Thus, in the age of globalizations when information soon becomes a global buzz and human rights are proclaimed to be the general human value- the concept is rather fragmented on the global scale. To some extent, especially the representatives of the Western countries, these rights are absolute. But for the others, particularly people in Muslim and war stricken nations in the East, human rights are as real as a dream. This world split issues a range of questions on the agenda and authenticity of the so-called human rights concept at a global level. The disparity is perhaps most sharply reflected if a comparison is being made when considering the present-day war in countries such as Libya, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam, Syria (Sham), Lebanon, and Kashimir. These countries have been experiencing war, violence and instability for few years now, sometimes even more than one decade. People, especially the inhabitants of those nations, which can be considered as completely innocent, lost homes, jobs, members of their families and their lives. Such groups include and often children, women, and even ‘’pregnant girls ‘’are always on the receiving end of the violence, where the perpetrators justify their actions saying it that is part of bravery and which should even be regarded as ‘’saving a life’’. Such massive losses are most of the times looked past by world leaders who stand to benefit from the prolongation of the conflict or kept silent because of some realpolitik factor.
Trends of Hypocrisy in Global Power Structures One of the most egregious examples of this treatment is the way the world reacted to conflicts in Muslim-dominant countries. Libya is still volatile long after the western backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi through NATO intervention. The elements of democracy together with the stability guarantee has led to member fragmentation, Libyan civil war and suffering for the Libyan citizens. The has moved on to other issues and the Libyan people are left to starve and die thanks to the very powers that had promised to ‘free’ them. Iraq has a similar sad picture. Despite years of invasion by foreign forces, the country is still suffering from effects of the 2003 invasion spearheaded by the United States under a guise of ‘weapons of mass destruction’. Tens of thousands of Iraqis died or were displaced merely to achieve goals conceived by neo-conservatives that are now evading responsibility. Crime committed against the humanity in Iraq, from the inhuman act of torturing in Abu Ghraib to unselective destruction bemuse the resistant free world as a fight for justice and human dignity.
Owing to civil war that has raged on for several years in Syria, the entire region has been turned into a mess, millions of people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands displaced. A struggle that started as a demand for change was soon high-jacked by regional and global actors. Partisan attacks on medical facilities and health care personnel, bombings of schools and populated districts established are still frequent, and information concerning the application of chemical weapons remains in supply as well. However, the scale of those crimes is still enormous, and the world is doing nothing but sending symbolic statements and meager material assistance. The level of suffering going on in Syria should have elicited a more spirited response from citizens of the world and the reactions at best have been a yawn. Unfortunately, the territory of Kashmir now existing within the Indian Union and before the partition of India and Pakistan still suffers from gross violations of human rights. The people of Kashmir have been living in a state of military siege for years now with scarcely any basic rights, the frequent use of pellets, arrests, curfews, enforced disappearances and above all the pellet guns that have made scores of humans including children blind. This humanitarian crisis is still going on, and the international community mostly holds its peace in spite of its lovers and strategic partners and customers in India.
These examples demonstrate a disturbing trend:
human rights violation is either ignored or justified if it concerns Muslim–majority nations or nations in the East. The civilian population of these places has no value; their suffering is denied or even dismissed. This is unlike how the West perceives human rights abuses in its own backyard or in its allied countries.
Western Priorities:
A Stark Contrast As we see two warring factions in the East where people ‘lose’ each other with impunity, the Western civilization seems to be exceptionally sensitive to other causes – no matter how ludicrous some of them are – especially when it comes to animal rights. Even in western countries, if a person decides to slap a dog, it immediately becomes a subject of outrage, leads to the court and becomes a news story. While pet abuse is unquestionably reprehensible, it gets way more media coverage than the large scale violent human rights violations going on in war torn countries. For example, there are strict European laws to protect animals and these laws are always fully implemented. There are legal regulations that prevent cruelty to animals; there are legal prohibitions on the usage of animals and their products in certain ways; there are legal acts guaranteeing that animals in industrial lots and laboratories are treated to some extent decently. While such compassion about non-human animals is praiseworthy, such a narrative gives the West a rather hypocritical view especially when they turn deaf ears when innocent human beings are killed in war.
The contradictions are evident:
in some societies of the West, the harm of the environment, the hurting of animals, or even the offending of particular segments of the population is considered a great moral evil. But the same societies remained silent when bombs hit hospitals in Yemen when children die of hunger in Syria or when whole districts are demolished in Gaza. The Politics of Silence The second aspect of this proposition however is where it becomes truly menacing: not the violence per se , but the lack of commentary which follows it. Most of the Muslim countries that should relate to the victims of these conflicts due to culture and religion have been silent. These nations that have political clout, ormight, or?decision-making capacity to make a difference often do nothing, and even if they do, they will cover up for oppressive leaders or come up with half-measures that do not upset oppressive dictators because they stand to lose money or power in various ways. Their silence brings to mind the third man in the scandal narrative – the one who stood and observed as his own mother was raped. For those nations, which are doing nothing to stop such serious injustice, they thereby approve the violence and become the accomplices of their own brothers’ and sisters’ sufferings. This silence regardless of whether it is caused by fear, a political consideration, or plain indifference may be the most shameful thing of all.
The Universal Right to Human Dignity At the heart of this issue lies a fundamental question:
In arriving at an answer, this paper asks questions such as “Are human rights truly universal or are they just for the western countries?” If indeed, everyone is endowed with the inalienable right to life, dignity and freedom from oppression then why does the world respond differently to suffering depending on the location of a particular calamity? The deaths of noncombatants; the annihilation of towns; and the ongoing subjugation of individuals in the East cannot be regarded as Hydra’s minor concerns. The world cannot claim it is advocating for the rights of people while they sit and watch as innocent people are exterminated in Muslim dominated and war affixed countries. P pursing justice entails constant and unrelenting affirmation of general accountability for all people, no matter where they are, what their ethnicity is, or what political affiliation they bear. Putting the work in the context of the field, what does it demand in terms of action and introspection?
People in the global society and especially in the west should realize the inconsistency they hold in human rights. Human lives must be counted the same irrespective of the country they come from or which side of the political divide they support. We must start to view each life from Libya and Iraq through to Kashmir and beyond as deserving of our concern in the same way that lives in Western countries do. Any form of injustice that may take place is a danger to justice every where. Enough ‘male privilege’ and ‘white privilege’ to live more, while others died in vain! This is why it is important that a right be made for all people or another the process of this world is for no one.
