- published: 26 Sep 2009
- views: 966406
Human rights are moral principles or norms, that describe certain standards of human behavior, and are regularly protected as legal rights in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being," and which are "inherent in all human beings" regardless of their nation, location, language, religion, ethnic origin or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They require empathy and the rule of law and impose an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others. They should not be taken away except as a result of due process based on specific circumstances; for example, human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture, and execution.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. HRW headquarters are in New York City with offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Zurich.
As of June 2011, the organization’s annual expenses totaled $50.6 million.
Human Rights Watch was founded as a private American NGO in 1978, under the name Helsinki Watch, to monitor the former Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords. Helsinki Watch adopted a practice of publicly "naming and shaming" abusive governments through media coverage and through direct exchanges with policymakers. By shining the international spotlight on human rights violations in the Soviet Union and its European partners, Helsinki Watch contributed to the democratic transformations of the region in the late 1980s.
Americas Watch was founded in 1981 while bloody civil wars engulfed Central America. Relying on extensive on-the-ground fact-finding, Americas Watch not only addressed perceived abuses by government forces but also applied international humanitarian law to investigate and expose war crimes by rebel groups. In addition to raising its concerns in the affected countries, Americas Watch also examined the role played by foreign governments, particularly the United States government, in providing military and political support to abusive regimes.
"Man shall not live by bread alone
Lay not up your treasures upon earth"
Thousands listen to the master's words
Thrown to the wind 'cause their hearts were not present
People don't believe in miracles anymore
Human Rights
"Some foreign organization might be supporting you"
Lights, camera, stampede and looting
The powerful men and the saints wanted the leader
(Where are the) Human Rights?
The followers lost faith
Many who dreamt of power are destroyed
The press is a daily vampire
Street kids steal and they are mistaken
For the apostoles
During the riot an extermination group of policemen shoot
both
Lords and slaves want everything easily
Human rights
Clubbing and kicking
Blindfolded eyes
Human rights