HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOVEREIGNTY

Since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the international system has established a complex system of mechanisms to promote universal human rights and to protect human rights violations. (Alston and MacDonald, 2008:1).

The fight of force the leaders to treat the citizens with dignity of a certain way happened a long time ago. For example, in the past was created the international effective rate that prohibited the slaves’ trade and the slavery. If we remember before the Second World War, talking about human rights was not place in the political agenda, not at least in the Agreement of the League of the Nations where human rights were mentioned; in addition it is important to mention that the international system did not count with multilateral treaties and, institutions dedicated exclusively to the human rights. (Covarrubiasy Ortega, 2007: 35).

In addition, the support of the international community has been important for the evolution of human rights and some events that permitted the consolidation of them. For example: the collapse of the Soviet Union and its regime, the fall of the military and civil dictatorships in Latin America and the processes of political opening of Africa and Asia. (Reisman, 1990: 888)

Inside the norms of international law we can find the terms of sovereignty and human rights, that always have conflicts to describe what is more important for a State. We want to define both terms and find the difference. With this we can explain the conflict that exists between sovereignty and human rights. 

 

Human Rights

            Human Rights are defined as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human (Donnelly, 2007:20). Also are paramount moral rights, recognized in international law so many countries recognize these rights in their national legal systems as well, for example: protection against discrimination (Donnelly, 2007:22). So for use the human rights in the society we must consider the national law and practice, for example in the United States both constitutional and statutory law prohibit racial discrimination, this based on sexual preference, (Donnelly, 2007:23); almost racial minorities that usually claim legal and constitutional rights or civil rights.

List of Human Rights

To know what is the content, meaning and the most important of the list of Human Rights we have to understand the international legal and political consensus of rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Human Rights Covenants.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION:

Art 6: A person must be recognized in order to be treated with any kind of concern or respect.

Art 3, 5, 15: Personal rights to nationality and to recognition before the law, along with rights to life and protection the torture and other inhuman or degrading practices. (Donnelly, 2007:24-25)

Art 1, 2, 7: the rights of equality must be submitted in the daily life in order to practice the equal respect. Equal respect for all the persons is at most hollow without the freedom to own ideas of a good life.

Art 12, 18, 20: The freedoms of speech involve the privacy and the most important the personal autonomy.

Art 26, 27: The rights of education it’s the most important to the human development because participle in the cultural life.

We conclude that adopting the list of Human Rights in the Universal Declaration and Covenants, is so important because this guarantee the respect and the protection of the integrity of people.

 

Sovereignty

In political science, sovereignty has never had a meaning which was universally agreed upon. The traditional meaning of sovereignty can be reduced to internal control and external autonomy, this interpretation emphasizing mainly the capacity of state sovereignty to act as a barrier to unwanted external intervention. (Badescu, 2001: 21)

The state is the sole repository of sovereignty authority, understood as the capacity to make authoritative decisions with regard to the people and resources within the territory of the state. (Badescu, 2001:22)

Sovereignty has thus been described as “hard law” meaning that it encompasses legally binding obligations that are precise. Respect for the sovereignty of other states is the universal standard of international conduct. (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sovereignty/, 02-10-2012)

 

 In our opinion, this means that some or every states can be free to take decision for their countries but this could not affect other state. In addition, the sovereignty is the principal characteristic of the State.

Conflict between the sovereignty of States and the protection of human rights

When we started to talk about sovereignty and human rights, we have to understand that these two concepts can confront, mainly because were discussing about the difference of the rights of the State face and the rights of the individuals.

In international law the paradigm based on traditions of the sovereign States hasn't govern more, since it has insufficient political and legal material which can't overcome the problems or situations that occur in our present.

After World War II, the cold war and other global episodes has continue feeding the index of crimes against humanity, such as, the terrorist attack on the twin towers in Manhattan, Afghanistan and Iraq invasions, coups of state in the Middle East as Libya and Egypt, among others, which have been seen as evidence for the need of a change in international relations. (Cortés, 2007:135)

The phenomena produced by economic globalization, the growth of unemployment, the destruction to the environment, have produced that the model centered on the idea of State-nation loses effectiveness. (Cortés, 2007: 136)

The idea of the sovereign State that is governed by the political self-determination and non intervention has been transformed with emphasis in international law and the fact that where it dominated before the principle of absolute sovereignty now held the interest in the protection of human rights. The transformation in international law is due to two main factors the increasing poverty and inequality, since every man by the simple fact of being human being has rights and the same overall conception of economic and political justice. (Cortés, 2007: 135)

The international law gives priority to human rights over sovereignty and justifies the fact of intervention as a right to preserve the priority of human rights. Realism shows that the sovereignty of States is governed by inter-State relations, and those human rights without internal policy of each State. Nationalist liberalism questioned sovereignty held on human rights; the conception of the radical globalism justice preserves human rights, without affecting the normative structure of the State.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, the sovereignty change when the States and their population face new problems and opportunities, this means that throughout the time the incorporation of human rights as an international norm has affected the practices of the international law and the international politics in order to get a new meaning of sovereignty.

So the human rights must be equal for everyone and they are not against to the authority of the States because are the man guarantees of the enforcement of Human Rights.     

Which is the true meaning of human rights and why we have to use? Human Rights are the language of victims and the dispossessed so we have to protect. Human Rights usually seek to modify legal or political practices. For example: South Africa was a struggle to change their laws and practices, without leaving behind the equal protection of the laws or political participation.

In addition Human Rights thus provide a moral standard of national political legitimacy. We have to recognize one thing that involves all the rules, human rights effective resembles a self- fulfilling moral prophecy and all the rights that protected the Universal Declaration occurs in all the countries of the world.

 

Bibliography:

ALSON, Philip, “Human Rights: Intervention and the Use of Force”.

BADESCU, Gabriela, “Humanitarian Intervention and the Responsibility to Protect”, Routledge, first published, USA and Canada, 2001.

CORTÉS Francisco, GIUSTI Miguel; “Justicia global, derechos humanos y responsabilidad”, Siglo de Hombres Editores, Bogotá, 2007.

COVARRUBIAS, Ana; ORTEGA, Daniel, La protección internacional de los derechos humanos: un reto del siglo XX, México. Colegio de México, 2007.

DONNELLY, Jack, “International Human Rights”, first published, USA, 2007.

REISMAN, Michael; “Sovereignty and Human Rights in Contemporary International Law” 1990. Check in:

http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1866&context=fss_papers&sei-redir=1&referer=

SMITH, Joseph, “Sovereignty Human Rights and Legitimacy” 1980; Check in: http://faculty.virginia.edu/irandhumanrights/mjsonsovty.htm

STANFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY, first published sat May 31, 2003. Check in: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sovereignty/