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Human Rights, Its Triumph, Its Misconception, and Misapplication

Human Rights, Its Triumph, Its Misconception, and Misapplication

 

Abey Zewde.

abeyze@yahoo.com                                           

 The cherished goal of humanity

Those who say human rights respect is the cherished goal of humankind are unequivocally correct.  They are indisputably correct because, hitherto, people's history is entirely filled with their activities for their rights to affirm their human essence i.e. to be free. 

Humans want to be free from lack of shelter and food to survive as other beings.  So, they struggle against natural forces that deprive them the rights to survive. They build an embankment against distractive floods; they make shelter against the severe cold and extreme heat and so on. 

However, as the saying goes, humankind cannot live by bread alone, for they manifest a spiritual, a conscious, and a purposeful existence in a more complex and intricate manner than other animals.

For example, Look at their eating habit, humans mostly doesn’t eat food raw like other animals. They either have to dip it in sauce, spice it up, cook it and even decorate it to the delight of their eyes and their appetite. They do this corresponding to their purposeful innate nature of goodness, beauty and creative refinement of the test of existence.

Many religious sayings validate this value of humans; God created a human being in his image attesting that God gave humans a God like a refinement of the taste of life. Even one known atheist philosopher has concluded that humans as the complex structure of matter and defined humans as innately good and further stated they need to develop their senses continually through all rounded education, action, and information to consciously act in a purposeful manner so as to reach their full human potential or essence.  

In short, humans are human becoming and human becoming is an infinite phenomenon. It is infinite because their innovation in the struggle for their rights to survive and full fill their spiritual need is not like the creation of a complex web of a spider or the magnificent work of ants and bees always the same and repetitive and at a standstill. Human’s engagement in constructing new things is not only splendid but also an ever ending creativity and discovery of new phenomenon

Hence, they struggle against all estrangement and obstacles that forbid them their rights to achieve their spiritual humanistic nature. Gonging further, they strive to make technological advancement minimize the time spent in procuring food and shelter and engage mostly in their human becoming side so that they can enjoy the rights to a higher realm of life. They continuously dream of utopia, such as creating a classless society where the state withers away, and each contributes according to his ability and taking according to his need. Where exploitation human by human disappears and utopian existence achieved as Karl Marx said. There are others who believe what Oscar Wilde said “for a map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at which Humanity is always landing. . .Moreover, when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of utopia.” [i]

Therefore, it is no wonder that the people of the world have struggled for the respect for human rights. Humanity has been expressing it, in different terms in a different era, in a different culture and from different ideological and religious, philosophical stand from time in memorial.

For example, if you refer to different global religion Buddhism, Christianity, Koran and others commandment, in essence, are similar. They all say don't kill, don't steal, don't lie, and don’t take another's wife or husband, etc. when they say this commandment they implicitly mean respect the rights to live, stability and property of all individuals. As the same time humans through these laws, commandments, explanations, struggle, etc. try relentlessly to bring back humans to their essence of goodness or Godly quality. At a time when some humans deviate from their true nature and follow the path towards dehumanization and degeneration for various reasons which leads them to commit human rights abuse.

In the same manner, People, when facing oppressive system, or group or dominant individuals or government forces which deny them their rights, they protest in mass, write revolutionary theories as a guide to action, to make revolutions and use other means of struggle too.

The outcome of people's relentless struggle for their rights has brought the industrial revolution, the slogan liberty, equality, and fraternity; the anti-colonial struggle of colonized people struggle for self-determination. The American people fight against racism and class, and gender oppression, the socialist revolutions, the theory of the developmental state in Ethiopia which aspires to build a peaceful democratic prospering nation also attest the people struggle.  Many others movement and achievement like those mentioned above prove humans’ purposeful engagement for progress. To develop their refinement of taste,  to love and to sympathize, to be fair, to exalt their faith leading to the achievement of the ultimate quality of goodness, i.e. to be free to the fullest degree so they can reach their full human potential.

People can only achieve their dream their cherished goal through a continuous creative venture and struggle. Only then all individuals attain their unique potential to enjoy the higher realm of life (the upper realm of spirituality) and the pursuit of happiness and be what they can be and what they can attain as humans.  

