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Creative Ideas For Writing Human Rights Essay Topics

Updated 18 Jun 2024

To write a human rights paper properly, the first thing you can do is to get inspired by some creative ideas on the topic. That will help to learn all the possible angles this subject can be discussed and get you prepared for writing a compelling and outstanding essay.

Human rights essay topics always have to cover some of the burning issues regarding law and human rights , why some states treat them differently from other ones etc. It’s useful to compare and contrast some civil liberties with others and make your personal statement.

In the remainder of the text, you will find a human rights topics list divided into subcategories that should help you find your best. You may now wonder why choosing the topic is so important. The answer is quite simple — you have to make your essay compelling to the reader and interesting from the very beginning. Be sure to practice in order to learn how to write my essay on human rights properly. Let's dive right in!

Human Rights Essay Topics

Here’s a list of engaging essays ideas to write about. Choosing any of them will apply to any country and type of civil rights regulations.

The evolution of human rights in the 21st century.
The impact of globalization on human rights practices.
The role of the United Nations in promoting global human rights.
Human rights violations in conflict zones: Case studies.
The influence of cultural traditions on the implementation of human rights.
The effectiveness of international human rights treaties.
The relationship between economic development and human rights.
Gender equality as a fundamental human right.
The rights of indigenous peoples around the world.
Freedom of expression vs. hate speech: Finding the balance.
The right to privacy in the digital age.
The challenges of protecting human rights during pandemics.
Climate change and its implications for human rights.
The role of education in promoting human rights awareness.
Human trafficking: A modern violation of human rights.
The rights of refugees and asylum seekers.
Child labor: A persistent human rights challenge.
The death penalty and human rights debates.
The rights of the disabled: Progress and obstacles.
LGBTQ+ rights as human rights: Global perspectives.

Argumentative Human Rights Topics

Here are some of the most interesting argumentative topics.

Should economic sanctions be used to punish human rights violations?
Is the concept of universal human rights culturally biased?
Can the right to bear arms be considered a fundamental human right?
The ethics of using drone strikes in counter-terrorism efforts.
Should freedom of speech have limits in cases of hate speech?
The effectiveness of the International Criminal Court in prosecuting human rights abuses.
Is the right to a clean environment a fundamental human right?
The morality of using torture in national security interrogations.
Should countries have the right to enforce their human rights standards internationally?
The balance between national security and individual privacy rights.
Are mandatory vaccinations a violation of human rights?
The legality of forced sterilizations in controlling population growth.
Should prisoners have the right to vote?
Is capital punishment a violation of human rights?
The ethical implications of genetic screening and human rights.
Should companies be held accountable for human rights violations abroad?
The impact of social media censorship on freedom of expression.
Is the right to asylum being undermined by strict immigration policies?
Should animal rights be considered as part of human rights discourse?
The role of civil disobedience in promoting human rights.

Analytical Human Rights Essay Ideas

Maybe you want to write an analytical essay that covers a topic on civil liberties. In that case, choose one topic from the following list.

Analyzing the role of women in human rights movements globally.
The impact of economic inequality on access to human rights.
A comparative analysis of human rights legislation across continents.
The psychological effects of long-term human rights abuses on communities.
The role of technology in both advancing and hindering human rights.
Analyzing the success of grassroots movements in effecting human rights change.
The influence of international pressure on countries' human rights records.
The relationship between human rights and global health initiatives.
An analysis of post-colonial impacts on human rights in former colonies.
The effectiveness of public awareness campaigns on human rights issues.
Analyzing the challenges of implementing human rights in authoritarian regimes.
The role of education in preventing human rights violations.
The impact of cultural relativism on the enforcement of international human rights.
An analysis of the intersectionality of race, gender, and human rights.
The consequences of environmental degradation on human rights.
Analyzing the legal frameworks protecting the human rights of migrants.
The role of the media in exposing human rights violations.
An analysis of the balance between religious freedom and gender equality.
The impact of international trade agreements on human rights standards.
Analyzing the role of youth in the future of human rights advocacy.

Compare and Contrast Essay Topics on Human Rights

If you want to compare and contrast particular issues and concepts regarding constitutional rights in your essay, choose one topic from the following list. They all tackle one of the burning issues. Compare and contrast:

Comparing the human rights records of democratic vs. authoritarian regimes.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights vs. The American Declaration of Rights and Duties of Man: A comparative analysis.
Comparing the approaches to women's rights in the Middle East and Western Europe.
The treatment of refugees in Europe vs. Asia: Policies and practices.
Comparing the effectiveness of UN human rights interventions in different regions.
The rights of the child: Comparing implementation in developed vs. developing countries.
Comparing the legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in North America vs. Africa.
Freedom of the press in wartime vs. peacetime: A comparative analysis.
Comparing the impact of colonialism on human rights in Africa and Asia.
The role of civil society in human rights advocacy: Comparing two case studies.
Comparing the enforcement of labor rights in the global north vs. the global south.
The right to education: Comparing access and quality in rural vs. urban areas.
Comparing the treatment of indigenous peoples in North America and Australia.
The death penalty: A comparison of arguments for and against.
Comparing the strategies of non-violent vs. violent protests in human rights movements.
The impact of climate change on human rights: Comparing developed and developing countries' responses.
Comparing the role of international vs. local actors in human rights advocacy.
Freedom of religion: Comparing secular and religious states.
Comparing the human rights implications of the COVID-19 response in two countries.
The right to privacy: Comparing surveillance practices in the USA and China.

Human Rights Violation Essay Topics

If you’re interested in writing about the violation of civil rights in different countries, here’s a list.

The impact of war on civilian populations: A human rights perspective.
Child soldiers: Violations of human rights in armed conflicts.
Human trafficking: Modern slavery in the global economy.
The plight of refugees: Human rights violations and international responses.
Torture and ill-treatment in detention: A global human rights challenge.
Forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings: Accountability and justice.
The rights of indigenous peoples: Violations and protections.
Gender-based violence: A pervasive human rights violation.
The impact of economic sanctions on civilian populations.
Censorship and the suppression of free expression: A human rights analysis.
The human rights implications of environmental degradation and climate change.
Discrimination against people with disabilities: A global overview.
The rights of migrant workers: Exploitation and abuse.
The use of solitary confinement in prisons: A human rights examination.
State-sponsored discrimination: The case of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
The human rights crisis in North Korea: An in-depth look.
Child labor in the global supply chain: Ethical considerations and solutions.
The impact of the drug war on human rights in Latin America.
Access to clean water and sanitation: A fundamental human right.
The role of international organizations in addressing human rights violations.

Civil Rights Essay Topics

The following list can help you in your research. Consider one of the topics from these recommendations.

The Civil Rights Movement in the United States: Key figures and milestones.
Racial profiling and police brutality: Civil rights implications.
The fight for voting rights: Historical struggles and current challenges.
The role of civil disobedience in advancing civil rights.
Affirmative action: Controversies and impacts on civil rights.
The intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality in civil rights activism.
The Americans with Disabilities Act: Impact on civil rights.
The role of the Supreme Court in shaping civil rights law.
School desegregation and the fight for equal education.
The impact of social media on civil rights movements.
Civil rights in the workplace: Discrimination and equality.
Housing discrimination and the fight for fair housing.
The role of art and culture in the civil rights movement.
The impact of immigration policies on civil rights.
LGBTQ+ rights as civil rights: Historical and contemporary struggles.
The role of women in the civil rights movement.
Religious freedom and civil rights: Finding the balance.
The impact of the War on Terror on civil liberties.
Voter suppression and democracy: A civil rights issue.
Environmental justice as a civil right.

LGBT Essay Ideas

If you want to write about the LGBT community and its issues in many countries, choose one of the following topics. They will all be compelling to readers since LGBT issues are still unresolved worldwide.

The history of the LGBT rights movement: Key events and figures.
Same-sex marriage: Global progress and challenges.
Transgender rights and visibility: Advances and obstacles.
The impact of LGBT representation in media on societal attitudes.
Discrimination against LGBT individuals in the workplace.
The role of pride parades in the LGBT rights movement.
LGBT rights and religion: Conflicts and dialogues.
The mental health challenges faced by LGBT youth.
The intersectionality of LGBT identities with race and ethnicity.
Legal protections for LGBT individuals: A global perspective.
The challenges of LGBT activism in conservative societies.
The evolution of gender identity and expression in contemporary society.
The impact of HIV/AIDS on the LGBT community: Past and present.
Adoption rights for LGBT couples.
The significance of LGBT safe spaces in education and communities.
The role of allies in the LGBT rights movement.
The challenges of transitioning and access to healthcare for transgender individuals.
LGBT refugees and asylum seekers: Legal and humanitarian issues.
The impact of anti-LGBT laws on international human rights.
Celebrating diversity: The importance of LGBT cultural festivals.

Freedom of Speech Essay Topics

The limits of free speech: Hate speech, libel, and censorship.
The role of free speech in democratic societies.
The impact of social media on freedom of expression.
Free speech on college campuses: Safe spaces and trigger warnings.
The legal challenges of regulating speech on the internet.
The relationship between free speech and fake news.
Freedom of the press: Rights and responsibilities.
The history of free speech movements.
The impact of blasphemy laws on freedom of expression.
Free speech and political correctness: Finding the balance.
The role of whistleblowers in a free society.
Censorship in authoritarian regimes vs. democratic societies.
The implications of surveillance on free speech.
Freedom of artistic expression: Controversies and limits.
The right to protest: Free speech in action.
The impact of free speech on minority rights.
Digital activism and freedom of expression online.
The role of satire and parody in free speech.
Free speech and the marketplace of ideas.
The future of free speech in the digital age.

Death Penalty Essay Topics

The morality of the death penalty in modern justice systems.
The effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime.
Racial disparities in the application of the death penalty.
The impact of wrongful convictions on the death penalty debate.
The cost of the death penalty vs. life imprisonment.
The death penalty and international human rights law.
Methods of execution: Ethical and humanitarian considerations.
Public opinion and the death penalty: A shifting landscape.
The role of mental illness in death penalty cases.
The death penalty for juvenile offenders: Legal and ethical issues.
The impact of DNA evidence on death penalty cases.
The death penalty and religious beliefs.
The death penalty in authoritarian vs. democratic regimes.
The role of victim's families in death penalty cases.
The death penalty and the concept of redemption.
International perspectives on the abolition of the death penalty.
The death penalty and political power: Uses and abuses.
The future of the death penalty in the United States.
The death penalty and gender bias.
The role of the media in shaping perceptions of the death penalty.

Tips on Writing a Human Rights Essay

Here are 5 top tips on writing an essay on the topic:

Do thorough research before writing and structure your thoughts to make the reference page of your essay. If you compile the bibliography beforehand, you will also save time and avoid getting into a disorganized mess;
When your reference page is finished, make an outline of your essay . This part of your paper should be logical and detailed, because it will help you organize your essay into subheadings and paragraphs;
Come up with a thesis statement . If a thesis statement is straight to the point, the reader will be able to understand what the essay will be about and understand its value prior reading;
Make sure you answer all of the questions stated in the topic in your essay. If you go off the theme, you may get bad points from your professor or bore the reader because they will get lost;
Make sure you understand all the relevant terminology to write a human rights essay. Start by learning relevant terms so that you use them accordingly and appropriately.

Steps on How to Choose a Proper Topic

If you want to learn which steps to follow in order to choose proper human rights paper topics, consider the following:

Make sure a title you’re choosing deals with topical issues for modern society;
Make sure you understand all the relevant terminology regarding your topic;
Make sure the topic is catchy and compelling to the reader;
Make sure there’s enough relevant material to cover the topic (check the available sources in your local library or online);
Make sure you understand the audience that will read your essay;
Make sure you use cases from real-life events to illustrate and support all of your points;

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Written by David Kidwell

David is one of those experienced content creators from the United Kingdom who has a high interest in social issues, culture, and entrepreneurship. He always says that reading, blogging, and staying aware of what happens in the world is what makes a person responsible. He likes to learn and share what he knows by making things inspiring and creative enough even for those students who dislike reading.

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Essay on Human Rights: Samples in 500 and 1500

Updated on
Jun 20, 2024

Essay writing is an integral part of the school curriculum and various academic and competitive exams like IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. It is designed to test your command of the English language and how well you can gather your thoughts and present them in a structure with a flow. To master your ability to write an essay, you must read as much as possible and practise on any given topic. This blog brings you a detailed guide on how to write an essay on Human Rights , with useful essay samples on Human rights.

This Blog Includes:

The basic human rights, 200 words essay on human rights, 500 words essay on human rights, 500+ words essay on human rights in india, 1500 words essay on human rights, importance of human rights, essay on human rights pdf, what are human rights.

Human rights mark everyone as free and equal, irrespective of age, gender, caste, creed, religion and nationality. The United Nations adopted human rights in light of the atrocities people faced during the Second World War. On the 10th of December 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Its adoption led to the recognition of human rights as the foundation for freedom, justice and peace for every individual. Although it’s not legally binding, most nations have incorporated these human rights into their constitutions and domestic legal frameworks. Human rights safeguard us from discrimination and guarantee that our most basic needs are protected.

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COMPASS Manual for Human Rights Education with Young people

Questions and answers about human rights.

Question: What are human rights?

Human rights are moral entitlements that every individual in the world possesses simply in virtue of the fact that he or she is a human being. In claiming our human rights, we are making a moral claim, normally on our own government, that you cannot do that, because it is a violation of my moral sphere and my personal dignity. No-one – no individual, no government – can ever take away our human rights.

Question: Where do they come from?

They come from the fact that we are not only physical beings, but also moral and spiritual human beings. Human rights are needed to protect and preserve every individual's humanity, to ensure that every individual can live a life of dignity and a life that is worthy of a human being.

Question: Why "should" anyone respect them?

Fundamentally, because everyone is a human being and therefore a moral being. The majority of individuals, if shown that they are violating someone else's personal dignity, will try to refrain. In general, people do not want to hurt other people. However, in addition to the moral sanctions of one's own conscience or that of others, there is now legislation in most countries of the world which obliges governments to respect the basic human rights of citizens, even when they may be unwilling to do so.

Question: Who has human rights?

Absolutely everyone. Criminals, heads of state, children, men, women, Africans, Americans, Europeans, refugees, stateless persons, the unemployed, those in employment, bankers, those accused of carrying out acts of terrorism, charity workers, teachers, dancers, astronauts ...

Question: Even criminals and heads of state?

Absolutely everyone. Criminals and heads of state are humans too. The power of human rights lies in the very fact that they treat everyone as equal in terms of possessing human dignity. Some people may have violated the rights of others or may pose a threat to society and may therefore need to have their rights limited in some way in order to protect others, but only within certain limits. These limits are defined as being the minimum which is necessary for a life of human dignity.

Question: Why do some groups require special human rights? Does this mean that they have more rights than others?

No, some groups, such as the Roma in Europe or Dalits and scheduled castes in India, have suffered such long-term discrimination in our societies that they need special measures to enable them to access general human rights standards on an equal basis with others. Years of institutionalised discrimination and stereotypes, and outright hatred and obstacles, mean that just announcing generally applicable rights to them, and expecting that this is enough to ensure equality, would be farcical.

Question: Why do we talk about human rights and not human responsibilities?

Although some thinkers and NGOs have put forward strong arguments for the need for human responsibilities and even codes or declaration to articulate these, the human rights community has generally been reticent about this debate. The reason is that many governments make the "granting" of human rights dependent on certain "duties" imposed by the state or ruler, in this way making the whole idea of rights as birthrights meaningless. However, it goes without saying that we need to act responsibly as individuals and groups to respect the rights of others, not to abuse human rights and to advance the rights of others as well as ourselves. In fact, article 29 of the UDHR recognises that, "1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. 2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.".

Question: Who looks after human rights?

We all need to. There is legislation both at national and at international levels which imposes restrictions on what governments are able to do to their citizens but, if no-one points out that their actions are violating international norms, governments can continue to violate them with impunity. As individuals, we need not only to respect the rights of others in our everyday lives but also to keep watch on our governments and on others. The protective systems are there for all of us if we use them.

Question: How can I defend my rights?

