WEL303A - Rights & Responsibilities in Human Rights Discourse

This essay explores the intricate relationship between human rights and the corresponding obligations within the Australian context. It delves into the constitutional provisions and regulations, such as the Anti-Discrimination Act, that safeguard fundamental rights like freedom of association, religion, and speech. The essay emphasizes that the enjoyment of these rights is contingent upon the fulfillment of fundamental duties, including obeying the law, defending the nation, and participating in elections. It highlights the importance of exercising rights responsibly, ensuring they do not infringe upon the rights of others, and criticizes the pursuit of rights for selfish ends. Drawing upon the "interest theory" and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the essay underscores the need to protect and promote essential human interests ethically and morally. The essay concludes by advocating for a balanced approach where individuals respect the rights of others and governmental authorities address infringements, fostering a society where rights and obligations are effectively harmonized.

Running head: HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ADVOCACY
Human Rights and Social Advocacy
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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The constitutions of the majority of the countries of the world have provisions for
various kinds of rights so as to offer the kind of opportunities to the individuals through
which they can maximum their potentials (Cole, 2015). Keck and Sikkink (2014) are of the
viewpoint that the human rights are the norms or the principles which describe a certain
standard of human behavior and are regulated by the legal as well as the governmental
authorities of a nation. More importantly, recently it is seen that apart from the ones provided
by the national governments of the various nations like the right to vote, freedom of speech,
freedom of religion and others, the United Nations has also provided diverse kind of rights to
the people (Farmer, 2017). In this regard, the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”
(1948) of the UN is an important one. This essay will explore the notions of rights and
obligations in the particular context of the Australian nation.
As opined by Shelton (2015), the unique feature of the “Human rights in Australia”
is the fact that unlike the rights offered to the people in the other nations of the world, the
rights in the nation of Australia have been formulated under “Australian Parliamentary
democracy”. More importantly, these rights have not been formulated through stand-alone or
abstract bills but through specific regulations related to the context (Wilkinson, 2016). In this
regard, the “freedom from discrimination” was formulated through the Anti-
Discrimination Act of the nation to safeguard the aboriginals and other minority sections of
the people against the prevalent discrimination in the nation (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018).
Some of the other important rights which the constitution of the nation are freedom of
association, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, right to vote and others
(Humanrights.gov.au, 2018). Nonet, Selznick and Kagan (2017) are of the viewpoint that the
primary focus of these rights is to offer the kind of opportunities to the citizens, which will
help these individuals to lead their lives in a normal manner and also to fulfill their basic
psychosocial needs.

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Freeman (2017) uphold the viewpoint that although the constitution has given
provisions for various kinds of rights which the citizens have access to and can enjoy at any
point of time, however, they come with various checks and balances. For example, it is seen
that the citizens in order to enjoy the rights provided by the constitution needs to perform
their fundamental duties in an effective manner (Johnston, 2016). In this regard it needs to
be mentioned that some of the most important duties that the Australian citizens need to
perform are the obligation to obey the law and order of the nation, the obligation to
defend the nation when the situation arises, obligation to vote in the various federal and
general elections and also in the various referendums and others (Homeaffairs.gov.au,
2018). Keck and Sikkink (2014) are of the viewpoint that the citizens of the nation in order to
enjoy the rights provided by the constitution of the nation needs to perform the duties that the
constitution demands from them. Thus, it can be said that the rights come with the obligation
to fulfill the duties and without them there can be no rights and to a great extent these two
key players have been able to balance each other.
As stated by Androff (2015), the individuals while exercising their basic rights also
needs to ensure the fact it is not infringing on the rights or the freedom exercised by the other
people. For example, it is often seen that the individuals while exercising one right offered to
them often infringe the other rights offered to the other individuals. In this regard, it needs to
be said that the individuals while exercising their right to freedom of expression often end
up infringing the right to privacy of the other citizens of the nation (Wilkinson, 2016). More
importantly, this also becomes clear when the context of the freedom of religion is taken into
consideration. One of the most important rights that the constitution offers to the citizens of
the nation is the right to exercise the kind of religion that they want. However, it is seen that
the people rather than pursuing their own religion in the manner which the precepts of the
concerned religion demands them to often try to defame the other religions (Shelton, 2015).

