Free Distinction Between Civil And Human Rights Essay Example

Civil and Human Rights

Human and Civil rights are two of the basic rights conferred to every individual; human rights as inherent to every human being and civil rights by virtue of the constitution. The inherent characteristics of human rights make it inalienable; and therefore, no individual, group or even the government may deprive the enjoyment of these rights. The right to life, education, liberty and freedom are among the fundamental human rights. On the other hand, civil rights are the rights of a person as conferred by virtue of his citizenship and may include freedom of speech, the right to vote and the equal protection of laws among others.

Human Rights

Human rights being inalienable, is enjoyed by every individual regardless of nationality, residency, sex, national or ethnic or origin, colour, religion or any others status (United). Every human being is entitled to these rights indiscriminately and it is the duty of every sovereign country to protect these rights as customarily expressed by international laws. The characteristics of human rights are, a) it is founded on respect for the dignity and worth of each individual, b) it is does not discriminate, c) it is inalienable (but may be restricted in some instances, such as when a person is found guilty of a crime), d) each are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent, e) all of the human rights are of equal significance (United).
The international human rights law protects these inherent rights, under the principle that every individual shall enjoy these rights regardless of his location. To uphold these rights with the utmost dignity, a series of treaties was entered into by different states wherein each is bound by an agreement to abide by the laws and regulations as agreed. On December 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations as a common standard to promote respect and observance of these rights (The Universal).

Civil Rights

Civil rights are enforceable rights or privileges that are granted by virtue of a country’s constitution to its citizens and include the freedom of speech, the right to vote, due process of law and the protection from unlawful discrimination among others (U.S). These are inherent entitlement to liberty as conferred by law or custom and lies on the premise of freedom and equal treatment regardless of race, sex, education and other status. Every country has their own legislative measures by which to base the laws that prevent discrimination within the county’s jurisdiction.
In the United States, the observance of civil rights was mainly observed during the enactment of the 13th constitutional amendment that aimed to finally abolish slavery throughout the country. However, acts to limit the newly acquired freedom of the African Americans abound and as a response, the 14th amendment was proposed and ratified. The 14th amendment conferred citizenship to all people born and naturalized in the United States and significantly stressed that no state shall implement any rule or regulation that shall curtail the privileges given to these citizens.
After the reconstruction amendments, there are various civil rights legislations that were enacted and passed by Congress, most of which are aimed at protecting against discrimination and the subsequent denial of their rights. Interestingly, the most important civil rights that was ratified after the reconstruction amendments is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the objective of which is the prohibition of discrimination in public places, the integration of schools and public facilities as well as the declaration of the illegality of discrimination.
Being among the global leader and human rights advocate, the United States has the obligation to be part of international laws against human rights violations. In addition to being a global leader, the U.S is also home to about 25 million of non-citizen who came from different countries. It is for this reason that the United States should seek to be active in ratifying international human rights law to ensure other states that their citizens are protected within the U.S jurisdiction. The United States has proven in the past how it adapted to change and became a better country by acknowledging and protecting the human rights of its citizens. It is then essential to extend these developments to other nations, as stated by U.S ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, “we believe that working from within, we can make the council a more effective forum to promote and protect human rights” (Lynch). It should be the policy of the United States to support the observation of international human rights with the objective that every individual shall live freely and fully in the society.

References

Lynch, C. U.S to Join U.N Human Rights Council, Reversing Bush Policy. Washington Post. Retrieved from www.washington post.com
U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Civil Rights. Retrieved from www.hhs.gov
United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from www.un.org
United Nations Human Rights. What are Human Rights? Retrieved from www.ohchr.org.
United Nations. Human Rights for All. Retrieved from www.un.org