Since ancient times, humanity has been trying to develop a system of norms and values, the observance of which would ensure the development of society and justice. Different ideologies have been tried on the role of such a system in different societies throughout history.
Human rights - a system of social and legal norms that regulate the relationship of people in all spheres of life. Moreover, these norms operate both at the level of relations between two individuals, and entire social groups and even states.
The concept of law differs from religious or political in that it is not originally defined and unchanging. The philosophy and ideology of law appeared in ancient times and has undergone many changes since then. It continues to change until now through public dialogue, expression and political decisions.
The emergence of the ideology of natural law
In ancient times, philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle and Plato expressed the idea that there are a number of inalienable rights inherent in every person from birth. According to Socrates, natural law comes from divine law and is opposed topositive (positive) right that a person receives by law from the state.
In the Middle Ages, with the spread of Christianity, the Holy Scripture was considered the source of natural law. And already in modern times, this concept began to be considered separately from Christian morality. The Dutch jurist and statesman Hugo Grotius is considered the first to separate natural law from religious norms. Subsequently, rationalistic methods began to be used to determine natural law. Modern concepts of natural law have a scientific (sociological), Catholic or philosophical justification.
The emergence of the concept of human rights
The Renaissance and Reformation in Europe was marked by the gradual disappearance of the feudal foundations and religious conservatism that prevailed in the Middle Ages. It was during this period that the so-called secular ethics began to take shape - as opposed to religious.
As a result of the French Revolution, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted in 1789. It is in it that the term "human rights" first appears. In earlier documents - the American and English bills of rights, the Magna Carta - other words were used. In addition, it became the first official document proclaiming the idea of equality before the law, which abolished the estate system. Subsequently, the provisions of the Declaration spread throughout the world, becoming the basis of the constitutional law of many countries.
Creation of international institutions of law
XX century on the one hand you canconsidered the era of the heyday of totalitarian regimes, mass oppression and extermination of people on national, religious, ideological grounds. However, it was these events that contributed to the breakthrough in the evolution of civil liberties and human rights.
The first international organization for their protection - the International Federation for Human Rights - appeared in 1922. On December 10, 1948, the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the countries of the Council of Europe signed the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and created the European Court of Human Rights.
Guidelines
The most important part of the ideology of law is the correlation and achievement of consensus between the interests of the individual and the interests of society. To achieve this, there is a principle - the rights of one person end where the rights of another begin.
The second basic provision is equality before the law for all. Regardless of national and religious affiliation, gender, origin. This means that discrimination on these grounds is prohibited, and everyone should be given equal opportunities to receive education, work and achieve material benefits.
Finally, the supremacy of human interests over the interests of the state is proclaimed. That is, it is not allowed to violate or alienate the rights of an individual for political purposes.
Majority and minority
The ideology and philosophy of human rights assumes that each person belongs to one or another minority, which in turn may be subjected to oppression and infringement of rights. History knows cases when people were discriminated against and exterminated not only on religious or national grounds, but also because of such things as left-handedness, external signs or preferences in art.
The sociological minority is not necessarily a quantitative minority. The determining factor is that this group is not dominant. For example, there are fewer men than women, but socially they are the majority.
Therefore, international legal norms are especially careful to protect the rights of social minorities.
Achieving equality
Despite the fact that the French declaration was approved 230 years ago, the implementation of the principle of equality has stretched all this time and continues to this day.
Thus, the abolition of slavery in different countries began only at the end of the 18th century, and ended at the end of the 19th. The equalization of women's rights with men also stretched for centuries. So, only in 1893 women for the first time received the right to vote (in New Zealand). To date, in developed countries, discrimination based on gender is prohibited. But despite equality under the law, there are still social norms that put women below men.
Classification of human rights
There are several categories of fundamental rights.
Personal rights provide selfhuman existence and protect against state arbitrariness. These include the right to life, immunity, freedom of movement, the right to asylum, the prohibition of forced labor (slavery), freedom of conscience.
Social and economic rights are sometimes combined into one category. They are aimed at satisfying material and some spiritual needs. These are, for example, the right to free work and labor protection, to housing, the right to social security, to medical assistance.
Political rights guarantee the participation of a person in the exercise of power in his country. Among them are the right to vote and be elected, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of speech and press.
Cultural rights affect the spiritual development of the individual. These include the right to education, freedom of science and creativity, freedom of teaching, freedom of language.
There are also environmental rights that oblige the state to take care of the environment. They are not basic and are not approved in all countries. First of all, it is the right to a he althy environment.
Some rights belong to more than one category at once. For example, freedom of conscience is both a personal and political right, while the right to private property is both personal and economic.
The influence of law on the ideology of the state
The concept of human rights is the basis of a democratic society, which means it is not compatible with authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. However, many totalitarian states have a constitutional order based on democratic values andlegal ideology. Examples are modern Armenia, Venezuela, Russia, many African countries. Such regimes are called imitation democracies. It is noteworthy that it is in the Russian Constitution that environmental human rights are spelled out.
Mechanisms to enforce rights
As you know, the law does not know how to fulfill itself. Therefore, in order to realize its rights, society creates various social institutions. The media, open and fair elections, the principle of separation of powers - all this is designed, among other things, to protect human rights.
However, the main tool for protecting rights is the very knowledge of a person's rights, the readiness to use them and, if necessary, defend them.
