Trends

Transnational ngos and human rights in a post-9/11 world.

• Hans Peter Schmitz

Disaggregating the Effects of 9/11 on NGOs

• Lena Barrett

Business As a New Actor in the Human Rights Regime

• Brigitte Hamm

'...the articles in this anthology offer insightful perspectives and a dialogue on human rights change and continuity throughout the 21st century...the advantage of the variety in this book is that it offers many different viewpoints and frameworks from which to view contemporary human rights issues, constructing a dynamic, holistic picture of today's world.' -Security and Peace

Editors and Affiliations

About the editors, bibliographic information.

Book Title : Human Rights in the 21st Century

Book Subtitle : Continuity and Change since 9/11

Editors : Michael Goodhart, Anja Mihr

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307407

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan London

eBook Packages : Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies Collection , Political Science and International Studies (R0)

Copyright Information : Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011

Hardcover ISBN : 978-0-230-28099-1 Published: 29 March 2011

Softcover ISBN : 978-1-349-32797-3 Published: 01 January 2011

eBook ISBN : 978-0-230-30740-7 Published: 29 March 2011

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XIV, 308

Topics : Social Justice, Equality and Human Rights , International Relations , Development Policy , Comparative Politics , Human Rights , Development Studies

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Human Rights and 21st Century Challenges: Poverty, Conflict, and the Environment

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The world faces significant and interrelated challenges in the twenty-first century which threaten human rights in a number of ways. This book examines the relationship between human rights and three of the largest challenges of the twenty-first century: conflict and security, environment, and poverty. Technological advances in fighting wars have led to the introduction of new weapons which threaten to transform the very nature of conflict. In addition, states confront threats to security which arise from a new set of international actors not clearly defined and which operate globally. Climate change, with its potentially catastrophic impacts, features a combination of characteristics which are novel for humanity. The problem is caused by the sum of innumerable individual actions across the globe and over time, and similarly involves risks that are geographically and temporally diffuse. In recent decades, the challenges involved in addressing global and national poverty have also changed. For example, the relative share of the poor in the world population has decreased significantly while the relative share of the poor who live in countries with significant domestic capacity has increased strongly. Overcoming these global and interlocking threats constitutes this century’s core political and moral task. This book examines how these challenges may be addressed using a human rights framework. It considers how these challenges threaten human rights and seeks to reassess our understanding of human rights in the light of these challenges. The analysis considers both foundational and applied questions. The approach is multidisciplinary and contributors include some of the most prominent lawyers, philosophers, and political theorists in the debate. The authors not only include leading academics but also those who have played important roles in shaping the policy debates on these questions. Each Part includes contributions by those who have served as Special Rapporteurs within the United Nations human rights system on the challenges under consideration.

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History Cooperative

The Evolution, Growth, and History of Human Rights

The history of human rights isn’t that simple. The concept has been around for eons, really, but inalienable rights are only a recent development. Just how recent? Well, the legal recognition of human rights within the international community wasn’t until the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Even still, the moral principles that constitute our fundamental rights are rich in history. Global leaders and government officials in 1948 didn’t just wake up one day thinking, “Wow, the last six years sucked for humanity, we need to do something about it.” No, the steps towards securing mankind’s fundamental freedoms have been growing over generations.

Everything grows from something. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Violence begets violence; hate begets hate; and toughness begets a greater toughness.” What is put out into the world comes back to us tenfold. That being said, why not have love beget love; empathy beget empathy; and respect begets greater respect?

Table of Contents

The History of Human Rights: What are Human Rights?

The history of human rights is a complex and evolving narrative that spans centuries and is deeply intertwined with the development of societies, cultures, and philosophical thought.

Human rights are the collective rights of everyone. Every member of the “human family” is entitled to several fundamental freedoms and rights. This includes – but is not limited to – multiple civil and political rights, economic, social, and cultural rights, and environmental rights. In short, human rights can best be described as the most basic rights of mankind.

The United Nations describes human rights as the “rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.” Therefore, human rights are both universal and undeniable. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from. In the eyes of the United Nations, you have rights that are worth protecting and enforcing.

Everybody has human rights: you, your grandma, and your weird neighbor included. It is the preservation and implementation of these rights on such a massive, international scale when things get tricky.

Types of Human Rights

There are a handful of human rights. There are five “themes” of human rights that the rest fall beneath.

Types of human rights include…

• Economic rights
• Social rights
• Political rights
• Civil rights
• Cultural rights

These five themes of human rights encapsulate the collective rights of humanity. Though they may not be much to look at at a glance, there is a lot to them. Each theme can be broken down into countless categories and sub-categories. As the years have gone on, the list of human rights only grew (albeit slowly).

Violations of Human Rights

There is not a person on this earth that can be denied their rights as a human being. Right? Unfortunately, that is where things can get complicated.

It is painful to admit, but human rights are a new thing. They may have entertained the thoughts of rulers of ages past, or been explored through the eyes of philosophers many years ago; however, the fundamental rights of mankind have only been established within the last hundred years.

You would think it would be a no-brainer to treat folk with inherent dignity. However, when push comes to shove (or in times of strife), it is easy to lose sight of who we are and what we stand for. War, economic collapses, and ecological and natural disasters can all become a slippery slope into human rights abuses.

As human beings, we are born with rights that supersede state, country, or creed. When these rights are violated – oftentimes in the name of governance, extremism, and war – it is up to everyone to hold offenders accountable. Notably, the government is charged with holding itself accountable as well which…can get complicated if the government is acting in its own self-interest. That is where the international community comes into play.

A History of Human Rights: 539 BC to the 21st-Century

Human rights aren’t new, but their legality is. Such is especially true for universal human rights, which were only adopted in 1948 after one of history’s bloodiest wars. Since then, only limited progress has been made toward expanding, respecting, and enforcing human rights.

Much of the time, the evolution of human rights can be described by generations. The first-generation rights (civil and political rights) are theorized to have begun in the 17th- and 18th centuries. Pretty much, people should have a say in what policies will affect them. These rights also offer protections against violations of state.

