Do you think that democracy is a human right?
Democracy and human rights have been a topic of discussion for a very long time now. Both democracy and human rights are universally recognized. Democracy is the form of government where people have the power to choose a person who they want to govern them. Mainly democracy is practiced through elections (Besson, 2011). Human rights, on the other hand, protect the people. These rights are meant for every human being despite nationality, religion, age, political views, gender, race, or social standing. Human rights are essential during governance. These rights give people the freedom to do whatever they want so long as they follow the rules governing them(Donnelly, 2013). Human rights give humans entitlement for a human to enjoy their rights wherever they go.
Democracy is important to most counties as it allows humans to exercise their freedom to have fair and genuine elections to choose their leaders. Human rights give them the freedom to enjoy this fairness during the election (Besson, 2011). Democracy is a human right as it applies to everyone. Democracy allows humans to express their rights to freedom of both expression and choice, and dignity. Freedom will enable humans to influence and guarantee respect for human rights. I would say that democracy is a value that has human rights.
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 21 states directly about democracy being a human right (Donnelly, 2013). First right says, “everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely choosing representatives.” It states that every individual has the right to take part in elections. This either means that people are allowed to choose their leaders freely directly or indirectly (Donnelly, 2013). Secondly, “everyone has the right to equal access to public services in their county.” This article supports the right to access resources equally in their country. These resources include schools, hospitals, security, and more. Thirdly, “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures” (Donnelly, 2013).
The idea brought out by a piece by Sen On “Democracy as a universal value,” has describes democracy to have been universally accepted. According to Sen, Democracy includes some universal values. These universal values include has an intrinsic value, constructive value, and instrumental value (Sen, 2017). Democracy has intrinsic value in that democracy allows political freedom. It is involved in political action that makes it more valuable to human freedom. Secondly, democracy has a constructive value in that it brings togetherness in societies. Togetherness is realized by arranging forums and discussions where individuals are allowed to discuss their ideas and concerns in their community. This will help people to understand each other and build values in individuals. A society grows from people learning from one another (Sen, 2017). Finally, democracy having instrumental value. This will provide avenues for political, social, and economic complaints that need to be resolved. Political, economic, and social concerns are raised during these avenues so that they can be met. Instrumental values help in generating political incentives.
Inada argues that all the democratic systems are different; they vary depending on the country’s situation. However, he emphasizes that democracy should not be imposed on people uniformly or hastily. Not all countries practice democracy. Nevertheless, for those who do, democracy does not mean majority rule purely. In some countries, especially the developing nations, such as India, they initially focus on their economic stability, when they become economically stable, democracy follows (Hayashi, 2006). Developed countries have tried to indirectly impose democratization on the developing countries, while others encourage the developing countries on the importance of democracy for these developing countries.
The link between human rights and women is also a concept that should not be taken for granted; there is a gap between women’s rights and human rights, which should be filled. Although democracy has helped equalize both genders, that is not the same case for human rights. With the gender inequality issues being a global problem, this problem is expected to continue as long as human rights initiatives do not incorporate the abuse of women as a human right issue (Goldberg & Moore, 2013). Charlotte Bunch points out that human rights are only associated with the experiences and fears of men, excluding women, as, in most cases, the abuse of women is ignored as a human right issue. Most of the degrading experiences that women experience almost on a daily basis are usually dismissed as a cultural or natural difference in their beliefs (Goldberg & Moore, 2013). Charlotte Bunch’s argument revolves around considering women’s rights as human rights.
Democracy has to be incorporated with human rights. Democracy is not possible without human rights (Sen, 2017). Democracy is not all about electron and getting leaders into parliament. As stated above, it includes the people’s participation in decision and policy discussions effectively. For an excellent democratic system, human rights and the rule of law are not exempted from the people. Human rights are endangered when the rule of law and judiciary independence is not followed. Countries where the population is unfavorable, cultural, social, and economic rights, may not be followed. In some instances, dictatorship becomes is what they get when the rule of law and judicial independence is compromised.
In conclusion, according to the analysis above, it is clear that democracy is human rights. Abraham Lincoln did describe democracy as “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” Democracy has never been possible without human rights. Most governments use democracy and human rights together (Besson, 2011). Political representation of the relationship between human rights and democracy. Human rights are mostly moral and legal. Therefore, human rights are recognized and observed politically to maintain democracy. We have also seen the different perspective of human rights, where Bunch states that with the inequality that is going on despite democracy, women rights should be incorporated as human rights. International and regional organizations use both human rights and democracy.
According to Sen, Democracy is a universal value since it cannot be imagined to have a civilization that was imposed by cultural taboos (Sen, 2017). For countries that practice democracy have a great belief that human rights have to be followed. The choices that have been made taking note of all functions of democracy support human rights. Human rights, on the other hand, apply to everyone and are universal. All humans are free and equal in the eyes of the law. Democracy allows everyone the freedom to participate in elections and guarantee respect for human rights.
Reference
Besson, S. (2011). Human rights and democracy in a global context: decoupling and recoupling. Ethics & Global Politics, 4(1), 19-50.
Donnelly, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice. Cornell University Press.
Sen, A. (2017). Democracy as a Universal Value. Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach, 107.