What human rights issues are currently in the news (internationally, nationally, and locally)?
Currently the spotlight is on the media, especially on their freedom of expression and to give precise and truthful news. This is a very sensitive international issue, especially with the increase in technology making transfer of information globally very easy. This especially started when all international journalists were asked to leave Syria after the war intensified and international action was to be deployed. This was followed by Eltahawy, an Egyptian feminist and writer being who was jailed and beaten up for speaking against the male dominated and female oppressed society in Egypt. She was accused of going against her Islamic faith and belief (Eltahawy, p34). Then it moved on to the Azerbaijan journalist who was jailed and had his possession confiscated as he covered the government crackdown in the country.
The international declaration of human rights allows for people to have a right to express themselves especially on issues that are affecting them. At the same time the freedom of the press is allowed as the media has been mandated with the right to convey news and information to the people. The fact that globalization has turned the world into a global village; where transfer of information can only be limited to a certain extent. In any case when the authority restricts the coverage of their actions and jails journalists and writers, it sends a message international that indeed there is something illegal that needs not to be revealed.
When reporters are jailed, several of their rights are violated; for instance their right to liberty is violated, their right to expression and movement is restricted. At the same time they are exposed to poor treatment and punishment that is not verified by a judiciary body. In this case, it is punishment without any crime. As Karl Marx once stated that, those with power and authority will always wish to oppress those with less power. Information is power, when the oppressed have less information the less they will be empowered (Sperber, p89).
Work Cited
Eltahawy,M. Karl, S. D. Hamdy, B. Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution, 2013, Alihan-Bert Publishers
Roosevelt,E. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 2001, Oxford University Press, New York
Sperber, J. (2013). Karl Marx: a Nineteenth Century Life, McGraw Hill Publishers
November, (12, 2013) Azerbaijan: Journalist and Writer Jailed as ruthless crackdown continues, July, 10,( 2012)Syria destruction of the Economy still on rise as Journalist are told to stay away, Retrieved from
www.amnestyusa.org/news
