Human rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Right in the preamble states: recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. Human rights are the protection of an individual's dignity, values, and freedoms with which they are born with. There are many states today that violate their citizens basic fundamental rights. State's which violate their own peoples human rights can pose as a potential threat to a lot more people. This is why this problems needs to be addressed, one proposed solution is to introduce a new system of government; democracy.

The developments of human rights can be mapped out in reference to the Magna Carta, the American Bill of Rights, and the French Revolution. The Magna Carta (1215) did little to allow the common man to vote, but assured rights to noble landowners in England. Both the American Bill of Rights (ratified in 1791) and the French Revolution (1789) developed the rights of citizens of their nations, as individuals. These developments focused on the rights of an individual member of society rather than the society as one. These important events all came together to conclude in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948).

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is often debated on whether or not it was developed from western philosophy; making it a western ideal. Making human rights a universal concept is a disguise for cultural imperialism. Cultural imperialism is the act of upholding a more powerful culture over a lesser known or desirable culture. The more powerful culture usually belongs to a large, economically or militarily powerful nation and the lesser known o...

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... Human Rights Risk Atlas. This Atlas examines human rights risk tendencies with 31 different violations in 197 countries. The scale used: 0 - 25 is extreme risk, >25 - 50 is high risk, >50 - 75 is Medium risk, and >75 - 100 is low risk. The Atlas revealed a 70% rise in ‘extreme risk’ countries since 2008 – from 20 to 34 (2013). Factors leading to this increase were oppression of free speech, lack of worker rights, and competition between the local communities and industrial business users for land and water. There is a correlation between security forces in violent crackdowns and an increase in human security risks. In countries where these crackdowns have become more frequent, their score for freedom of opinion and expression also became worse. Governments that try harder to control and suppress their citizens end up facing even more problems of rebellion.