Diva (Year 9 )
Editor’s note: Year 9 student Diva, now in Year 11, submitted this essay to the annual Perse School Aristotelian Award essay competition. As the judges noted, “[We are] delighted to announce that Diva [was] shortlisted for the Arts/Humanities category for the Y9 Aristotelian Award competition we have run this academic year. It means she has won Highly Commended and therefore will definitely receive a monetary prize!” CPD
Introduction
Throughout history, a myriad of documents have had an unprecedented impact on the way humans view society and moral beliefs. Some of these documents’ primary purpose is to prevent horrific atrocities in history from repeating themselves, whilst others hold an immense religious importance to people, aiding them in life when they require guidance, and many contain the crucial groundwork of equality and equity. How is it possible to weigh the influence, when each holds a different significance to each person?
What is the most influential document?
One way a document could have an influence on someone is through religion; all religions have books or Holy Scriptures such as: the Bible, the Torah, the Vedas and the Qur’an that support them in developing their spiritual connection with their community and belief in God. These religious books have a significant importance to an extensive number of people. For instance, there are 2.1 billion Christians who follow the Bible, 14 million Jews who connect with the Torah, 1.5 billion Muslims who are guided by the Qur’an and 900 million Hindus who are influenced by the Vedas [1]. It is difficult to determine which is the most influential, especially as each has a large following of its own. Nevertheless, surely we should consider all religions as they each are smaller proportions of the global population? However the problem prevails, even if every Holy Scripture that exists was combined, a vast proportion of the population is either agnostic, atheist or non-religious. Approximately 1.1 billion people would still not be influenced by it, which is roughly 1/8 of the population, therefore a religious document could never be the most influential as it is not entirely inclusive.
Alternatively, others may argue that the most influential document will reflect on major historical events and prevent their repetition. The famous saying ‘those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it,’ shows the importance of commemorating and preventing events such as both world wars, the holocaust, the transatlantic slave trade and the atomic bombing in Japan and there are several documents trying to achieve this [2]. Each of these proceedings affected millions of people, with 80 million dying in both world wars. The Treaty of Versailles, 1919, was ratified at the end of WW1, however it was unsuccessful in preventing WW2 and subsequently the Paris Peace Treaty, 1947, was endorsed. Eventually, the Paris Peace Treaty was disregarded by numerous countries. Therefore as neither of these documents withstood the test of time they could not have the most influence.
Similarly, the Slavery Abolition Act was employed in 1833 and abolished slavery in most British colonies [3]. Unfortunately, there is a heinous number of countries in which a form of modern slavery is still present. In 167 countries modern slavery exists in some form, affecting approximately 46 million people [4]. Clearly illustrating that anti-slavery treaties were futile in protecting vulnerable people.
The world is seeing an increasing likelihood of nuclear conflicts most recently in the Russia Ukraine war. The Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was endorsed by several countries in 2017 to prevent this. Nonetheless, many nuclear weapon states have not signed, including Russia, displaying that despite the fact that there are treaties established, it has not deterred countries from threatening nuclear weapon use.
Another ongoing concern is climate change and several treaties have been manufactured to combat it for example the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015 in which countries have agreed to reduce greenhouse gases and carbon emissions. Although our emissions are decreasing, many countries are still failing to meet the target, meaning that environmental issues continue.
How could one decide, which is the most influential, when there have been numerous documents which govern some while leaving others susceptible? It would have to be the document that is the most inclusive and holds significance to every human being.
The Most Influential Document
In my view, the most influential written document is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights otherwise known as the International Bill of Human Rights. It was officially announced by the United Nation General Assembly in Paris on the 10th December 1948. They initiated the composition of the declaration in 1946, and arranged a Human Rights Commission headed by Eleanor Roosevelt [5]. Representatives from all over the world contributed instigating a highly diverse document. It was the first time that countries agreed on what human rights should be and was inspired by WW2 after the ‘barbarous acts which […] outraged the conscience of mankind’ [6]. It protects the vital human rights and now has been translated into 500 languages. It is believed to have inspired other treaties, for instance the Convention Against all forms of Racial Discrimination in 1966 and the Convention of the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1999 [7]. It has also influenced the 1988 Human Rights Act. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights set the path for our contemporary rights protection system.
