UN Bill of rights

In an attempt to understand the United Nations Bill of Rights , one must first recognize the audience which this charter is speaking to and to read it in that light . Unlike the English Bill of Rights in 1689 or America 's own Bill of Rights of 1791 , the United Nation Bill of Rights speaks to more than six billion people who are currently inhabiting this earth as well as those who are to follow in the future . In this small planet which we all inhabit , comes with the responsibility of being a rational

and caring human being as well as a certain number of expectations and protections from crimes against humanities which are perpetuated on others by their own motivations of hatred , greed and strife . Other injustices come from certain societies whose beliefs and practices are in direct contrast to the rest of the world . Such practices as honor killings in the Middle East or female circumcision in Africa , the UN Bill of Rights seeks to stamp out such barbaric practices as well as remind the more powerful nations of the West that they have a responsibility as well to not endanger weaker and small countries when it becomes convenient to do so . The thirty separate articles of the United Nations Bill of Rights seek the previously mentioned

The first two articles deal with the rights that the individual has which come from the very fact that he or she is a human being . It does not come from their individual merit . All people are born equal and as such , their existence commands a mutual respect one person to another despite some of the differences which many times , separates humans race , religion , gender or social class to name a few . In the Middle East , it is against the law to be a Christian . In Yemen it is a capital offense . Women are treated like second class citizens and many in Pakistan who do not marry Muslims men , are subject to honor killings in which a member of the family kills the offending female so that the family might be spared of further shame . Such things are foreign in America but in other parts of the world , occur all too often . In America , much of the above mentioned is used in to separate and discriminate against one group of people over another . However , in the underdeveloped countries in the world , such differences often times lead to the mass killings of a certain race or group . It is to this evil which the United Nations Bill of Rights speaks to . In our ethnocentric country , many Americans are blind to the injustices which occur on a large scale , around the world . In the last fifteen years , there have been genocides in Somalia , Uganda , Zimbabwe , Rwanda and now the Sudan because one group was a different color or belonged to the wrong tribe or religion and was killed in the millions because of it . It is not a coincidence that these most basic rights are seen as 1 and 2 in the Bill of Rights as they are , by far , the most important and sadly , need to remind a far greater number of offenders that people , despite being of a different social class , race , gender of religion , still have rights which were given to them upon birth and for more than 150 countries where abortion is illegal , those rights were given upon their conception

The third and fourth articles deal further with the freedoms of people and that they are guaranteed the right to life and to be free from slavery . Slavery is outlawed in the West and has been since the 19th century . However , there is also a sex slave trade in such countries as Cambodia and other Asian countries in which girls as young as five are made to sleep with men five and six times their age . This is in direct violation of the UN Bill of Rights and is something which the UN is seeking to stamp out and which they have made some progress . Article five , six and seven are articles which many people in the international community is faulting America as being guilty of breaking in their war on terror . Article five outlaws torture in any form , even if the information which the detainee might possess would help to save lives There is a fear that once given , the right to torture prisoners of war would get out of hand and that these offenses would become common place instead of the exception . Article six speaks to the individuality of the person and that they are to be recognized as a person before the law a person whose merits should and will dictate the case and not the religious , racial of gender group to which that individual is a member Article seven deals with a very important aspect which all too often is not a reality in America 's judicial system equality under the law . All too often , a poor person who has been accused of a crime and who cannot afford a defense , can surely expect to be imprisoned whereas those that can afford high priced attorneys , go free or serve a much reduced prison sentence . That is in America . In other parts of the world , those who do not have the money to bride prison guards and judges in to conceal their crime , spend extra long sentences for what is many times , minor offenses simply because they lack the resources and social status to provide for an adequate defense as well as command the respect of the judicial system . Just as all men and women have been created equal in the eyes of God , so too should they be regarded as equal under the law This article goes much further than due process of law but speaks to the very heart of an impartial judicial system . Articles nine , ten , eleven and twelve speak to the due process of the law . People cannot be jailed without the reason being stated and presented to the accused . In the summer of 1961 , Fidel Castro jailed more than 20 ,000 people simultaneously without a formal trial or reason . The United Nations seeks to eliminate that threat

Articles thirteen , fourteen and fifteen deal with further rights of the individual , especially within international affairs . Article thirteen outlaws illegal search and seizure practices in which it is unlawful for the police to search the masses for no reason and while that individual is under no suspicion of any wrong doings . This leads into Article fourteen which gives people the freedom from persecution . This happens all over the world and in the last fifteen years alone , more than five millions Africans have been killed because of their nationality or religion . In 1994 , 800 ,000 tribal Tutsis from Rwanda were killed in a mere 100 days . Currently in the Sudan , over two million Christians have been displaced and another 600 ,000 to over a million people have been murdered by the Islamic sponsored government there . This is in direct conflict with the United Nations Bill of Rights . Article fifteen states that a person has a right to identify with the nationality of their birth . If somebody is a Tutsi , they should not be forced to deny their heritage under duress or even killed . This is immoral and against the UN Bill of Rights