Second-generation rights focus more on the social, economic, and cultural rights of individuals. How people live and work together became a hot topic during the Industrial Revolution and the burgeoning working class. On the other hand, third-generation rights are known as solidarity rights. These would include the right to a healthy environment and the right to peace among other things.

539 BCE – Cyrus the Great and Basic Freedoms

Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from the Aegean Sea to the Indus River. Cyrus was also a phenomenal military strategist; all of this, however, was not necessarily what made Cyrus…well, great .

What defined the reign of Cyrus more than anything was his treatment of the lands he conquered. He respected the cultures, religions, and customs of the many, many lands he inducted into his growing empire. There was no forced assimilation, no denouncing of local religions, and an emphasis was placed on tolerance. Today, Cyrus is viewed as a benevolent leader who championed religious minorities in conquered regions.

Part of why Cyrus has such a sparkling interpretation is the Cyrus Cylinder . The cylinder acts as a record of Cyrus’ 539 BCE conquest of ancient Babylon. Apparently, upon arriving in Babylon, Cyrus the Great declared himself chosen by Marduk, the chief city god . Doing such made him positively stand out compared to the king he had deposed.

READ MORE: Ancient Civilizations Timeline: The Complete List from Aboriginals to Incans

The king, Nabonidus, turned out to be in the middle of an (unpopular) religious reformation with the moon god Sîn at its helm. Despite such reformations taking place successfully in the past, Marduk was a popular god amongst the ancient Babylonians. Cyrus’ open worship of the revered deity had him quickly gain traction with common and high-born Babylonians alike.

Later interpretations of the Cyrus Cylinder suggest that Cyrus freed Babylonian slaves, although slavery was continued throughout Achaemeniad rulership. The historicity of this event is debated, though supported in the Book of Ezra which states that Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile. Whatever the true interpretation of the Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus is still credited with being the first to establish basic freedoms.

1215 – The Magna Carta and Rule of Law

Ancient leaders afforded their subjects certain rights. Though no international bill, the running of ancient empires and societies – and what they viewed as human rights – is nothing to scoff at. Many rulers (good ones at least) did acknowledge the legal obligation that came with leading. That being said, Magna Carta, anyone?

The signing of the Magna Carta is one of the most famous stories in history. After all, it was the first significant record of the rule of law. The Magna Carta (also called “The Great Charter”) establishes that the monarch and their government are not above the law. While it didn’t necessarily propel human rights forward, the Magna Carta was a big deal.

It wasn’t peasants that forced King John’s hand, but rather feudal lords – barons, in this case – that threatened civil war. They were angry about the rise in taxes to fund bitterly unsuccessful wars in France. The tax spike was viewed as a clear exploitation of power by the king. Therefore, to avoid royal infringement on their finances, the barons grouped up and made a heavy-handed threat to the monarch.

Though the Magna Carta was signed, King John did later reach out to the Pope to negate the document’s legal status. You know, looking for any loophole out of a binding agreement…just as someone looking to exploit their power would. Anyways, doing so led to England ’s First Barons’ War, which lasted two years.

READ MORE: The Kings and Queens of England: English Monarchs Timeline from William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II

1625 – Hugo Grotius and International Law

Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) is considered the father of international law. So, you’ve probably guessed it: the consensus is that Grotius laid the foundations of modern international law. He was a Dutch juror, a poet, and a massive fan of Greek and Roman philosophy.

In the groundbreaking novel On the Laws of War and Peace (1625), Grotius boldly attempts to find a middle ground between natural law and the laws of nations. Accordingly, the most-favored idealist view is counteractive, but absolute realism is also unacceptable. Wars will happen, but the standard of warfare is determined by international law; likewise, the treatment of minorities is up to review from the international stage. Grotian tradition “views international policies as taking place within an international society” according to A. Claire Cutler in Review of International Studies .

Grotius, therefore, establishes that there are certain human rights that are unwaveringly fundamental to human beings. These rights are then vital to understanding human nature. Then, international laws somewhat based on human nature are, to a degree, completely valid.

Much of Grotian tradition and the themes that Grotius had discussed in his lifetime became blueprints for modern international human rights law. He vaunted non-intervention policies but agreed that another country could step in against tyrannical rule on behalf of the citizens. This would be because of human dignity rather than any personal gain.

1689 – English Bill of Rights

The English Bill of Rights is best known as the document that establishes Parliamentary privilege. However, there is a lot more to this piece of parchment than just that! The English Bill of Rights stated that there could be no taxation without representation (in Parliament), freedom from government interference, the right to petition, and equal treatment in the court system. Furthermore, other human rights were granted to civilians, such as no cruel and unusual punishment and the right to free speech.

If that sounds familiar to all of you Americans reading, it’s because it is.

The whole “no taxation without representation” theme was a major point of contention within the British-American colonies leading up to the Revolutionary War. British colonies did not have appropriate representatives in Parliament. Agents, sure, but not sufficient representatives that could challenge the British majority. Additionally, when drafting the United States Bill of Rights , government officials definitely looked to the English Bill of Rights for some inspiration.

As it turns out, the populace wasn’t too keen on giving the a-OK to a fledgling government with no guarantee of personal liberty. They rightfully didn’t want British monarchy 2.0, so not many Anti-Federalists (nay to national governments) were willing to ratify the Constitution. This left Federalists (yay to the national government) in a sticky situation. The Federalists added the Bill of Rights to make the Constitution more appealing to the opposition.

1789 – The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and the French Revolution

The French Revolution was a major upheaval of the feudal system in France. It was a crazy time to be alive and the French Revolution left a lot of European monarchies wiping their brow. The American Revolution – a major source of inspiration for French peasantry – ended a mere 6 years before. And, unlike their American counterparts, the French Revolution was thrice as bloody.