Try pointing out that they have been violated; claim your rights. Let the other person know that you know they are not entitled to treat you in this way.. Pinpoint the relevant articles in the UDHR, in the ECHR or the other international documents. If there is legislation in your own country, point to that as well. Tell others about it: tell the press, write to your parliamentary representative and head of state, inform any NGOs that are engaged in human rights activism. Ask their advice. Speak to a lawyer, if you have the opportunity. Make sure that your government knows what action you are taking. Make them realise that you are not going to give up. Show them the support you can draw on. In the final analysis, and if everything else has failed, you may want to resort to the courts.

Question: How do I go to the European Court of Human Rights?

The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms contains a procedure for individual complaints. However, there are strong admissibility requirements before a case can be considered. For example, you need to ensure that your complaint has already been raised in the national courts of your country (up to the highest court!) before you can bring a case to the European Court. If you wish to try, and you believe that you satisfy the admissibility requirements, then you can bring a complaint. However, you are strongly advised to seek legal advice or the advice of NGOs working in the field in order to be sure that your claim has a real chance of success. Be aware that it can be a long and complicated process before a final judgment is given!

Question: From whom can I claim my rights?

Nearly all the basic human rights that are listed in the international documents are claims against your government, or state officials. Human rights protect your interests against the state, so you need to claim them from the state or from their representatives. If you feel that your rights are being violated by, for example, your employer or your neighbour, you cannot resort directly to international human rights legislation unless there is also something the government of the country ought to have done to prevent employers or neighbours from behaving in this way.

Question: Does anyone have a duty to protect my rights?

Yes. A right is meaningless without a corresponding responsibility or duty on someone else's part. Every individual has a moral duty not to violate your personal dignity but your government, in signing up to international agreements, has not just a moral duty but also a legal duty.

Question: Are human rights only a problem in non-democratic countries?

There is no country in the world that has a completely clean record on human rights, even today. There may be more frequent violations in some countries than others or they may affect a larger proportion of the population, but every single violation is a problem that ought not to have happened and that needs to be dealt with. An individual whose rights are violated in one of the established democracies is hardly likely to be comforted by the fact that, in general, their country has a "better" record on human rights than other countries in the world!

Question: Have we made any progress in reducing human rights violations?

Great progress – even if it sometimes seems a mere drop in the ocean. Consider the abolition of slavery, the vote for women, the countries that have abolished the death penalty, the freeing of prisoners of conscience as a result of international pressure, the collapse of the apartheid regime in South Africa, the cases that have been tried before the European Court and the laws that have had to be changed as a result. Consider the fact that the gradual change in international culture means that even the most authoritarian regimes now have to take human rights into consideration in order to be accepted on the international stage. There have been many positive results, particularly over the past 50 years, but a great deal more remains to be done.

Download Compass

Chapter 1 - Human Rights Education and Compass: an introduction
Chapter 2 - Practical Activities and Methods for Human Rights Education
Chapter 3 - Taking Action for Human Rights
Chapter 4 - Understanding Human Rights
Chapter 5 - Background Information on Global Human Rights Themes

199 Human Rights Essay Topics & Examples

Human rights, the foundational pillars of a just society, go far beyond governments and cultures. In this collection of human rights research topics, explore the multifaceted dimensions of human rights, from historical struggles to contemporary debates. Try to understand the profound impact of human rights on societies and the pursuit of a better future.

⚖️ TOP 7 Human Rights Topics

🏆 best human rights essay topics, 🎓 interesting human rights research topics, 👍 human rights essay examples, 🔥 hot human rights topics to write about, 💡 simple titles for a human rights essay, 📌 easy human rights topics, ❓ more human rights topics for research paper.

Human Rights Violation in the World
Human Rights Role in International Relations
Human Rights: Historical and Conceptual Evolution
Human Rights in Contemporary World
Privacy as a Basic Human Right
Human Rights in Sociology and Philosophy
The Right to Healthcare as a Basic Human Right
Human Rights as an Essential Part of the Societal Structure Human rights are vital to any social structure as they create guidelines for the people based on their needs and desires.
Human Rights and Feminist Perspectives in Social Work This paper aims to review the main principles of human rights in order to understand the connections between the narratives of human rights and feminism.
The Nature of Human Rights The essay provides an analysis of several prominent philosophers’ opinions on human rights and democracy, suggesting counterarguments and rebuttals.
Discrimination and Human Rights Laws The paper discusses solutions of closing the gap between the reality of ongoing oppression and discrimination and the promises held out by our human rights laws.
Government Responsibility Regarding Human Rights This paper discusses the primary responsibility of governments in promoting and protecting human rights and outlines legal instruments and conventions that governments use.
Feminist Movement: Women’s Rights Are Human Rights Women across the globe deserve a voice and equal human rights, and they should be appreciated, and their contributions to society acknowledged.
The Issue of Human Rights Violation This paper states that human rights violation remains a significant issue. Aligning them with the current forms of human mistreatment is necessary.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Constructivists’ Views Constructivists’ views better than other approaches explain why such an initiative as the development of the declaration of universal human rights was even possible.
Role of Civil Society in Realization of Human Rights This essay discusses how civil bodies interact with the state to guarantee fundamental rights and freedoms in socio-political and economic facades.
Responsibility of Mltinational Corporations in the Field of Human Rights Multinational corporations in the field of Human Rights have great power, force, potency, or effect in the entities of the current world order.
Slavery and Human Rights Violation The work presents three stories from various time periods and places, but they are common in the fact that, due to greed, some people are ready to sacrifice all human qualities.
Human Trafficking as Violation of Human Rights Human trafficking is a heinous issue that is very serious and dangerous for our society. It is widely known that human trafficking has become an expanding issue across the world.
Having Children as a Human Right The massive significance of parenthood as a concept raises the question of whether people should be entitled to have children as a part of their basic set of rights.
A Form of Discrimination and Human Rights Violations Based on the relevance of the problem, models and methods of assistance to victims of domestic violence have been developed.
Human Rights and International Trade Human rights in international trade precipitated the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which caters to the welfare of the workers and other interest groups.
Human Trafficking: International Human Rights International human rights law defines human trafficking as the violation of an individual’s right to liberty through appropriation of their legal personality, labor and humanity.
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights The U.N. Guiding Principles are a necessary but still insufficiently effective tool to protect human rights from large business structures.
Business Practices and Human Rights Human rights refer to the fundamental rights of every human being, irrespective of race, sex, religion, political affiliation, social standing or any other feature.
Universal Conception of Human Rights and Its Challenges Human rights are intercontinental customs, which dictate and determine how different countries handle their citizens and residents.
Violation of the Human Right to Life: Death Penalty The problem of the death penalty cannot be separated from the general concept of human rights as it violates the paramount right of a human to life.
Universal Human Rights and Cultural Values The universality of human rights is a question for debate because of the impact of cultures on people’s acceptation and interpretation of these rights.
Human Rights and Discrimination Discrimination is against human rights and should be condemned because it has negative effects such as reduced productivity, feelings of anger, and anxiety.
Human Rights from a Historical Perspective Recognizing the value of human rights guarantees that arbitrariness will not be tolerated and that democracy exists in society.
Human Rights and Public’s Right to Know The issue of sharing every kind of information with members of the public remains sensitive and capable of affecting the interests of both citizens and governments.
Social Inequality and Human Rights in the Modern World This paper theorize civil rights to be the basis of developing the main social fields of education, healthcare, and career opportunities.
Human Rights Related to Immigration The essay discusses human rights related to immigration and analyzes if there are any ways to improve the situation of migrants.
The Universality of Human Rights “Human rights are “universal” rights in the sense that they are held “universally” by all human beings”. This report discusses the universality of human rights.
Prisoners’ Human Rights Protection For the protection of human rights in prisons, it is important to examine the existing practices and incorporate the knowledge about the methods of promoting social justice.
Human Rights and Gender Issues: “The Love Suicides at Amijima” & “Tale of Kieu” Comparing “The Love Suicides at Amijima” and “Tale of Kieu”, while representing different time periods, addresses the same problem of human rights and gender inequalities.
Islamic State and Values of Human Rights This paper gives a reflection and analysis of Islamic culture using the ideas gained from the movie “Islam in America”.
Human Rights in United Arab Emirates The constitution of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officially recognizes different rights and freedoms which its citizens and foreigners are entitled to.
Human Rights and Freedom in Modern Society
Citizen Journalism Protects Human Rights
Human Development and Human Rights: South African Country Study
The Black Lives Matter’s Fight for Human Rights in America
The Black Lives Matter and Philosophies of Henry Shue and Thomas Pogge on Human Rights
The Different Human Rights Violation in China
The Bottled Water Industry and the Violation of Human Rights on a Global
Government Reforms and Basic Human Rights
The Death Penalty and Violations of Human Rights
The Challenges and Struggles of Viola Desmond to Fight for Equal Human Rights
Exploring the Relationship Between Military Spending & Human Rights Performance in South Asia
How Effective Does the Human Rights Act 1998 Promotes
Examining Coca Cola Human Rights Violations in Colombia
The International Courts and Tribunals’ Success in Upholding Human Rights
The Similarities and Differences in the Level of Development, Human Rights Protection, and Environmental Conditions Between the North and South
Civil and Human Rights: Excessive Use of Force
The History and Role of the Human Rights Watch, a Nonprofit Human Rights Organization
Humanitarian Intervention and Human Rights Violationss
Human Rights and Justice: Forms and Mechanisms of Oppression
The Violation and Protection of Human Rights in Society
Healthcare as a Human Right: Addressing Access Disparities The healthcare system in the United States faces several challenges, including inequalities in access to care and health outcomes.
Transitional Justice: Human Rights Violations The paper discusses transitional justice. It alludes to the procedures and systems in place to resolve human rights violations and other offenses.
Importance of the UN Declaration of Human Rights Today The paper states that understanding the importance of the UN Declaration is critical because it affects the quality of interpersonal relationships.
Human Rights in Brunei: Impact of Cultural Practices Human rights and culture contradict because of their origins, and for a country like Brunei, Islamic culture will undoubtedly affect the rights of women and LGBT+ people.
Healthcare as a Basic Human Right The right to have unlimited access to healthcare services is linked inseparably to the right to live, which is why accessibility to healthcare must be regarded as a human right.
The 1807 Abolition Bill: Continuing Human Rights Struggle A research question concerns the effectiveness of the 1807 Bill in the fight against slavery and its contribution to the further fight against the issue.
Human Rights Violations and Prosecutions of Perpetrators This paper discusses the challenges associated with human rights violations regarding international programs and the conditions under which prosecution is not effective.
Recognition of Human Rights for LGBT Individuals The paper discusses the importance of studying the issue of LGBTQ people discrimination, including its causes, harmful effects, and current state.
American Freedom and Human Rights American spirit consists of a dream of innocence and freedom. It is every American’s duty to create justice, and every person has the power to do so.
History, Oppression and Human Rights Violation in India The caste system is not entirely eliminated and still exists in modern-day India expressed in property ownership and governance.
Slavery as a Human Rights Issue The paper argues slavery in underdeveloped countries, especially Africa, continues to be a pressing and contemporary problem.
The Fundamental Human Rights Speech Human rights, in plain terms, are the entitlement to the fundamental rights that are given to every individual. We are given these rights, which we retain until we die.
Freedom of Speech: The Basic Human Right Freedom of speech allows everyone to receive and impart information. People and communities should articulate their thoughts and ideas without fear of any form of intimidation.
Violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in China China has a long history of suppressing authors and freedom of speech. Liu Xiaobo is a literary critic, known for their participation in the social and political spheres.
Bartolome De Las Casas and Human Rights in the Age of Exploration Bartolome De Las Casas was a pivotal factor in the emergence of what is currently termed human rights principles, as shown by his deeds and ideas.
Human Rights in China and the USA Every country has a different attitude toward human rights. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the problem of human rights in China and the USA.
The Abortion Issue Regarding Human Rights This article raises the question of how people should determine what rights should be guaranteed by the constitution and what rights are core rights from birth.
Black Sports Activism: Olympic Project for Human Rights Black activism has been fundamental in reducing institutional racism and the mistreatment of African-Americans’ rights in the larger society.
Human Rights and Labor Laws Violations in Foreign Countries This discussion explores the situation in Chile and China, where workers have experienced labor laws and human rights violations in recent times.
Indigenous People and Human Rights This work examines what rights a person has in the process of acculturation, how acculturation affects the indigenous people of many countries, its tendencies in the modern world.
Human Rights and the Burqa Ban in France This paper expounding on how the affected French citizens may go about opposing the ‘burqa ban’ in the court of law.
Human Rights Under Russian Leadership Human rights are among the essential norms which standardize human behavior and are protected by local and international laws.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights The current paper reflects these rights to understand their impact on ending atrocities of unpleasant events that occurred in the past, such as war.
Human Rights in Brown v. Board of Education Case The Brown v. Board of Education case was a fundamental court decision since it secured the rights of millions of children but also the rights of the African American population.
Human Subjects Protection: International and Regional Human Rights Standards Any clinical expertise must be integrated with the best possible scientific evidence. Otherwise, it is impossible to provide patients with all the needed options.
Medicine and Public Health, Ethics and Human Rights Nowadays one can observe the tense connection between public health, medicine, human rights, and ethics; it can be explained by a number of medical challenges, etc.
The Issues of Public Health, Ethics, and Human Rights Human awareness of medical care limits, the recognition of societal structure influence, etc. provide a wide link between healthy vision and ethical norms perception.
The Human Right to Equality and Racial Issues in the US This paper examines the issue of the human right to equality and non-discrimination, which is in question in the United States.
UK Anti-Terrorism Strategy and the Human Rights Implications on its Implementation The prevention of terrorism has been given a higher priority, and the new legislation has drawn on new instruments equivalent to the European levels.
The Convention for Safeguarding the Human Rights and Fundamental Freedom of the EU Citizens The convention for safeguarding the Human rights and fundamental freedom of the EU citizens were drawn up by the European Council on November 4th, 1950, and enforced in 1953.
Human Rights Cities: Mountain View This blog post describes the records and the solutions of Mountain View city’s compliances to the global universal rights of an individual.
Human Rights Violation in Ethiopia The purpose of this paper is to draw the public’s attention to the terrifying events that are happening in Ethiopia and demand justice and freedom for the Oromo people.
The Mutual Relationship Between the Fields of Human Rights and Environmental Protection
The Relationship Between Intellectual Property and Human Rights International Law
The Constitution and the Declaration of Human Rights
The Concepts and Significance of Human Rights in Society
Children, Guantanamo Bay and the Violation of Human Rights
Civil Liberties and Violations of Human Rights
The Reason Why Countries Signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Human Rights and Latin American Indigenous Women
How the Death Penalty Is Against Our Human Rights
The Criminal Defence and Human Rights Lawyer
Effective Practices for Infusing Human Rights
How Being Homeless Affects an Individual’s Human Rights
Gay Marriage: The Recognition of Equal Human Rights
The Black Codes: Limiting Basic Human Rights and Civil Liberties of Blacks
Human Rights and International Investment Law
Exponential Innovation and Human Rights: Implications for Science and Technology Diplomacy
The World Struggle for Human Rights and the Rights of Self
Child Soldiers Are Abused and Deprived of Human Rights
Business and Human Rights: The Evolving International Agenda
Development and Human Rights as Addressed by Bolivian President Evo Morales
Affordable Care Act as a Fundamental Human Right Healthcare should be recognized as a fundamental human right, which can be based on a new Medicare for All program to be cost-effective and affordable.
Declaration of Human Rights Influence on Government In this article, the author examines the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its impact on the governments.
Human Rights and the Rwandan Genocide In the first half of 1994, Rwanda lost approximately 800,000 citizens due to tribal clashes that led to what is referred to now as the Rwandan Genocide.
Civil Rights Movement and Actual State of Human Rights Ending racial discrimination and equalization of rights between the variety of ethnic groups found on the territory of the United States is a struggle with a long history.
Immigrants Human Rights Violation in the United States The research question addresses the need to halt family separations at the border by launching long-term cooperation with other states, such as Mexico.
Ethical Cases: Human Rights To Decide on One’s Life From medical ethics, care providers must follow the principles of autonomy and beneficence, but they are opposed to each other in these ethical cases.
Global Human Rights Progress and the Role of National Cultural Value Systems This paper aims to investigate arguments in favor and against the claim that there has been progressing in developing global human rights over the last twenty years.
Human Rights Violations in Hong Kong The article is about the arrest of district councilor Cheng Lai-king on March 26, 2020, after being accused of seditious intent.
Confucianism and Human Rights Development The work highlights the main ideas of Confucianism, describes how it has changed over time under the influence of Western culture and what impact it has on our lives.
Sudan, Oil, War, and Human Rights This paper aims to address the main issues for why despite the end of the formal conflict in Sudan; global human rights actors have remained unable to stop the war-like patterns.
Are Human Rights Universal? The author argues that the concept of “human rights” serves as an instrument of political propaganda, and not a legal mechanism for protecting the well-being of people.
Human Rights: Social Relations and State and Citizens Relations Human rights play a crucial role in social relations and relations between the state and citizens. In the integral approach human rights are not made subservient to any ideology.
Human Rights Problem of Domestic Help in El Salvador The condition of human rights in El Salvador concerning the domestic helps has been steadily deteriorating over the years
Human Rights Conservation and the War on Terror Public Safety is the concept of governmental organizations concerned with protecting their citizens from all kinds of threats.
Cultural Relativism, Universal Jurisdiction and Human Rights The Human Rights area of different countries has its own peculiar features and structure. Human Rights are the result of people’s fight for independence.
Modern World Politics and the Cause of Human Rights Human rights, democracy and terrorism act as a triangle which bounds modern world politics to a certain limitation.
Circumcision as a Human Rights Issue in the US Circumcision can be considered one of the disputable practices that are still used on infants because of outdated believes and issues.
Human Rights Violation During Hong Kong Protests This paper discusses the violation of human rights as applied to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and applied to the context of the Hong Kong protests in 2019.
Remote Sensing to Monitor Human Rights Violations The use of modern technologies provides multiple options for various agencies that assess situations regarding human rights and their violations.
Circumcision: Ethical Dilemma and Human Rights Circumcision is a complex phenomenon that can result in ethical dilemmas. To put it simply, circumcision consists of surgical operations on female and male genitals.
Donald Trump’s Policies of Poverty and Human Rights One of the events related to an acute social issue of poverty in the United States involves the U.N. report on extreme U.S. poverty and human rights in the context of Donald Trump’s policies.
Same-Sex Marriages and Human Rights Many people acknowledge that same-sex marriage is something that should be analyzed using this law. This discussion gives my personal perspective of this issue.
Human Rights, Globalization and Economic Development Based on Bryzk’s definition of globalization, it is clear that a globalized world makes it easy to have a free flow of information and ideas across the border.
Universal Human Rights in Political Ideologies The major contention of Communitarian with the ideologies of Universalism can be traced to the major element that each ideology advocates.
Human Rights in Israel-Gaza and West Bank Regions The conflict in the Gaza region was a violation of human rights because the sovereignty of the state was not respected by foreign powers.
Human Rights Advocates vs. Terrorism Victims In this study, we seek to find out the implication of terrorism on human rights and the impact of terrorism on global security.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Crises This paper gives a detailed analysis of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights from different perspectives.
High-Resolution Satellite Imagery and Human Rights The focus of this assignment is the use of high-resolution satellite imagery for detecting mass graves in Sheberghan, an area in Afghanistan.
Childhood Obesity Study, Ethics, and Human Rights The present paper discusses ethical considerations and plans in the protection of human rights in the childhood obesity issue, possible limitations, and implications of the study.
Networked Society: Connectivity as a Human Right The media text focuses on the collaborative aspect of the internet in which people are able to add their own ideas, assumptions and create their own content for public viewing.
W. Kymlicka on Human Rights and Culture Protection Every society has a distinct culture that differentiates it from others and members of the society can interact freely even if they are from different cultural backgrounds.
Canada’s Commitment to Human Rights Principles Human rights refer to those aspects that uphold the outmost virtues of humankind. This paper is an evaluation of Canada’s commitment to human rights principles.
Heart Failure Study and Human Rights Protection The present paper discusses ethical considerations and plans in the protection of human rights during the study on congestive heart failure (CHF) patients post-discharge.
Canadian Studies: Sexuality and Human Rights The history of Canada cannot be imagined without a chapter of same-sex struggle that, in many ways, defined the development of ethical principles of the country.
Human Rights and Ethnic Groups in American History The paper argues that the United States protects human rights and minority ethnic groups. It discusses American history, its political, economic, and civil rights aspects.
The Human Rights Act as a Protection Tool in the UK The HRA (Human Rights Act) was introduced in the UK in 1998 as a means of implementing an internal judicial method of addressing human rights concerns.
Circumcision: Medical, Ethical and Human Rights Issues Human genitals is a matter that is to be treated with utmost care. Genital mutilations are mainly referred to as “a cultural practice”.
The Gay Human Rights: Harvey Milk Contributions Harvey Milk and his contribution in the struggle to preserve gay human rights are discussed from a theoretical perspective. This paper provides an in-depth understanding of gay human rights.
Understanding Human Rights: Labor Rights in a Globalizing World and Gender Rights Labour rights are human rights which encompass “the right to collective bargaining; the elimination of forced and slave labour.
Human Rights and Development: The Antithesis of Armed Conflicts and War
The Coca-Cola Company’s Abuse of Its Employees Through the Violation of the Code of Human Rights
How Has the Human Rights Act Affected Parliamentary Supremacy
Community Service Can Restore Social Justice and Uphold Human Rights
Human Rights Act and Parliamentary Sovereignty
Human Rights and Freedom of Expression and Opinion
Human Rights and Criminal Justice in the United Kingdom
How Far Has the Government Gone to Compromise Our Basic Human Rights
Does Mental Health Treatment Infringe Human Rights?
The Link Between Corruption and Human Rights Violations
Are New Democracies Better Human Rights Compliers
Connection Between Democracy and Human Rights
Ethical and Philosophical Nature of Human Rights
The Connection Between Torture and Sin as a Theological Theme in the Conference Torture, Human Rights, War on Terror
The Pros and Cons of the Declaration of Human Rights
China Internet Censorship Against Human Rights
Human Rights and Civil Liberties in Canada
Examining the Links Between Human Rights and Different Models of Disability in Education
How Does Being Homeless Affect an Individual‘s Human Rights?
How Far Has the Government Gone to Compromise Our Basic Human Rights?
Are Security and Human Rights Mutually Exclusive?
Are Human Rights Issues Valid?
How Has Globalization Impacted Human Rights?
How Can Community Service Improve Human Rights and Our Society as a Whole?
How Did the Development of Human Rights Affect the Caste System in India?
Are Human Rights Practices Improving?
Are Human Rights Innate and Universal?
Are Human Rights “Subversive to the Current” Society of States?
How Does Human Rights Affect Multi-National Companies on Their Marketing Strategies?
Does the Canadian Charter Effectively Protect Our Human Rights?
Are Bangladeshi Women Enjoying Human Rights Properly?
Are Human Rights Infringed in Treatments for Mental Health?
Does Terrorism Threaten Human Rights?
Are Human Rights Truly Universal?
Are Human Rights Universal and Does It Matter?
Does the Human Rights Act Protect Civil Liberties?
Does the Terrorism Act Infringe Upon Our Human Rights?
Are Human Rights Human?
How Effectively Does the Human Rights Act 1998 Promote?
Are Rich Nations Violating the Human Rights of the World’s Poor?
Are Human Rights Universal Philosophy?
Are Human Rights and Economic Well-Being Substitutes?
Are Human Rights Protected?
Are New Democracies Better Human Rights Compliers?
Does the Human Rights Act 1998 Promote or Hinder Democracy?
Are Worker Rights Human Rights?
Does the WTO Violate Human Rights?

