International Human Rights

The last point in the Bulletin (# 15. Why is Informed World Opinion Regarding Human Rights Important?) is shorter than many of the other statements, but I think that it has an extremely important message that shouldn't be overlooked. The reason that the human rights code exists in an official, written form is because of prior violations of human rights. Human rights are not granted, they are innate; no person or government has the right to violate them, even without a written code. Yet the code was necessary and violations of human rights still occur regularly. People need to be informed of human rights, even when they seem so basic that most would take them for granted. This point referenced education as the key to ensuring these rights; if every child is informed of his or her basic rights, regardless of citizenship, there will be a baseline of knowledge. However, this process is not a quick and easy solution to the problem; there is still mass illiteracy and lack of access to education that would prevent a child from learning anything, even what he or she deserves, merely because he or she is a human being. I think that the goal is admirable, but, after reading this article, I'm not quite sure how feasible (or, if feasible, how quickly) it will to implement.