Perspectives on Human Rights
The foundational idea of human rights is the notion of rights. When the very existence of a being is dependent on other things, such a being may claim that they have the right to these things. For instance, the human being is dependent on breathable air (oxygen), therefore, no power in the world should delay, limit, or enumerate access to air to any human being. This kind of proposition is so universal that it cuts across time and across cultures, and did not need to be made into a negotiated social contract of any jurisdiction. It is taken for granted that humans must share the air they breathe and no one, no matter how powerful they might be, can interfere with every individual’s right to breathe the air. The same can be said about access to drinkable water: every human being, regardless of ability and capacity, have an absolute right to water to the extent that throughout history, and all cultures, access to water was guaranteed even when such access infringed on claims other persons might claim like right over land that has the only spring or stream on which other people depend on for drinking water. However, even basic and logical claims of rights to air and water can be challenged under certain circumstances and that created a context for competing claims of rights. For example, what should be done if one person undertakes some activity within a space they claim to be theirs, in their farm or residence, for example, that […]