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StudyCorgi. (2021, September 9). 199 Human Rights Essay Topics & Examples. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/human-rights-essay-topics/

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StudyCorgi . "199 Human Rights Essay Topics & Examples." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/human-rights-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "199 Human Rights Essay Topics & Examples." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/human-rights-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Human Rights were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on June 23, 2024 .

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Essay Questions on Human Rights

What if Environmental Rights Take Precedence over Human Rights?
How Did the Evolution of Human Rights Influence the Caste System in India?
Should Men and Women Be Entitled to Equal Human Rights?
How Are Human Rights Upheld in Childhood?
What Prevents Human Rights From Becoming Accepted as Truly Universal in Application?
How Does Criminal Procedure in the United Kingdom Respect Human Rights?
What Is the Position of the National Human Rights Commission?
In India, How Are Human Rights Violated?
What’s the Connection Between Human Rights and State Sovereignty?
What Is the Status of Human Rights in Islamic Countries?
What Are Human Rights and Where Did They Come From?
Human Rights Violations During the French Revolution
What Impact Do Human Rights Have on Administrative Law?
What Civil Liberties Dilemmas Do Civil Workers Face?
What Is the Impact of Political Corruption on Human Rights?
Who Implements Rights-Based Advancement?
When Do Religious Beliefs Take Precedence Over Human Rights?
Why Does China Have Such a Negative Human Rights Record?
How Do Multinational Corporations’ Marketing Campaigns Influence Human Rights?
What Is the History of Human Rights in the World, and What Are the Obstacles on Its Path?
What Are the Human Rights of People Suffering from Mental Disorders?
In the Absence of Oversight, How Are Human Rights Violated?
What Is the Economic Impact of Human Rights in China?
What Are the Theories and Definitions of Human Rights in Today’s Society?
What Impact Has the Human Rights Act of 1998 Had on British Law?
What Impact Do Self-determination Issues Have on Human Rights?
What Effect Does Economic Liberalization Have on Human Rights?
What Impact Does Global Politics Have on Human Rights?
Should Nature Have the Same Constitutional Protection as Humans?

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Human Rights Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on human rights.

Human rights are a set of rights which every human is entitled to. Every human being is inherited with these rights no matter what caste, creed, gender, the economic status they belong to. Human rights are very important for making sure that all humans get treated equally. They are in fact essential for a good standard of living in the world.

Moreover, human rights safeguard the interests of the citizens of a country. You are liable to have human rights if you’re a human being. They will help in giving you a good life full of happiness and prosperity.

Human Rights Categories

Human rights are essentially divided into two categories of civil and political rights, and social rights. This classification is important because it clears the concept of human rights further. Plus, they also make humans realize their role in different spheres.

When we talk about civil and political rights , we refer to the classic rights of humans. These rights are responsible for limiting the government’s authority that may affect any individual’s independence. Furthermore, these rights allow humans to contribute to the involvement of the government. In addition to the determination of laws as well.

Next up, the social rights of people guide the government to encourage ways to plan various ways which will help in improving the life quality of citizens. All the governments of countries are responsible for ensuring the well-being of their citizens. Human rights help countries in doing so efficiently.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Human Rights

Human rights are extremely important for the overall development of a country and individuals on a personal level. If we take a look at the basic human rights, we see how there are right to life, the right to practice any religion, freedom of movement , freedom from movement and more. Each right plays a major role in the well-being of any human.

Right to life protects the lives of human beings. It ensures no one can kill you and thus safeguards your peace of mind. Subsequently, the freedom of thought and religion allows citizens to follow any religion they wish to. Moreover, it also means anyone can think freely.

Further, freedom of movement is helpful in people’s mobilization. It ensures no one is restricted from traveling and residing in any state of their choice. It allows you to grab opportunities wherever you wish to.

Next up, human rights also give you the right to a fair trial. Every human being has the right to move to the court where there will be impartial decision making . They can trust the court to give them justice when everything else fails.

Most importantly, humans are now free from any form of slavery. No other human being can indulge in slavery and make them their slaves. Further, humans are also free to speak and express their opinion.

In short, human rights are very essential for a happy living of human beings. However, these days they are violated endlessly and we need to come together to tackle this issue. The governments and citizens must take efforts to protect each other and progress for the better. In other words, this will ensure happiness and prosperity all over the world.

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Human Rights Education

Human Rights Essay Topics

Human rights are now often talked about on TV, social media, and literature. Basically, human rights are freedoms and a set of rights that every human in the world is entitled to, no matter what their race or gender is. It is a broad topic and human rights violations cover a wide variety of areas from prohibiting certain classes or genders from having access to education to the trafficking of humans and engagement in the modern slave trade to prisoner torture, genocide and more. Of course, these events and phenomena might be too sensitive to write about, so be sure to choose the one that you are passionate about.

In general, the process of writing a human rights essay is not very different from writing other types of essays. The first thing that you should do is to pick the right topic and do your research on whether you are able to find enough information to prove your thesis statement. You can come up with a thesis statement at this step or, if you face difficulties, put it aside until you have the major part of your essay ready.

Possible Research Directions

If you are working on an essay that covers human rights topics and you don’t know what you can write about, here are a few possible directions of research that you can conduct:

Gender discrimination, including wage gap, work priorities, etc.
Homo and transphobia – Prejudice against homo and transsexuals has led them to be persecuted, denied employment and attacked physically and verbally.
Human trafficking – Millions of adults and children are trafficked every year to be sold into forced labor or sexual slavery.
Immigration rights – Undocumented workers are subject to exploitation and immigrants can have difficulty finding housing or receiving health care.
The right to education – In some countries, women are not allowed to go to school or learn to read and write.
Sexual harassment in the workplace – Still a pervasive problem that robs the victim of their dignity and safety.
Child labor – Though child labor is banned in many countries, there are still millions of child laborers.
Disability rights – Persons with physical and mental disabilities have only recently gained the rights to equal employment opportunities as well as the right to facilitated access to buildings, parks and other locations.
Police brutality – Police brutality is a hot human rights topic as many countries have problems with police abusing suspects and overstepping the limits of appropriate arrest and questioning tactics.
Religious freedom – Some countries ban religious worship of religions outside the dominant faith.
Physical disciplining of children – Should parents be allowed to discipline their children? What’s the line between a spanking and child abuse or are they one and the same?

Great Human Rights Essay Topic Ideas

The violation of children’s rights and child labor abuse on fabrics in Taiwan and Malaysia.
Can homophobia be stopped?
How are human rights represented through Renaissance art?
The problem of the wage gap in America.
Child trafficking problem in Mexico and Latin America.
Is police brutality a thing nowadays?
Should prisoners have a right to vote?
Compare and contrast various human rights movements.
Does the porn industry violate human rights?
Is the wage gap a myth or a real fact in Eastern Europe?
Should everyone have a right to get a pet?
How did wars in North America violate human rights?
Does social media now violate human rights?
The problem with euthanasia and human rights
Modern view on the first feminism movement wave.
What can we do to stop sexual harassment?

If you want to have a great human rights essay, you can turn to a professional essay writing service . They will conduct in-depth research and find proves and evidence that will support your point of view and your thesis statement. There will be many historical facts and articles that will make your essay credible.

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Human Rights: What are the questions that really matter?

The human rights movement is needed more than ever, but it will fail humanity if it frames the world’s problems as good citizens being let down by bad governments.

This article is a shortened and edited version of An Open Letter to the Human Rights Movement, which can be downloaded here .

There is reason to believe that the human rights movement is needed more than ever, but what if the movement has lost its way and is no longer fit for purpose, not through lack of effort, but through outdated perception? The world’s biggest problems today do not stem from good citizens being let down by bad governments, but from the endemic delusion, systemic inertia, and collective action failures of the first truly planetary civilization.

We will eventually awaken from the public health nightmare of COVID-19 and the relief when it comes will be sweet. But it might be short lived. Addressing ecological collapse will be no less urgent, and we’ll have to do that in a probable recession where widespread social and economic need will find political voices that may not have the greater global good at heart. We also have to contend with the old foes of injustice and corruption and the new problem that the public realm is largely mediated by the technology of private actors.

It is difficult to feel wholehearted about human rights work when the connection between the moral aims and the legal and political methods of the movement has been severed by a shift in the underlying cultural, economic, technological, and ecological context of the action. Improving that alignment is “the work” and it requires moving beyond the idealizations of the UN Declaration on 1948 and confronting questions befitting of 2020.

Put differently, if human rights is the answer, what is the question? Some questions typically asked by people of a broadly liberal sensibility who see rights as a moral good might be:

How can we ensure dignity for all human beings?
How can we protect people from their political leaders?
We are born without asking for it; what are we entitled to?
If there are universal moral principles, how do we spread and uphold them?
How might the rule of law be used as a vehicle for inclusion and emancipation?
How can we protect minorities from majoritarian whims?
How do we give institutional expression to the idea of citizenship?
How do we establish institutional touchstones to support vibrant civil societies?

Yet rights are contested, difficult to enforce, often in tension with each other, and notoriously subverted for aims that are amoral or immoral; in the language of political scientist Zoltàn Bùzàs, rights compliance is often “lawful but awful.” Human rights can even be seen as a planetary auto-immune disease in which the body politic malfunctions in its attempt to serve the greater good and inadvertently promotes the interests of plutocrats and hegemons.

