Social Inequalities and Human Rights Violation

Social Inequalities and Human Rights Violation

Part 1:

Almost every day, I am confronted with new forms of injustice that plague the lives of those around me. In my perspective, great inequality has significant consequences on human rights. I have seen first-hand in other countries how human rights violations and inequality limit people's ability to seek justice and participate in democratic decision-making. Because of this policy change, disparities in health, education, housing, and other vital social services have worsened. As a result, I hope to understand better how human rights can be used to close existing disparities and inequality.

Research question: How much of a role do human rights have in reducing inequality?

Due to human rights violations in many institutions and countries, this question is relevant to my current one. Even after slavery was abolished, racism and other human rights abuses persisted against African-Americans. More than a century after slavery was ended, African-Americans continued to face racial prejudice and discrimination.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, "Frequently Asked Questions on Human Rights-Based Approaches to Development Cooperation" is an essential source of information for primary research in this paper. The document " Grounding human rights: What difference does it make?" released in 2018 by the Human Rights and Military Intervention serves as an additional secondary resource. Another secondary source is "Intervening on behalf of the human right to health: Who, when, and how?" A peer-reviewed article by Muyskens was published in 2021.

Because of their tireless efforts, human rights and inequality may now be regarded from the same historical viewpoint. Human rights must be examined to address the social inequities plaguing many countries and organizations. To better comprehend my research question, I used primary and secondary materials.

Part 2:

Before 1964, the social gaps experienced by people of color in the United States were compounded by their inability to acquire vital social services, such as health care. For the most part, they were required to be housed in separate quarters from their white counterparts and were not permitted to interact with them regularly. As a result, their options got more limited due to this. Existing inequalities in society are worsened by human rights violations, making it essential to pay greater attention to these issues in the future.

As a leader in the civil rights movement throughout the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in the struggle against the persecution of African-Americans and other oppressed groups. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. labored as a Baptist minister and social activist in the United States before becoming a civil rights leader (Ducksworth, 2022). He was just thirty-six years old when he passed away in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and had lived most of his life in Memphis. His impact continues as a Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1964. To campaign for the human rights of African-Americans, the poor, and anybody else who has suffered injustice, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used nonviolent protests to make his point. Primary laws, such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, were passed due to his leadership during the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, among other events. Since 1986, the United States has observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday to commemorate the life and legacy of the civil rights leader.

According to the study's sources, Martin Luther King, Jr. and his allies joined the fight against racial injustice after violent protest marches across the United States. To eradicate all forms of social injustice, international leaders and the current administration have to work together.

Martin Luther King Jr. urged people to participate in nonviolent marches against racial discrimination to ensure that everyone had equal access to their rights, regardless of color. Reaction in the South was violent and stubborn, and many there turned to criminal methods to escape the legislation. If not the practical one, African Americans had the legal right to attend primary and secondary education with their white counterparts (Knowlton, 2018).

Part 3:

Before 1964, African-Americans' social marginalization exemplified racism and inequalities in human rights protections. Following World War II, racial segregation in many sections of the country caused an increase in anti-racism activities in several places across the country. In documenting the fight to end racial inequity in the United States, journalists and camera operators from newspapers, radio stations, and television stations gained national exposure. Civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance, marches, protests, boycotts, and "freedom ride" rallies were among the tactics used. It was even being battled in court against the segregation policies.

Human rights activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. may be able to alter public opinion on social injustices as a result of the actions of others, despite widespread prejudice against them. According to him, the United States will one day recognize the genuine meaning of its founding text. He articulated this vision while standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, which stands in honor of the president who, more than a century earlier, ended slavery in the United States of America.

Racism and socioeconomic inequality may be caused by people acting on preconceptions or racial prejudices. As a result, this perspective makes human rights abuses and inequalities in access to social services and other opportunities more likely.

In the period when they were campaigning for the abolition of racial prejudice, individuals like Malcolm X were not sufficiently chronicled. Since the authorities deemed it "violent," his human rights work was outlawed.

Part 4:

Human rights breaches have been sustained over time by looking at current socioeconomic imbalances and people's limited access to rights and freedoms, among other factors. Regardless of ethnicity, country, gender, or any other social class one falls into; one has the same rights as anyone else. Everyone can exercise their human rights from the moment they are born. Many essential freedoms and rights are included in human rights, such as freedom from slavery, the right to express one's views, and the ability to earn a fair wage for equal effort. Everyone has equal rights and privileges regardless of ethnicity or nationality (Chapdelaine, 2017). One of the most significant accomplishments of the United States has been the establishment of a set of human rights that are generally recognized and internationally safeguarded. Participation in this code of conduct is open to anybody, and everyone is urged to work toward attaining their goals. Among the rights guaranteed by the United Nations definition of human rights are those to life, liberty, and security. The term also includes rights to civil and cultural freedoms and economic, political, and social freedoms. As a result, procedures have been established to assist governments in carrying out their responsibilities and promoting and defending these fundamental human rights.

Self-awareness allows me to approach social situations with an open and responsive attitude. My knowledge and understanding of a subject expand dramatically when I am conscious of the assumptions, beliefs, and values I bring to the table. To get a deeper understanding of the world around them, one might consider and combine many different concepts, facts, and principles when considering other points of view.

I have benefited from the failings of previous generations and the underlying structural difficulties that led to them. To improve the state of society, it is necessary to make wiser social judgments. 

References

Calder, G. (2018). Grounding human rights: What difference does it make? Human Rights and Military Intervention, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315187075-2

Chapdelaine, P. (2017). User property, user rights, and user privileges. Oxford Scholarship Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198754794.003.0009

Ducksworth, A. (2022). (Mis)Reading Martin Luther King, Jr. https://doi.org/10.54739/w8br

Frequently asked questions on the right to development. (n.d.). Human Rights Documents Online. https://doi.org/10.1163/2210-7975_hrd-2952-2016001

Knowlton, S. A. (2018). "Since I was a citizen, I had the right to attend the library". An Unseen Light. https://doi.org/10.5810/kentucky/9780813175515.003.0010

Muyskens, K. (2021). Intervening on behalf of the human right to health: Who, when, and how? Human Rights Review, 22(2), 173-191. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-021-00620-6