The Triumph Cherished Goal of Humanity

Because of this continuous struggle, progressive political theories, commandments, explanation and other endeavors, from all sector of humankind; today the most prized goal of humanity the respect for human rights has become the agenda of the global community.

As many in the world recognize, there is nowhere in the world where you cannot hear the importance of human rights respect. From the huts of Africa to the slum of Europe and America, to the mansion of White House of America, to the Kremlin of Russia; to the great hall of China and every corner of international organization and global civil society the call for human rights respect is reverberating loudly.

The people of the world unequivocally want a democratic platform where human rights respect exercised and the realization of human potentiality to its maximum possible spread to all humanity.

In our time, human rights respect incorporates the rights of women, the rights of individuals, the rights of children, the rights of indigenous people, the rights of nations and nationalities to self-determination, the rights to life, the rights to pursuit happiness, and the rights to shelter and food, etc. It is enriched, incorporating the practical knowledge of humankind in its concept. This enriched concept has become the agenda of the global community as written in the UN Charter. This is the greatest triumph our time.

It is waiting to be even more perfect plucking the fruit of freedom from the next experience of human continuous democratic progress and struggle. It is no wonder that the banner of democracy and human rights respect is waving high globally in our time. Indeed, it is no more a call in isolation before the advent of globalization but today it is every individual’s task to make it come true that all estrangements and obstacles are defeated, so the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all are possible.

Hence, in my opinion, every deed, exploit, achievement, relation, laws, religious commandments, moral standard, refinement of the taste, kindness, etc. arises from humankind innate more developed Godly essence.

Because of these qualities of people, we do not find laws that justify killing for pure killing sake. When terror is committed and dehumanized hegemonic Neo-Liberal, Neo-Cons, terrorist and other wage wars and crime, they do it in the name of democracy and human rights respect such as the rights of religion and rights of ethnic groups and so on. [ii]

 Hegemonic power wages their wars and crimes assisted by their intellectual army of the few so-called advocate of human rights respect such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch of Neo-liberals camp. These dangerous, so called Human Right Advocate mis-conceptualize and misapply Human rights observance in a very intricate manner not to be caught in their machination when they give “moral legitimacy” to war policy.

 

             Misconception of Human Rights Respects for Sinister Goal.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

To mention few of the misconception; the so-called advocate of human rights respect like  Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch of the neo-liberals type follow the distorted understanding of Human Rights.  Such as pitting individual right against collective rights as if respecting collective rights is denying individual rights.  They even go as far as referring group rights with an apartheid system of South Africa as group rights of whites instead recognizing it as human rights abuse allowed by the an apartheid system.”[iii]

In my opinion, pitting group rights against individual rights is the most cripple analysis of Human Rights.  The Neo-liberals formulated it for sinister hidden agenda.   Action or deeds that infringe on others rights can never be rights it is abuse. Therefore, apartheid has allowed the white system to mistreatment of blacks in South Africa. This squarely is an abuse of Human Rights of blacks should not be considered rights.

They, also, misconstrue the famous saying always mentioned when the respect of human rights discourse begins.This phrase is “An individual has inalienable rights just because he/she is human.”  The neo-liberals distort as if this phrase affirms individual should be given primacy than collective, and even they go as far as claiming the group has no right as Ayn Rand their champion intellectual said. However, “ it does not take a rocket scientist” to realize the individual is put on par with group human in this sentence. Explaining it further, an individual has human rights just because he also belongs to a larger group humans, not an animal group, besides his/her ethnicity, nationality, and gender.

Plus, Neo-liberals though accept the universality of individual rights in words they rob its universality in practice. The Neoliberals claim that they are the only true champion of individual rights while all ideas that differ from their system of social arrangement are the worshiper of group rights. “In Western discourse, individual rights are often associated with political and economic freedom, whereas group rights are associated with social control[iv] This chokes the universality of the individual rights respect and making it sound individual rights is a particular property of theirs to be exported and imposed on others.