Dear Human Rights Movement, an open letter by Jonathan Rowson can be read here.

If human rights are their answer too, what might the question be for them? Perhaps one of these:

How do we speak on behalf of humanity to punish those we disagree with?
How do we institute global laws to spread a particular form of democracy that defers to the presumed wisdom of the market?
Is there a way to create an institutional framework that looks like it helps clean up the social and ecological collateral damage of capitalism, without getting in its way?
What kind of ideological vehicle could support the affluent West in claiming the legitimate use of force on the world stage?
Could we create a valued mechanism premised on the importance of performative shame and outrage that was ineffective at addressing the root causes of problems?
If we wanted to create an apparently axiomatic and shared set of moral touchstones that would never be fully accepted because they are historically and culturally specific, how would we do it?
Is there a way to make it look like the most important political relationship is between the state and the citizen, while diverting attention from the extraction of natural capital, transnational financial actors asset-stripping the public realm and technology colonizing the lifeworld?
Is there a way to alienate particular individuals in particular places by suggesting that an idealised abstract individual is, in principle, more important than them?

The tension between these two sets of questions reflects an important fact: human rights law is the institutional expression of a doubtful conviction that the battles of human rights morality and politics have been fought and won. That battle is likely to go on indefinitely, and while it does, the human rights movement would do well to orient itself towards questions that better inform action in the increasingly complex moral and political universe where human rights law now resides:

Here are the kinds of living questions that need to be asked to make sense of today’s context for human rights:

In a world increasingly defined by transnational forces of ecology, technology, and finance, are existing forms of governance premised on sovereign nation states fit for purpose?
In a world where the law is often broken with impunity, without shame, should we seek to renew commitment to the rule of law at scale, and if so, how?
In a world where democratic processes are used to consolidate plutocratic power, what do we want government of the people, for the people, by the people to mean?
In a world of data-driven surveillance and psychographic manipulation, is it credible to think that people know their own minds and act in their own interests?
In a world of filter bubbles, disinformation campaigns and the loss of epistemic shame, is it feasible to reclaim a public realm grounded in shared intelligibility?
In a world of cascading, ecological breakdown caused by human behavior shaped by a tenacious economic model, where should we focus our attention?
In a world of zero-sum economic games (own property, extract value, aggregate profit, accrue interest) and privately owned and potentially harmful exponential technologies (e.g. contagious viruses created through synthetic biology), how might collective action mitigate catastrophic and existential risk?
In a world of planetary-scale trolley problems, where billions may watch millions die and all available options necessitate a breach of principle, how can we help eight billion people internalize the conception of human dignity?

These are daunting questions because they speak to a new political reality we don’t have the tools to make sense of or act on. Yet the human rights movement, historically often ahead of the curve, may have a role to play in changing that.

The challenge is to build unprecedented solidarity that is neither naïve nor coercive, but for that you need transformative civic education at scale—there is no shortcut, so there is no time to lose. This is a battle for rights in a different form, and we must move beyond the existing conception of human rights while still maintaining fidelity to the tradition; for instance Richard Rorty connects respect for rights to the need for sentimental education, while Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum argue that we serve rights well by thinking of them as capabilities. With that reorientation in mind, and informed by my collaboration with philosopher of education Zak Stein, I believe the questions above can be distilled into five interrelated challenges that speak to humanity’s predicament as a whole; and that also speak quite directly, in order, to surveillance capitalism, climate collapse, authoritarianism, mental health crises, and the need for a new social imaginary and political economy.Some call human rights a secular religion, and it is difficult to let go of articles of faith, but I wonder if it’s more helpful to compare the human rights regime with the fossil fuel industry. I don’t mean a moral equivalence, but a morphological one. Human rights have been an indispensable part of emancipating progress for decades, but just as fossil fuel companies will (let’s hope) have to move beyond coal, oil, and gas and become (alternative) energy companies, a movement that serves dignity, moral equality, and capability may have to transcend and include a focus on “rights.”

Intelligibility – what’s going on and how do we know?

Capability – does humanity have what it takes to do what it needs to do?

Legitimacy – who gets to say what we should be doing and why?

Meaning – what ultimately matters and how do we live accordingly?

Imagination – what does a viable future look and feel like?

I believe these are the prismatic questions of our time. While they may feel abstract, they are lodestars of enormous practical and political importance. From reflecting on them, I would say if there was a single question for the human rights movement to focus on, it might be this:

Whose responsibility is it to develop the requisite capability of our species in a way that improves prevailing intelligibility, clarifies our patterns of legitimacy, deepens our experience of meaning and enriches our imaginations, and how might we hold them to account?

The answer, if I’m not mistaken, is everyone, which is why a radical reappraisal of the political centrality of education throughout the lifespan gives me hope as a unifying purpose for humankind. In that context, human rights politics is no longer primarily about invigilating the relationship between the individual and the state but building the cultural capabilities for what Elinor Ostrom called polycentric governance. One of the most encouraging features of climate action in recent years is the emergence of horizontal globalized networks of common cause in business, churches, NGOs, cities, localities and regions. Over time, we can have myriad non-state actors as units of ratification, accountability and ambition, and cooperating as such.

Distantly inspired by a famous misquotation of Gandhi, I would say our challenge is as follows: We (global civil society) are called upon to learn (develop our cognitive and affective capabilities) how to become (grow, realize, fashion) the change (ecological sanity, wise prosperity, social solidarity) we want to see and need to be (to save the world from itself).

The world is on fire, now quite literally. I believe people have a right to survive and thrive and a responsibility to help others do so, but we need to collectively learn how to do that. A revitalized human rights movement can and should lead the way.

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"Why Human Rights?": Reflection by Eleni Christou

This post is the first installment from UChicago Law's International Human Rights Law Clinic in a series titled — The Matter of Human Rights. In this 16-part series, law students examine, question and reflect on the historical, ideological, and normative roots of the human rights system, how the system has evolved, its present challenges and future possibilities. Eleni Christou is a third year in the Law School at the University of Chicago.

Why Human Rights?

By: Eleni Christou University of Chicago Law School Class of 2019

When the term “human rights” is used, it conjures up, for some, powerful images of the righteous fight for the inalienable rights that people have just by virtue of being human. It is Martin Luther King Jr. before the Washington monument as hundreds of thousands gather and look on; it is Nelson Mandela’s long walk to freedom; or a 16-year-old Malala telling her story, so others like her may be heard. But what is beyond these archetypes? Does the system work? Can we make it work better? Is it even the right system for our times? In other words, why human rights?

Human rights are rights that every person has from the moment they are born to the moment they die. They are things that everyone is entitled to, such as life, liberty, freedom of expression, and the right to education, just by virtue of being human. People can never lose these rights on the basis of age, sex, nationality, race, or disability. Human rights offer us a principled framework, rooted in normative values meant for all nations and legal orders. In a world order in which states/governments set the rules, the human rights regime is the counterweight, one concerned with and focused on the individual. In other words, we need human rights because it provides us a way of evaluating and challenging national laws and practices as to the treatment of individuals.

The foundational human right text for our modern-day system is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December, 1948, this document lays out 30 articles which define the rights each human is entitled to. These rights are designed to protect core human values and prohibit institutions and practices that are contrary to the enjoyment of the rights. Rights often complement each other, and at times, can be combined to form new rights. For example, humans have a right to liberty, and also a right to be free from slavery, two rights which complement and reinforce each other. Other times, rights can be in tension, like when a person’s right to freedom of expression infringes upon another’s right to freedom from discrimination.

In this post, I’ll provide an example of how the human rights system has been used to do important work. The international communities’ work to develop the law and organize around human rights principles to challenge and sanction the apartheid regime in South Africa provides a valuable illustration of how the human rights system can be used successfully to alleviate state human rights violations that previously would have been written off as a domestic matter.

From 1948 to 1994, South Africa had a system of racial segregation called ‘ apartheid ,’ literally meaning ‘separateness.’ The minority white population was committing blatant human rights violations to maintain their control over the majority black population, and smaller multiethnic and South Asian communities. This system of apartheid was codified in laws at every level of the country, restricting where non-whites could live, work, and simply be. Non-whites were stripped of voting rights , evicted from their homes and forced into segregated neighborhoods, and not allowed to travel out of these neighborhoods without passes . Interracial marriage was forbidden, and transport and civil facilities were all segregated, leading to extremely inferior services for the majority of South Africans. The horrific conditions imposed on non-whites led to internal resistance movements , which the white ruling class responded to with extreme violence , leaving thousands dead or imprisoned by the government.

While certain global leaders expressed concern about the Apartheid regime in South Africa, at first, most (including the newly-formed UN) considered it a domestic affair. However, that view changed in 1960 following the Sharpeville Massacre , where 69 protesters of the travel pass requirement were murdered by South African police. In 1963, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 181 , which called for a voluntary arms embargo against South Africa, which was later made mandatory. The Security Council condemned South Africa’s apartheid regime and encouraged states not to “indirectly [provide] encouragement . . . [of] South Africa to perpetuate, by force, its policy of apartheid,” by participating in the embargo. During this time, many countries, including the United States, ended their arms trade with South Africa. Additionally, the UN urged an oil embargo, and eventually suspended South Africa from the General Assembly in 1974.

In 1973, the UN General Assembly passed the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid , and it came into force in 1976. This convention made apartheid a crime against humanity. It expanded the prohibition of apartheid and similar policies outside of the South African context, and laid the groundwork for international actions to be taken against any state that engaged in these policies. This also served to further legitimize the international response to South Africa’s apartheid regime.

As the state-sanctioned violence in South Africa intensified, and the global community came to understand the human rights violation being carried out on a massive scale, countries worked domestically to place trade sanctions on South Africa, and many divestment movements gained popular support. International sports teams refused to play in South Africa and cut ties with their sports federations, and many actors engaged in cultural boycotts. These domestic actions worked in tandem with the actions taken by the United Nations, mirroring the increasingly widespread ideology that human rights violations are a global issue that transcend national boundaries, but are an international concern of all peoples.

After years of domestic and international pressure, South African leadership released the resistance leader Nelson Mandela in 1990 and began negotiations for the dismantling of apartheid. In 1994, South Africa’s apartheid officially ended with the first general elections. With universal suffrage, Nelson Mandela was elected president.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly , newly elected Nelson Mandela recognized the role that the UN and individual countries played in the ending of apartheid, noting these interventions were a success story of the human rights system. The human rights values embodied in the UDHR, the ICSPCA, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions, provided an external normative and legal framework by which the global community could identify unlawful state action and hold South Africa accountable for its system of apartheid. The international pressure applied via the human rights system has been considered a major contributing factor to the end of apartheid. While the country has not fully recovered from the trauma that decades of the apartheid regime had left on its people, the end of the apartheid formal legal system has allowed the country to begin to heal and move towards a government that works for all people, one that has openly embraced international human rights law and principles in its constitutional and legislative framework.

This is what a human rights system can do. When state governments and legal orders fail to protect people within their control, the international system can challenge the national order and demand it uphold a basic standard of good governance. Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the human rights system has grown, tackled new challenges, developed institutions for review and enforcement, and built a significant body of law. Numerous tools have been established to help states, groups, and individuals defend and protect human rights.

So why human rights? Because the human rights system has been a powerful force for good in this world, often the only recourse for marginalized and minority populations. We, as the global community, should work to identify shortcomings in the system, and work together to improve and fix them. We should not — as the US has been doing under the current administration — selectively withdraw, defund, and disparage one of the only tools available to the world’s most vulnerable peoples. The human rights system is an arena, a language, and a source of power to many around the world fighting for a worthwhile future built on our shared human values.

Pozen center 2022-23 director's report, interracial marriage under attack: thinking the unthinkable, read: "the politics of torture" by kathleen cavanaugh, read "democracies and international law" by tom ginsburg, read "agents of change: political philosophy in practice" by ben laurence.

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Sample human rights Essay Questions

Below is a list of sample essay questions in the subject of Human Rights

Advise Tom, Dick and Harry as to their rights.
Bringing a complaint before the UN Human Rights Committee
Critically assess whether the European Unions Charter of Fundamental Rights is a necessary and desirable development.
Critically assess whether this statement is accurate in light of recent developments in English law.
Does the prevailing paradigm of equality in human rights law respond to both direct and indirect discrimination against vulnerable communities?
To what extent are courts prepared to exclude evidence obtained improperly during the course of police interviews?
What is the meaning of torture?
Essay on how people use religion to violate human rights.
A person commits an offence if he enters into or become concerned in an arrangement which facilitates the retention or control by or on behalf of another person of terrorist property.
Are human rights, since 9/11 and the "war on terror" a luxury we can no longer afford, or rights that must always remain a fundamental part of democratic politics, in order to determine the boundary between individual freedom and government tyranny?
Child soldiers in Africa.
Critically evaluate the role and impact of human rights cases and legislation on the civil justice system.
Critically examine the claim that the logic of human rights does not accommodate the concerns and aspirations of groups that have suffered historical injustices.
Explain and comment on the modern development of the law and practice concerning stop and search, particularly in relation to its impact on human rights and civil liberties.
Is torture permissible when there is a ticking bomb?
Please analyse the human rights issues raised, with reference to relevant international human rights standards.
Should prisoners have the right to vote?
To what extent does the Terrorism Act 2006 respond to criticisms that previous anti terror powers circumvented court processes thereby weakening an individuals legal protection and recourse?
What articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can the petitioners allege as the basis of their complaint?
Please provide examples of relevant jurisprudence/case law of the Human Rights Committee.
With reference to one of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, evaluate its significance for current debates about the role of religion in society.
Write a review of human report of any country.

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Human Rights: The Hard Questions

Cindy Holder and David Reidy (eds.), Human Rights: The Hard Questions , Cambridge University Press, 2013, 472pp., $34.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780521176262.

Reviewed by Mathias Risse, Harvard University

This is an anthology of 23 articles organized in seven parts that explore an eponymous set of hard questions about human rights. The titles of the different parts are "What Are Human Rights?," "How Do Human Rights Relate to Group Rights and Culture?," "What Do Human Rights Require of the Global Economy?," "How Do Human Rights Relate to Environmental Policy?," "Is There a Human Right to Democracy?," "What Are the Limits of Rights Enforcement?," and "Are Human Rights Progressive?" Cindy Holder and David Reidy have done a fine job assembling very useful discussions on many of the questions about human rights that keep philosophers, lawyers, political scientists, anthropologists and others busy.

A number of these questions have been around for quite some time, such as the question of whether human rights presuppose an account of human nature, how to think about the relationship between the alleged universality of human rights and cultural difference, and whether there is a human right to democracy. Others have come onto the agenda more recently, such as questions about the responsibility of business for human rights, the connection between climate change and human rights and questions about the localization or vernacularization of human rights. This would not be a great "first book" on human rights for an independent reader. However, many of the articles could serve as useful introductory texts in an advanced undergraduate or master's level course on human rights across disciplines but ideally with an interdisciplinary orientation. In fact, I know of no other book that would be equally useful for that purpose.

The contributors come from different disciplines (mostly the ones mentioned earlier), and one benefit of reading through the volume as a whole is that it provides a refreshing sense of how human rights issues are discussed across different fields. The reader also gets a plethora of welcome literature suggestions in the references. Most (though unfortunately not all) the authors make an effort to discuss their material in a manner that makes it accessible to those who do not share the same disciplinary background. In what follows I briefly discuss each of the seven parts of this anthology, though I will not comment on every article. Which articles I touch on is largely a reflection of my own interests in the human rights domain. One strength of this volume is that it can accommodate students and researchers with multifarious research interests.

Part I includes three essays under the heading of "What are Human Rights?" This is one of the largest topics one could raise in the domain of human rights. It is also a question that has come in for sustained debate in recent times, and that to my mind is the central debate about human rights among philosophers at the moment. The three articles do not even offer a survey of that kind of work (which is one reason why I think this is not a good "first book" on human rights), but instead choose three particular components of that guiding question. Chris Brown's excellent article "Human rights and human nature" argues that a successful theory of human rights needs to integrate an account of human nature. This standpoint has been rejected by Marxist political economists (who, leaving behind Marx's own early reflections on human "species being," insisted that the mode of production makes people who are they are) and Durkheimian sociologists (who sought to limit explanatory power to social facts alone), as well as by philosophers and anthropologist who were often eager to reject the notion of human nature on behalf of increased racial tolerance. But a notion of human rights will remain on thin ice if there is no notion of the "human" that could be used to substantiate those rights. Brown argues, quite sensibly, that at an appropriately abstract level we can indeed make sense of "human nature," and doing so at that level is enough for the purposes of constructing a theory of human rights.

