Human Rights in Relation of State Interest Essay Example

From birth, every human is unique in their own special way and has rights that help them uphold their individuality. These rights are believed to belong justifiable to every person and are to be upheld by each state. Although many states try to strive to uphold these rights there are times where state interest takes priority over an individual’s rights. There are many intentions when it comes to these states making their interest more important, some maybe for the greater good while others are not. In the following, we will take a look at why human rights are so important and if the state’s interest should take priority of individual rights.

What are human rights and why are they so important. For many years now many states have been trying to give their people a set of moral principles that all humans receive at the time of birth. Following World War II, thirty principles of human rights were created to help ensure that no person would ever have to go through persecution for being an individual. Established on the 10th of December 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared common standards to be upheld for all people. This declaration allows the people to live without fear of not being protected for key values that are present in society. These rights are important because without them the state is able to treat their people however, they want to cause immerse damage to society, the economy, and international security.

There are many instances where state interest takes priority over situations of individual interest for the wrong reasons. One of the most notable ones would be the Holocaust, with the human rights violations of, the right of life, freedom of thought and religion, and no torture and inhumane treatment. This was developed by people feeling it was the fault of the Jewish people that cost the German state the First World War. This allowed for a stereotypical enemy for the German nation which was one of the reasons why the Jewish people had their rights taken away from them. This is one of the reasons that sparked the thirty human rights we have today. The German state took the right of life away from some of these people during the mass genocide of the Jewish people. The Jewish people suffer immensely due to the German’s state anti-Semitic views. In 1933 the first German concentration camps were established to detain anyone who was of Jewish descent. In these camps, people were forced into labor roles or were executed. Many people died from overworking, poor living conditions, and exterminations. This violates human rights by not allowing the Jewish people to have a right to life. The killings in these camps made it clear to people that Jewish people were not to be held at the same calibrator as a German person’s life. Even though they are entitled to their right to live. The next violation would be freedom of thought and religion. For many, the freedom of thought and religion is sought after to the highest content. This was especially true when it came to the Jewish people when the anti-sematic laws came in place. This made it so those of Jewish descent weren’t allowed to have their own thoughts without fear of being in danger. The same goes for religion many had to hide their worship so they wouldn’t be killed. Those in hiding had to modify their traditions solely due to the fear of being caught and killed if they were found. Those in the concentration camps were not given the right to practice either of these as well due to the fear of being killed. The final violation listed would be the right of no torture and inhumane treatment. Torture and inhumane treatment are defined as a punishment that causes immense pain and mental suffering. This happened a lot during this time. People would be worked to the point of not knowing who they were. They would work until they were either injured then in turn killed or died of exhaustion. This violates this right because they were experiencing mental and physical pain for just being who they are. The German state decided people who were of Jewish descent did not share the same rights as a German person. Therefore, putting its own interest in front of individual rights, costing over seventeen million lives in the process.  In this instance and many others, the state's interest should have never been above personal rights.

The state has many things it has to consider when it comes to providing a safe environment for its society. Sadly, some human rights do get compromised, by these states looking towards the greater good or what is tradition. One example of this is when tradition comes into play. For many cultures such as that in India where the tradition of arranged marriages. In this, the families have a contract agreement that their offspring will be married. In some instances, it is families paying the other family to marry their child. This violates the right to marry and have a family. It states in the declaration that one must marry into marriage by their own free will and full consent. For some this may mean marrying someone that they are not in love with and may fear that they could potentially be abused. Due to the fact that this is a common tradition in India, it is overlooked as a human right violation. Since most countries’ tradition outranks what society declares as right and wrong behaviors. Another thing could be the state protecting itself. Looking at the view of the state and how they go about protecting their people is something that will always differ. In the case of Syria using chemical weapons, it was a horrible thing that should not have happened due to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention banning the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons. This violated the human rights of the Syrian people, by causing unnecessary harm. To look at it as a person who is not a part of the government can see that it was a horrible thing that shouldn’t have occurred. But looking on the other end Syria could have been thinking if I produce and stockpile these weapons it could keep the people safe. The main point is there are always two sides to a situation that doesn’t make it right, but it does allow the people to take into consideration both points of view.

In ending human rights are something that every person is permitted to. These rights are not able to be taken away but maybe compromised to what the state view as the greater good. The states’ interest should not overtake individual rights unless it is to protect them from having more human rights taken away. There are many violations that could have been stopped if basic human rights were seen as something everyone has. These rights are something that protects the people no matter their race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and so much more.