9 Reasons why Human Rights are Important
9 Reasons why Human Rights are Important – As is quite evident by the name, human rights are the basic rights given to humans by the law. Some universal laws are common to each citizen of the world. Then there are national human rights that as assigned to the citizens of a particular nation.
Human rights are different rights inherent to all human beings, irrespective of their race, sex, ethnicity, nationality, religion, language, or any other status. These rights include different kinds of liberties that are given to humans. These rights are the freedom given to humans from slavery, torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the freedom of choosing the kind of education, and lots more.
Read More – 9 Mountain Ranges to See Before You Die
When we read about human rights, it comes to our mind how simple things we are talking about. But, these are very important for humans and not having any of these can create havoc in our lives. Once we have gotten these rights, it is practically impossible to live without these rights. There are also different special rights given to women and children. With time, different interests and awareness of humans have evolved and hence there are always several changes and developments in the human rights for them.
It is not possible to survive without human rights and hence they are very important. Here, we are 9 reasons why human rights are important. We are going to discuss them in detail. In 1948, the United Nations released the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These are the most important documents of what should be considered the standard for basic equality and human dignity. René Cassin is the father of the Declaration of Human Rights.
FYI – Human Rights has a special day on which it is celebrated and it is on 10th December, every year. The theme of celebration of this day for 2023 is “Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future.”
- Human rights help people to enjoy their basic needs
We all have basic needs. The needs like access to food, water, medicine, travel, etc anytime we want is because of human rights. All of these basic human needs are included in the human rights of basic needs for people. These are important because there are nations in the world that do not even give these things as basic rights to people. Certain tribes do not have this access in their lives. But, since these are mentioned under the different human rights, activists and social workers from around the world can work to get these rights for those people.
- Human rights guarantees freedom of speech and expression to each individual
Can you think about having a life where you have to think before speaking or cannot speak/voice your opinions freely? No, right! It is so because it is one of the most basic human rights that are declared for each individual in the world. Because of this right, people can speak anything without any fear. It goes both ways, too, and protects people who want to debate or argue with certain ideas expressed in their society without harming our being abusive with anyone.
- Human rights encourage equal work opportunities
This of course has to do with equal work opportunities between men and women. Gone are the days when only men were the financial leaders and decision-makers of the house considering they are the only ones who are bringing food to the table. But, things have changed and women are being equal in this matter and it has only been possible because of the human rights related to equal work opportunities. This also tells the work environment to not be biased or downright oppressive, introduce equal pay as per the talent, and equal treatment.
- Human rights allow people to stand up to societal corruption
In this age, when we are facing any kind of abuse, scam, or corruption, we can stand up against it by filing a complaint, right? It is so because we have human rights related to it. Since our society is not perfect, the right to assemble is important for every individual because it helps us to stand against these things. These rights give us the dignity to stand up for ourselves in case, any of such things happen. In case, we are forged, we can stand up without the help of anyone, and these rights assure us about that, to each individual.
- Human rights allow people to practice their or any religion of their choice
Violence throughout the world has always been happening on the grounds of religion. There have been wars related to religion for ages now. Right from the Crusades to the Holocaust to modern terrorism, most of the wars have happened because of religion. To put an end to this and to let each embrace the religion of his choice, human rights have something specially dedicated to this. These rights acknowledge the importance of a person’s religion and spiritual beliefs. If any person does not want to practice any religion then that is also their choice and no one can question them.
- Human rights protect vulnerable groups from abuse
One of the many reasons why human rights were created was because of the Holocaust and the horrors of WII. At that time, there were a lot of vulnerable groups in the societies that were targeted along with the Jewish population. The people belonging to the LGBT community and some disabled people also were targeted. So, to protect these people, human rights were created to protect those most vulnerable groups from any kind of abuse by powerholders, instead of ignoring them and living in unhealthy conditions.
- Human rights allow people to have access to education
Education is extremely important to people. We cannot think of a society where education is not easy-flowing and accessible to all. Rich societies and societies that face poverty, both need the importance of education because it is only because of education that a country prospers. Different organizations and government groups are concerned with human rights to provide access to schooling, supplies, and more to halt the cycle of poverty. Education is a basic human right which means that every person irrespective of their social status are rightfully can access education. It is just not for the elitist.
- Human rights allow protection of the environment
It might come as a shocker but there are human rights related to the environment as well. Since climate change is real and it can have adverse effects on humanity, it is very important to have human rights related to the protection of the environment. Land, water, air, everything comes under the environment and as humans we need all of these to survive. But, we cannot let human settlement impact the environment. The right to clean air, clean soil, and clean water are all as important as the other rights included in this list.
- Human rights provide a universal standard that holds governments accountable
The last human right that we are talking about here is the universal standard that holds governments accountable. When the UDHR was released, it had two major purposes and they were to provide a guideline for the future and force the world to acknowledge that during WWII, human rights had been violated on a massive scale. Human rights have standards and for those, governments can be held accountable for their actions.
Conclusion
Talking about India, we have 6 fundamental rights. Our fundamental human rights are the Right to Equality, the Right to Freedom, the Right against Exploitation, the Right to Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights, and the Right to Constitutional Remedies.
Human rights empower people and tell them that they deserve dignity in the society. On receiving human rights, people can stand up for themselves and have a voice/opinion of their own. Since human rights are universal, it is enjoyed by people all over the world and it brings them closer to the fact that everyone is co-existing. The Universal Declaration includes civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy.
Read More – Best Boarding Schools in Dehradun
9 Reasons why Human Rights are Important – As is quite evident by the name, human rights are the basic rights given to humans by the law. Some universal laws are common to each citizen of the world. Then there are national human rights that as assigned to the citizens of a particular nation. Human rights…