HUMAN RIGHTS

UNIT-3

HUMAN RIGHTS

DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Quest: Give a chronological development of human rights.

Ans.  Freedom, Security, property and resistance to oppression were the main issues regarding rights till 1789.  Later on, human dignity and well-being became the matter of concern for people.

First of all, there was demand for civil and political rights, so that any individual can confront the state in case of state acting against the political freedom of the citizens.  These rights were recognised during the American Revolution (1787) and the French Revolution (1789).  According to this provision, right to life prohibition of slavery, prohibition of torture and inhuman behavior,  prohibition of arbitrary detention, freedom of marriage and of parentage, right  to private property and right to do anything in so far as it does not harm others, were included in the right to civil liberties.  While political rights included the right to vote, the right of resistance to oppression, the right of peaceful assembly including freedom of religion.

The second phase of right includes those types of rights that require government intervention for implementation. These rights are called social rights because of its emergence due to social struggles.  If due to some social unrest, few of rights of citizens are abandoned then other few must be restored by the government.  Right to work and to social protection were enrolled in the law of March 19, 1793.

The universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) includes United Nations International pacts on civil and political and on Economic, Social and cultural Rights (Dec-16, 1966) along with right to social security (article 22), right to work (article 23) and right to education (article 26).

The third phase of human rights is related to the fundamental principle of equality and non-discrimination.  This type of rights include right to development, the right to peace, environmental law and considerations of bio-ethics etc.

The fourth generation of rights proposed by Emmanuel Kobla  Quashigah  is global in nature and humanity in general will be benefitted by it.  Though it is yet undecided still equality is the most important issue for the proposal and will include issues like environmental law and bio-ethics.

In democratic society, the majority of the people wins the issue and there is every possibility of their supporting any issue which goes against the human rights.  So, to protect people from any type of exploitation, there must be a provision.  Currently, this role is played by courts.

RIGHTS:

Quest:  What do you understand by rights? (Dec-2014   150 words)

Ans. To define simply “right’ is to say that it is well founded claim.  Different foundations have been mentioned to ground different rights. According to John Locke, “by mixing our labour ‘with the free gifts of nature, we can acquire the “right to private property”.  Marxists approve the private ownership of “consumer goods”, but are opposed to the ownership of producer goods.  But some rights like, right to life, liberty and free speech is a part of our human nature, therefore, cannot be seperated from us. Government can curtail them for a short period in case of emergencies.  Government has right to take even fife, in the case of well-founded reason.

Quest: Explain Natural rights and positive rights (June-2013, Dec.2013, 150 words)

Quest: What do you understand by natural rights and positive rights? Explain (June -2011, 150 words)

Ans. Rights may be differentiated on the basis of the foundation of its claim. Thus, on the basis of foundations, the distinction can be made between positive rights and natural rights and their corresponding duties.  The foundation of ‘natural rights’ is our human nature.  For example: it is human nature to protect himself. On this basis ’right to life’ has been sanctioned by the constitution. From it, arises the right to security and safety.  Even one has the right to kill an aggressor to save one’s life. For example, being human being, it is our duty to ourselves, to take care of our bodies. And it is possible when we have fundamental right to food, clothing and shelter.  So every citizen has the right to sufficient supplies of them along with the proper means to obtain them. The right to a decent job and a living wage are this type of rights.  Though this right does not give us the liberty to fall prey to overindulgence and perish.  Our rights should be monitored by intelligence. We should take care of others rights and use the resources in a restricted way, so that others may also enjoy their rights.

Whereas, positive rights are those which are granted to us by law.

       Natural rights are related to the existence of human beings.  So these cannot be snatched.  These are authentic ‘human rights’ ingrained  in the human nature. Being natural, there is no question of these being granted by the government. Government merely recognizes and guarantees them. To refuse to acknowledge a certain natural power is to act beyond its proper power, for any government.  It is possible for any government to prevent someone from using one’s natural rights, but impossible to abolish one’s claim of it.  For example, in the condition of emergency, government may suspend certain ‘natural rights’ for common good.  State may take help of private agencies to save the lives of the citizens and provide them food or medicine in the case of natural disaster. Government may curtail freedom of speech in the time of war. But it is also for the better cause. Just to protect the common man because easy access to information may give clue to enemies, which will jeopardize the security of the nation and citizens.

