#humanrights70th

Are Human Rights Really Universal?

Learn Human Rights!

As a human being, I am entitled to these rights and it is my responsibility to protect what is mine and fight for it when needed. As somebody who grew up in a secure and comfortable environment, I never gave much thought to this subject. It was hard for me to comprehend and empathize with those who were struggling for even basic rights. When I used to read about instances in Syria or Africa, it was no doubt deeply saddening but it was not enough to motivate me and make me fight for their rights. But the more aware I became, I realized that my own rights are being violated every day. Simple things like forced exposure to passive smoking which violates one’s human right to live in a healthy environment are often neglected. Freedom of expression is curtailed when we have to think twice before saying what we want to and there is gender disparity each time we purchase these flashy magazines objectifying women. Being a passive observer is violating one’s own rights. It’s high time we stood up for ourselves and for others.

When it comes to human rights, many questions go through my mind. What are human rights? Is our current list of human rights complete? When did human beings all over the world realize that they have these rights? Do the different understandings of human rights mean different developmental stages of human culture all over the world? What can be considered as true progress on human rights? Why aren’t human rights yet universally supported in every country, and just the more developed countries? Should people who live in comparatively freer countries, who have more rights, ignore the violations of human rights happening in other counties today, such as in North Korea and China? These are just some of the important questions about human rights. By doing this research project, we hope to gain a more comprehensive and deeper understanding about where human rights are being violated in today’s world, and what we can do to support people who are suffering as a result of being deprived of their human rights. As I see it, human rights are some rights that allow people to live in dignity, knowing that their volition will be respected, as an independent human. Human rights should be international, which means people should pursue the goal of common human rights for all human beings, regardless of their nationality. Unfortunately, some countries are not doing so well on this issue, for example, China, which sends back all those that try escape from North Korea. Should we protect the human rights of other countries as the way we fight for the human rights of our own country? I was born and have spent almost all of my life in China. In my culture, the belief that every human being is entitled to certain rights originates from an ancient text, the Analects of Confucius. Among his teachings, the most representative one is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” However, in my observations of the people in my hometown, I noticed that they barely talk about human rights, since they think that the concept is not related to them. And when I reckon my human right to freedom of expression is being abused or denied, so many people around me tell me exactly the opposite, which makes me question whether fighting for freer expression is just look at the issue from my perspective and understanding of “deserved human rights”. In my current situation, if I fight for common human rights, most of my fellow citizens will ignore me, and not care. Then what should I do? What am I able to do?