No matter what, we are all human beings and we deserve to live a meaningful life; we all deserve our rights. There has been much debate about how imperative our political, cultural, social and economic rights are for all of us in the contemporary world. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was adopted by nations as a mere non-binding declaration and has since been influential as a universal human rights norm for all countries. In order to enforce these rights, we must be able to act as a collectively strong society ensuring that our government does not neglect certain rights over others and other priorities.
The most prominent features of the ICCPR are conducive to the realization of other rights. Our civil and political rights inherently function as the backbone for all of the other human rights to exist. The right to vote, the right to life, the right to freedom, etc. have been engraved from the US Constitution to the ICCPR. Throughout history, societies have definitely come a long way when it comes to addressing human rights violation and implementing rights policies to counter and prevent atrocities. When we are given the right to live and express our free speech, we welcome our social and economic rights. But many people argue that our political and civil rights are not the key to seeking redress for economic, social and cultural violations.
Some provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights deal with social rights as articles 23 and 24 address issues of children, family, marriage, etc. So, do our political and civil rights work in unison with the social and economic rights? In order to successfully win our political rights, we need to keep our economic freedom in check. Our political and civil rights are referred as “negative rights” and it is true that our government cannot interfere with our civil liberties. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that our civil liberties should not at all be handled by governments. Our governments--the duty bearers, are entitled to making sure we are protected from violations by all means.
Many times, our social and economic rights wobble on the brink and our political and civil rights are occasionally threatened. Michael Haas, the author of the Civil and Political Rights and Crimes Against Humanity has stated that the categorical division of rights is actually the government’s intention to focus on certain rights over others. Although, our civil liberties cannot be interfered by the government, we know that without the government to enforce and make sure we are protected, our political and civil rights will simply be another lengthy text on a paper. Is there a way we can enforce our rights and successfully implement them every day in our lives?
Michael Haas further discusses affirmative action where he quotes, “ As the concept evolved, employers have been required to desegregate their employees so that members of different groups work side by side” (Haas, 124) When South Africa’s struggle of Apartheid ended, the resolution from the Durban Declaration and Program of Action at the World Conference Against Racism adopted a post-apartheid agenda so that there will no longer be discrimination among races, ethnicities, and religious minorities. The reason why there is an incredibly alleviated discrimination or maybe none at all, is not because of affirmative action but due to communities working together. South Africa’s government has a huge hand in the protection of their citizens’ political and civil rights. The people of South Africa that worked together weeded out the hatred quickly from the grassroots level. Just like an army of ants working together in unity and conquering their quests, an army of humans are key in fighting against the evil and the irresponsibility of governments in protecting our rights.
We give a huge credit to Dr. Martin Luther King on his accomplishment for abolishing segregation and discrimination against black people. However--without the determined people--the group of individuals who risked their life and sweat on the battleground, Dr. King would've never achieved his dream. Truth is, we need more than a leader; we need a community as a whole in order to get our voices heard in making real changes. Unfair justice system--is one of the issues that we are experiencing right now. The only way to combat and inform our government to ensure that our rights are enforced is through a collective community. When we fight for something in a collective manner, we often get heard and succeed. Coalitions formed through the effort of collective groups can really create a difference in forming and shaping the rights of our countries. We can protect our rights through a strong unified community.
Our civil and political rights depend on our economic and civil rights--and vice versa. Governments should strive in making our civil liberties protected while ensuring that the violators are punished accordingly. Government neglects one right over another when rights are labeled as “negative rights”. When our rights are ignored and injustice prevails, we must stick together as a strong diverse collective society and rise to fight. This is the only way to let our governments be aware of our inherent human rights and move towards a truly democratic society.
