What are human rights, why are they important and international relations, and how can they be justified?

(Orend 2002 ,

. 69 73 . This argument draws heavily from social morality . Human rights exist in the beliefs that are shared by humans across the globe . They are a result of ethical customs and practices and their codification into law only facilitate their application though they existed before the law (Orend 2002 ,

br 76

The grounding of human rights on morality and ethics has however come under criticism . Some people feel that moral norms are an illusion that has subconsciously been entrenched into our thoughts and our language This gives rise

to the problem of justification . It is important for human rights to be grounded on an objective viewpoint rather than the subjectivity of others who wish to impose their beliefs on the rest of the populace (Gorecki 1996 ,

.19 . However , morality appears to be the best grounds for justification of human rights . This is because morality and ethics are universally upheld and all societies have a code of conduct that implies respect for fellow human beings with some sanctions when these are violated . In deed as Gorecki (1996 ,

.17-18 ) asserts , the inalienable rights of liberty , life as well as the pursuit of happiness as proclaimed in the American Declaration of Independence were not proclaimed because of the subjective thoughts of Thomas Jefferson or the imposition of the Continental Congress . They were given independent of any subjective views since every man has these inherent rights by virtue of their humanity . Thus in this sense , human rights are objectively justified

Other validations for human rights are based on religious principles Such arguments usually posit that human rights are ordained by God and should therefore be observed since not doing so would be in violation of God 's teachings . The grounding of human rights in religious teachings places them beyond...