Global Rights

Human Rights   Feb 23, 2015 by Roman Asmundson

Charter

1.Right to equal and fair treatment- this includes freedom from discrimination, and fair working conditions

2.Right to a Nationality-the ability to call a nation, or a nation-state your own

3.Freedom of Choice- the ability to make your own decisions and follow your own path in life

4.Right to Live- entitlement to food, water, and safety of person

5.Freedom of movement- right to work and live wherever you choose, go wherever you want

Struggles

Zero tolerance policies, in many ways, conflict with some of the most basic human rights present in multiple nations. It is an unjust method of enforcing strict school policies upon to troubled, disabled, or sometimes unlucky students that inhabit the school. Students often struggle to abide to some of the questionable demands their schools make and take extra precautions upon every act they commit in fear of immediate expulsion. This itself contrasts the principles of freedom of choice, as the students are limited to a certain amount of decisions. For instance, a student may be expelled simply for bringing a pair of scissors to school in claim of possession of a weapon. This create inconveniences in the lives of students who need the use of these tools for a specific class or event in the school. It’s also outrageous to consider expulsion for the possession of a tool not meant to endanger the lives of others. Even expulsion itself is limiting the students’ choices by preventing them from going to school. Specifically in Ontario, the zero tolerance policy was criticized at certain schools for discriminating against black students. Larger proportions of black students were expelled at these schools compared to other ethnicity, which implies that the school staff are biased when deciding upon expelling a black student compared to a white student. This goes against the idea of equal and fair treatment towards all individuals. One shouldn’t be judged unfairly due to racial discrimination.

Zero tolerance should not exist within any school system due to its limitations on human rights and freedoms. Schools should work towards supporting the students to stay in school rather then aimlessly kicking them out. Also, the school policies shouldn't restrict the students’ freedom of choice as long as no other individual is harmed in the process making a decision. Although racial discrimination is difficult to detect and eliminate, individuals should be aware of this issue and discourage its presence in schools.

Ever since the prolific Rodriquez v British Columbia case of 1993, right to die legislation has been an issue readily debated in Canadian politics. According to our criminal code, “aiding or abetting” a suicide is a federal offence. Killing yourself is not. This law, in itself, is reasonable; lines between homicide and suicide become murky if assistance is permitted, and monitoring consent of the dying party is no easy task. Prohibiting this, however, prevents people physically unable to do harm onto themselves from making the decision to end their lives as they see fit. Of course, the right to commit suicide is not one explicitly outlined in the Canadian Charter. Rights to life, liberty, and security of the person, however, are included, and can be interpreted in such a way that includes rights to die. Additionally, section 15 includes a provision that states: “Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination […] based on […] physical disability”. Clearly, there is a basis for legislation prohibiting euthanasia to be considered unjust within Canada. This is also contradictory to rights outlined in our own global charter, in terms of rights to equal treatment and rights to live.

Why, then, are the ethics behind euthanasia still questioned? It seems to be an issue of how human rights are interpreted today versus how they were interpreted in the past. No longer is it an issue of one group being able to vote while another is prohibited, permitting people of a particular race to live in only one geographical area. Inequalities are not as obvious as they uses to be. In this case, a person with full mobility and without are held to the same standards—both are forbidden from seeking help to commit suicide, and both are allowed to kill themselves. The issue lies within the fact that one group is, quite literally, unable to take advantage of this provision. You cannot kill yourself if you cannot move your body; such is an unfortunate truth. There is a pre-existing disadvantage present that forces special considerations to be made. It is not enough to permit an idealized “everyone” to exercise their rights to life via suicide—in order for this right to be effective, it must be ensured it is applicable to all, regardless of ability, sex, gender, age, what have you. Everyone must be considered.

According to The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, published by the United Nations(UN) everyone, no matter who they are, or what they might stand for, has the right to an education. Then why isn't this the case? The root of this problem needs to be examined.

Discrimination is one reason why some people do not receive educations. As highlighted by the zero tolerance policy, discrimination against minorities is present, and some are expelled from schools. Also, sexism plays a part. Statistically, women are less educated then men. And especially in Muslim cultures, this is true. 74% of Muslim women in Pakistan are illiterate(http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/know_sharing/g.... This means they have not received an education. And due to their societal norms and practices, they most likely never will. This will remain an issue for years, no matter what we try to do to stop it.

The definition of an education may also be why people are not receiving education. To us, inhabitants of a first world country, we see education as learning how to read and write, and attending a school. However, in many societies this is not an education. Many cultures, including Aboriginal ones teach education as an “apprenticeship”. Learning how to hunt from an elder for example, or creating a fire with your father would be an education. This specific definition might be why statistics are misleading and can often be confused.

To properly see who receives an education, we must look at the viewpoints of the receivers of education, and see if they think they are receiving a proper education.

Recommendation

To ensure that everyone receives their human rights we need a stronger world government with its own police force. The United Nations lacks the power to do much policing, and has pointless bureaucratic policies. An elected world government with its own police force could ensure these basic rights are protected quickly and efficiently. These rights are being violated everyday, and to ensure their security, significant change must occur immediately.

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