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Moreover, the manner in which they practice their religion often infringes on the freedom of
religion right of the other individuals as well. In this regard, it needs to be said that this right
is being pursued by the people for the attainment of their own selfish desires not for the
fulfillment of their basic psychosocial needs or the attainment of the goals of their life (Cole,
2015). Thus, it can be said that this practice of the people is not only derogatory but at the
same time against the normal intention with which this right was provided by the constitution
to the people in the first place.
Farmer (2017) is of the viewpoint that the majority of the human rights have been
formulated not only by the Australian nation but also by the other countries of the world and
the UN on the basis of the “interest theory”. The most important precept of this theory is the
fact that the lacuna of the majority of the human rights is “to protect and promote certain
essential human interests” (Johnston, 2016). More importantly, the theory, at the same time,
states that the human rights should be directed to secure the essential interests of the citizens
in a manner which is not only morally but also ethically justified (Keck & Sikkink, 2014). In
this regard, the “1st sentence of the Preamble to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)” is important to note. The first sentence states that
“Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world ...”
(Un.org, 2018). In addition to this, the rights should also take into effective consideration the
fact that all human beings are equal and thereby equal kind of rights are being offered to
them (Humanrights.gov.au, 2018).
As opined by Nonet, Selznick and Kagan (2017), the original intention or the idea
with which the various rights were being provided to the citizens and also have been
incorporated in the constitutions of the Australian nation has lost its significance and it is
being pursued for selfish ends. For example, in the contemporary Australian society it is seen

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that there are various people who use the framework of the various rights that have been
provided to them to maximize the power that they have in the society. More importantly, it is
seen that the people practice the rights that they have while remaining indifferent to the rights
of other individuals or the fact that the act of practicing their basic rights is infringing the
rights of the other individuals (Freeman, 2017). Keck and Sikkink (2014) have stated that this
is done not only to gain extra amount of power within the society but also to meet their own
regardless of the fact that it is actually hampering the lives of other individuals. This becomes
especially apparent when the manner in which the basic rights like freedom to religion,
expression of thoughts and others are being exercised by the individuals.
As stated by Wilkinson (2016), the individuals while exercising their rights need to
display intelligence to ensure the fact that the practice of their rights is not hampering the
rights of the other individuals. In this regard, it needs to be said that the individuals need to
have obligation not only towards the society to which they belong but also towards the other
people of the society as well (Farmer, 2017). This will not only enable the individuals to
practice their basic rights in a much effective manner but will also help them to enable the
other individuals to practice their rights in an adequate manner. More importantly, the role of
the governmental authorities is also important in this regard since they need to deal with the
cases wherein the practice of one right by an individual has infringed on the basic rights of
the other individuals (Cole, 2015).
To conclude, the human rights form an integral part of the lives of the individuals and
thereby they have been incorporated within the constitution of the majority of the nations of
the world. The primary intention behind these rights is to offer the opportunity to the
individuals wherein they can fulfill their basic interests and also psychosocial needs.
However, most of the time, it is seen that the individuals use these rights for the attainment of
their selfish personal needs and thus not only infringes on the rights of the other individuals

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but also hampers the fulfillment of their interests as well. Thus, it can be said that the human
beings have an obligation to use their rights in a manner which will not only facilitate the use
of the human rights by the other individuals but would also respect every member of the
society as well. This is likely to help the national governments and also the individuals to
balance the rights and obligations in an effective manner.

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References
Androff, D. (2015). Practicing rights: Human rights-based approaches to social work
practice. Routledge.
Cole, W. M. (2015). Mind the gap: State capacity and the implementation of human rights
treaties. International Organization, 69(2), 405-441.
Farmer, C. (2017). The disparity between human rights policy and parliamentary practice in
Australia: A Victorian case study. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(2),
167-188.
Freeman, M. (2017). Human rights. John Wiley & Sons.
Homeaffairs.gov.au, (2018). Australian citizenship – Your right, your responsibility. [online].
Retrieved from
https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/reports-publications/discussion-papers-
submissions/australian-citizenship-your-right-your-responsibility
Humanrights.gov.au, (2018). Rights and freedoms: right by right | Australian Human Rights
Commission. [online]. Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/rights-and-
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Johnston, B. R. (Ed.). (2016). Life and death matters: human rights, environment, and social
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Keck, M. E., & Sikkink, K. (2014). Activists beyond borders: Advocacy networks in
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Nonet, P., Selznick, P., & Kagan, R. A. (2017). Law and society in transition: Toward
responsive law. Routledge.

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Shelton, D. (2015). Remedies in international human rights law. Oxford University Press,
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Un.org, (2018). Protect Human Rights. [online]. Retrieved from
http://www.un.org/en/sections/what-we-do/protect-human-rights/
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