Article sixteen through Article twenty read like the first amendment to the Constitution . A person is given freedom to assemble , freedom of religion and of opinion . They have rights regarding the property that they own and it cannot be taken away from them without due process Article sixteen deals with the right to marry and to divorce . In many Muslim countries , divorce is not only threatened with disillusion with the family but also carries a threat of death as a punishment . In Africa , some woman , as little girls , has their private parts stitched together in to keep her pure for her future husband . However , in many cases , the reproductive ability of the girl is forever damaged and they are not able to bare children . This is against the UN Bill of Rights . The twenty first article speaks to the importance of a democratically elected government and that all adults have the right to participate in their government . This comes from voting , from voicing your opinion , either for or against a candidate or an issue without fear of retribution and to exercise in a democracy , the rights and actions of a free society

The twenty second Article supports democratically elected governments which seek to run the business of the people . By the beginning of the 21st century , a majority of the world 's countries have adopted , at least in part , some form of a quasi democratic government in that the will of the people is best served . Not all democratically elected governments are perfect some are far from perfect but it is widely recognized as superior to other forms of governments which trample over the rights of the people . The twenty third article deals with the right of the individual to join a trade union . In many parts of the world including America during much of the 19th century , unions were viewed as a form of socialism in which deviant elements ran the unions . The United Nations Bill of Rights states that it is the right of the worker to seek out a union if he or she feels that their rights would be better protected . Also , in a spirit of the early 20th century Progressive Movement in America , the Bill of Rights , in Article twenty four , states the importance of the ability and right of the worker to rest . The idea that a person who is forced to work , by his employer and not from an over active ambition , night and day , seven days a week , is not free and cannot be happy . Such environments are disadvantageous to one 's health as well as to the health of the people as a whole within the community These working conditions used to be seen in America as children as young as six and seven were compelled to work six and sometimes seven days a week for only dollars a day . This is also seen in present day China where despite working more than 70 hours a week in the nation 's factories , the average Chinese worker makes less than 2000 a year

The twenty sixth Article deals with the rights that individuals have to an education . In America as well as most Western countries , education is universal and free . In the Taliban 's reign of Afghanistan , women were compelled to leave school at an early age , if they ever went to school at all . This is similar in many other countries in the Middle East where women are expected to be subservient to their male counterparts . The United Nations Bill of Rights states that education shall be free and universal that such programs , when implemented , only lead to a furthering of peace and is helpful to the community as a whole . Also parents shall be able to choose the education that they want for their children and they will not be compelled to be given an education which is in conflict with the rights of the children or the wishes of the parent

Article twenty seven deals with the rights which an individual has to participate in his or her community . This deals with a common practice in some parts of the world of shunning a member of the community because he or she broke a tribal or cultural law . Outcasts which are placed on the fringe of society in which superstitions and cultural customs which impede that individual 's right to life and liberty , is outlawed by the United Nations . The twenty eight Article places a further foundation on the previous article and states that individuals are entitled to be present within the social and international communities in which the above mentioned rights are recognized for the benefit of the individual The twenty ninth and thirtieth Articles deal with much of the same and that the above mentioned rights shall not be misused and twisted in to impede the rights of the people of this world . This often times occurs in religion in which a text is taken out of place in to bring death and destruction upon a certain segment of the population at a certain time in history . The last article is warning against that and that efforts shall not be made to turn what is good and descent , into something which is used for the detriment of mankind

It would be wonderful to report that all or most of the Articles have never been violated or that every country makes a sincere effort to abide by all of these laws as well as the laws of the Geneva Convention Tens of millions of people would have lived a natural and full life in the 20th century alone , had that wish come to fruition . Sadly , that is not the case . Genocides and corruption in Africa will continue to keep that continent , despite a higher concentration of natural resources that anywhere in the world , in abject poverty . Religious toleration in the Middle East and communist countries in which people can choose to worship as they choose or not at all , are not likely to occur in the near future . The inherent right of an individual , just by the truth that he or she is a human being and therefore is entitled to an entire litany of rights , still is broken every day in this fallible world . However the United Nations Bill of Rights at least gives the message to the rest of the world as well as those chosen few in New York who are members of the United Nations , that there must never be a confusion as to the rights of the citizens of the world and as a result , genocides in Rwanda , religions persecution in China and the Middle East , ritual and tribal murders in Africa or government sponsored torture by the United States government in Cuba might possibly curtailed . To do nothing would be the greatest crime of all

WORKS CITED

Universal Declaration of Human Rights ' HYPERLINK "http /www .unhchr .ch /udhr /lang /eng .htm http /www .unhchr .ch /udhr /lang /eng .htm ...