When examining the French Revolution, it is crucial to consider what events led up to it. Again, everything grows from something. Right off the bat, some members of society were granted more rights than others. The Estate System effectively shot down an individual’s right to self-determination and grossly limited their economic rights.

Speaking of economic rights, the economy sucked . The two higher Estates (the First and Second) relied on the taxation of the Third Estate for their livelihood. The Third Estate, composed of the working class, could not afford necessities.

If the bread riots in Paris were bad, then the famine rampant throughout the countryside was horrible. Also, absolutism – the idea that the monarchy has complete, unchallenged control over an entire country – didn’t help at all .

So, the people of France began turning to Enlightenment ideals. The Age of Enlightenment, which emphasized the value of individual liberty and religious tolerance, inspired the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The Declaration was drafted by American Revolution veteran Marquis de Lafayette and clergyman Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes, both of whom ironically belonged to the Second and First Estates.

Article I of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen reads as follows: “Human Beings are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be founded only on the common good.” Such an open declaration of human rights ignited a spark in many Frenchmen, women, and children who had felt disenfranchised by their system of government.

1791 – The U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights

The end of the Revolutionary War in the United States was a trying period in the nation’s history. No one was quite certain what they wanted when they wiped their hands clean of British rule; they just knew they didn’t want that . Thus, emerged the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.

The Federalists wanted a national government whereas Anti-Federalists preferred smaller, self-governing states. There was a massive and very real fear that a big government could lead the new country down the same hole they just dug themselves out of.

The United States Constitution was initially introduced to outline the systems of government that the Articles of Confederation (1777) lacked. It was introduced to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Other Convention topics included state representation in Congress, presidential powers, and the slave trade. The main issue with the Constitution is that it focused only on governmental powers and branches, but not the rights of the people.

READ MORE: Slavery in America: United States’ Black Mark

Which is important when you are trying to assert federal control over them. As the Magna Carta taught us (which the French Bourbon dynasty could have learned from) the government is not above the law. The Federalists needed to think of something to reel the Anti-Feds to their side.

This is where the Bill of Rights comes in. Ten amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution, which collectively became known as the Bill of Rights. These amendments, which guarantee the “certain unalienable Rights” of the Declaration of Independence are still a topic of debate today. While 27 more amendments have been added to the original ratification in 1791, only the first 10 are known as the Bill of Rights.

1919 – Peace Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations

The events of World War I (WWI) shocked the international community. It was the Great War: the “war to end all wars.” Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

READ MORE: What Caused World War 1? Political, Imperialistic, and Nationalistic Factors

World War I was a period of rapid advancements in warfare. Tanks , chemical weaponry, flamethrowers, and machine guns were all developed in the shadow of the very first world war. Furthermore, violations of human rights were plentiful.

In various countries – the United States included – opposition to the war could lead to jail time. Civilians were court-martialed and sent to military prisons for speech deemed “disloyal.” In Canada, the War Measures Act was introduced, giving the federal government power to suspend all rights of citizens. Meanwhile, 100,000 civilians in France and Belgium were detained by German forces, only to be sent against their will as forced labor in Germany.

So, at the end of the war, drafting a peace treaty was only one of the many hurdles that nations had to contend with. The biggest issue is that no one could agree on how to treat Germany and other Central powers. What ended up happening was a significant stripping of territory, a reduction of military forces, and a reparations bill that was astronomical. The peace that came with the Treaty of Versailles was fragile at best.

From the treaty came the League of Nations , founded by the 28th U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson. In all, 63 countries were a part of the League: this was a majority of sovereign nations in 1920. The League of Nations was the first international congregation of nations and was developed to help achieve international peace.

At some point, Japan had introduced a clause to the treaty that – if approved – would’ve established racial equality within the League of Nations. The U.S. and a number of British dominions rejected the amendment. Despite this fumble, the League of Nations managed to develop organizations that did positively propel human rights forward.

International Labor Organization

The International Labor Organization ( ILO ) was founded by the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. It became a mainstay in the later United Nations. As it stands, the International Labor Organization safeguards social and economic rights by setting international labor standards.

Much of the foundation of the ILO is based on 19th-century social and labor movements. These movements brought international attention to the plights of workers. After World War I, the beliefs of these movements became revitalized as the demand for social justice and a higher standard of living for the working classes emerged.

In the wake of WWI, the International Labor Organization proved especially helpful for developing countries. Among these, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Poland all were considered separated from Russian claims per the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The benefit of the ILO would again be proved in developing countries after WWII. Then, numerous countries were freed from colonial rule including India, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Protection of Minorities

Humanitarian conditions were not a driving principle sought to be upheld by the League of Nations. Instead, the League was formed to maintain the status quo following the Allied victory in World War I ( Justifications of Minority Protections in International Law , 1997). That being said, the legitimate international concern of another world war happening did provide substantial reasoning to address some amount of human rights.

The administrative branch of the League of Nations, the International Secretariat, included a Minorities Section in the early years. The Minorities Section dealt with the protections of minorities in relevant nations, particularly those newly formed in Eastern Europe.

Before the formation of the Secretariat and its Minorities Section, the rights of minorities that found themselves aloft in war-torn Eastern Europe were ambiguous at best. It was the Minorities Section that developed “a procedural and bureaucratic structure that untangled the League’s…mandate…guaranteeing the rights of some twenty-five million racial, religious, and linguistic minorities” as stated by Thomas Smejkal in his thesis, “ Protection in Practice: The Minorities Section of the League of Nations Secretariat, 1919-1934 .” For a time, the Section was somewhat successful at addressing inequalities experienced by minorities. It was not until later that the overall weaknesses of the League – such as lack of representation – proved to be an issue in the face of World War II.

With World War II came numerous human rights abuses, with those hit hardest being certain minority groups in Eastern Europe. Without significant world powers (the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy, Japan, and Spain) it became increasingly difficult to ensure personal liberty for minorities.

