Human rights and violations

Human rights are rights that belong to an individual or group of individuals as a result of being
humans or because of inherent human capabilities. They are rights without which people
cannot live in dignity, and violations of these rights on any individual means that such an
individual has been treated inhumanely. Human rights govern how individual human beings live
in society and with each other, as well as their relationship with the State and the obligations
that the State have towards them.

Human rights are universal and inalienable. Every individual in the world is entitled to them. No
one can voluntarily give them up, nor can others take them away from them. All individuals are
equal irrespective of their being. All human beings are entitled to their human rights without
discrimination of any kind, such as race, color, sex, ethnicity, age, language, religion, political or
other opinion, national or social origin, disability, property, birth or other status as explained by
the human rights treaty bodies.

The phrase "Human Right" was adopted not until the present century, it was known earlier as
natural right or rights of men. It was conceived that man possesses such rights and capacity to
determine what is good or bad, also what is absolute or has eternal values. It was not until after
the world war II that the idea of human rights became widespread. The Nazis eliminated over 6
million Jews, Romani(gypsies), homosexuals, and persons with disabilities. After the war, the
defeated party who committed these atrocities were charged with crimes against humanity.
Furthermore, governments all over the world decided to ally to curb such calamity from
happening again, this act gave birth to the united nations charter in San Francisco in 1945.

Rights for all members of the human race were first articulated in 1948 in the United Nations’
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Other documents asserting individual rights
before the UDHR include the Magna Carta (1215), the English Bill of Rights (1689), the French
Declaration on the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789), and the US Constitution and Bill of Rights
(1791). In addition to the covenants in the International Bill of Human Rights, the United
Nations has adopted more than 20 principal treaties further elaborating human rights. These
include conventions to prevent and prohibit specific abuses like torture and genocide and to
protect especially vulnerable populations, such as refugees (Convention Relating to the Status
of Refugees, 1951), women (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, 1979), and children (Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989).

Violence against women is a major obstacle to progress towards equality, development, and
peace. The landmark UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (Resolution
48/104.1993), which marks a landmark in the fight against violence, defines the term “violence
against women” as; “any act of violence committed based on gender that causes or may cause
physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, as well as threats to commit such
acts as coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether in public or private life”. Globally,
about 650 million women and girls were married before the age of 18. About 200 million
women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation. One of the two dead women died
at the hands of a partner or relatives. Women and girls make up 71% of all victims of trafficking,
and 3 out of 4 of them are sexually exploited. Violence against women is a major contributor to
death or disability among women of reproductive age.

United nations human right treaty body has confirmed that sexual orientation and gender
identity are included among prohibited grounds for discrimination under international human
rights law. This means that it is unlawful to make any distinction of people's rights based on the
fact that they are lesbians, gays, bisexuals, or transgender, just as it is unlawful to do so based
on race, color, sex, religion or any other status. All States are obligated under international
human rights law to promote and protect the human rights of all persons without
discrimination. Yet in many countries, laws against cross-dressing are used to punish
transgender people based on their gender identity and expression. Additionally, in 70 countries,
discriminatory laws criminalize private, consensual same-sex relationships. As a result, LGBT
individuals are exposed to the risk of arrest, blackmail, extortion, stigma, discrimination,
violence, and, in at least five countries, the death penalty.

Presently the whole world is concerned at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in
Ukraine, particularly at the reports of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of
nternational humanitarian law by the Russian Federation, including gross and systematic
violations and abuses of human rights. States across the globe have imposed sanctions and the
united nations as well as other human right organizations and NGO's all stand for the urgent
need for the Russian Federation to immediately cease its military hostilities against Ukraine

Many note that to truly address human rights violations, we must strive to understand the
underlying causes of these breaches. These causes have to do with underdevelopment,
economic pressures, various social problems, and international conditions. Indeed, the roots of
repression, discrimination, and other denials of human rights stem from deeper and more
complex political, social, and economic problems. It is only by understanding and ameliorating
these root causes and strengthening civil society that we can truly protect human rights.

Every state has the primary responsibility within its territory to ensure human rights are
guaranteed to all members. By signing and ratifying human rights conventions, governments at
national and local levels must commit to avoiding any actions that would violate or lead to a
violation of human rights. To ensure the enforcement of human rights obligations, various
mechanisms has to be taken. At the international level, most of these mechanisms provide
vehicles for monitoring compliance. Some offer petition procedures that allow individuals to
challenge breaches by the state of their human rights obligations. The concept of procedural
due process refers to the process by which all rights are implemented by the State. Most of the
formal protections of due process are linked to the conduct of a fair hearing. All persons are,
according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, entitled to a fair and public
hearing, and at the trial stage, to be informed promptly and in a language in which he/she
understands the nature of the charge.

In conclusion, acts typically deemed "crimes against humanity," including genocide, torture,
invasion, slavery, rape, enforced sterilization or medical experimentation, deliberate
starvation, etc should all be regulated. Parties should ratify laws that necessarily prohibit these
crimes in their states.

References
Helena Kennedy. "Conflict Resolution and Human Rights: Contradictory or Complementary?"
INCORE, 1.

Maiese, Michelle. "Human Rights Violations." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi
Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: July 2003

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: A FORM OF DISCRIMINATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS.

F. Akhmedshina, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Jizzakh State Pedagogical Institute,
Uzbekistan.

https://www.unicef.org/eca/press-releases/fast-facts-10-facts-illustrating-why-we-must-
endchildmarriage

International human rights law and sexual orientation &gender identity. United nations

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 4 March 2022: 49/1. Situation of human
rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/04/sexual-violence-victims-ituris-conflict-find-place-
healing-and-justice#