Brown's essay is a terrific opening. The other two essays in this part are Neil Walker's "Universalism and particularism in human rights," and Rex Martin's "Are human rights universal?" Walker offers a very nuanced discussion of how to combine the universalist's aspirations of human rights with the particularist's insistence of the normative preeminence of local peculiarities. Martin distinguishes various meanings of the idea that human rights are universal and proposes a view of the matter that would cover the whole Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I suspect I am not alone to think that he is a bit too generous with his notion of universality, but his article in any event is a great starting point for further discussion. One regret I had was that the editors did not include a contribution that would respond to the question of "what are human rights" by arguing that they do not exist or by taking up some other non-mainstream, contrarian perspective. As human rights become more entrenched, the contrarian perspectives become more important.

Part II is devoted to the relationship of human rights and group rights. One topic covered here is moral relativism. Alison Renteln's "The significance of cultural differences for human rights" covers the standard issues about human rights and relativism quite well. What is especially interesting is how she explores several of the better known kinds of cases where human rights seem to conflict with local cultural norms in a way that provides ammunition to defenders of cultural relativism. These cases include (among others) female genital cutting, corporal punishment for children within the family, certain gendered religious practices, and different ideas about disability. Her discussion is very elementary though and, in fact, among the most elementary in this book. More sophisticated versions of relativism, such as Gilbert Harman's, which one could readily discuss in an advanced undergraduate class, make no appearance. One would have hoped that the editors would have made sure all articles would be directed at a readership of roughly the same academic level.

Peter Jones's "Groups and human rights" takes up the question of how human rights relate to rights of groups. The idea that certain groups have a right to self-determination stands in an uneasy relationship with the human rights of individuals. One place to locate a potential conflict is the Charter of the United Nations, which champions both self-determination of peoples and human rights of individuals. Assuming we can make sense of, and find moral urgency in, the idea of human rights, the right of collective self-determination comes under siege. The problem can be solved, argues Jones, if we distinguish between a "corporate" understanding of the group and a "collective" understanding. According to the corporate understanding the group is a separate entity, an "it" that could have rights. But Jones finds it hard to make sense of that understanding for the purposes of ascribing human rights, since if groups could have human rights only in such a way, they simply could not have them, and then the threat to the ideal of a collective right to self-determination would materialize. However, on the collective sense of group-identity a group would not be an "it" with rights of its own but a "we" in which the individual group members hold the right in question in conjunction with others. On such an understanding, some group rights could also be human rights, and in that case the conflict between self-determination and human rights would become more tractable. Overall, Jones makes a good case that human rights could and sometimes should also be understood in this collective way. After all, human rights might protect some aspects of individual lives that pertain to individuals in isolation, but also aspects that pertain to their collective lives with others.

The articles in this second part are completed by Ayelet Shachar's "Entangled: family, religion, and human rights" and Claudio Corradetti's "What does cultural difference require of human rights?"

Part III takes up the question of "What do human rights require of the global economy?" The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in its preamble, makes clear that it addresses all individuals and all organs of society. While this formulation was presumably deliberately encompassing, the world of 1948 was very much a world of states. The Cold War that subsequently dominated world politics also was an affair of states. Since the end of the Cold War the dominant theme of world politics is globalization, an ongoing process of increasing political, economic, legal and social interconnectedness that has substantially limited the power of nation states in many dimensions and at the same time exposed individuals to the power of many entities other than states whose power is itself not always straightforwardly regulated by states. This also means the human rights of individuals can be violated by entities that are not straightforwardly regulated by states. Both legally and in many philosophical accounts states are regarded as the sole or at least the primary duty-holders with obligations in the human rights domain. But in a globalizing world we must reflect on the human rights obligations of other entities, such as intergovernmental organizations and multinational corporations.

Both Adam McBeth's "What do human rights require of the global economy? Beyond a narrow legal view" and Tony Evans's "Universal human rights in the global political economy" address that question, McBeth approaching them as a lawyer and Evans as a political scientist. Evans's piece is mostly diagnostic, the thrust being that the human rights regime dovetailed with a world of states that is now changing. It becomes a challenge then to adjust the human rights regime to the new world that globalization is producing. McBeth offers an interpretation of the international human rights regime that makes the purpose of human rights central and argues that obligations should be allocated in accordance with those purposes. He believes that at the level of principle this point is widely accepted, as is the implication that this would assign human rights obligations also to intergovernmental organizations and multinational corporations. But as far as the operationalization of these ideas is concerned, we are just at the beginning. An interesting case study here is the recent work of the UN Special Representative for the domain of business and human rights. That Special Representative's work ended with the submission of a number of guiding principles that were widely endorsed from within the UN system. Now it remains to be seen how these principles will be implemented.

The remaining contribution in this part is Ann Cudd's "Human rights and global equal opportunity: inclusion not provision." Cudd takes up the longstanding question of whether equality of opportunity should be considered an ideal at the global level, and whether a commitment to human rights would entail a commitment to a global ideal of equality of opportunity. She responds with a very qualified affirmative answer. Equality of opportunity does indeed constitute a global ideal, but as such it centrally involves inclusion (in educational systems and labor markets, for instance) rather than the provision of a range of opportunities across the board.

Part IV takes up the question of "How do human rights relate to environmental policy?" Stephen Gardiner's excellent essay "Human rights in a hostile climate" deals with the role that human rights discourse can play in formulating philosophical accounts of and reactions to climate change. In one way of thinking about his essay the target is Simon Caney's argument that human-engineered climate change is a (massive) human rights violation and needs to be terminated on that account. Personally I have always thought that this argument is somehow a mismatch. Of course, climate change is also a human rights violation, but that characterization seems to fall short of capturing the true magnitude of the problem. Gardiner concurs, and he teases out in very plausible ways just how that characterization falls short.

One issue is that human rights violations are normally concerned with the complaints of individuals against their governments. But as Gardiner has demonstrated in his book A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change, climate change is a global and intergenerational problem where the latter dimension is particularly striking. Of course, there is a way of thinking of the scope of human rights talk as broad enough so that human rights of future generations are also affected. But the very effort of integrating climate change issues into human rights talk also opens it up to the kind of moral corruption Gardiner notes in many applications of moral discourse to climate change. Using a particular kind of moral approach opens up opportunities of favoring the concerns of some constituents over those of others. In light of the intergenerational nature of this particular problem the danger is that the concerns of contemporaries will be overemphasized because of the necessary absence of representatives of future generations. Human rights talk in particular would be susceptible to that kind of corruption. There are other issues as well, but the upshot is that turning to human rights when it comes to climate change might generate more questions than it solves because it does not make the intergenerational component of the problem central.

Gail Karlsson's essay "A human rights approach to energy, poverty and gender inequality" is concerned with the exploration of the interconnection between the three topics listed in the title. The key message is that the human rights of women must be strengthened to make sure women can have their fair share of the world's energy supply and so that their disproportionate share among the poor decreases. Kristin Shrader-Frechette's essay "Pollution wolves in scientific sheep's clothing: why environmental-risk assessors and policy-makers ignore the 'hard issues' of the human rights of pollution victims" reflects on human rights issues that arise from the strong presence of pollutants in the environment.

Part V explores the question "Is there a human right to democracy?" Hilary Charlesworth's essay "Is there a human right to democracy?" explores the eponymous question from the standpoint of international law, whereas Carol Gould's "The human right to democracy and its global import" and Thomas Christiano's "An egalitarian argument for a human right to democracy" approach the issue from a philosophical standpoint. Charlesworth argues that international law has endorsed an essential institutional account of democracy that is limited to participation in an electoral competition. International law does not include any substantive commitments to equality. International instruments do present human rights and democracy as closely related, but there is much wariness about the idea of a right to democracy. Charlesworth thinks this is all for the better since if there were a human right to democracy in international law, it would likely be reduced to a checklist of institutional measures. But having such a checklist in place would do little to help with the real work needed to bring about any genuine form of democracy. What is needed to that effect is an encouragement of debate, discussion and experimentation among citizens.

Gould and Christiano both champion a human right to democracy. Gould seems to think such a right pretty much follows from the fact that human beings are constantly and necessarily engaged in collective agency, and that within their joint projects any kind of domination ought to be avoided. Christiano's argument points out that international politics is a process of negotiated agreements among countries. The leadership of non-democratic regimes has a disproportionate and by definition not democratically validated impact on world politics. Citizens of democratic countries would become complicit with this unjustified state of affairs if they just accepted this status quo. For these reasons arguments for democracy cannot be made one state at a time. Christiano insists that once we are committed to democracy in our own country we must also be committed to it in all the other countries that are linked to us through the negotiated agreements that are at the core of the global order.

The discussion about whether there is a human right to democracy has become rather sophisticated, as captured especially by Christiano's essay. I will here only make one comment on this discussion. If indeed the case for a human right to democracy succeeds, this could show merely that in ideal theory there is such a right. But this would be the kind of ideal-theory case that has basically no bearing on the non-ideal world in which we find ourselves at this stage in history. This also means that a human right to democracy will have little bearing on actual political debate. For instance, it would not be helpful to appeal to it under many of the typical circumstances that prevent the emergence of democracy. In particular, if there are substantial concerns that the racial or ethnic constellation in a country would, under the political conditions that one could reasonably expect to obtain, lead to a kind of excessively populist politics that might generate or exacerbate violent conflict, the sheer fact that there is a human right to democracy should not be decisive for anything. Here I believe the main point made by Charlesworth bears repeating: democracy needs to grow from within, by debate, discussion and experimentation among the citizens.

Part VI has the heading of "What Are the Limits of Rights Enforcement?" Julie Mertus's essay "Is it ever reasonable for one state to invade another for humanitarian reasons? The 'declaratory tradition' and the UN Charter" answers affirmatively the question in the first half of the title. Parts of her article are devoted to surveying the current debate about humanitarian intervention. At the same time, this article is also embedded in a discussion of what she calls the "declaratory tradition" of international law (also mentioned in the title). Unfortunately, even after going over Mertus's essay a few times I have not obtained enough of a grasp of this tradition to report on its contents here. This is one of the articles in this volume that are not trying sufficiently hard to reach an audience that is not yet familiar with the subject area. The same is unfortunately true of another article in this part of the book, Marysia Zalewski's "Searching for the hard questions about women's human rights." For one thing, it never becomes clear why the topic of women's rights as human rights would be put under the heading of rights enforcement. But what is more, the contents of this article have remained mysterious to me. Also, any hope for support from the the editors' executive summary did not materialize. Frankly, I wonder whether the editors themselves had a decent grasp of what this article was trying to do. Consequently, I find myself unable to say anything other than that it would have been splendid if the author and the editors had tried harder to make it intelligible to the interested reader.

Larry May's article "Conflicting responsibilities to protect human rights" is the highlight of this part of the book. May points out that as we make decisions on humanitarian interventions we must also consider that the actual intervening will have to be done by soldiers. The human rights of these soldiers must matter for any decision to intervene. In fact, since any given state has a somewhat more demanding responsibility to look after the protection of the human rights of its own citizens than of the human rights of people in states that might become targets for humanitarian intervention, the human rights of intervening soldiers should matter quite substantially in the deliberation about justified interventions. States may find themselves with genuinely conflicting obligations as they try to determine whether to get involved in a humanitarian intervention. May offers us a careful assessment of the considerations that matter in such a context.

Finally, part VII addresses the question "Are human rights progressive?" Allen Buchanan's "Moral progress and human rights" answers the question affirmatively, expressing a fair amount of genuine enthusiasm for the kind of moral progress human rights have made possible. Buchanan's main criterion for moral progress is formulated in terms of the increasing expansion of the scope of those who justifiably are in the domain of moral consideration. The human rights movement, Buchanan argues, has done very much on this score. One important example he offers is the rights of the handicapped, which received a substantial boost through the increasing recognition of human rights. The human rights movement has also triggered a rethinking of the distinction between duties of justice and duties of charity. Human rights render more things obligatory as a matter of justice than this traditional distinction had conceived. The presence of international institutions makes it possible to come up with a plausible scheme of assigning the corresponding obligations.

Mark Goodale's article "Human rights and moral agency" approaches the question of moral progress from a rather different angle. He admits to finding it rather hard to think about that question, and his main point is that the idea of progressiveness is already tautologically included in the idea of human rights so that the question does not seem to make much sense. To me this is a rather misguided starting point since I fail to see how the idea of moral progress could possibly be so included in the idea of human rights. As Buchanan's article shows, there remains room for formulating a reasonably independent understanding of what moral progress amounts to with regard to which it becomes a genuine question whether human rights contribute to it. Goodale then moves to explore a question that makes more sense to him and with which he basically replaces the question about progress, namely, how the idea of human rights has transformed agency on the ground around the world. This takes us to the rather intriguing literature on human rights locations or vernacularization that has been produced by some anthropologists in recent years, most notably Sally Engle Merry and Goodale himself. That line of inquiry is concerned with how the idea of human rights has transformed local political agency in different parts of the world, agency that traditionally had often not been concerned with human rights. That line of work is tremendously important, and Goodale offers an insightful treatment of that topic.

Laura Parisi's article "Gender mainstreaming human rights: a progressive path for gender equality?" completes this part and thereby the volume. I am afraid I have to say that this article too is among those that do not try very hard to reach an audience that is not normally accustomed to reading about its topic.

Let me conclude by reiterating that I think this volume is a highly useful addition to the literature on human rights. I have learned much from reading (most of) these articles, and I can see myself using some of them in my classes. I am confident that other readers will benefit in the same manner.

Human Rights Essay Topics You Won’t Find Anywhere Else

We do things that were not available for most people for centuries. We can love and marry whoever we want. Both men and women can become engineers, teachers, fashion designers, or pilots. Western civilization forgot the word “slavery” a long time ago.

But is this freedom available everywhere? Is a violation of human rights a relic that has disappeared once and for all? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

We offer you this collection of human rights topics for essays. We consider these themes to be essential for modern society. Learn more about the human rights issue with EssayShark essay writing service !

Argumentative human rights topics for essays

Can the state violate basic human rights during wartime in the interest of the country?
Does the cutting of the genitals of male infants violate human rights?
Should men and women have different rights? In what cases?
Can the same human rights standards be achieved internationally?
Should human rights depend on specific traditions?
Is capital punishment a violation of human rights?
Should the right for free education be available for all?
Can the right for privacy be guaranteed by social media networking services?
Do restrictions on immigration in the USA violate human rights?
Should the interests of the state take priority over the rights of individuals?
Is democracy the best political system when it comes to protecting basic human rights?
Should developed countries be responsible for human rights promotion around the world?
Should pet ownership be a basic human right?
Is global trade good for our labor rights?
Should human rights differ from country to country or should they be universal?
The concept of childhood for people can differ from culture to culture. Should the concept of child labor also vary?
Do you approve of a state that steadily raises the standards of living but constantly restricts the political rights of the citizens?
Which political regime ensures basic human rights the best possible way?
Does military action as a way to protect human rights make sense? Why or why not?
Does life imprisonment violate human rights?
Do you agree with the statement that human rights have to be 100% universal?
Can tortures ever be justified?
What are inappropriate ways to fight for human rights?
Can human rights be restricted for the sake of the whole planet?
Does the development of a country depend on the protection of human rights?
Can the protection of human rights justify the intervening of one state on the territory of other states?
Does the capitalistic system defend or violate human rights?
Should the promotion of human rights be a top priority for modern society?
Do cameras in public places violate human rights?
Are non-governmental organizations powerful enough to protect human rights on a global scale?
Should prisoners retain their right to vote?
Are universal human rights attainable in the modern world?
Should trade with countries that massively violate human rights be prohibited in the USA?
Can human rights be violated in the interest of national security?
What are the most important amendments to the Constitution from a human rights perspective?

Analytical human rights essay topics

Which human rights at the workplace are most frequently violated? Why?
Analyze the organizational structure of the European Commission of Human Rights.
Analyze the connection between human rights and ecological problems.
Analyze the structure of the European Court of Human Rights. Is it effective?
Analyze the basic principles and purpose of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Analyze the violation of human rights in the porn industry.
How can the state be fined by the international community when it violates human rights?
How can a violation of human rights by police be stopped?
The violation of children’s rights in Taiwan.
How are human rights violated in Belarus?