1945 – Post-WWII and the United Nations  

World War II, as with the First World War, saw a slew of human rights violations. To be fair, most wars – major and minor – are breeding grounds for such infringements. Supposed “gentlemen wars” are a thing of the past, if not nearer to pure fantasy.

The United Nations was founded in 1945, a month after the end of World War II . To say there was global devastation would be an understatement: roughly 3% of the world’s population died.

Furthermore, a new horror was realized in the later months of 1945. The United States developed and dropped two atomic bombs in the largely civilian-populated cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. The bombing led to the end of the Pacific Theater, with legal experts and scholars still debating whether or not the dual bombings were war crimes.

Though the threat of weapons of mass destruction was real, the United Nations didn’t immediately act against them. It was not until 1968 that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was signed. Even later still was the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was signed, which didn’t happen until 2017. Currently, the use of weapons of mass destruction is considered a violation of human rights.

After WWII, there was new hope for achieving international peace. The League of Nations, now null and void, was rebranded as the United Nations. In fact, the Charter of the United Nations was signed while World War II was still raging on and the development of the UN began back in 1943 during the pivotal Tehran Conference. During this time, the League of Nations wasn’t completely obsolete, but it was just barely functioning.

The United Nations expanded significantly on human rights and humanitarian laws. Like its predecessor, its primary goal is bolstering international peace.

The United Nations Charter

The United Nations Charter is the founding document of the U.N., signed in 1945. The Charter itself is considered to be an international treaty, legally binding involving countries to oblige by any laws passed. Since its initial signing in 1945, the United Nations Charter has been amended three times.

Commission of Human Rights

One of the more significant creations post-WWII is the Commission of Human Rights . Emerging in 1946, the Commission is responsible for protecting fundamental freedoms. There are numerous themes that the Commission of Human Rights handles.

Anything from the right to self-determination to indigenous issues is discussed by the Commission. Moreover, they look into both human rights violations worldwide and in specific countries. It is the Commission of Human Rights that primarily sets standards for human rights for the international community.

An example is the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The Commission opens the declaration with the recognition “of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world.” Right off the bat, the Commission acknowledges that there are certain fundamental human rights that must be recognized. The inclusion of civil and political rights, and economic, social, and cultural rights, among others, have been later added per the Commission.

1948 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a significant landmark in the history of human rights. It has acted as a model document for several “domestic constitutions, laws, regulations, and policies” according to Hurst Hannum in “ The UDHR in National and International Law ” ( Health and Human Rights , 1998). Despite this, the UDHR is not a legally binding document; at least not in whole. However, the Declaration has been incorporated into most constitutions of the nations belonging to the UN.

All things considered, the UDHR is a customary international law. Everyone understands, acknowledges, and respects the Declaration (at least those 193 states and countries within the United Nations). It was drafted for bolstering international peace, after all.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights essentially acts as a guide to human rights norms. It has alternatively been referred to as the international Magna Carta since it sets a standard for how a government treats its own citizens. Thus, the treatment of a government’s citizens towards its own citizens became everybody ’s business.

Since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been signed, the U.N. has called out numerous governments for their citizen abuses. To be honest, the United Nations is still pointing out government infringements on human rights. One of the most historically significant times the United Nations has done this was during apartheid in South Africa.

In 1962, the U.N. condemned South Africa’s racial discrimination and bigoted laws, even going as far as calling for members to cut economic and military ties with the country. Unfortunately, not many Western countries were willing to end economic relations, even after apartheid became a crime against humanity in 1973.

1949 – International Humanitarian Law

Another international law signed in the aftermath of World War II is the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). These laws are intended to limit the effects of armed conflict and offer protections for those uninvolved in hostilities. Additionally, the IHL puts restrictions on the methods of warfare and the treatment of prisoners of war. Most – if not all – themes of the IHL had been adopted from the four Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Geneva Conventions of 1949

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 prohibit specific abuses during warfare. Three separate protocols have been added to the International Humanitarian Law, two in 1977 and one in 2005 respectively. These supplemental protocols give rights to certain minority groups in times of war.

The first of the Geneva Conventions gives protection to soldiers who are removed from the ongoing conflict. This Convention deals largely with the sick and wounded and the retention of their human rights. Meanwhile, the second Geneva Convention expands on the first, extending rights to naval combatants and ship-bound non-combatants. The second Convention also clarifies that “shipwrecked” includes those who parachute from damaged aircraft (Articles 12 and 18).

The third Geneva Convention sets standards for the treatment of prisoners of war. The Convention emphasizes that POWs are to be treated with basic human dignity. This means that degrading treatment is effectively illegal (as stated in Articles 13, 14, and 16). Also, it clarifies who is considered to be war prisoners.

Members of the armed forces, militia volunteers, and civilians in the company of armed forces are all considered to be prisoners of war. Therefore, the rights of POWs are extended to civilians under certain circumstances. Particularly those civilians involved in resistance movements and non-combatants, such as medics or chaplains, can be viewed as POWs.

The fourth Geneva Convention is an expansion to the rights and treatment of civilians in occupied land or conflict areas. Generally, civilians are to retain their civil and political rights. An example of this is addressed in Article 40, which states that civilians cannot be forced to do military-related work for occupying forces. More importantly, civilians are protected from murder, torture, or brutality; and from discrimination based on race, nationality, religion, or political opinion (Articles 13 and 32).

1954-1976 – The Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights Movements  

More was happening in the ’60s than just the musical British Invasion. It was the middle of the Cold War , a “bloodless war,” where the United States and the Soviet Union were at each other’s throats from 1947 to 1991. So much for global peace.

READ MORE: Cold War Civil Rights: Race and the Image of American Democracy

The two nations got involved in a series of proxy wars, never directly assaulting the other. The most famous of these proxy wars, the Korean War (1950-1954) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975) were unpopular and viewed as “senseless” by the masses. They were only two out of upwards of 11 proxy wars.

