19. When, if ever, should states intervene in the domestic affairs of other states to protect human rights? Are there certain rights that are more vital than others? What are the costs and benefits to the great powers for intervening on behalf of human rights? These questions are difficult to answer. Nobody wants to see any human rights violations. However, defining what human rights are varies by country and even by individuals. What one nation believes to be a human right, another may not. Then there is the dilemma of a nation’s sovereignty. If another nation decides which human rights are being violated and decides that it needs to intervene, then will another nation determine that the intervening nation needs intervention because of their human rights violations? Finally, there is the question of the intervention itself. The levels of intervention may vary and depend on the human rights violations. Violations that are more serious require tougher interventions. The first question to answer is should states ever intervene in the domestic affairs of other states. The simple answer is that they should. The United States is founded on principles, many of which can be attributed to John Locke. In defining human rights, the Declaration of Independence, which Thomas Jefferson wrote and who was inspired by Locke, states, “that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness-that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men.” Locke used similar wording and added the simple answer to the question of intervention. The foremost responsibility, which each individual has, is self-preservatio... ... middle of paper ... ...play a factor, as Locke explained. It is the responsibility of others to preserve life, only when not in competition for one’s own. The final question is should intervention occur in every case, including all cases of endangerment of lives? The answer is that it would likely be impossible to accomplish. Works Cited Department of Defense. April 28, 2011. http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf (accessed April 28, 2011). Human Rights Watch. August 18, 2006. http://www.hrw.org/legacy/english/docs/2006/08/14/iraq13979.htm (accessed April 28, 2011). Locke, John. "Liberty Library of Constituional Classics." Constitution Society. 1690. http://constitution.org/jl/2ndtr02.htm (accessed April 28, 2011). Ramstad, Evan, and Jay Solomon. Wall Street Journal Online. August 5, 2009. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124938154079404323.html (accessed April 29, 2011).
John Locke - Two Treatises of Government - “life, liberty, and property” - consent of the governed (people are giving permission to the government to rule)
Trans. William Popple. N.p., c. 1686. - c Print. The.. 4) Locke, John.
Mill, John Stuart, “On Liberty. ch. 1, 3,” from Project Gutenberg Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34901, No. 01/10, Pp. 1-19, Public Domain, 2011
Norton, E. H., Jacobus, C., & Clifton. (2013, December 30). Capitol Strategies - Presdent Interview. Fox News. (C. Payne, Interviewer)
All around the world people and countries are continuing the efforts to end Human Rights Violations. Human rights violations are a big problem in
The idea of intervention is either favoured or in question due to multiple circumstances where intervening in other states has had positive or negative outcomes. The General Assembly was arguing the right of a state to intervene with the knowledge that that state has purpose for intervention and has a plan to put forth when trying to resolve conflicts with the state in question. The GA argues this because intervention is necessary. This resolution focuses solely on the basis of protection of Human Rights. The General Assembly recognizes that countries who are not super powers eventually need intervening. They do not want states to do nothing because the state in question for intervening will continue to fall in the hands of corruption while nothing gets done. The GA opposed foreign intervention, but with our topic it points out that intervention is a necessity when the outcome could potentially solve conflicts and issues. In many cases intervention is necessary to protect Human Rights. For instance; several governments around the world do not privilege their citizens with basic Human Rights. These citizens in turn rely on the inter...
In this essay I will research and provide a timeline of developments to human rights, i will explain the underlying principles of the human rights approach and the importance of adopting human rights to care. After the Second World War ended in the mid 1940’s there became a serious realisation to the importance of human rights. This realisation got the United Nations to establish the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Declaration shows the first ever international agreement on the primary principles of human rights. There is a total of thirty basic human rights within the Universal Declaration and these rights apply to every single person in the world. An example of one of the rights everyone has is ‘the
New York Times, p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/business/economy/09leonhardt.html?_r=1 Lipman, Marc. A. A. Personal Interview. March 21, 2010. Marano, Hara E. (2004).
Locke, John. "Second Treatise of Civil Government." Constitution Society. 1690. http://www.constitution.org/jl/2ndtr02.htm (accessed March 31, 2011).
Human rights use to be a domestic issue championed by its proponents with each state separately, however, this has grown drastically and relatively quickly into a movement that asserts that these human rights are universal and all human beings are born with them. However this essay will argue that human rights are not universal due to their nature being bound up in charters which are not seen as Universalist but in many instances are seen as Western championed beliefs. However, the universality of human rights lays with the strength of the popular support for universal human rights, therefore, if the ideas in which universal human rights are founded on flourish then this can outweigh all its shortcomings. The first paragraph in this essay will focus on the extent to which the idea and norms of universal human rights has flourished. This essay will then critique human rights from a cultural perspective arguing that human rights are not universal due to their being conflict between the rights of the individuals and the rights of groups. Finally this essay will argue that the lack of adherence to these so called universal human rights (especially by western states) have dealt a huge blow to the notion of their being universal human rights.
Treaties are the highest source of international law besides jus cogens norms that have binding effect on the parties that ratify them.2 International human rights treaties rely on the “name and shame” mechanisms to pressure states to improve practices.3 However with “toothless” international human rights norms, moral coercion is not always effective. An empirical study conducted by Professor Oona Hathaway assessing the effect of human rights treaty ratification on human rights compliance, maintains in its findings that ratification of human rights treaties has little effect on state practices.4 States do not feel pressured to comply and change their practices, rather, signing treaties is “more likely to offset the pressure rather than augment it.”5 So, is it time to abandon human rights treaties and remit protection of human right to domestic institutions. Hathaway posits elsewhere that despite this treaties “remain an indispensable tool for the promotion of human rights.”6 Instead of getting rid of the treaty system, it is necessary to enhance the monitoring and enforcements mechanism to strengthen the human rights regime to ensure compliance.7 This article evaluates the extent to which international law serves as a useful tool for protection of human rights.
Why are human rights & democracy important issues in American foreign policy? There is no simple answer to this question; rather it is a combination of factors that define the importance of these issues. Foremost, at least in the international sense, is the United Nation’s Universal Human Rights Declaration from 1948 which is considered a universally accepted idea of human rights, especially in the aspect of a nation or its lead...
Magno, A., (2001) Human Rights in Times of Conflict: Humanitarian Intervention. Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, 2 (5). [online] Available from: http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/publications/dialogue/2_05/articles/883.html> [Accessed 2 March 2011] United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report (2000) Human Rights and Human Development (New York) p.19
The role that globalization plays in spreading and promoting human rights and democracy is a subject that is capable spurring great debate. Human rights are to be seen as the standards that gives any human walking the earth regardless of any differences equal privileges. The United Nations goes a step further and defines human rights as,
Wall Street Journal 12 Feb 2009: p. A.13. SIRS Researcher. Web. 11 February 2010.