Compare and contrast human rights topics for essays

Compare and contrast human rights and the rights of pets.
Compare and contrast the civil rights and human rights movements.
Compare and contrast “Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen” (1789) and the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (1948).
Compare and contrast two criminal justice models: the freedom model and the human rights model.
Compare and contrast the “Equality Act” (2010) and the “Human Rights Act” (1998).
Compare and contrast serfdom and slavery. How do these phenomena violate human rights?
Compare and contrast the Islamic view on human rights with “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Compare and contrast the violation of human rights in the novels “1984” by George Orwell and “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley.
Define the terms “segregation” and “apartheid.” What do they have in common?
Compare and contrast women’s rights in the first and in the second halves of the 20th century in the USA.

Cause and effect human rights essay topics

How does cultural relativism influence the issue of human rights?
How do business contracts with countries where human rights are widely violated influence a company’s reputation? How does a company avoid this?
How does the legalization of same-sex marriage in European countries influence the global issue of human rights?
How does international human rights law affect US policy?
How does the play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen develop the topic of human rights?
Has freedom of creative expression always been one of human rights?
Define the term “responsibility to protect.” How is it related to the problem of human rights?
How can the international community react to the existence of sweatshops in Asian countries?
What negative effect does the war against terrorism have in relation to human rights?
What human rights are widely violated in modern China? How does this influence the international image of the country?

Human rights essay topics: history

Which population groups had the right to vote in ancient Greek poleis and which had not?
Which human rights were inaccessible for women in the first half of the 20th century?
Does the concept of “human rights” have Western origins?
What was the main purpose of “The Human Rights Act” in 1993 in New Zealand?
What factors defined human rights in Medieval Europe?
What human rights were fought for during the French Revolution?
In 1948, what human rights were declared to be universal?
Analyze the violation of basic human rights in Crimea in 2014.
What historical event in the 20th century has changed the way Western civilization looks at human rights?
What impact did World War II have on the issue of human rights?
What are the origins of human rights?
What role did Eleanor Roosevelt play in the campaign for the protection of human rights?
When did the presumption of innocence become one of the main policies in the American justice system?
How are human rights represented in the philosophy of Enlightenment?
Analyze human rights violations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Original human rights topics for essays

How is the issue of human rights developed in the movie “Hidden Figures”?
Define the term “ombudsman.” What role does it play in the issue of human rights?
Define the term “environmental racism.”
Why don’t other countries intervene while the government in North Korea violates human rights massively?
Why does human trafficking still exist?
How can an individual take part in a campaign for the protection of human rights?
How does utilitarianism contravene the concept of human rights?
Why are LGBT relationships and marriages not allowed in some countries even though it’s a basic human right?
How do human rights institutions help to protect human rights in African countries?
How does the Bible violate basic human rights?

We’re sure that 90 human rights essay topics are enough even for the pickiest student. Have you found one for yourself? If yes, we want to give you one more helpful hint.

A good essay should have a clear and appropriate thesis statement. Meanwhile, let us give you some examples of thesis statements that will inspire you for your writing.

3 thesis statement examples for human rights essays

Topic: “Why are LGBT relationships and marriages not allowed in some countries though it’s a basic human right?” Thesis statement: “LGBT relationships and marriages are considered illegal in a range of countries because of religious norms, traditions, and a general bias against LGBT communities in society.”

Topic: “Should prisoners retain their right to vote?” Thesis statement: “Prisoners do not have the right to vote as they have violated the basic human rights of other citizens and, therefore, are no longer full-fledged members of society.”

Topic: “Does military action as a way to protect human rights make sense? Why or why not?” Thesis statement: “Military action cannot be considered as a reasonable or appropriate way to protect human rights, as any form of military aggression violates basic human rights such as the right to life and safety.”

If you still don’t feel inspired enough for writing your essay, we have one more solution. You can apply to the EssayShark writers at any time and ask for academic essay help . Our samples will help you to complete your homework quicker and easier. Click the order button and see for yourself!

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Jacques Maritain’s Essay Points a Path to True Freedom

COMMENTARY: As someone who was influential in drafting the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, how does the Catholic convert deal with ensuring certain inalienable rights, including liberty?

The scholarly works of Jacques Maritain, a prominent mid-20th-century Catholic philosopher, are beyond the comprehension of most casual readers. Fortunately, his essays on education are quite approachable.

Written after World War II, the essays in The Education of Man offer insight into the strong and ever-relevant quest for freedom.

For Maritain, freedom starts with the individual person. Unlike others who perceive human behavior as determined either by circumstances or exclusively by rational self-interest, he believed in free will. He does not ignore the vast and complex dynamism of instincts, tendencies, psycho-physical dispositions, acquired habits and hereditary traits.

Nevertheless, he proposed that a person can emerge from these circumstances such that a degree of choice is exercised. As such, a person can learn to give or withhold the inclinations and urges of his or her nature.

When speaking of human beings, Maritain does not refer to individuals, like blades of grass or flies, but rather as those who have a supernatural existence capable of knowledge and love. In other words, a person, made in the image of God, is a microcosm of the universe. Such a person cannot transcend external and internal constraints but retains a degree of spontaneity free of the compulsion imposed by an exterior agent. We become agents of our own personalities.

To simplify, Maritain characterizes a person as a bundle of animal spirits and self-regarding interests, along with a longing for freedom and the Divine. He admits that human personality is a great mystery, but one that develops through judgment and behavior. Success in achieving personal aspirations, however, is a constant struggle, because we cannot escape from being united substantially with matter and human limitations.

Certain aspirations are part of human nature and others to the supernatural. Human persons, Maritain maintains, aspire to escape from the dependency in which they are born in order to survive and thrive materially and socially. However, in aspiring to transcend human vulnerability, they can become trapped in a false quest for freedom which is illusory and homicidal.

Consider two ways in which the concept of freedom is perverted. In denying free will, some suggest that everyone should be “free” to do that which is determined by nature and circumstances. Also, certain atheists and those who deny the existence of a personal God propose that everyone be “free” to reject measures of goodness received from anyone other than themselves.

On the contrary, according to Maritain, human beings are born with an innate quest for genuine freedom that must be earned:

“…he becomes free, by warring upon himself and thanks to many sorrows; by the struggle of the spirit and virtue; by exercising his freedom he wins his freedom. So that at long last a freedom better than he expected is given him.”

The type of freedom, about which Maritain writes, is gained through the development of personality. As one conquers depersonalizing behaviors such as harmful addictions, he or she becomes freer in making judgments consistent with his or her higher aspirations.

Maritain does not limit the quest for autonomy to the personal. As someone who was influential in drafting the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, how does he deal with ensuring certain inalienable rights, including liberty?

He saw the role of the state and the development of democracies as inseparable from the human impulse for freedom but proceeding as well from biblical inspiration. He believed that democratic aspirations were formed in peoples’ hearts through history and realized often at the price of heroic sacrifice. Maritain warns, however, that democratic freedom and human rights can be easily corrupted and deformed by a false philosophy of life.

What characterizes this false philosophy of life? Essentially, it perceives the person as somewhat divine, either as an individual, a government leader or a “bourgeois liberal” (a technical or business expert).

According to Maritain, this false philosophy proposes a practical atheism in which God is no longer God “except perhaps in a decorative way and for private use.” What is lost is a theoretical and practical understanding of the common good followed by the belief that any external authority is incompatible with freedom.

Attempts to divinize the personal, social and political realms, Maritain argues, paves the path to totalitarianism. In totalitarian regimes, people are reduced to an anonymous mass led by “a sort of inhuman monster whose omnipotence is based upon myths and lies.” In the normal way of arriving at freedom, however, people:

… must gradually win a freedom which consists, in the political and social order, above all in becoming, under given historical conditions, as independent as possible of the restrictions of material nature.

In this statement, Maritain suggests that progress is possible in the material, social and political realms and that such advances increase freedom. Government failure exists when officials cease striving for the common good.

In these essays, it is not clear if Maritain identifies the common good exclusively in terms of indivisible public goods, a pluralistic consensus, or some higher purpose. However, it is difficult to accept Maritain’s implication that the market economy, or what he refers to as “bourgeois liberalism,” provides only private goods. Surely, improvements in overall standards of living and increased trust, developed either by corporations or in the worker co-ops favored by Maritain, increase freedom from the restrictions of human nature.

Nevertheless, Maritain does emphasize the importance of all organic communities, regardless of structure, beginning with the family. He maintains that the soul of social life abounds from the life of individual persons and their gratuitous generosity. However, this fraternity is not a privilege of human nature. It comes at the end of a slow and difficult conquest.

Maritain offers an eloquent statement on the quest for liberty, and he clearly outlines the costs of freedom in no uncertain terms. From Maritain, we learn that personal freedom is unattainable unless we overcome harmful behaviors and accept the truth about ourselves and others.

He also suggests that the right to freely associate breaks down with unnecessary restrictions on private organizations responding to ever-changing human desires and needs. Finally, the pursuit of freedom requires that the state not be permitted to support special interests that crowd out common interests and religious aspirations.

Maryann O. Keating holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame and is a member of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation. She frequently co-authors with her husband, Barry P. Keating, with whom she shares three adult children.

jacques maritain
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Understanding Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Modern Legal Context

This essay about the concept of cruel and unusual punishment explores its significance in justice and human rights. It highlights the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, emphasizing that punishments must be proportionate to the crime and avoid excessive harshness and suffering. The essay discusses the evolving interpretations of this principle in judicial decisions and societal norms, and the influence of international human rights standards in preventing inhumane state punishments. It underscores the commitment to justice, equity, and human dignity across different legal systems.

How it works

Cruel and unusual punishment declares, that a foundational concept deeply built to the ideal of justice and human rights within the limits of legal frames globally. Then marks punishments, what is considered superfluously strict or barbarian in relation to nature of crime. Constitutions and systems of justice through people often keep this principle to the individuals of guarantee from incommensurable or inhumane state approvals.

For example, Eighth Amendment of Constitution of the states united obviously hides taxation of cruel and unusual punishments.

But more wide social consent of mirrors of amendment, that punishments must avoid too late strictness, unnecessary suffering, and degradation of human dignity. Through some time, interpretations of what is appointed by cruel and unusual punishment evolved through judicial managements and social moving.

Critical aspect in determination of such punishment is a proportion idea, that punishments must answer the gravitation of offense without shock of social conscience. For example, applying capital punishment, because insignificant violations today probably would be such, what is considered cruel and unusual, excelling, what is justified by a sin.

In addition, developing standards to respectability within the limits of society influence on these determinations. Practices accept once, presumably, now examined how cruel and unusual from development of norms and value. Courts often give other translation of additions of punishment in the light of modern standards. Additionally, an attentive review reaches after terms under that punishments take place, by the way treatment within the limits of correctional resources. Practices like overfilled, inadequate access of curative business, whether prolonged solitary confinement, presumably, examined by cruel and unusual depending on a context.

International, human norms of rights for example those in Universal Declaration of Human and International Agreeing Rights to Civil and Political Laws universally forbid tortures and cruel, superhuman, whether worsening treatment. These structures underline a global consent to the guard of human dignity and limitation of excessive state punishments.

In a sum, while interpretations of cruel and unusual punishment, presumably, change among the systems of justice, principle supports universally, that o?wiadczy?-obci??one of punishment must not vainly harm, to get worse, whether to be incommensurable to offense. Then principle of underscores obligation is before a justice, equity, and by human rights through societies. As norms evolve and interpretations adjust, a concept guarantees, that a justice evens with the movement of standards of respectability and human dignity.

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What Are Human Rights? Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

One of the most peculiar aspects of a post-industrial living is that, as of today, just about every socially prominent politician in the West considers itself an ‘expert on human rights’ and refers the concept of human rights, as such that represents an objective truth-value.

Partially, this can be explained by the fact that the classical definitions of human rights suggest the concept’s perceptual and implicational universality, which in turn implies that one’s endowment with a particular ‘human right’ should not be substantiated rationally, but rather ‘felt’ emotionally.

As Cranston (1973, p. 36) pointed out, “A human right by definition is a universal moral right… something of which no one may be deprived without a grave affront to justice, something which is owing to every human being simply because he is human”.

In fact, the belief that all humans are equally entitled to certain rights, within the society, served as a discursive foundation for the introduction of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the U.N., according to which, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood” (UDHR 1948, Article 1).

Nevertheless, even though that nowadays the concept of ‘human rights’ is being commonly discussed, as such that applies to all people, regardless of what happened to be the specifics of their ethno-cultural affiliation and their varying ability to act as the agents of progress, this is far from being the actual case.

After all, it is not only that throughout the course of history, the concept of human rights has been referred to, as such that applies to only certain groups of individuals, but that the objective socio-political realities create dialectical prerequisites for this concept to be used by Western countries to justify their continual geopolitical domination in the world.

This is exactly the reason why, as of today, we usually get to hear of people’s ‘human rights’ being abused, within the context of how Western countries (particularly the U.S.) go about rationalizing their decisions to resort to a military intervention, as the mean of ‘defending democracy’ in the de facto sovereign states.

Therefore, there is nothing too surprising about the fact that, even though that the universality of people’s ‘human rights’ has been officially declared by the international community members, as far back as in 1948, there is very little uniformity to how this concept is being applied in practice.

The reason for this is apparent – whereas, there is indeed a good rationale in thinking that the idea of ‘human rights’ does appeal to people on an unconscious level, not all of these people can be regarded humans, in the societal sense of this word. Let us explore the validity of this statement at length.

When it comes to elaborating on what should be considered a discursively legitimate definition of ‘human rights’, it is important to understand that the concept in question cannot be referred to in terms of a ‘thing in itself’.

That is, at first people evolved to the point of being able to recognize their basic humanity, and only then they realized themselves being in a position to coin the term ‘human rights’.

What does make one human? It is the same that allowed the representatives of Homo Sapiens species to attain an undisputed dominance in their environmental niche, which now accounts for the whole planet Earth – their ability to operate with highly abstract subject matters (intellect).

Being endowed with intellect, people are able to act as the agents of civilization/progress, which in turn allows them to create societies and to ensure these societies’ effective functioning. Thus, in order for just about anyone to be considered eligible of taking a practical advantage of ‘human rights, he or she must be able to prove its humanness socially.

In its turn, this would require the concerned individual to attest his or her endowment with, “1. Capacity to reason; 2. capacity to act for normative reasons, including moral reasons; 3. capacity to act autonomously; 4. capacity to engage in complex social relationships” (Bernat 2008, p. 8).

In other words, it is specifically the individuals capable of pushing forward a socio-cultural progress, which may be considered human, in the full sense of this word.

Hence, the first discursive provision to how I think the concept of ‘human rights’ should be defined – the notion of a ‘right’ derives out of the notion of a ‘power’, rather out of the notion of a ‘morality/ethics’. This is why it is wrong to believe that one can simply be assigned with certain rights, without qualifying to possess these rights, in the first place.

Rights are not given but taken (Pagden 2003). This is the reason why it is methodologically fallacious to assume that animals or unborn human fetuses can have ‘rights’ – it is not only the above-mentioned may have no understanding, as to what the concept of a ‘right’ stands for, but they would never be able to defend any of their hypothetical ‘rights’, even in theory.

The second provision is that the notion of a ‘right’ must be discussed in conjunction with the notion of an intellectual advancement. After all, it is specifically people’s ability to indulge in abstract philosophizing, which allowed them to coin up the term ‘humanity’, in the first place.

This once again suggests that it is conceptually inappropriate advocating the universality of human rights, without taking into consideration the qualitative psychological characteristics of those individuals, to which the concept of ‘human rights’ supposedly applies.

The third provision is that, contrary to what nowadays is being commonly assumed, the earlier mentioned concept (in its contemporary sounding) did not come about because of the humanity’s ways having been turned thoroughly ethical/moral.

Rather, it emerged because the concept’s advocates, which overwhelmingly consist of Westerners (Whites), came to realize that, on order for them to be able to continue exploiting the world’s natural and human resources, they need to have a legally legitimate excuse to meddle in the internal affairs of non-Western countries.

In other words, the objective laws of history naturally predetermined the concept of ‘human rights’ to serve realist rather than constructivist purposes.