During these terribly unpopular wars, the Civil Rights Movement was speeding up in the United States. In truth, it is impossible to argue for being a beacon of democracy if you oppress minorities in your own country. Thus, the Civil Rights era saw a boom in individuals demanding civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights were also at the forefront.

The Civil Rights Movement was largely connected to the generational trauma of Black Americans caused by the horrors of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. As of the ’60s, only very limited progress had been made from the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War. For generations , an entire demographic of the American population was denied collective rights afforded to them by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights back in 1948.

Other minority groups within (and outside of the United States) took note. Civil Rights inspired a human rights movement among Native Americans, Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. Additionally, Northern Ireland was inspired to lead protests against the British occupation of Northern Ireland. These protests led to the Northern Ireland Conflict (the Troubles) and the creation of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a legally binding international document drafted in 1954. However, the ICCPR was not signed until 1966. It took another decade for it to become effective in 1976.

A ton of stuff happened within those two decades that could have benefitted from such a document, but we digress. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is viewed as an international human rights law. It ensures that those belonging to mankind (i.e. human beings), have certain political rights as citizens and are treated with basic human dignity. Overall, the ICCPR asserts that people are entitled to specific personal liberties that cannot be denied by government entities.

International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

The International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) was another international bill that would have made a huge impact if put into effect the same year it was drafted. The ICESCR was developed alongside the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was also signed and made effective in the same years as the ICCPR. As its title suggests, the ICESCR is intended to promote economic development, all while providing citizens with social and cultural rights.

Compared to other human rights laws of the past, the International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights has made significant progress for Indigenous Peoples. The identification of cultural rights specifically as human rights has positively impacted other minority groups as well, including the Roma.

Human Rights in the 21st Century

As the Commission of Human Rights states: “Human rights standards have little value if they are not implemented.” Although there have been countless standards, laws, and treaties passed by the United Nations since World War II, the international community has struggled with implementation. Furthermore, since the perception of human rights is constantly evolving, past acts – slavery, racial discrimination, and nuclear weapons to name a few – are now considered to be human rights violations. While these are all terrible acts (and always have been terrible acts) the argument arises that, at the time of practice, these were not considered to be violations. Do, then, past offenders be treated as such? 

The United Nations Human Rights Council has done groundbreaking work at driving the human rights evolution. In that there is no denying. Even still, more work could be done to provide everyone across the globe with equal and inalienable rights.

The internet – a Wild West type of medium – still requires users to uphold human rights; however, it is maintaining human rights in this rapidly evolving environment that’s tricky. Likewise, environmental protections are an extension of the human right to a healthy environment. They are only recent developments.

With everything happening in the world right now, there is legitimate international concern regarding the state of human rights. Only recently has Twitter ’s human rights team been cut from the company. Not to mention the humanitarian crises occurring in parts of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and the United States.

Human rights are ever-growing, desperately attempting to keep up with changing times. What has been defined as human rights norms today may always be expanded upon tomorrow.

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• Introduction

Origins in ancient Greece and Rome

• Natural law transformed into natural rights
• “Nonsense upon stilts”: the critics of natural rights
• The persistence of the notion
• The nature of human rights: commonly accepted postulates
• Liberté : civil and political rights
• Égalité : economic, social, and cultural rights
• Fraternité : solidarity or group rights
• Liberté versus égalité
• The relevance of custom and tradition: the universalist-relativist debate
• Inherent risks in the debate
• Developments before World War II
• The UN Commission on Human Rights and its instruments
• The UN Human Rights Council and its instruments
• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Its Optional Protocols
• Other UN human rights conventions and declarations
• Human rights and the Helsinki process
• Human rights in Europe
• Human rights in the Americas
• Human rights in Africa
• Human rights in the Arab world
• Human rights in Asia
• International human rights in domestic courts
• Human rights in the early 21st century

human rights

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• U. S. Department of State - Human Rights
• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Human Rights
• The History Learning Site - Human Rights
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• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Human Rights
• Social Sciences Libretexts - Human Rights
• human rights - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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• Table Of Contents

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human rights , rights that belong to an individual or group of individuals simply for being human, or as a consequence of inherent human vulnerability, or because they are requisite to the possibility of a just society. Whatever their theoretical justification, human rights refer to a wide continuum of values or capabilities thought to enhance human agency or protect human interests and declared to be universal in character, in some sense equally claimed for all human beings, present and future.

It is a common observation that human beings everywhere require the realization of diverse values or capabilities to ensure their individual and collective well-being. It also is a common observation that this requirement—whether conceived or expressed as a moral or a legal demand—is often painfully frustrated by social as well as natural forces, resulting in exploitation, oppression, persecution, and other forms of deprivation. Deeply rooted in these twin observations are the beginnings of what today are called “human rights” and the national and international legal processes associated with them.

Historical development

The expression human rights is relatively new, having come into everyday parlance only since World War II , the founding of the United Nations in 1945, and the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. It replaced the phrase natural rights, which fell into disfavour in the 19th century in part because the concept of natural law (to which it was intimately linked) had become controversial with the rise of legal positivism . Legal positivism rejected the theory, long espoused by the Roman Catholic Church , that law must be moral to be law. The term human rights also replaced the later phrase the rights of Man, which was not universally understood to include the rights of women.

Most students of human rights trace the origins of the concept of human rights to ancient Greece and Rome , where it was closely tied to the doctrines of the Stoics , who held that human conduct should be judged according to, and brought into harmony with, the law of nature . A classic example of this view is given in Sophocles ’ play Antigone , in which the title character, upon being reproached by King Creon for defying his command not to bury her slain brother, asserted that she acted in accordance with the immutable laws of the gods.

In part because Stoicism played a key role in its formation and spread, Roman law similarly allowed for the existence of a natural law and with it—pursuant to the jus gentium (“law of nations”)—certain universal rights that extended beyond the rights of citizenship. According to the Roman jurist Ulpian , for example, natural law was that which nature, not the state, assures to all human beings, Roman citizens or not.