Practical example Misconception of Human Rights pitting group right against individual rights

I have been following the political discourse in Ethiopian. Neo-liberal lining groups many times criticized EPRDF on the question of the respect of the Individual rights.  They claim the rights of Nations and Nationalities for self-determination recognized by EPRDF the ruling party neglects rights of the individual but only encompass and makes group rights supreme. Isn't knowing the right of nation/nationalities in Ethiopia to determine their hard-won democratic rights of the nation/nationalities of Ethiopia to determine their destiny is the respect of their democratic rights as individuals and as the same time the members of a particular nationality?[v]

Isn’t practically implementing the nation/ nationalities to administrate their region, develop their culture and language and choose their leaders the right of nationalities of Ethiopia and its individual member. Is it not participating in the making of the history of a new and democratic, developing and a just Ethiopia; where their rights as individuals and as a member of particular nationality respected?[vi] If all ethnic and national oppression are effectively combated in Ethiopia, then, not only individual rights but of the right of all persons belonging to particular national group and that of all Ethiopian is respected.  Isn’t   beyond usual thinking to separate and counter impose rights of the individuals from and on their race, class, nationality, country, occupation, and gender and so on unless it is for sinister hidden agenda? [vii]

 

 

Misapplication of human right respect

The so-called human rights advocate obtain false, distorted, exaggerated, unverifiable, unprovable sensational, a dramatic, startling, fabricated horrifying killing pictures of ethnic groups and others.  They get the information from to days “ champion of human rights”  but yesterday's criminals and human rights abusers at the time when they were in power in different countries.

They spread this false information through the controlling media of the hegemonic power. They do that to exploit and to twist unsuspecting mind. Thereby, trapping human sensitivity and yearning for justice and goodness to their perverted path. Neo-liberals or Neo-cons do all these devoid of any moral for dehumanized purpose to assist the control the world wealth by hegemonic power

The false human rights abuse allegation is one of the greatest weapons of crime; I have witnessed in my lifetime. For, it contributes significantly to exacerbate non-antagonistic brotherly contradictions to antagonistic ethnic and religious contradictions that lead to a social strife, genocidal war and destabilization of society. I have witnessed and continuously seeing this in the Middle East and in many weak nations, who aspire to be democratic peaceful and prospers in their way.

The bombardment of these false allegations produced every day, every month every year by an intellectual army of neo-liberal, neo-cons, the so-called advocate of human right is mightier than the machete used as a weapon for genocide. It contributes to give their master hegemonic power a justification to use their enormous might in the military, economic, science, and technological power to unleash the never humanly experienced destructive, genocidal war and suffering on those who do not accept their dictatorial demand.

A practical example of misapplication human rights.

After the Ethiopian people under the leadership of EPRDF has defeated the fascist Military Junta Called Derg, who ruled Ethiopia for seventeen years of terror. Today, there is no slaughter of the youth,  the old, women, children and the people in general.

The Ethiopian people, instead are building their country. They are fighting poverty. The economy is one the fastest growing in the world.Ethiopia's Nation and Nationalities have achieved the democratic right for self-determination and self-administration and developing their language and culture. Hundreds of universities, schools are popping up in all regions one or two universities in the entire country is the bygone days. Children, young women, and men are going school. In every aspect, Ethiopia is becoming the land of progress and beacon of democratic aspiration. The march against poverty is advancing with speed and gusto.

Unfortunately, the riffraff and terrorist from Derg residing abroad, their lackeys are given leeway by neo-liberals media and supported by so-called human rights organization to spread hate among Nationalities or ethnic group of Ethiopians and painting Ethiopia a false picture of repression. Their propaganda is comparable In my opinion even more heinous than the Rwandan journalists who were jailed for life and sentenced to 35 years for fanning the flames of a 1994 genocide that killed an estimated 800,000 people.

These groups promote their propaganda mainly trough ESAT and OMNI  TV media from Washington DC,  Minnesota, and Amsterdam. There hate propaganda primarily targeting Tigrayans and the Tigrayan leadership TPLF, in the ruling party of EPRDF, As if, TPLF dictates the Ethiopian politics while the truth is the EPRDF the ruling party is composed of different national groups in Ethiopia. They concentrate on Tigrayan leadership to create division in the ruling party and Ethiopia lose its democratically elected leader. The other being that TPLF/EPRDF has played the major role in defeating, the barbarian Derg with its riffraff’s and in building a new peaceful democratic development aspiring Ethiopia. 