What has been said earlier allows us to formulate a discursively sound definition of human rights. Human rights are the legally enforced civil liberties, to which the members of most evolutionary advanced societies happened to be entitled by the very fact that, due to their socio-economic and technological advancement, they can enjoy the luxury of not having to participate in the tribal ‘war of everybody against everybody’, as the mean of ensuring their physical survival.

This definition, of course, implies that there is indeed a good reason in limiting the ‘universality’ of humans rights to encompass only those, which due to the genetically predetermined specifics of their ‘mental wiring’, are able to comprehend the concept, in general, and its discursive implications, in particular.

Qualifying people for the entitlement to human rights will not represent much of a challenge. Since one’s ability to function as the society’s productive member (and consequently, the extent of his or her ‘humanness’) reflects the concerned person’s rate of IQ, it will be logical to assume that it is only the individuals with the IQ rate higher than 70, to which the concept of ‘human rights’ applies.

Given the fact that, as sociologists are being well aware of, in some world’s countries the average rate of citizens’ IQ is measured to be as low as 50 (Lynn & Vanhanen 2002), people that reside in these countries cannot be considered the de facto part of humanity. Consequently, the concept of ‘human rights’ cannot apply to these people, by definition.

Even though that the earlier suggestion may be deemed ‘racist’, it nevertheless correlates perfectly well with the actual state of affairs in the arena of international politics.

For example, during the course of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which resulted in the deaths of at least one million people, Western countries adopted a ‘neutral’ stance – the violation of Rwandans’ ‘human rights’ did not concern these countries at all. Had Rwanda been rich in natural resources, this would have been an entirely different matter (Kimpimaki 2011).

Thus, it would only be appropriate to conclude this paper by reinstating once again that the presumed ‘universality’ of human rights is nothing but a myth, just as it is being the case with the theoretical paradigm, out of which this myth originated – the assumption of people’s universal equality. This is the reason why, if not adjusted to the earlier mentioned provisions, the concept of ‘human rights’ will continue to emanate a strong spirit of hypocrisy.

Bernat, E 2008, ‘Which Beings Should Be Entitled to Human Rights?’, Medical Law International , vol. 9 no. 1, pp. 1-12.

Cranston, M 1973, What are human rights? , Bodley Head, London.

Kimpimaki, M 2011, ‘Genocide in Rwanda – is it really Finland’s concern?’, International Criminal Law Review , vol. 11 no. 1, pp. 155-176.

Lynn, R & Vanhanen, T 2002, IQ and the wealth of nations . Westport, Greenwood Publishing Group.

Pagden, A 2003, ‘Human rights, natural rights, and Europe’s imperial legacy’, Political Theory , vol. 31 no. 2, pp. 171-199.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Web.

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10 Human Rights Topic Ideas For You To Explore

Are you interested in knowing more about a human rights topic? Maybe you’re in school and need an idea for a project. People hoping to work (or currently working) in the human rights field also need to know about emerging trends. Even if your career isn’t in human rights, these topics are still relevant. Whether you want to volunteer with an organization, raise awareness about an issue, or simply know more about what’s going on, understanding the state of human rights is important. It’s the first step to defending rights and making the world a better place for everyone. Here are ten human rights topic ideas to explore:

#1. Gender inequality

Gender inequality is an evergreen human rights topic. Because it has such a long history, we have a good idea of what works and what still needs to be done. Issues like the gender pay gap, the distribution of unpaid labor, gender-based violence , gendered job segregation, and women’s empowerment play into the state of inequality. Due to the pandemic, gender parity was set back by about a generation, so how to best respond is also a good topic to explore.

#2. Climate change

The climate crisis is arguably the most globally urgent human rights topic today. Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change consistently confirm that human activity drives climate change. It affects rights like health, housing, food, water, education, and more. It disproportionately affects women, children, older people, minorities, migrants, rural workers, and other vulnerable groups.

#3. Children’s rights

Children often have their human rights violated. This is especially common during times of war, poverty, and other conflicts. The climate crisis represents one of the biggest threats. According to UNICEF , around one billion children are at “extremely high risk.” Kids need adults and organizations committed to speaking up for them and empowering their voices.

#4. The rights of migrants and refugees

More than 280 million people (about 3.6% of the global population) live outside their country of origin, according to the United Nations. Many of those migrants were forced to leave. The reasons vary significantly, but the human rights of migrants and refugees are often threatened. A report by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Mixed Migration Centre at the Danish Refugee Council gives us an example. The report detailed how people crossing routes between East and West Africa and Africa’s Mediterranean coast face human rights abuses from smugglers, human traffickers, and State authorities.

#5. Weakening democracy

Freedom in the World 2021 , a report from Freedom House, found that authoritarian actors are becoming more brazen. 73 countries saw their freedom scores decline, including authoritarian states like Belarus and democracies like the United States and India. Considering that 2020 represented the 15th consecutive year of a decline in global freedom, weakening democracy is a disturbing human rights trend.

#6. Reproductive rights in Poland

Reproductive rights are important everywhere, but things are becoming dire in Poland. The country has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe thanks to the Law and Justice Party, which came to power in 2015. As things stand, nearly all abortions are effectively banned. This had led to protests like the massive 2020-2021 Women Strike. Groups supporting women’s rights have received bomb and death threats while individual activists are facing what many see as politically-motivated criminal charges. Anyone invested in reproductive rights should watch what’s happening in Poland.

#7. Disability rights

Due to barriers and discrimination, disabilities make it difficult or impossible for people to participate in the workplace, schools, cultural activities, travel, and so on. As an example, the United States’ confusing Social Security rules can lead to reductions or even a complete loss of benefits for disabled people when they marry. Health insurance can vanish, too. Stigma and ignorance make the world an unjust place, too.

#8. Surveillance technology

Concerns about surveillance are growing in the wake of Covid-19 tracking and monitoring technology. Ethical issues already existed in the use of crime prevention technologies, but the pandemic gave governments a reason to use the tech for another purpose. Employee monitoring, QR codes, facial recognition, drones, data collection, and more can easily start threatening human rights. Surveillance technology everyone. It’s a human rights topic that deserves attention.

#9. Transgender rights

Human rights for trans people were never protected that well, but there’s been a global rollback in recent years. 96 countries allow trans people to legally change their gender, but 71 have what ILGA World (a worldwide federation of organizations campaigning for LGBTQ+ rights) calls prohibitive requirements. There’s also been a weakening of discrimination laws, making the world a more dangerous place for trans people.

#10. Disinformation and misinformation

Propaganda and conspiracy theories have always existed, but technology facilitates the lightning-speed spread of false information. Disinformation is deliberate, but accidentally sharing false information – misinformation – can be just as harmful. False information is a human right issue because it threatens rights like the right to free and fair elections, the right to health, and the right to freedom from discrimination. The global surge of false information regarding Covid-19 is a clear example of the real-world effects. Conspiracy theories about the virus’ origins and false claims about cures and vaccines have led to violence and death .

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

Human Subjects Office

Medical terms in lay language.

Please use these descriptions in place of medical jargon in consent documents, recruitment materials and other study documents. Note: These terms are not the only acceptable plain language alternatives for these vocabulary words.

This glossary of terms is derived from a list copyrighted by the University of Kentucky, Office of Research Integrity (1990).

For clinical research-specific definitions, see also the Clinical Research Glossary developed by the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials (MRCT) Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard and the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC) .

Alternative Lay Language for Medical Terms for use in Informed Consent Documents

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ABDOMEN/ABDOMINAL body cavity below diaphragm that contains stomach, intestines, liver and other organs ABSORB take up fluids, take in ACIDOSIS condition when blood contains more acid than normal ACUITY clearness, keenness, esp. of vision and airways ACUTE new, recent, sudden, urgent ADENOPATHY swollen lymph nodes (glands) ADJUVANT helpful, assisting, aiding, supportive ADJUVANT TREATMENT added treatment (usually to a standard treatment) ANTIBIOTIC drug that kills bacteria and other germs ANTIMICROBIAL drug that kills bacteria and other germs ANTIRETROVIRAL drug that works against the growth of certain viruses ADVERSE EFFECT side effect, bad reaction, unwanted response ALLERGIC REACTION rash, hives, swelling, trouble breathing AMBULATE/AMBULATION/AMBULATORY walk, able to walk ANAPHYLAXIS serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction ANEMIA decreased red blood cells; low red cell blood count ANESTHETIC a drug or agent used to decrease the feeling of pain, or eliminate the feeling of pain by putting you to sleep ANGINA pain resulting from not enough blood flowing to the heart ANGINA PECTORIS pain resulting from not enough blood flowing to the heart ANOREXIA disorder in which person will not eat; lack of appetite ANTECUBITAL related to the inner side of the forearm ANTIBODY protein made in the body in response to foreign substance ANTICONVULSANT drug used to prevent seizures ANTILIPEMIC a drug that lowers fat levels in the blood ANTITUSSIVE a drug used to relieve coughing ARRHYTHMIA abnormal heartbeat; any change from the normal heartbeat ASPIRATION fluid entering the lungs, such as after vomiting ASSAY lab test ASSESS to learn about, measure, evaluate, look at ASTHMA lung disease associated with tightening of air passages, making breathing difficult ASYMPTOMATIC without symptoms AXILLA armpit

BENIGN not malignant, without serious consequences BID twice a day BINDING/BOUND carried by, to make stick together, transported BIOAVAILABILITY the extent to which a drug or other substance becomes available to the body BLOOD PROFILE series of blood tests BOLUS a large amount given all at once BONE MASS the amount of calcium and other minerals in a given amount of bone BRADYARRHYTHMIAS slow, irregular heartbeats BRADYCARDIA slow heartbeat BRONCHOSPASM breathing distress caused by narrowing of the airways

CARCINOGENIC cancer-causing CARCINOMA type of cancer CARDIAC related to the heart CARDIOVERSION return to normal heartbeat by electric shock CATHETER a tube for withdrawing or giving fluids CATHETER a tube placed near the spinal cord and used for anesthesia (indwelling epidural) during surgery CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS) brain and spinal cord CEREBRAL TRAUMA damage to the brain CESSATION stopping CHD coronary heart disease CHEMOTHERAPY treatment of disease, usually cancer, by chemical agents CHRONIC continuing for a long time, ongoing CLINICAL pertaining to medical care CLINICAL TRIAL an experiment involving human subjects COMA unconscious state COMPLETE RESPONSE total disappearance of disease CONGENITAL present before birth CONJUNCTIVITIS redness and irritation of the thin membrane that covers the eye CONSOLIDATION PHASE treatment phase intended to make a remission permanent (follows induction phase) CONTROLLED TRIAL research study in which the experimental treatment or procedure is compared to a standard (control) treatment or procedure COOPERATIVE GROUP association of multiple institutions to perform clinical trials CORONARY related to the blood vessels that supply the heart, or to the heart itself CT SCAN (CAT) computerized series of x-rays (computerized tomography) CULTURE test for infection, or for organisms that could cause infection CUMULATIVE added together from the beginning CUTANEOUS relating to the skin CVA stroke (cerebrovascular accident)

DERMATOLOGIC pertaining to the skin DIASTOLIC lower number in a blood pressure reading DISTAL toward the end, away from the center of the body DIURETIC "water pill" or drug that causes increase in urination DOPPLER device using sound waves to diagnose or test DOUBLE BLIND study in which neither investigators nor subjects know what drug or treatment the subject is receiving DYSFUNCTION state of improper function DYSPLASIA abnormal cells

ECHOCARDIOGRAM sound wave test of the heart EDEMA excess fluid collecting in tissue EEG electric brain wave tracing (electroencephalogram) EFFICACY effectiveness ELECTROCARDIOGRAM electrical tracing of the heartbeat (ECG or EKG) ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE an imbalance of minerals in the blood EMESIS vomiting EMPIRIC based on experience ENDOSCOPIC EXAMINATION viewing an internal part of the body with a lighted tube ENTERAL by way of the intestines EPIDURAL outside the spinal cord ERADICATE get rid of (such as disease) Page 2 of 7 EVALUATED, ASSESSED examined for a medical condition EXPEDITED REVIEW rapid review of a protocol by the IRB Chair without full committee approval, permitted with certain low-risk research studies EXTERNAL outside the body EXTRAVASATE to leak outside of a planned area, such as out of a blood vessel

FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the branch of federal government that approves new drugs FIBROUS having many fibers, such as scar tissue FIBRILLATION irregular beat of the heart or other muscle

GENERAL ANESTHESIA pain prevention by giving drugs to cause loss of consciousness, as during surgery GESTATIONAL pertaining to pregnancy

HEMATOCRIT amount of red blood cells in the blood HEMATOMA a bruise, a black and blue mark HEMODYNAMIC MEASURING blood flow HEMOLYSIS breakdown in red blood cells HEPARIN LOCK needle placed in the arm with blood thinner to keep the blood from clotting HEPATOMA cancer or tumor of the liver HERITABLE DISEASE can be transmitted to one’s offspring, resulting in damage to future children HISTOPATHOLOGIC pertaining to the disease status of body tissues or cells HOLTER MONITOR a portable machine for recording heart beats HYPERCALCEMIA high blood calcium level HYPERKALEMIA high blood potassium level HYPERNATREMIA high blood sodium level HYPERTENSION high blood pressure HYPOCALCEMIA low blood calcium level HYPOKALEMIA low blood potassium level HYPONATREMIA low blood sodium level HYPOTENSION low blood pressure HYPOXEMIA a decrease of oxygen in the blood HYPOXIA a decrease of oxygen reaching body tissues HYSTERECTOMY surgical removal of the uterus, ovaries (female sex glands), or both uterus and ovaries

IATROGENIC caused by a physician or by treatment IDE investigational device exemption, the license to test an unapproved new medical device IDIOPATHIC of unknown cause IMMUNITY defense against, protection from IMMUNOGLOBIN a protein that makes antibodies IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE drug which works against the body's immune (protective) response, often used in transplantation and diseases caused by immune system malfunction IMMUNOTHERAPY giving of drugs to help the body's immune (protective) system; usually used to destroy cancer cells IMPAIRED FUNCTION abnormal function IMPLANTED placed in the body IND investigational new drug, the license to test an unapproved new drug INDUCTION PHASE beginning phase or stage of a treatment INDURATION hardening INDWELLING remaining in a given location, such as a catheter INFARCT death of tissue due to lack of blood supply INFECTIOUS DISEASE transmitted from one person to the next INFLAMMATION swelling that is generally painful, red, and warm INFUSION slow injection of a substance into the body, usually into the blood by means of a catheter INGESTION eating; taking by mouth INTERFERON drug which acts against viruses; antiviral agent INTERMITTENT occurring (regularly or irregularly) between two time points; repeatedly stopping, then starting again INTERNAL within the body INTERIOR inside of the body INTRAMUSCULAR into the muscle; within the muscle INTRAPERITONEAL into the abdominal cavity INTRATHECAL into the spinal fluid INTRAVENOUS (IV) through the vein INTRAVESICAL in the bladder INTUBATE the placement of a tube into the airway INVASIVE PROCEDURE puncturing, opening, or cutting the skin INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUG (IND) a new drug that has not been approved by the FDA INVESTIGATIONAL METHOD a treatment method which has not been proven to be beneficial or has not been accepted as standard care ISCHEMIA decreased oxygen in a tissue (usually because of decreased blood flow)

LAPAROTOMY surgical procedure in which an incision is made in the abdominal wall to enable a doctor to look at the organs inside LESION wound or injury; a diseased patch of skin LETHARGY sleepiness, tiredness LEUKOPENIA low white blood cell count LIPID fat LIPID CONTENT fat content in the blood LIPID PROFILE (PANEL) fat and cholesterol levels in the blood LOCAL ANESTHESIA creation of insensitivity to pain in a small, local area of the body, usually by injection of numbing drugs LOCALIZED restricted to one area, limited to one area LUMEN the cavity of an organ or tube (e.g., blood vessel) LYMPHANGIOGRAPHY an x-ray of the lymph nodes or tissues after injecting dye into lymph vessels (e.g., in feet) LYMPHOCYTE a type of white blood cell important in immunity (protection) against infection LYMPHOMA a cancer of the lymph nodes (or tissues)