It was not until after the Middle Ages , however, that natural law became associated with natural rights. In Greco-Roman and medieval times, doctrines of natural law concerned mainly the duties, rather than the rights, of “Man.” Moreover, as evidenced in the writings of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas , these doctrines recognized the legitimacy of slavery and serfdom and, in so doing, excluded perhaps the most important ideas of human rights as they are understood today—freedom (or liberty) and equality .

The conception of human rights as natural rights (as opposed to a classical natural order of obligation) was made possible by certain basic societal changes, which took place gradually beginning with the decline of European feudalism from about the 13th century and continuing through the Renaissance to the Peace of Westphalia (1648). During this period, resistance to religious intolerance and political and economic bondage; the evident failure of rulers to meet their obligations under natural law; and the unprecedented commitment to individual expression and worldly experience that was characteristic of the Renaissance all combined to shift the conception of natural law from duties to rights. The teachings of Aquinas and Hugo Grotius on the European continent, the Magna Carta (1215) and its companion Charter of the Forests (1217), the Petition of Right (1628), and the English Bill of Rights (1689) in England were signs of this change. Each testified to the increasingly popular view that human beings are endowed with certain eternal and inalienable rights that never were renounced when humankind “contracted” to enter the social order from the natural order and never were diminished by the claim of the “ divine right of kings .”

Human Rights in the 21st Century

• December 12, 2022
• Human Rights Media
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In this article, we will take a closer look, on the promulgation, evolution and state of human rights in the 21st century realm. Human rights is essential to each and everyone of us living in the 21st century. It serves as our voice in an empeding society that lacks understanding and open-mindedness. It is a mirror that reflects the innermost purpose on why individuals all around the world have an inner desire to fight for one’s rights, and finally, it serves as a dynamic push to convene people in a crusade that will make it testamentary and vivid all around the globe. 

In the context of putting into the spotlight the 21st century people’s view of human rights, we will be taking into consideration the views of 4 famous personalities that shared their own respective speech, address, lecture and talk as to which human right is the most essential of all. 

21st Century Human Rights: The Perspectives

First and foremost, is the point of view of Shami Chakrabarti. She is a lawyer by profession and is currently the Director of Liberty at the National Council for Civil Liberties in London. According to Chakrabarti, in her speech and talk addressed at the TEDx event in London, with the use of the TED conference format and with the topic on “Human Rights in the 21st century”, she firmly believes that the most essential human right is the right of equal treatment under the law.

With this human right, comes the practice of the innermost value of empathy. Chakrabarti believes that empathy has played its great impact in any great civilization and tradition around the world.

Empathy connotes not doing unto others what we do not want others to do unto us, which is generally the golden rule, as well as in thinking of what others may feel if you are in their own shoes. If empathy is practiced, there will be no presence of torture, no afflicted person of slavery, and no incarceration of an individual during a trial, because all of the individuals living in the world love human rights as an empathetic reality. 

On the other hand, Senator Penny Wright of the Parliament of Australia, during her address spoke about the challenges that human rights face in the 21st century, all over the world in the year 2014. Amidst the challenges that human rights face nowadays encapsulated with threats, she believes that the most essential human right, is the right to life. The right to life, in accordance to her point of view is truly important, because it allows every individual to be given the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of life, the opportunities that go with it, and to achieve his or her best version in a given lifetime in individuality. 

The challenges and threats that the right of life is facing right now in the perspective of individuals, is the inhumane and degrading treatment of individuals in some parts of the world, the lack of being given a proper investigation for an untimely death of an individual, the experienced torture of individuals living in some parts of the world, the act of being accused and arrested for a criminal charge without proper judicial process involved, and the loss of one’s child, home, job and liberty because of an accusation and hearsay given to an individual. 

With these challenges, Senator Wright encouraged lawmakers and law enforcers to act on this urgent call of abolishing and eradicating these challenges and threats, so that equal access to the right of life is achieved all over the world. 

On the contrary, Professor Noam Chomsky and Chairman Howard Davies, equally shared a one platform of expression and voice, during their joint lecture held last October 29, 2009 at Old Theater, Old Building in Melbourne, Australia, on the topic that focused on the state and future of human rights in the 21st century. Although they may have shared and spoke together in one event, the two had a different take, as to which human right is the most essential in their own perspective. 

According to Professor Noam Chomsky, who is both a professor and leading thinker professionally, he believes that the most essential human right, is the right to privacy. The scope of the right to privacy can either be dealt with in the aspect of the individual’s family, home and neighboring correspondents. He believes that having a private life is testament to achieving inner peace. 

The right to privacy is the new frontier in the set of practice human rights, as this has been inclusive as well in the online and internet world. Professor Choamsky believes that the right of privacy can never be absolute, because human beings are known to be very sociable by nature. 

Thus, the togetherness that is vivid in the units of families, units in societies and the communities that are founded to be either political or religious, are the main evidences and living proofs of how this right can never be exclusively absolute, to its premise that, everything about the individual should revolve around the core of privatization. The right to privacy in the long run would entail intimacy, dignity and trust within one’s self, in the human being’s perspective, as emphasized by Professor Choamsky in his portion of the lecture. 

To continue with, from the perspective of Chairman Howard Davies, who is currently a professor of linguistics at Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, he believes that, the most essential human right, is the right to free speech and expression. As a full pledged professor of Linguistics at MIT, Chairman Davies believes that the right to free speech and expression is the liberty of every human being attained, when he or she is given the platform to voice his or her opinions, express inner sentiments, conduct and start debates and lectures and deliver talks that are centralized on a specific topic. 

These platforms and opportunities were equated beforehand to the threat of being arrested or imprisoned because the human individual may be abusing this right by being offensive, aggressive and resulting in the utilization of this highly prized human right. These points of view are in accordance to the lecture given by Chairman Davies. 

In addition to the scope of human rights in the 21st century, is the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This connotes to the individual, the right to have faith and the right to have no faith at all. Believe it or not, this human right in particular, provides the heretics an avenue, to debate strongly over a traditional religious value system. 

