The concept of human rights is at the center of liberal political theory. They can be defined as the freedoms and rights that all people in the world are endowed with from birth to death (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2019). Human rights regulate relations between members of society, as well as “relationship with the State and the obligations that the State have towards them” (UNICEF, n.d). This concept is formed on the basis of ideas about dignity, independence, respect, equality, and fairness. Although human rights cannot be taken away from a person, they can be restricted by law in certain cases (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2019). These rights are ensured both at the state level and in international documents.
Although universal human should be granted to all people, their conceptualization is not accurate enough at the present time. Gordon (2017) stresses that the main controversy, in this case, is the need to protect cultural pluralism at the same time as rights that do not depend on racial, class, religious and cultural differences. The issue may lie in a Eurocentric view that does not take into account the historical characteristics of states and societies in other parts of the world. Thus, human rights must be universal values that can be relevant to all people. A more appropriate concept might be the natural human pursuit of happiness and avoidance of pain.
References
Gordon, M. (2017). In search of a universal human rights metaphor: Moral conversations across differences. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(1), 83-94.
UNICEF. (n.d). What are human rights?
Equality and Human Rights Commission. (2019). What are human rights?