Human Rights Reflection

The birth of the Declaration of Human Rights after the Holocaust and the steadily progressing idea of universal human rights are concepts that are setting the framework for the future of international cooperation. Human Rights has grown from a concept that was virtually non existent that is now a key issue within the UN, ICC, and NGOs which all focus on human rights and human rights violations. Within about a period of 60 years human rights has become one of the main concerns and focuses of the international community. In today's ever growing technologically advancing society people have more access to education on human rights through visual documentaries, the internet news reports (human rights watch), and other forms of easily accessible information to create a sense of awareness to people who are not directly being effected by human rights violations. For example when the creators of the NGO Invisible Children created their low budget documentary in Uganda they had no idea that this would lead to a massive response from millions of people wanting to know how they could help improve the situation for the displaced children in Uganda.

Basically, during the time of the Holocaust the brutality taking place in the concentration camps was virtually unknown until the defeat of the Nazi party when the media started releasing photographs and video depicting the horrors of genocide. Today media through photographs and video documentation have made the individual more aware of the world and the brutal acts against humanity that happen. With more pressure from individuals throughout the world governments, IGOs, and NGOs are more likely to act and react accordingly to human rights violations.

With respect to state soverginty and the non existence of international law which makes it difficult for humanitarian intervention especially with the use of force leaves responsibility to the state for being the main protector but more often times the main violator of human rights. But if more states recognize the individual rights of human and are more willing to react to violations (genocide) many more lives could be saved in the future. States more often then not act in self interest and self benefit, until states act in a more selfless matter and proceed with more pure motives of intervention violations in weakened and vulnerable states will continue.

Human Rights is a very bitter sweet issue; we as an international community have made great strides in recognizing human rights as a world wide concern. Yet states stand idol while genocide continues in Darfur. As individuals in the west are concerned with freedom of speech, healthcare, ect... , individuals in undeveloped nations don't have clean water, food, and are exposed to brutal acts of human rights violations, ultimately they are fighting for the right to live the right to be recognized as a human being, the core and the soul of human rights. Reflecting on human rights makes me as an individual realize how privileged and different my demands as an individual in a western state are from those who are not allowed to have a voice, those who are not protected, and those who fight for the right to live everyday.