In conclusion, on the basis of these four points of view on the perspective of dealing and discussing human rights in the 21st century, the main goal would be centered on the protection of all human rights and freedoms, so that the democracy that we individuals are enjoying at present, will remain free for a lifetime. 

Every individual should firmly believe that human rights are real and tangible, despite the presence of some people on this planet that do not care and protect their bestowed rights as humans. Fundamental rights and freedom as well as the core values that go with it are essential, in the continuous bond of the family’s bind, despite the reality that these are little by little attacked at present. 

War may happen in some parts of the globe that we live in, but the universal language of human rights, remains steadfast and impactful because humans apply, fight and stand up for it with utmost firmness and resiliency. Thus human rights should be upholded as a burning torch that should continue to flame, in the hopes of building peaceful, united, protected, preserved and equanimous humankind in the future and in preparation for the next generations to come. 

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Universalism v Cultural Relativism: Does the Debate Matter for Human Rights’ Protection in the 21st Century?

6 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2023

Khandker Tanbir

University of Asia Pacific

Date Written: January 6, 2022

The most celebrated debate in the field of human rights discourse is universalism v. cultural relativism. The debate is seemingly metaphysical and its association with reality is not clear. Does the debate matter for the protection of human rights in the 21st century? In this article, it is argued that nowadays the debate universalism v. cultural relativism doesn’t directly matter for human rights protection. Nevertheless, it matters indirectly in one way or another, for example- to better understand global power politics (which is illustrated with the help of ‘Realism theory’) or, to reconfigure our ‘sense of belongingness’.

Keywords: Universalism, Cultural relativism, Realism, sense of belongingness, Human Rights, Debate

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Human Rights in 21st Century: China Analytical Essay

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Introduction

Human rights in china: violations, human rights in china: promotions.

Human rights entitle all individuals to be treated equally without discrimination. Although individuals are of different nationalities, color, ethnicity, religion, sex or place of residence, human rights are inherent.

As such, human rights guarantee equal treatment of individuals without discrimination on the basis of any of the above-mentioned status. In many cases, human rights are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent. Moreover, human rights are guaranteed and expressed by treaties and laws. It is the role of every government to promote and protect human rights of its citizens. This paper analyzes human rights in China.

China has for a long time been singled out as one of the worst human rights violators globally. According to Peerenboom (2005), given these human rights violations accusations, there have been eleven failed attempts by the U.N Commission on Human Rights aimed at censuring China. These human rights violations in China are said to have begun after the country crushed the democracy movement in 1989 (Svensson, 2002).

Since then, China has been on a collision course with human rights organizations globally with frequent accusations on how the situation keeps worsening daily. Although the country’s leadership continues to receive praise because of achievements so far in sustained growth in the economy, rapid urbanization and overall rise of China as a global power, little progress has so far been made as far as human rights is concerned.

An Amnesty International (2013) report on China indicates that there are widespread human rights violations. The report estimates that rights of approximately 500,000 people in China have had their rights violated. Out of these individuals, the report adds that some of them are in detention without trial whereas others cannot access the legal system in seeking redress for wherever griences they have.

On the other hand, increased violation has led to an increase in house arrests; minority groups such Tibetans have been repressed; harassment by authorities; internet and media censorship; imprisonment, and surveillance on human rights defenders in the country (Amnesty International, 2013).

This human rights issue in China has continued to shape relations between the country and the United States. Lum (2011) notes that the issue of human rights conditions in China has remained central the way the country relates with the United States. Observers argue that the Chinese leadership has remained authoritarian while economic development realized only strengthens the government at the expense of the citizens.

This is evident in continued government restrictions on religious, political, as well as other freedoms that the citizens ought to be enjoying. There are a number of recent developments that demonstrate increased violations on human rights in China including crackdown on dissent, issues on labor and illegal detentions.

Crackdown on Dissent and Illegal Detention

Since 2011, the Chinese government has intensified efforts aimed at suppressing the country’s civil society that was becoming increasingly active. According to Lum (2011), government efforts focus on bloggers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), activist lawyers, rights defenders, independent churches, as well as restrictive minority groups.

To the government, the active nature of these groups threaten social and political stability of China. During the crackdown, between 50 to 100 people were arrested and detained.

On the other hand, Lum states that over 20 people were facing prosecution for subversion while approximately 200 people were placed under heavy surveillance for a number of political reasons. Government dissent crackdown efforts, according to Human Rights Watch (2013), aim at curbing criticisms of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Recently, the crackdown has been blamed for the disappearance of an activist who was participating in a United Nations review of the country’s human rights record (VOA News, 2013). The activist who was part of a team helping the government in drafting a report to the U.N Human Rights Council is said to have been arrested, interrogated and detained in Beijing.

After the incident, Human Rights Watch blamed China for a systematic suppression of activists that goes against the human rights of these activists who are entitled to fully participate in the drafting of country reports.

VOA News (2013) article adds that since February 2013, over 50 activists in China had been arbitrarily detained, whereas critics and opinion leaders had been taken into custody as control on social media intensified countrywide. The government wants to use the crackdown in silencing its critics while at the same time subduing social forces in the country.

Furthermore, there have been reports of illegal detentions in China that are a violation to human rights. For instance, Lum (2011) states that other than facing various forms of abuses, many of the activists detained lack legal protections.

Additionally, they are denied an opportunity to contact their families while being subjected to rights abuses like being held in psychiatric hospitals where they are forced to take medications. Such a treatment is a violation of the rights of the illegally detained individuals.

Labor Issues

The year 2011 saw an upsurge in the number of labor disputes and unrests in China (Lum, 2011). Strikes due to stressful working conditions and wage disparities were experienced in firms like Honda, Hyundai and Foxconn led to increased campaigns on human rights issues in China.

