United Nations Commission on Human Rights

humiliating questioning and being forced to ‘prove their gayness’ in a variety of ways. As espoused in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, rights are not given to people by their status in society, where they are born or their government – they are innate and universal, without the ability for them to be taken away. There is no just cause for someone’s political, social, or economic rights to be infringed upon. However, this occurs, as can be seen in the plights of people who…

Australia’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, the commonwealth enacted the sex discrimination act 1984 on a federal level (Genovese, 2010). Under the amendments of this legislation “The Act protects people from unfair treatment on the basis of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status, pregnancy and breastfeeding” (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2014). In a bid…

between the importance of sovereignty and basic human rights. The violation of sovereignty, especially of weak and historically exploited states, is an important concern. However, firstly, our notion of sovereignty needs to be adapted to the African/Asian context and progress beyond its current, out-dated, Westphalian conception. Secondly, when undertaken through the principles of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), as described by the International Commission on Intervention and State…

the conditions did not meet her standards, she would attempt to reform through the policies of the Roosevelt administration. She completely changed the role of the First Lady forever; she changed it through her acts on the rights of youth, her influence on feminism, civil rights, and her involvement with the arts. (Freedman 1). Eleanor…

the UN. It signed the declaration by the United Nations at Washington on 1 January 1942 and furthermore, took an interest in the notable UN convention in San Francisco from 25 April to 26 June 1945. India has reliably upheld the purposes and standards of the UN and has made huge commitments to authorizing the objectives of the UN charter, especially within the discipline of peacekeeping. Despite supporting the purposes and principles of the United Nations, India keeps on being not able to do to…

International human trafficking and international human smuggling affect the most poverty-stricken civilizations around the world. With false promises such as a better job and other exceptional opportunities elsewhere, people are lured into what is known as modern day slavery. Millions of people are forced into labor as a result of this trafficking. There are many non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations that have been hard at work trying to put a stop to the…

A consideration of diversity in policy-making should shift the current discourse of culture away from a deficit, behavioural change approach to a rights-based, structural determinant approach. Attention to diversity, thus, may support policy-makers in changing broader social processes and beliefs that presently constrain healthy public policy and maintain ethnic health inequities. There are two theories as to why Māori suffer from health inequalities; one being that Māori have inferior…

Healthcare as a Universal Human Right The human right to health has been preserved in several legal instruments that are part of the globally acceptable legal standards. The idea that all people regardless of their socioeconomic status, level of education, age, gender or physical abilities must have access to unbiased and high-quality healthcare cannot be ignored (United Nations Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, 2000). Although this has been clear for over fifty years now since…

started off as any other. Who would have expected the deadliest terrorist attack the United States has ever had. An Islamic extremist known as al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes all with very important targets. American Airlines Flight 11 with United Airlines Flight 175 struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The Pentagon was hit by American Airlines 77 (History.com 1). United Airlines Flight 93 was the only hijacked plane that didn’t reach it’s target. The…

travelled to Australia between 1 July 1999 and 30 June 2003 (Australian Human Rights Commission 2004). The population of Australia at 30 June 2003 was 19.9 billion people (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006). Therefore, by keeping 2,184 ‘unlawful non-citizen’ children in mandatory detention for screening, the Australian Government reduced the potential health and security risks to 19.9 billion…