University of Denver

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Stephen VanVladricken
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GS-2050-2 21st Century Global Issues

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Professor John Wilson

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January 15, 2016

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Humans are born with universal rights, the right to be free, the right to be treated fairly, and the

right to respect. It is in high hopes that one day it will be unnecessary to need a document that states

how people should treat one another.

“Today's real borders are not between nations, but between powerful and
powerless, free and fettered, privileged and humiliated. Today, no walls can
separate humanitarian or human rights crises in one part of the world from
national security crises in another,” said Kofi Annan (Human Rights Quotes,
2016).

There is much to be addressed when the it comes to human rights, especially when looking at it

through the lens of globalization. After World War ll, a number of representatives from the United

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Nations drew up the first draft of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This draft contained

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a breakdown of human rights that needed to be recognized, but more importantly protected; this draft

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consisted of 30 articles. I believe that having this Declaration in place will only benefit all humankind,
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regardless of countries abusing it to excuse some of their actions when invading other countries. In my
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opinion, the world is a better place because of (UDHR) and humankind must continue to promote peace
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through global legislation, and furthermore by forcing compliance of the UDHR. It is vital to human rights
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that we as people start holding parties responsible for their infractions or political stance. Moreover,
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there are far more strengths than weaknesses when referring to the UDHR. This is about the Universal
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rights of all human beings alike and we must continue to fight until all nations have the same rights and

freedoms equally.
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First, I do believe that it is necessary to have global legislation in order to obtain a more peaceful

world. The international justice and peace legislation has already increased the peacefulness of many
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nations. Some of the major issues that legislation is promoting peace with are as follows: debt relief

policy, food crisis, foreign assistance funding, foreign assistance reform, global climate, change impact on

the poor at home and abroad, human rights and religious freedom, international trade, migration,

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mining and extractive industries, nuclear weapons/indiscriminate weapons, root causes of trafficking in

persons, torture, trade policy reform, U.S. Muslim engagement, and violence against women

(International Justice and Peace Legislation, 2015). Whether or not peace is being successfully obtained

by global legislation is in the eye of the beholder. The meaning of peace originates from a theory.

Depending on one’s religious beliefs, peace can mean entirely different things; a Muslim, Buddhist, or

Atheist will view peace in a different way. The same concept also goes for libertarians, socialists, and

fascists. The meaning of peace is no different than the notion of freedom, power, justice, or equality.

Moreover, there is so much more to be done to improve world peace via global legislation, we

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must start by balancing the world powers and making countries accountable for their violations and or

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infractions. Currently the UDHR is just a Declaration, a suggestion at most, not law. It must start

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internally and spread out, henceforth we should start by enacting state laws to follow these guidelines of
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human rights. In addition, I don’t think that enough people are educated on the UDHR. In Article 29

section 1 of The aims of Education it states the following:

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“In the absence of any specific formal endorsement in national law or policy, it seems
unlikely that the relevant principles are or will be used to genuinely inform
educational policies. The Committee therefore calls upon all States parties to take the
necessary steps to formally incorporate these principles into their education policies
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and legislation at all levels.” (The aims of education, 2001)

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This should be prevalent in the education system globally so that the next generation of people are
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empowered with this knowledge. I believe that if a person understands the fundamentals of human
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rights and wants people to treat them with respect, they must also uphold and respect the rights of

others; accountability is key if the UDHR is going to be successful.

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Additionally, there are more strengths than weaknesses when it comes to the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. Starting with the strengths, the very existence of the UDHR alone is a key

factor in the progression of human rights. This Declaration was the birth of a new idea, the driving force

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behind change. Before the UDHR there was no authority on the subject of human rights and many

people suffered because of that. It also reconciled many of the different mentalities and views of a

variety of different cultures. In order to achieve unification of humanity we must collect the fundamental

rights of all human beings, not just the people of whom we mutually agree with; this is what the

Declaration indeed seeks to accomplish.

Next, it is important to also identify what the weaknesses are of the UDHR. Most importantly, in

my opinion, is the fact that the Declaration has no bill of rights to enforce it. During the at the 40th

anniversary celebrations Mikhail Gorbachev made the following statement "We believe that the

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jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice at The Hague as regards the interpretation and

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implementation of agreements on human rights should be binding on all states." (Fascell, 1988). There

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has been no fruition of any increase in the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In
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addition, there is no binding treaty for the Universal Declaration to enforce a binding treaty. The United

Nations has not a single statement that even suggests any kind of universal goals for being a member. As
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a matter of fact, one of the United Nations Saudi Arabia, is one of the biggest violators of human rights
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today. There were over 151 people killed in Saudi Arabia in 2015, that is the most deaths in one year by

execution in Saudi Arabia since 1995 (Al Jazeera, 2015).

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Lastly, I believe that the use of force is required in order to achieve the rights intended for all

people. This pressure should be conducted via political pressure. We can no longer tolerate and or
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support terrorist groups hiding behind their corrupt and brainwashed borders. This is an extremely

credible and major threat to humankind’s basic human rights. Terrorist threaten the very preamble and
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Article 3 of UDHR which is the right to life and also to be free from fear (United Nations, 1948). I would

state that any nation not contributing to the annihilation of terrorism or any terrorist group is just as

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guilty of enabling this threat to continue. I do not see any conflict with the United Nations forcing

compliance with the UDHR, especially enforcing all their own members belonging to the United Nations.

To conclude, it is clear that when it comes to human rights, we still have a long way to go. When

looking at it through the lens of globalization it is key to understand the interconnectedness of all nations

that should fighting for these basic human rights. The drafting alone of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights (UDHR) has been proven that by itself, is not enough to defeat terrorism, tyranny, torture,

and countless other acts of inhuman behavior. I firmly stand in my opinion that it is untimely in the best

interest of humankind to start acting in defense of this declaration. No countries blatant disregard for

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this Declaration should be looked over; accountability needs to be widespread. Most importantly a Bill of

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Rights must be enacted in order to keep the forward momentum of accountability in all nations. The

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world is most certainly a better place because of global legislation, and absolutely correct in standing
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ground and forcing compliance of the UDHR. No matter how many strengths or weaknesses we may find

in this Declaration, it is our job as human beings to protect the most important thing we can possess, our
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given birth right, our rights!

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fascell, Dante. "CAN WE HOLD HIM TO HIS WORD ON HUMAN RIGHTS." Washington Post.
December 11, 1988. Accessed January 12, 2016.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/12/11/can-we-hold-him-to-his-word-
on-human-rights/b4139006-7073-4890-923a-cf23cefb2ebc/.

"Human Rights Quotes." Quotey Quotes. Accessed January 10, 2016.

http://www.quoteyquotes.com/quotes_by_category/h/human_rights/human_rights_quotes_00
1.html.

"International Justice and Peace Legislation." USCCB. Accessed January 13, 2016.
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/get-involved/get-more-information/international-
justice-and-peace-legislation.cfm.

"Saudi Arabia's 2015 Beheadings the Most in 20 Years." Al Jazeera. November 10, 2015.

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Accessed January 14, 2016. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/saudi-arabia-2015-

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beheadings-20-years-151110052520862.html.

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"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations." UN News Center. December 10,

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1948. Accessed January 14, 2016. http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-
rights/index.html.
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"THE AIMS OF EDUCATION." United Nations, April 17, 2001, sec. 1.
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