The oldest document of human rights is the Magna Carta, signed by King John in 1215, and for that reason it could be argued it has the most influence, however virtually all of its clauses have been revoked with only 4 clauses out of 63 still being valid. Yet the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, continues to be the world’s most prominent human rights document. Eleanor Roosevelt declared in a speech that “this Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere.” [5]. This elucidates the fact that the declaration is for everyone and influences people across the globe.
There are 30 rights and freedoms in the declaration which include: the right to free speech, right to education, civil and political rights and freedom from torture [8]. It is the first time that the whole world has agreed and stated that all humans are free and equal. The fundamental foundation of the declaration is that it protects everyone and accommodates everyone. Regardless of the sexuality, race, gender or religion, the document protects everyone verifying that everyone maintains their human rights and does not face discrimination. In every article of the declaration either the word ‘all’, ‘everyone’ or ‘no one’ is included, this to me makes it the most influential document as it links everyone together based of the fact that everyone is human and therefore we should all be treated the same. Although I recognize that the world will never truly be inclusive or truly be just and unprejudiced, the central principle in the declaration is that all human beings have the right to rights. This indicates that every right should apply to everyone. It is the most inclusive document meaning it influences the most people, as instead of only one group attaining the benefits of the document, everyone does, as practically every nation accepts this document hence the word ‘universal’. Not all of the document is legally binding, perhaps why issues such as slavery still exist today, but it has still been incorporated into many countries legal systems, undoubtedly improving human rights for many individuals such as disabled people, indigenous people and women [9]. The fact that this document has improved rights is imperative as it gives people the autonomy to speak up and enables them to confront poor treatment by others and occasionally society. In addition, it assures that everyone’s rudimentary needs are met.
Unlike the other documents I have previously mentioned, I believe that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the most influential as it succours and preserves the most basic human rights across the world. It has inspired more than 80 international treaties as well as regional laws. It defines our idea of human rights and humanity.This document has improved mankind in a way that no previous document has done before.
Rights are crucial and a world without them would be anarchy. It would be detrimental for everyone. There would be no peace, no amity, no safety, no democracy, no equality and no way for development or modification [10]. Therefore it is vital that there is a document that protects everyone from these dangers and from a world in that manner.
Conclusion
Therefore, in my opinion the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the most influential written document. Perhaps, a moral document will always be considerably more influential than a political document as it governs the way that every human lives their life. Rights ensure that humanity flourishes, making it our responsibility and obligation to preserve them and protect them, which would have been impossible without this declaration. Nelson Mandela once said, “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity,” emphasizing how indispensable and essential human rights are and therefore how influential the Universal Declaration of Human Right’s truly is [11].
References
- https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/religion-and-belief#:~:text=Religions%20and%20related%20social%20and,and%20a%20sense%20of%20belonging
- https://www.thetoptens.com/history/most-terrible-events/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavery-Abolition-Act
- https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/countries-that-still-have-slavery
- https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/
- https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights/0/steps/58243
- https://www.amnesty.org.uk/universal-declaration-human-rights-UDHR#:~:text=The%2030%20rights%20and%20freedoms,liberty%2C%20free%20speech%20and%20privacy.
- https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/what-are-human-rights/what-universal-declaration-human-rights#:~:text=The%20Universal%20Declaration%20of%20Human%20Rights%20is%20a%20historic%20document,have%20in%20the%20UK%20today.
- https://www.un.org/en/delegate/can-you-imagine-world-without-human-rights
- https://www.twinkl.co.uk/blog/12-inspiring-human-rights-day-quotes
- http://culturalrelations.org/the-10-most-important-international-treaties-after-world-war-2/h
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