Dazo, Al Adrian G.

2JD-B Human Rights Law

1. What are human rights?

In its broadest definition, human rights are basic rights that are

universally agreed upon as indispensable rights. They are considered

indispensable as these rights are recognized as inherent to all human beings,

regardless of their age, gender, race, or social status.

The concept of human rights is based on the belief that every person is

entitled to enjoy their rights without fear or discrimination and to live their life

with equality, fairness, and respect. The right to life, liberty, and security of a

person are examples of inherent rights that are universally agreed upon as

inherent to all human beings.

We try to look at another culture without making any judgments based on our

own standards or on the culture that we know.

Cultural relativism is an established theory that states that an individual’s set of

personal beliefs, values, customs, ethics, and activities are relative to each individual

within their own social context and cultural background, and should be understood by

others in those terms.

It implies that there is no universal standard of morality by supporting the idea that

there is no universal “right” or “wrong”, and that instead, these are very culture-

specific; what is considered to be right in one society, may be considered a total

taboo in another.
2. What are the different origins of human rights?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) hailed as the Magna

Carta for all Humanity is the contemporary origin of the acknowledgment of

human rights in the whole world. It contains 30 articles that detail an

individual’s basic rights and fundamental freedoms. Before the adoption of

the UDHR, there are already different sources, all throughout the history of

mankind that acknowledged the concept of human rights.

It is recorded in ancient history that when Cyrus the Great, King of

Persia, was freeing the slaves in the city of Babylon, he declared that all

people had the right to choose their own religion, and established racial

equality. His declaration and other decrees, recorded on a clay cylinder called

the Cyrus Cylinder, have been recognized as the first-ever charter of human

rights in history. The provisions on the Cyrus Cylinder parallel the first four

articles of the UDHR.

The idea of human rights spread all over the ancient world and the

concept of “natural laws’’ became recognized. These natural laws observed as

unwritten laws that people follow in the course of their lives served as the

basis of different rights that the ancient world acknowledged as human rights.

There were also other documents that have been made which

asserted individual human rights. One of them is the Magna Carta, made in

1215 by the subjects of King John of England. They forced him to sign the

Magna Carta after he violated several ancient laws which governed England.

The Magna Carts enumerated several rights like the right of the church to be

free from governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and
 inherit property, and to be protected from excessive taxes. Another important

document is the Petition of Rights, made in 1628 by the English Parliament,

which asserted assailed issues on taxes, imprisonment without cause, and

military intrusion on the citizenry.

The documents on human rights made throughout the history of

humankind paved the way for the creation of the UDHR, the Magna Carta for

all Humanity.

3. At present, is human rights still relevant?

Human rights are still relevant today because all human being

possesses human rights and one cannot simply take them away. But based on

the current situation and events in our society, it is inevitable that we will find

ourselves asking whether human rights are still relevant. It is still relevant but

the question is whether the rights of every individual are being acknowledged

and respected. Obvious signs of inequality are present in our modern society

and these are possible indications that human rights are not being recognized

as applicable to all individuals.