Also, this riffraff is using a false picture of dead bodies, for example, the corpse from Nepal or other places as if it is from Ethiopia to exploit human kindness. They are a merchant of corps. . They are are scanning Ethiopia for the slightest contradiction to promote strife and create genocidal conditions.They are savvy in using rumors to spread hate against the leaders and particular national group.

The intellectual army of hegemonic power the so-called human rights advocate such as Human Rights Watch and medias like BBC, VOA, Aljazeera promote and give them leeway to the internet and other neo-liberal means to this group.

 

Why the Misconception and Misapplication of Human Rights by Neo-Liberals

In my opinion, the primary reason is, Neo-liberals do not have a democratic vision,  idea or plan or system to offer the world community to form a better world where human rights will be respected fully. They are not interested in building institutions and organizations, where human rights compliance is handled successfully through dialog, negotiation, and consultation.  They are alien to the construction a world of a win-win global relation where the people of the world benefit. They believe they are exceptional beings and persistently use every means and power politics to preserve their dominant position against other international actors. They want the old unchanging world, where they, the few the stronger hegemonic powers trample exploit the poor, the oppressed people, countries and nationalities and where their careerist ambition, fame, and money seeking Neo- liberal intellectual army of hegemonic power benefit. So, the only way to preserve their status they distort the concept of human right observance and misapply and weaponized it for their sinister political agenda

The Neo-liberal method of using human rights respect as raw material to promote their agenda

·        They use the method of a torrent of accusation of sensational human rights abuse through hard to prove allegations, fabrications, exaggeration, gruesome picture of dead bodies gathered from their criminal axis from social media and other means.

·        The so-called advocate of rights human respect like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International knows human rights is the most central and sensitive part of human essence that touches every aspect of human existence. So they disseminate their distorted accusation through their powerful media like BBC, VOA, and ALgazera and other so-called independent media day in day out. They do this to trap human kindness, fear, love, prejudices, weakness, and ignorance of the world community and their innocent members whom they collect funds from in their anti-democratic, and anti-human rights respect political purposes in the name of fighting human rights abuse.

·        They use a torrent of accusation to ignore and misinform the world and hide the progressive countries effort to build social, political economic system for an everlasting respect of human rights.

·        They raise human right issues arbitrarily without prioritization (Even a child is taught to prioritize things to tackle problems) live alone such an important issue in human life. This is done to confuse primary cause of the problem of human rights abuse in the world today. This helps them to manipulate the symptoms of human right abuse to their interest and not deal with the real issue and make a true march to human rights respect miss its target. For them, the pain, the suffering, the weakness, ignorance, the fear, in weak countries is compost where they manipulate to exacerbate the difference to change it to strife in pretexts of human rights. This is where neo-liberal the intellectual army of hegemonic power blossom in their career and money grabbing skim and fame.

·        They blame everybody for human rights abuse so everyone find justification to blame his enemy while they get recognition as human rights advocate by all (slick).

·        They sometimes report their master; the global power selected abuse of human right with par with what they claim human rights abuse in the weak nation to look fair in their report knowing that nobody can use their story except their powerful hegemonic power against democratic forces.(slick)

·        They use human right accusations guided by a principle the best defense is the best offense to hide their own and their masters’ crime against humanity. They mainly “report human rights abuse” of progressive nations to hegemonic power of the world the number one culprit of human rights abuse legitimizing its cruel punishment.

·        Last but not least neo-liberals often stress “the respect of individual rights” to save their parrots, the so-called “independent media journalist’’ individuals and agents and others when caught in terror, and destabilizing action and disobey the rule of law in weak nations. That why CPJ another neoliberal group in this endeavor assist them in crying foul in the name “prisoner of consciousness” and political prisoners as if standing for freedom of information.

 

I think the world community must stand against these forces and stop them and change the advocacy human right respect to promoting the human rights respect globally in the correct way and consultation




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