RIGHT TO LIFE:

Question: Define human rights. Make a critical analysis of ‘Right to life’.(June-2014 . 500 words)

Ans: Right to life is the most basic fundamental right.  According to Aquinus:

“It is the most basic practical first principle.  It is the natural urge in human beings to preserve themselves.  The life is given by God.  So only God can take this life. Nobody else has any right to destroy on innocent human being. Even atheists may not deny this right.  This right to life is the basis of all the other rights.

       This right to life includes in it, the right to kill any attacker.  Thomas Aquinas justifies this on the grounds of the ‘Principle of Double Effect’. The one is of killing others while the other is of preserving one’s own life.  The one is out of compulsion and the other is intentional. But using more violence than is necessary is unjustified. To repel the aggressor with moderation will be lawful. To avoid the act of self-defence for the sake of salvation will be unreasonable.

       Helder Camara mentions in his Spiral of Violence, three types of violence: structural violence, insurrection violence and repressive violence. Violence inflicted by unjust social structure is structural violence. Insurrectional violence occurs due to revolt against injustices. Whereas repressive violence occurs when state calls troops to suppress the revolting peasantry.  Once again this act of repression causes revolt and the violence escalates.  Though only the second type of violence is considered as violence whereas the first and third are described as “public order” and ‘restoring the public order’.

       The present situation of the society is violence infested and the persons who take recourse to reconciliation, dialogue and healing must be praised .  Nobody has the right to violate the right and duties of others. 

As Mahatma Gandhi says that, every murder or every injury, committed against others is a crime against humanity.  While Paolo Freire would differ with 
Gandhi on this matter. He says that the violence of the oppressor and the oppressed is of different type. The violence of the oppressor is dehumanizing while the violence of the oppressed merely prevents the oppressor from dehumanizing himself.

The right to life:  (Dec-2013 100 words)

Sometimes, it is government, so entrenched   in power, which incites the people to take recourse to violence to achieve its legitimate aim. Aquinas also supports this type of violence.  He says that it is the oppressor who is the guilty of sedition. Abuse of power, failure of all peaceful means, necessary amount of violence, unharmed innocent third party, and no greater evil is foreseen to ensue, are the five necessary conditions under which scholastic tradition permits oppressed people to revolt.  But the real problem is the implementation of all these conditions.

       The amount of oppression will be the deciding factor that whether they should revolt or not.  Because chances are there to be suppressed by the mighty.  As J P Narayan said that it was more for pragmatic reasons than for moral ones that he abodoned the path of violence.

SOME SPECIFIC HUMAN RIGHTS

Private Property:  Right to private property including producer goods is human right.

       Since private property is essential for the well being of human person, right to private property is a natural human right. We need material goods for our growth, health and sustenance. Also, human being has right to ‘store up’ for future plans and emergencies.  Human being has also right to recreation.  After hard work, a reasonable amount of entertainment is necessary.  It is legitimate also to demand for more sophisticated forms of amusement.  It is a part of human duty towards human inherent nature. 

       But these material goods need to be maintained by some intelligent being.  A bit of both intellectual and physical labour is needed to avail the ‘consumer goods’ we need.  To improve the quantity and quality of these goods, research work is also needed.

       ‘Producer goods’ may be maintained by collective farms and state-ownership.  Private ownership is not so necessary.  But facts prove that human being don’t take care of anything which does not belong to them, directly. That’s why private ownership is now preferred to public sector. Private enterprises flourish better than the public ones because they can face the challenge of competition by developing quality control, efficiency in management, research into better methods of production and so on.  Of course, the motive behind all this is bigger profit and the production of better goods but indirectly it will help the consumer and the government as well.

       Though the side-effect of this cut-throat competition will be naturally there in the form of ‘having more, producing more and hoarding more’.  Since it is the nature of human being to seek happiness, they crave for more accumulation.  Being not satisfied indicates that the person is not having sufficient.  The purpose of human life and development is not to be more (human) but to have more. But the reverse of this order, that is ‘be more’ and ‘having more’ a mere means to this, is the demand of the time to save the humanity from perishing.

Q1. Define Rights.

Q2. Explain natural rights and positive rights.

Q3. Explain Right to Life.

Q4. Briefly write on Private Property.