Importance of using social networks as part of Human rights communication and defense

I think social networks ease the way information is transmitted “As the use of social media becomes increasingly mainstream, it is changing the character of rights advocacy and communication around the world, with rights defenders and organizations continuing to refine their online presence and expand their ability to reach a global audience.” and also helps to monitor human rights “Social media is increasingly helpful to not only monitor emerging human rights emergencies, but also to uncover incorrect information. An example is the current case in point is the upcoming elections in Kenya, which are probably the best monitored elections in history.”

The use of social networks helps the spread of knowledge of the human rights “Promoting human rights through social media, mobile communication and digital networks is not only Rosebell’s objective but the goal of six other writers, bloggers and journalists, all human rights defenders in their countries, who have been nominated Internet Freedom Fellows by the U.S. Department of State.”

The only problem is that our information can be exposed “Social networks indeed host a vast and growing repository of personal data, all of it in digital form. It falls to our national and international authorities to ensure that our individual rights to privacy and data protection are not sacrificed to social networks, but rather reinforced to recognize and meet the range of new challenges these powerful new media present.”

But I believe it helps a lot more than just spreading the knowledge of them, it helps in creation of new ways to improve our perception of human rights “The use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is transforming political activism. In the uprisings spreading across the Middle East and North Africa, the use of social media is spawning more diffuse and dynamic political movements. The possibilities are enormously exciting, but authoritarian governments are already catching on.”

References:

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/middle-east/twitter-to-the-rescue-how-social-media-is-transforming-human-rights-monitoring/

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/InternetFreedom.aspx

https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?id=1904319

http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/04/15/new-laws-needed-protect-social-media

http://europeandcis.undp.org/blog/2011/12/07/can-social-media-help-protect-human-rights/

Classification of Human Rights

Human rights can be classified in a number of different ways. One of the most widely used classifications distinguishes two general categories: classic or civil and political rights, and social rights that also include economic and cultural rights.

Classic rights generally restrict the powers of the government in respect of actions affecting the individual and his or her autonomy and confer an opportunity upon people to contribute to the determination of laws and participate in government. They express the possibility of participation of a person in society’s political life, in the formation and realization of State power. Political rights are aimed at strengthening the connection between the citizen and society and the State. That is why they are also called public rights. Political rights include freedom of speech and opinion, the right to access public service, the right to participation in political movements and parties, the right to gather, and freedom of meetings, manifestations, petitions, as well as others.

Social rights require the governments to act in a positive, interventionist manner so as to create the necessary conditions for human life and development. Social and economic rights are aimed at the provision of welfare and the quality of a person’s life. These rights give a person the possibility of self-development in the sphere of production and distribution of benefits; receive guarantees and State defense of economic freedom and social stability. To this group belongs the right to private property, freedom of entrepreneurship, the right to work and the right to rest, the right to succession, right to social security and health protection, and many others.

Cultural rights and freedoms guarantee spiritual development of a human, and help each individual to be spiritual or cultural. The cultural rights include the right of each person to participate in cultural life, the right to social values, the right to free use of archival and library stocks, the right to use one’s native language, the right to development of culture in accordance with one’s national and ethnical identity, etc.

Bibliography:

• http://www.lincoln.edu/criminaljustice/hr/Classification.htm
• http://tandis.odihr.pl/documents/hre-compendium/en/CD%20SEC%203/HRE%20Package%20for%20Schools%20Tajikistan/HRE%20Package%20Textbook%20Tajistkan%20ENG.pdf