HUMAN RIGHTS
The Freedom and Human Rights
The freedom of the press is very important in every society. It gives the press the right to bring news to the public without fear of reprisals from the government or any other party. The press has the function of disseminating information to the public about many issues that concern a country (Council of Europe, 2010). This may be political, social, and economic issues affecting a country and the people. In the recent past, the press has exposed various ills in many countries, including swindling of money from governments coffers, corruption, crime, prostitution rings and drug trafficking, to name but a few.
In dealing with human rights violations, the freedom of the press means that journalists can bring to the attention of the whole world any activities perpetuated by individuals and governments to the fore. Freedom of media means they can undertake investigative journalism and inform the world any activity that contravenes human rights as espoused under the UN Charter on human rights (Council of Europe, 2010). Without the media, it would be impossible for people to know what is happening in conflict zones, war-torn countries and even in countries like the US, which run secret detention camps.
The press has acted as an enlightenment medium where people get to know what is happening. Therefore, when the press is given freedom it is able to investigate various situations in the abuse of human rights like that which happened in Zimbabwe where whites were chased away from the country without compensation (Daily Mail 2014). The press highlights the various wrongs to prompt action against such vices. Human rights are essential to any nation, and any abuse is not warranted. The press informs the international and national community on human rights violations which prompts for action to be taken (Seibert & Muller, 2012). Conclusively, it is imperative that the press continues to inform the public and the world at large about any issue that degrades humanity. In doing so, they should be guided by their code of ethics to ensure their reporting is objective and based on facts.
Independence of the Judiciary in the Promotion of Human Rights
The independence of the judiciary is quite important in the effective and impartial execution of judgments without any fear. In countries like China, the judiciary is not independent, and there are many cases of human rights abuses, which the international community has condemned and called China to task on this matter. Seibert & Muller (2012) suggest that the independence of the judiciary prevents pressure and influence that is contrary to the law (Seibert & Muller, 2012). This enables judges and lawyers to carry out their duties without fear.
Some human rights abuses may results in one being blackmailed. In some cases, the defendants may threaten the lives of the judicial officers. The independence should come with the affirmation from the public government and support by law enforcement agencies to zero tolerance in dealing with crimes (Seibert & Muller, 2012). The unity among the three arms of government will enable the judiciary to carry out its duties in protecting the rights of the people. This will lead to a significant decrease in human rights violations since it will be a warning to others who may want to practice such violations in future (De & Vidmar 2012). In essence, independence of the judiciary means that the judiciary can execute its mandate impartially by following the law (Seibert & Muller, 2012). The people running the courts would not be working under any threats or intimidations from those in power. Therefore, any person who goes to the courts would be assured of getting justice. This is critical because those in power cannot use the courts to get protection from human violation-related cases.
Three Main Developments in International Law
Many developments have made international law to become interested in the rights of individuals (Viljoen, 2012). One development is war. After World War II, the international community started focusing on individual rights and not only the affairs of individual states. This led the international community to come up with measures that protect the rights individuals (Xiong, 2012).
Secondly, the rise in dictatorial regimes saw an unprecedented increase in human rights violations (Hafner-Burton, 2013, Viljoen, 2012). The focus of human rights crusaders in the early 1960s who to give people a chance to get recourse in the international arena when the state did not respect their human rights (Shelton, 2010, Viljoen, 2012). Those who are opposed to dictatorial rule are usually detained and tortured. Their human rights are violated, as some human rights advocates are hauled behind bars on flimsy grounds. A good example is what transpired in Uganda during the reign of Idd Amin (Viljoen, 2012). However, the international justice system has been developed to provide interventions in countries dictators rule supreme. For instance, the international community led an onslaught on Saddam Hussein.
Thirdly, the inefficiency of the post-war tribunals led to the formation of the International Criminal Court to deal with issues concerning human rights abuses in member states. The recent developments have been the successful prosecution of Charles Taylor who carried out many atrocities in Liberia. In most cases, the leaders are the perpetrators of the violence (Viljoen, 2012). These tribunals focused on the lower cadre of perpetrators leaving the leaders out of the investigation. Thus, to prevent such cases happening, the international community has to come in to prevent any future occurrence (Ghandi, 2012).
References
Council of Europe. (2010). Human Rights and a Changing Media Landscape. London: Council of Europe.
Daily Mail. (2014). Zimbabwe White Farmers Must Fight or Flee. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-132504/Zimbabwe-white-farmers-fight-flee.html
De, W. E., & Vidmar, J. (2012). Hierarchy in International Law: The Place of Human Rights. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Ghandhi, P. R. (2012). Blackstone’s International Human Rights Documents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hafner-Burton, E. (2013). Making Human Rights a Reality. London: SAGE.
Seibert-Fohr, A., & Muller, L. F. (2012). Judicial Independence in Transition. Berlin: Springer.
Shelton, D. (2010). Regional Protection of Human Rights, Volume 1. London: Oxford University Press.
Viljoen, F. (2012). International Human Rights Law in Africa. London: Oxford University Press.
Xiong, P. (2012). An international Law Perspective on the Protection of Human Rights in the TRIPS Agreement: an Interpretation of the TRIPS agreement in Relation to the Right to Health. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
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