Understanding the Universality of Human Rights

08 Pages
Published On: 31-10-2023

Introduction

Human rights are universal in nature since they apply to everyone, regardless of where they were born or where they currently dwell. However, it is possible to use the term "human rights" in a wide variety of contexts and to express a vast range of messages. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) human rights are the inherent rights to which each individual is entitled by virtue of being human (Chenoweth et al., 2017). Human beings are endowed with certain rights, which are unalienable, and they apply equally to everyone. At the same time, according to the Icelandic Human Rights Centre, human rights are inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is entitled simply because she or he is a human being (Donnelly, 2013). Besides, Sharma et al. (2020) reveal that human rights are the fundamental freedoms and rights that are guaranteed to everyone, regardless of nationality or location, at the moment of conception and throughout life. All human rights are also equally important and unranked, so they cannot be divided. According to Jackson (2018) since human rights are mutually reliant and linked, exercising one right may impede the exercise of others. Governments have a legal obligation to respect, preserve and implement human rights (Walker, 2013). Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go before young people and disabled people's rights are fully safeguarded by human rights. To be considered disabled, a person must have a physical or mental impairment. Because of the discrimination and barriers that persons with disabilities face, they cannot engage in society on an equal footing with others (Walker, 2013). Therefore this study will explore the rights of disabled young people and discrimination in light of labeling theory and essentialism and the role of community development in protecting the right of disabled young people.

Rights of Disabled young People and Discrimination in Community

Respect for human dignity is guaranteed to disabled young individuals by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled People. Regardless of the cause, disabled people have the same fundamental rights as their counterparts of the same age (Dominelli, 1998). However, it is a sad reality that the majority of disabled people are denied access to essential services like health care and employment opportunities. The discrimination occurs when a person believes they are being treated unfairly or less favorably than another person in an identical situation (Greene, 2020). Access to resources for all persons with disabilities has been a long-standing goal of the disability rights movement, although this goal has been largely ignored (Greene, 2020). Although they are entitled to exercise every human right, people with disabilities frequently face significant discrimination based on their views, opinions, misunderstandings, and lack of knowledge. People with disabilities may be discriminated against because of their appearance. This discrimination can be liked to racial formation theory which look at race as a socially constructed identity and racial categories are determined by social, political and economic forces. For example, discrimination and labeling in the community continue to dehumanize these individuals, resulting in a lack of attention paid to their needs. The ever-evolving process of assigning labels to points of view gleaned from interpersonal interactions. According to the Labeling hypothesis, individuals' self-identity and conduct may be influenced or governed by the labels used to identify or classify them. Disability is stigmatized in the community, which can hinder educational and professional opportunities as well as social relationships for those with disabilities.

Similarly, disabled people have the right to medical, psychological, and functional treatment, including prosthetics, medical and social rehabilitation, counseling, and other services that will help them maximize their abilities (Thompson, 2020). In most cases, people with disabilities face a wide range of barriers to good health. Unfortunately, these young people lack access to quality healthcare. Health care providers in the United Kingdom are required by the Equality Act of 2010 to make "reasonable modifications" to their policies to protect disabled people from being discriminated against or otherwise disadvantaged when seeking medical care (Lockwood et al., 2012). Evidence reveals that, regardless of this legislation, health care providers do not always offer the required level of service for people with disabilities (Thompson, 2020). Disabled people continue to endure discrimination because of their socio-economic condition, notwithstanding these advances. This selectivity can be explained by the notion of essentialism. In the context of human or animal classification, essentialism refers to the characteristics that distinguish a person from others in the same group or a certain job. For example, persons can be labeled as being of the "colored," "female," "upper-class," or "straight" race or gender depending on the essentialism system (Newman & Knobe, 2019). Members of a category are often viewed as fundamentally similar, and categories are viewed as natural rather than socially manufactured. Therefore, individuals with disabilities end up being discriminated against in health care due to their physical appearance and view of the community.

Community Development Role in Promoting Disabled Youth Rights

People with disabilities are safeguarded by community development by making disabled youth identity central. The ability to protect disabled youth is similar to populism theory aimed at appealing to regular people who believe that existing elite groups are ignoring their issues (Kim & Youn, 2020). Community development purpose is to empower individuals and groups to make a difference in their communities by providing them with the resources they need. Community development is a process that aims to improve the lives of people in the community (Wheaton et al., 2017). The society view people with disabilities as defective, unhealthy, and deviant. This prevailing attitude makes such individuals to be viewed as incapable of participating in or contributing to society and are seen to only rely welfare or charitable organizations. Similarly, people with disabilities have long been ignored and marginalized, but social justice movements are giving them a voice they never had before. There are several places where people with disabilities (such as mental illness) are subjected to harassment and discrimination. However, the community development strategy of making disabled youth identity central by the implementation of anti-oppressive measures in community has played great role in promoting respect of disabled individual (Jeanes et al., 2018). It is the goal of the anti-oppressive paradigm in social work to foster non-oppressive social relations between persons of different identities. However, there are three stacks of barriers in anti-oppressive activity including personal (P), cultural (C), and structural (S) (Wheaton et al., 2017). To address structural disparities, anti-oppressive practice (AOP) identifies and places blame on the institutions and systems that service users have come to rely on. Community development often detects oppression and applies anti-oppressive practices to reduce discomfort and remove the oppression of disabled young people.

People with disabilities benefit from community development efforts that promote social justice and systemic change. As a result of their limitations, people with disabilities are often viewed as unproductive members of society (Jeanes et al., 2018). The community view is supported by the attribution theory which holds that individuals assume core characteristics of other persons based on explanations of those other persons’ behaviours (Wheaton et al., 2017). Due to community view that disabled youths are unproductive, they become stigmatized. The view make disabled people be treated differently and often results in their being excluded from employment, educational and training opportunities. The attribution aspect impact such people greatly. Although people with disabilities are usually separated from their families, the involvement of community workers helps to protect their well-being and the rights of those individuals. Community development professionals, therefore, approach their work from a utilitarian perspective. According to the belief, activities that bring happiness or pleasure are preferred to those that bring grief or pain. Utilitarianism holds that a course of action is morally acceptable if it results in the greatest possible good for the greatest number of people (Häyry, 2021). The struggle of people with disabilities to live full and productive lives in a society afflicted with stigma, prejudice, and mental and physical barriers has been going on for centuries. However, community development has been critical in promoting their lives and justice among young disabled people.

Conclusion

Disability discrimination and social exclusion are widespread around the globe. Advocates for human rights argue that the labeling of people with disabilities as disabled is discriminatory and that they should be recognized as a minority group with unique abilities that do not need to be fixed, but rather integrated into mainstream economic, social, and political development activities. Because of their inability to perform even the most basic of tasks, people with disabilities have long been subjected to discrimination. Persons with disabilities are rapidly gaining equitable treatment across all aspects of society thanks to the efforts of human rights activists who have effectively reversed such simplistic and humiliating thinking. It's a sad reality that the majority of disabled people are denied access to essential services like health care and employment opportunities. Discrimination occurs when a person believes they are being treated unfairly or less favorably than another person in an identical situation. Discrimination and labeling in the community continue to dehumanize these individuals, resulting in a lack of attention paid to their needs. Also, an increasing number of people with disabilities say that their overall health is deteriorating. This selectivity can be explained by the notion of essentialism where individuals are categorized by their traits. However, people with disabilities are safeguarded by community development. Also, people with disabilities can benefit from community development efforts that promote social justice.

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