Political Science Course: Analyzing the Hierarchy of Human Rights

This essay, written for a Political Science course, delves into the complex hierarchy of human rights, arguing that not all rights hold equal importance across different societal contexts. The author emphasizes that the significance of specific rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to vote, is contingent upon the social, economic, and political landscapes of various regions. Using examples from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the essay contrasts Article 12 (right to privacy) and Article 21 (right to participate in government) and further illustrates these points by highlighting the significance of security and basic human rights in places with significant challenges. The essay concludes by comparing Article 4 (ban on slavery) and Article 24 (right to rest) to highlight the importance of basic human rights over economic rights in underdeveloped countries.

Running head: POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Science
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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As per my view, not every right is created equal in the eyes of the law. For the proper
survival within one’s society, people need the right to education, the right to vote, the right of
freedom, the right to get a job, right to get a paid holiday and many other such rights. However,
among all these rights, there are some that are of utmost importance.
In this context, it must be noted that the social, economic and political situation is not the
same all over the world. Owing to these varying kinds of scenario, some rights are to be made
more important than the others. As per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article
12 deals with the right to privacy (Un.org, 2018). This states that everyone will have
complete freedom to live freely without any kind of interference from others within their
family, or over their choices (Donnelly & Whelan, 2017). They will also not face any kind
attacks on their honor, dignity or their reputation. On the other hand, article 21 gives every
individual the complete right to take part in any kind of Government activities either
directly or indirectly (Marx & Wouters, 2017). It may seem apparent, that both these rights
which are being stated in the above-mentioned articles are equally important and are
fundamental in nature. However, the importance of these rights would differ greatly as per the
location of the individuals. There are countries where women’s securities have become a
major challenge (Hakim, 2015). To a name a few, places like Pakistan, India, Somalia,
Egypt and several other such places have been repeatedly highlighted with cases of women
being kidnapped, sexually harassed, murdered. So, in those places providing a complete
security to these victims is definitely of much more important than giving them the right to vote.
The Government must first provide them complete security and must recognize them as a proper
person or a human being Article 6:Right to recognition as a person before the law) before
making them a part of the voting system (Un.org, 2018).

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Article 4 (Ban on Slavery) declares a complete ban on slavery whereas Article
24(right to rest) states that the employees must be entitled to considerable hours of leisure,
refreshment and alternate leaves with pay (Un.org, 2018). Article 24 can be implemented only
in places where the individuals are free individuals (Un.org, 2018). They have received
education and have started working already. The same is totally irrelevant in underdeveloped
countries like Africa, Sudan and South Sudan, Algeria, where people are not even able to
live freely (Britton & Dean, 2014). Here people have to serve others as slaves. They are not even
able to live as a well-recognized normal human being in the eyes of the law. Therefore, the
question of getting educated and working and then demanding paid leaves is far. So, article 4
becomes much more important than article 24 in this circumstance.

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References
Britton, H. E., & Dean, L. A. (2014). Policy responses to human trafficking in Southern Africa:
Domesticating international norms. Human Rights Review, 15(3), 305-328.
Donnelly, J., & Whelan, D. J. (2017). International human rights. Hachette UK.
Hakim, F. Y. (2015). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indonesian Journal of
International Law, 4(1).
Marx, A., & Wouters, J. (2017). Combating Slavery, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking. Are
Current International, European and National Instruments Working?. Global Policy, 8(4),
495-497.
Un.org. (2018). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [online] Available at:
http://www.un.org/en/udhrbook/pdf/udhr_booklet_en_web.pdf [Accessed 19 Jan. 2018].