Final Essay

Before I can begin to reflect on the issues relating to human rights and subsequent violations, it is important that I begin to recognize what the concept of human rights signifies for other scholars, for victims as well as my own interpretation. Human rights and affiliated practices are inherent and universal due to our belonging to a particular species. However, it is also important to realize that they are dependent on the political, economic and cultural context in which they are practiced, promoted and protected (Dembour, 2010: 7). Human rights have said to emerge out of extreme conflict, rooted in the World War I and World War II, because human rights development created a new language of faith (Guinn, 2016: 759). As such, human rights

Dilemmas often occur when practitioners must decide which goals or human rights should be promoted or protected over another (Dudai, 2014: 389). Due to the strong link between morality and human rights, human rights practitioners are often making the choice between two or more courses of actions, which inevitably require moral and non-moral considerations (Dudai, 2014). If we were to explore deeper in the practices of human rights, we develop the sense of how the actors operationalize, perceive, advocate and engage with the idea of human rights. As such, human rights cannot be considered simply a norm or a privilege rather it must be considered as a series of actions in a continuous process (Dudai, 2014: 390). Human rights practitioners face dilemmas when human rights norms met the reality in which people claim their rights. In fact, these realities consist of political, social, personal and physical contexts, which can influence or alter the natural hierarchy of human rights at play (Dudai, 2014: 390). A common dilemma within the practice of human right is determining which right is the most basic human right. Although, there are no concrete definitions of the most basic right, when deciding which right should take precedence over the other, a natural hierarchy does occur (Etzioni, 2010:100). Evidently, the first thought that comes to mind is the right to life as the most basic right. My initial thought was that the right to life sets a base for all following rights, specifically without life, we would not be bale to exercise, protect or advocate for all other human rights. However, as we end the course I begin to reflect on how Etzioni (2010) suggest that all other rights are contingent on the right to life while the right to life is not contingent on others (105). I begin to question, however,