MALAISE a vague feeling of bodily discomfort, feeling badly MALFUNCTION condition in which something is not functioning properly MALIGNANCY cancer or other progressively enlarging and spreading tumor, usually fatal if not successfully treated MEDULLABLASTOMA a type of brain tumor MEGALOBLASTOSIS change in red blood cells METABOLIZE process of breaking down substances in the cells to obtain energy METASTASIS spread of cancer cells from one part of the body to another METRONIDAZOLE drug used to treat infections caused by parasites (invading organisms that take up living in the body) or other causes of anaerobic infection (not requiring oxygen to survive) MI myocardial infarction, heart attack MINIMAL slight MINIMIZE reduce as much as possible Page 4 of 7 MONITOR check on; keep track of; watch carefully MOBILITY ease of movement MORBIDITY undesired result or complication MORTALITY death MOTILITY the ability to move MRI magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostic pictures of the inside of the body, created using magnetic rather than x-ray energy MUCOSA, MUCOUS MEMBRANE moist lining of digestive, respiratory, reproductive, and urinary tracts MYALGIA muscle aches MYOCARDIAL pertaining to the heart muscle MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION heart attack

NASOGASTRIC TUBE placed in the nose, reaching to the stomach NCI the National Cancer Institute NECROSIS death of tissue NEOPLASIA/NEOPLASM tumor, may be benign or malignant NEUROBLASTOMA a cancer of nerve tissue NEUROLOGICAL pertaining to the nervous system NEUTROPENIA decrease in the main part of the white blood cells NIH the National Institutes of Health NONINVASIVE not breaking, cutting, or entering the skin NOSOCOMIAL acquired in the hospital

OCCLUSION closing; blockage; obstruction ONCOLOGY the study of tumors or cancer OPHTHALMIC pertaining to the eye OPTIMAL best, most favorable or desirable ORAL ADMINISTRATION by mouth ORTHOPEDIC pertaining to the bones OSTEOPETROSIS rare bone disorder characterized by dense bone OSTEOPOROSIS softening of the bones OVARIES female sex glands

PARENTERAL given by injection PATENCY condition of being open PATHOGENESIS development of a disease or unhealthy condition PERCUTANEOUS through the skin PERIPHERAL not central PER OS (PO) by mouth PHARMACOKINETICS the study of the way the body absorbs, distributes, and gets rid of a drug PHASE I first phase of study of a new drug in humans to determine action, safety, and proper dosing PHASE II second phase of study of a new drug in humans, intended to gather information about safety and effectiveness of the drug for certain uses PHASE III large-scale studies to confirm and expand information on safety and effectiveness of new drug for certain uses, and to study common side effects PHASE IV studies done after the drug is approved by the FDA, especially to compare it to standard care or to try it for new uses PHLEBITIS irritation or inflammation of the vein PLACEBO an inactive substance; a pill/liquid that contains no medicine PLACEBO EFFECT improvement seen with giving subjects a placebo, though it contains no active drug/treatment PLATELETS small particles in the blood that help with clotting POTENTIAL possible POTENTIATE increase or multiply the effect of a drug or toxin (poison) by giving another drug or toxin at the same time (sometimes an unintentional result) POTENTIATOR an agent that helps another agent work better PRENATAL before birth PROPHYLAXIS a drug given to prevent disease or infection PER OS (PO) by mouth PRN as needed PROGNOSIS outlook, probable outcomes PRONE lying on the stomach PROSPECTIVE STUDY following patients forward in time PROSTHESIS artificial part, most often limbs, such as arms or legs PROTOCOL plan of study PROXIMAL closer to the center of the body, away from the end PULMONARY pertaining to the lungs

QD every day; daily QID four times a day

RADIATION THERAPY x-ray or cobalt treatment RANDOM by chance (like the flip of a coin) RANDOMIZATION chance selection RBC red blood cell RECOMBINANT formation of new combinations of genes RECONSTITUTION putting back together the original parts or elements RECUR happen again REFRACTORY not responding to treatment REGENERATION re-growth of a structure or of lost tissue REGIMEN pattern of giving treatment RELAPSE the return of a disease REMISSION disappearance of evidence of cancer or other disease RENAL pertaining to the kidneys REPLICABLE possible to duplicate RESECT remove or cut out surgically RETROSPECTIVE STUDY looking back over past experience

SARCOMA a type of cancer SEDATIVE a drug to calm or make less anxious SEMINOMA a type of testicular cancer (found in the male sex glands) SEQUENTIALLY in a row, in order SOMNOLENCE sleepiness SPIROMETER an instrument to measure the amount of air taken into and exhaled from the lungs STAGING an evaluation of the extent of the disease STANDARD OF CARE a treatment plan that the majority of the medical community would accept as appropriate STENOSIS narrowing of a duct, tube, or one of the blood vessels in the heart STOMATITIS mouth sores, inflammation of the mouth STRATIFY arrange in groups for analysis of results (e.g., stratify by age, sex, etc.) STUPOR stunned state in which it is difficult to get a response or the attention of the subject SUBCLAVIAN under the collarbone SUBCUTANEOUS under the skin SUPINE lying on the back SUPPORTIVE CARE general medical care aimed at symptoms, not intended to improve or cure underlying disease SYMPTOMATIC having symptoms SYNDROME a condition characterized by a set of symptoms SYSTOLIC top number in blood pressure; pressure during active contraction of the heart

TERATOGENIC capable of causing malformations in a fetus (developing baby still inside the mother’s body) TESTES/TESTICLES male sex glands THROMBOSIS clotting THROMBUS blood clot TID three times a day TITRATION a method for deciding on the strength of a drug or solution; gradually increasing the dose T-LYMPHOCYTES type of white blood cells TOPICAL on the surface TOPICAL ANESTHETIC applied to a certain area of the skin and reducing pain only in the area to which applied TOXICITY side effects or undesirable effects of a drug or treatment TRANSDERMAL through the skin TRANSIENTLY temporarily TRAUMA injury; wound TREADMILL walking machine used to test heart function

UPTAKE absorbing and taking in of a substance by living tissue

VALVULOPLASTY plastic repair of a valve, especially a heart valve VARICES enlarged veins VASOSPASM narrowing of the blood vessels VECTOR a carrier that can transmit disease-causing microorganisms (germs and viruses) VENIPUNCTURE needle stick, blood draw, entering the skin with a needle VERTICAL TRANSMISSION spread of disease

WBC white blood cell

Tories, Bloc Québécois, Jewish leaders say new human-rights chief should stand down

The Justice Minister came under pressure Wednesday from the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and Jewish advocates to replace Ottawa’s newly appointed human-rights chief, saying Birju Dattani no longer commands the confidence of people he could be defending from discrimination.

The Conservatives said Mr. Dattani should stand aside as the new chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission or be fired, after his activities while studying in England under the name Mujahid Dattani raised serious concerns among Jewish groups about whether he would be impartial in his new role.

Bloc justice critic Rhéal Fortin suggested Mr. Dattani’s position as chief commissioner, to begin in August, is now untenable. “It seems clear that Mr. Dattani, before even arriving in his post, has already lost the confidence of the people he is supposed to represent and protect from discrimination,” he said.

“It seems clear to us that he can no longer carry out his mandate as chair and the minister has to take the necessary decisions as quickly as possible.”

Jewish groups, including the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, say tweets Mr. Dattani has posted and his sharing of platforms in Britain with people with extremist views raised questions about Ottawa’s vetting process. In London, while studying, he shared a stage with a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist fundamentalist group banned in Britain that favours global Sharia law. Mr. Dattani said he was unaware he would be appearing with a Hizb ut-Tahrir member.

In 2015, Mr. Dattani also spoke at a panel discussion about the War on Terror alongside Moazzam Begg, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, and outreach director of CAGE International, an advocacy group set up to raise awareness of the situation of prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere.

Justice Minister Arif Virani’s spokesperson, Chantalle Aubertin, said the minister is “launching a formal, independent review.”

“He is deeply concerned about statements and social-media posts attributed to Mr. Dattani as well as the fact that these were not provided in the appointment process and not surfaced in due diligence,” she said. “It is important that facts of the situation be determined in a procedurally fair and unbiased manner. The formal review will result in a public report.”

The report will be concluded before Aug. 8, when Mr. Dattani is scheduled to assume the chief commissioner role.

In order to remove him from the role a resolution would need to be passed by both the House of Commons and the Senate, which are on their summer break.

Mr. Dattani did his postgraduate studies in England. He was interviewed in November, 2012, at a demonstration in London outside the Israeli embassy in response to Israeli air strikes that killed, among others, Hamas military commander Ahmad al-Jabari. He was quoted in an article saying, “Workers should boycott Israel and Israeli goods,” but he told The Globe and Mail he was misquoted and the words attributed to him were spoken by someone else standing near him at the demonstration.

While studying in England about 10 years ago, Mr. Dattani posted a tweet saying, “Palestinians are Warsaw Ghetto Prisoners of Today,” linking to an article of that name. Mr. Dettani told The Globe he did not agree with that statement and was just linking to the article.

Earlier this week, in an interview with The Globe, he apologized to members of the Jewish community for pain caused by tweets he had posted.

But Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and chief executive officer of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his apology is “not accepted.”

“Dattani is not an appropriate choice for the important position at the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the offer should be rescinded,” he said.

He said he was disappointed by the way Mr. Dattani had responded to questions about his past activities and tweets.

“The pattern is as predictable as it is disingenuous. First, he denies. Then he claims it wasn’t me, I just happened to be there. Then the apology is for pain some Jews might have experienced. But never is it ownership of the toxic words,” Mr. Koffler Fogel said.

On Wednesday, the Conservatives accused the Liberals, NDP and Bloc of shutting down their proposal for an emergency meeting of the Commons justice committee on Mr. Dattani’s appointment, by failing to agree to return to Parliament.

But some Liberal MPs broke ranks to call for the government to launch deeper probes into Mr. Dattani’s past.

Anthony Housefather, a member of the justice committee, said he is “extremely troubled by the information that has surfaced regarding Mr. Dattani’s past conduct,” and had asked the Department of Justice to launch an independent investigation.

Former public safety minister Marco Mendicino said Mr. Dattani’s statements and tweets raised serious concerns. “We need immediate answers on why the chair did not disclose these statements, why they weren’t independently discovered during the vetting, and whether the public can maintain confidence in the chair’s suitability to fulfill a role that requires impartiality in the adjudication of human rights.”

Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy at the Jewish organization B’nai Brith Canada, said it is clear Mr. Dattani was not “adequately vetted” before being offered the role.

“B’nai Brith hopes that a review of Mr. Dattani is being taken by our national security apparatus and if the allegations are verified and more information is uncovered of additional concern that the government would do the right thing and remove him from office.”

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First 2024 presidential debate in Atlanta

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Kanishka Singh is a breaking news reporter for Reuters in Washington DC, who primarily covers US politics and national affairs in his current role. His past breaking news coverage has spanned across a range of topics like the Black Lives Matter movement; the US elections; the 2021 Capitol riots and their follow up probes; the Brexit deal; US-China trade tensions; the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan; the COVID-19 pandemic; and a 2019 Supreme Court verdict on a religious dispute site in his native India.

A view of the U.S. Supreme Court, in Washington

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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters speaks during an interview with Reuters in London

Roger Waters says prepared to help fund WikiLeaks, hopeful Assange might return

Musician and singer-songwriter Roger Waters says he hopes a now free Julian Assange might one day be able to resume his work at WikiLeaks if he wants to, and that he is prepared to help fund the whistleblower media organisation.

Aftermath of a stabbing attack in a shopping mall in Karmiel, northern Israel

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Human Rights Essay Topics. Human rights are now often talked about on TV, social media, and literature. Basically, human rights are freedoms and a set of rights that every human in the world is entitled to, no matter what their race or gender is. It is a broad topic and human rights violations cover a wide variety of areas from prohibiting ...
Human Rights: What are the questions that really matter?
Improving that alignment is "the work" and it requires moving beyond the idealizations of the UN Declaration on 1948 and confronting questions befitting of 2020. Put differently, if human rights is the answer, what is the question? Some questions typically asked by people of a broadly liberal sensibility who see rights as a moral good might be:
Human Rights Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas
481 essay samples found. Human Rights are the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled, often held to include the right to life, freedom of thought, freedom from slavery, and others. Essays on Human Rights could explore the evolution of human rights, their international recognition, enforcement, and the various challenges ...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Essay
As it is widely known, this act was adopted in 1948. According to this document, every person (or it would be better to say human beings) must be entitled to certain rights, which cannot take away from him or her (Weiss, 14). Get a custom essay on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 183 writers online.
"Why Human Rights?": Reflection by Eleni Christou
This post is the first installment from UChicago Law's International Human Rights Law Clinic in a series titled — The Matter of Human Rights. In this 16-part series, law students examine, question and reflect on the historical, ideological, and normative roots of the human rights system, how the system has evolved, its present challenges and future possibilities.
Human Rights Essay Questions
Sample human rights Essay Questions. Below is a list of sample essay questions in the subject of Human Rights. Get Essay Help from the experts! Advise Tom, Dick and Harry as to their rights. Bringing a complaint before the UN Human Rights Committee. Critically assess whether the European Unions Charter of Fundamental Rights is a necessary and ...
Human Rights Essays
Most samples of human rights essay topics define the concept as a basic freedom. But if you look at the introduction of any human rights essay, you will not find two similar definitions. We don't have precise' Human Rights' meaning yet the concept dates back when human civilization began. Recently, papers on human rights have properly ...
Human Rights: The Hard Questions
Stephen Gardiner's excellent essay "Human rights in a hostile climate" deals with the role that human rights discourse can play in formulating philosophical accounts of and reactions to climate change. In one way of thinking about his essay the target is Simon Caney's argument that human-engineered climate change is a (massive) human rights ...
Human Rights Essay Topics You Won't Find Anywhere Else
1 Argumentative human rights topics for essays. 2 Analytical human rights essay topics. 3 Compare and contrast human rights topics for essays. 4 Cause and effect human rights essay topics. 5 Human rights essay topics: history. 6 Original human rights topics for essays. 7 3 thesis statement examples for human rights essays.
Jacques Maritain's Essay Points a Path to True Freedom
On the contrary, according to Maritain, human beings are born with an innate quest for genuine freedom that must be earned: "…he becomes free, by warring upon himself and thanks to many ...
Malcolm X: a Trailblazing Figure in Civil Rights
His powerful eloquence and hard-edged position stocked how fascination, so and discussion. His known declaration, we "declare us straight on this earth, to be a man," his encapsulates request for fundamental human dignity and rights. Association of Malcolm X with People of Islam (Noi) played central role to his defence.
Understanding Cruel and Unusual Punishment in Modern Legal Context
Essay Example: Cruel and unusual punishment declares, that a foundational concept deeply built to the ideal of justice and human rights within the limits of legal frames globally. Then marks punishments, what is considered superfluously strict or barbarian in relation to nature of crime. Constitutions
History and Human Rights as our guide
Secretary General of the Assembly,Mr. President,Distinguished parliamentarians,I am honoured to address you in this historic chamber.One that has borne witness to some of the most significant debates on human rights on this continent — on the abolition of the death penalty, on media freedom, on the rights of minorities, on democracy and the rule of law.
What Are Human Rights?
36) pointed out, "A human right by definition is a universal moral right… something of which no one may be deprived without a grave affront to justice, something which is owing to every human being simply because he is human". In fact, the belief that all humans are equally entitled to certain rights, within the society, served as a ...
2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
Acts of Congress mandate the annual submission of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The Country Reports cover internationally recognized human rights, including those set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights instruments, as well as worker rights. These include its prohibition on torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment ...
10 Human Rights Topic Ideas For You To Explore
Here are ten human rights topic ideas to explore: #1. Gender inequality. Gender inequality is an evergreen human rights topic. Because it has such a long history, we have a good idea of what works and what still needs to be done. Issues like the gender pay gap, the distribution of unpaid labor, gender-based violence, gendered job segregation ...
Medical Terms in Lay Language
Human Subjects Office / IRB Hardin Library, Suite 105A 600 Newton Rd Iowa City, IA 52242-1098. Voice: 319-335-6564 Fax: 319-335-7310
Tories, Bloc Québécois, Jewish leaders say new human-rights chief
The Conservatives said Mr. Dattani should stand aside as the new chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission or be fired, after his activities while studying in England under the ...
Trump criticized for 'Palestinian' insult in debate with Biden
Human rights advocates on Friday condemned former President Donald Trump's references to Palestinians, and immigrants allegedly taking Black American jobs, during Thursday's debate with President ...

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