In 600-800 words, answer this following question: Define human rights and its core

characteristics principles.
Every human is born with inalienable rights and freedoms regardless of race, religion,
political beliefs, gender, sexuality, geography or any other characteristic. These rights and
freedoms are acquired by virtue of being human. Human rights include the right to life, freedom
from slavery and torture, freedom of speech, and the rights to services such as work and
education. In short, having rights allows us to participate fully in society and live life with
dignity.
Human rights are not just a moral obligation, that is we respect them because they are
“right” and “just”. They are formed at a complex intersection of social, moral, and legal rights.
On a legal basis, a right must relate to an object to provide, ensure, and allow rights to. In this
case, humans. Secondly, there must be something that provides, ensures, and allows said rights.
These are the institutions or bodies responsible for respecting and upholding those rights,
whether they are a school, a corporation, or even the State. These institutions are the duty-bearers
who will be held accountable in upholding human rights to international standards. In this sense,
human rights are also a collection of declarations, laws and institutions that systematise the way
humans should treat each other on a national, regional, and international scale. For example, the
first preamble of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. The UDHR, although not
legally binding, applies to all humans in all countries.
The core principles of human rights are it is universal, inherent, inalienable, non-
discriminatory, indivisible and interrelated, empowering, and accountable. As mentioned earlier,
human rights are universal because every human has rights. One does not have to be a certain
kind of person or a citizen of a specific country to deserve human rights. The universality of
some human rights may override certain cultural or social norms. The practices, norms, or law of
a certain country or culture cannot be used as an excuse for human rights violations, such as
child marriage being justified by cultural norms in Laos, Thailand, and Malaysia.
Besides, human rights are inherent because people don’t “earn” human rights - we gain it
when we are born. We are entitled to it with no qualifications necessary. Moreover, human rights
are inalienable because a person cannot lose their human rights unless they die. You cannot
voluntarily give them up. States cannot decide that human rights do not exist or are not relevant
anymore. However, it is important to note that people can lose human rights because the rights
one possesses can change. For example, an adult does not have the same rights or same
protections of rights that they did when they were a child.
Furthermore, human rights are non-discriminatory because they exist to ensure equality.
All humans are born equal and free, and deserve to be treated without discrimination in all
aspects of life. A particular feature about a person such as their skin colour, religion, or gender,
cannot be used as a basis to discriminate, punish, or penalise them. Additionally, human rights
are indivisible and interrelated because they are interdependent on each other to ensure effective
protection and enforcement. The fulfilment of one right often depends upon the fulfilment of
others. For instance, during the Movement Control Order (MCO), the fulfilment of the right to
health depended on the fulfilment of the right to information, as Malaysian citizens relied on
official news sources to keep informed on the latest COVID-19 updates, Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP), and health precautions.
 Human rights are about empowerment or participation because people feel empowered
when they claim their human rights from the government as opposed to being seen as passive
objects whose rights are given to them only as an act of charity. All humans have a right to
participate in decision-making processes to shape the laws, policies, and conditions which affect
the enjoyment of their rights. Finally, accountability of human rights means governments and
other duty-bearers have a responsibility to monitor and comply with human rights standards as
well as remedy any breaches.
In the aftermath of World War II, the world united to establish stronger human rights law.
World leaders worked together to form the UN Charter, which would later become the UDHR.
Human rights transformed from mainly a domestic issue to an international concern. Modern
human rights are not “Western” notions developed by a single culture, entity, region or country;
but intersect all individuals, communities, identities, and political powers to govern, protect and
provide for them all. They represent aspirations by all of us to be treated with respect, equity,
dignity, passion, and fairness. More importantly, they ensure that atrocities such as World War II
will never repeat again.

(795 words)