Created by Vassiliki Tsichritzi, B3
There is now
near-universal consensus that all individuals are entitled to certain basic
rights under any circumstances. These include certain civil liberties and
political rights, the most fundamental of which is the right to life and
physical safety. Human rights are the articulation of the need for justice,
tolerance, mutual respect, and human dignity in all of our activity. Speaking
of rights allows us to express the idea that all individuals are part of the
scope of morality and justice.
The most common
violations of human rights nowadays are:
Child abuse—40 million
children below the age of 15 suffer from abuse and neglect.
Gang violence—100 percent of cities with populations greater
than or equal to 250,000 reported gang activity.
(US Department of Justice).
Child labor—246 million children, one in every six children
aged 5 to 17, are involved in child labor.
(International Labour Organization,
2002).
Child soldiers—UNICEF estimates that more than 300,000 children
under 18 are currently being exploited in over thirty armed conflicts
worldwide. While the majority of child soldiers are between the ages of 15 and
18, some are as young as 7 or 8 years of age.
(US Department of State, 2005).
Human trafficking—It is estimated that there
are 27 million people in the world today who are enslaved. Every year 600,000
to 800,000 persons are trafficked across international borders.
(US Department
of State Trafficking in Persons Report, 2006).
To protect human rights is to ensure that people receive some degree of
decent, humane treatment. To violate the most basic human rights, on the other
hand, is to deny individuals their fundamental moral entitlements.
It is to treat them as if they are less than human and undeserving of respect and dignity. Examples are acts typically deemed "crimes against humanity," including genocide, torture, slavery, rape, enforced sterilization or medical experimentation, and deliberate starvation.
Because these policies are sometimes implemented by governments, limiting the unrestrained power of the state is an important part of international law. Underlying laws that prohibit the various "crimes against humanity" is the principle of nondiscrimination and the notion that certain basic rights apply universally.
It is to treat them as if they are less than human and undeserving of respect and dignity. Examples are acts typically deemed "crimes against humanity," including genocide, torture, slavery, rape, enforced sterilization or medical experimentation, and deliberate starvation.
Because these policies are sometimes implemented by governments, limiting the unrestrained power of the state is an important part of international law. Underlying laws that prohibit the various "crimes against humanity" is the principle of nondiscrimination and the notion that certain basic rights apply universally.
Harry Ioannidis, Β'1
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