Human rights are the minimum conditions necessary for the healthy growth of individuals and peoples. Minimum human rights include sufficient life goods, availability of education and work, cultural acceptance, economic justice, and the right to political participation. The struggle towards universal promotion of human rights has been an issue in the world for quite some time. However, only recently have strides towards human rights been made evident in the world. Just as with peace and political participation, the promotion of basic human rights has flourished in the developed world. There are very little instances in modern history in the developed world, such as in North America and Western Europe, where human rights have been denied to people. However, one widely known denial of human rights has been the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba by Americans.
In the developing world, just as with political participation and peace, basic human rights have been ignored and not been granted to many who are oppressed or not the most prosperous in society. As previously mentioned, the Darfur genocide is one such instance where the human rights of entire villages are denied by the militarist ideals of the Sudanese and Janjaweed. Oppressive governments also disregard human rights, as in China and, more recently, in Myanmar in the case of the oppressed monks and the withholding of aid relief in the wake of the cyclone Nargis. The people do not only die because of the denial of rights; those who live continue to be oppressed and those in power flourish because of their ease of access to the basic necessities of human life.
Like peace and political participation, we believe that human rights should be promoted and granted to all people, regardless of where they are in the world. In this world, many people are often mistreated and the careless actions of others in their lives lead to them not leading their lives to their potential. As we learned, the human rights of child workers are often denied in the developing world. We live good lives in the developed world and we don’t often think about how our lives would be different if our human rights were taken away. Those who live in the developing world often face this frequently in their lives. We think that we should not take these for granted; anything could change our lives and take away the rights that we often forget we have.
The need for recognition for human rights can be linked to the modern day issues involving Myanmar and both the persecution of protesting monks as well as the denial to accept aid after cyclone Nargis. Human rights are supposed to protect and promote the lives of people so that they can live their lives to their fullest extent as well as reach their potential. In the case of the protesting monks, the militarist government has been killing monks as well as making them “disappear”; the whereabouts of thousands of monks is unknown. The government is taking unnecessary and radical action against monks who rightly protest the government. In the case of denying aid after cyclone Nargis, the government is preventing aid to help, and potentially sustain life, of survivors of the cyclone. This move denies them the human right to life, the most basic of rights.
As Christians, promoting human rights is closely tied to Jesus’ message of love. To allow others to live, in its most basic form, is an expression of love by prevention of death. To allow for them to live their lives in the highest potential is an even more gratifying display of love. In order for human right recognition to flourish, we must take an initiative to make people aware of injustices committed against others. The more people know, the more they are likely to promote human rights. With this in mind, it is possible to achieve total recognition with enough support.
In the developing world, just as with political participation and peace, basic human rights have been ignored and not been granted to many who are oppressed or not the most prosperous in society. As previously mentioned, the Darfur genocide is one such instance where the human rights of entire villages are denied by the militarist ideals of the Sudanese and Janjaweed. Oppressive governments also disregard human rights, as in China and, more recently, in Myanmar in the case of the oppressed monks and the withholding of aid relief in the wake of the cyclone Nargis. The people do not only die because of the denial of rights; those who live continue to be oppressed and those in power flourish because of their ease of access to the basic necessities of human life.
Like peace and political participation, we believe that human rights should be promoted and granted to all people, regardless of where they are in the world. In this world, many people are often mistreated and the careless actions of others in their lives lead to them not leading their lives to their potential. As we learned, the human rights of child workers are often denied in the developing world. We live good lives in the developed world and we don’t often think about how our lives would be different if our human rights were taken away. Those who live in the developing world often face this frequently in their lives. We think that we should not take these for granted; anything could change our lives and take away the rights that we often forget we have.
The need for recognition for human rights can be linked to the modern day issues involving Myanmar and both the persecution of protesting monks as well as the denial to accept aid after cyclone Nargis. Human rights are supposed to protect and promote the lives of people so that they can live their lives to their fullest extent as well as reach their potential. In the case of the protesting monks, the militarist government has been killing monks as well as making them “disappear”; the whereabouts of thousands of monks is unknown. The government is taking unnecessary and radical action against monks who rightly protest the government. In the case of denying aid after cyclone Nargis, the government is preventing aid to help, and potentially sustain life, of survivors of the cyclone. This move denies them the human right to life, the most basic of rights.
As Christians, promoting human rights is closely tied to Jesus’ message of love. To allow others to live, in its most basic form, is an expression of love by prevention of death. To allow for them to live their lives in the highest potential is an even more gratifying display of love. In order for human right recognition to flourish, we must take an initiative to make people aware of injustices committed against others. The more people know, the more they are likely to promote human rights. With this in mind, it is possible to achieve total recognition with enough support.
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