Write a 6 pages paper on the universal declaration of human rights.

Write a 6 pages paper on the universal declaration of human rights. Were its drafters a little naïve in their expectation that the rights of man could be captured and thus ensured so simply (Crombag 2000: Ch 30)? Exactly what are human rights, and how can they be enforced? The UD poses such questions and many more. Indeed, the legal and judicial value of this document will be assessed, along with examples of its application and detailed analysis of its meaning and basis. Ultimately, it will be argued that there exist so many contradictions within the text and also in the outer ideals of human rights that its drafting represents nothing more than a utopian aspiration, and that fundamental human rights cannot be guaranteed or ensured. At most, we can recognize which rights that man may possess in some, or most circumstances – yet the situation will always differ, and we can only hope to strike a balance between competing values. In short, all men cannot possess all human rights ultimately, and to the same degree, and the UD’s conception that this is possible renders it a mere aspiration with a little legal basis.

It is interesting to look closely at the specific articles of the UD and assess exactly which rights they recognize. When we speak of human rights, we think of the simple version of that which man is entitled to, such as freedom of speech, right to a trial, and so on. But there exist different types of rights, and these different types embodied in the UD are exactly which cause the contradictions contained within it. Indeed, if these contradictions can be located, then the very judicial and legal values it possesses, if any, are rendered less effective. It appears that the UD specifies three major forms of rights: rights of the citizen (artificial), natural rights (in respect of classical natural law rights), and societal rights (including economical rights). Let us observe the natural rights.