With the country economic development, there have been cases of wage pressures; a decrease in the number of young workers as a result of demographic changes, and greater enforcement of the Labor Contract Law enacted in 2008. These issues, coupled with a growing awareness on the rights of workers, have been vital in fueling the unrests witnessed in the country in various firms.

Consequently, labor protestors sought to see improved working conditions in firms, full enforcement of labor laws, higher wages, and the right of workers to form their own labor unions, while being able to elect their own union representatives. Despite achieving these objectives, there were violations of the human rights of a dozen of labor activists who were detained.

Although there have been cases of human rights violations in China, recent events and efforts depict the country as working towards promoting individual rights. For instance, through ratification of over twenty human rights treaties (Peerenboom, 2005); the Chinese leadership has shown efforts to promote the rights of its citizens.

Moreover, China has shown efforts for promotion of human rights through actively taking part in international human rights meetings. Another case has been its ability to submit reports on human rights issues. To add on this, China voted in favor of sanctions against an apartheid regime in South Africa.

China has been singled out as being a violator of human rights globally. Intensified government crackdowns on dissent recently are a case violation on the rights of its citizens. Additionally, rights of workers in various firms have been violated through allowing them to work under stressful conditions.

Nevertheless, the fact that the country continues to actively participate in human rights meetings shows that there are efforts to promote the rights of its citizens. Recently, rights have been firmly entrenched into both legal and political discourse.

Amnesty International. (2013). China Human Rights . Web.

Human Rights Watch. (2013). China: Nationwide Arrests of Activists, Critics Multiply . Web.

Lum, T. (2011). Human Rights in China and U.S. Policy . Web.

Peerenboom, R. (2005). Assessing Human Rights in China: Why the Double Standard? Cornell International Law Journal , 71-172.

Svensson, M. (2002). Debating Human Rights in China: A Conceptual and Political History. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield.

VOA News. (2013). Rights Group Slams China for ‘Forcibly Disappearing’ Activist . Web.

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IvyPanda. (2019, July 5). Human Rights in 21st Century: China. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-rights-in-21st-century-china/

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IvyPanda . 2019. "Human Rights in 21st Century: China." July 5, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-rights-in-21st-century-china/.

1. IvyPanda . "Human Rights in 21st Century: China." July 5, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-rights-in-21st-century-china/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Human Rights in 21st Century: China." July 5, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-rights-in-21st-century-china/.

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• Lorraine Beitler Lecture Series

Human Rights in the 21st Century

Karen j. greenberg, center on law and security , new york university clemens nathan, director, clemens nathan research centre germaine ingram, philadelphia folklore project, moderator.

Join us in discussing issues of international human rights and justice in the preceding and coming centuries.

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Hosted by: Kislak Center

On April 19, the University of Pennsylvania Libraries will host two of the leading contemporary voices on international human rights and international justice. Drs. Greenberg and Nathan will engage in a wide-ranging discussion, looking back at events of the previous century and forward to consider national and international challenges and priorities in the new century. The event is free and open to the public.

Book signing: Dr. Greenberg will be signing copies of her new book, The Least Worst Place: Guantanamo's First 100 Days (Oxford University Press, 2009). Hosted by the Penn Book Center. Selected publications of the Clemens Nathan Research Centre will also be available (donation requested).

This event is sponsored by The Lorraine Beitler Collection on the Dreyfus Affair, housed at Penn's Rare Book and Manuscript Library. To speak to a staff member about the Collection or the event, please phone (215) 898-7088.

Karen J. Greenberg

Karen J. Greenberg is the Executive Director of the Center on Law and Security , based at New York University. The Center focuses on bringing attention to the many legal questions surrounding national security policy and counterterrorism. In addition to The Least Worst Place , she has written on justice and national security and edited The Enemy Combatant Papers (2008); The Torture Papers (2005); The Torture Debate in America (2005); and Al Quaeda Now (2005).

Clemens Nathan

Clemens Nathan worked with René Cassin at the Alliance Israelite Universelle and has carried on his tradition of working for human rights at the Clemens Nathan Research Centre , an organization devoted to the promotion of international human rights. The Centre is the research arm of the Consultative Council of Jewish Organizations, a human rights NGO. Its published conference proceedings include Terrorism and Human Rights (2007) and Foreign Policy and Human Rights (2007).

Germaine Ingram

Germaine Ingram is Interim Associate Director of the Philadelphia Folklore Project. She has worked as a civil rights and trial lawyer, law professor, child advocate, public policy consultant, and performing artist in organizations committed to increasing social and economic equity, improving child and family welfare, and encouraging educational reform.

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Theo van Rysselberghe, Le Cri, lithograph from Hommage des artistes a Picquart (1899), Lorraine Beitler Collection of the Dreyfus Affair, Kislak Center

Jimmy Carter: Human Rights In The 21st Century Essay

Throughout Jimmy Carter’s childhood and his campaign, Carter has stood up for human rights for all types of minorities. As a child, Carter experienced African Americans being discriminated right before his very eyes. Carter grew up in Georgia, where African Americans were constantly segregated from the general public. Although the segregation of blacks was high back then, Carter proved that he was different than most whites. Carter didn’t care what color of a person’s skin; he judged every person on the inside .

Jimmy Carter is regarded as the best presidential option for human rights, showed the importance of human rights in his presidential campaign . At a time period where many people were questioning if the rights every person deserves was enforced properly; Jimmy Carter was shown as a leader for giving every person the rights they deserve throughout his administration. Carter made use of the 1975 Helsinki treaty which after World War II protected all human rights. He was known as the presidential candidate who focused on human rights and the candidate that would do most for human rights (“Profiles…

Presidents”). Carter led a campaign that proved to the people that he will not take any of the people’s rights lightly and he will look at every person at the same level without discriminating against anyone. Throughout Carter’s campaign, he called on the American people to help bring about equality for all people and help end the discrimination of human beings. Jimmy Carter’s childhood and campaign led to how Jimmy Carter inspired modern day people to deal with the inequality of women all over the world.

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