1. Discuss why human rights emerged as an important issue in Essay

1. Discuss why human rights emerged as an important issue in international relations Explain the impact of major cases in international politics - Essay Example Essentially, this tome defined human dignity, as against honor, which according to Berger, Berger and Kellner, always relates to the intrinsic humanity divested of all socially imposed roles or norms and that it pertains to the self as such, to the individual regardless of his position in society (Berger, Berger and Kellner 1974, 89-90). To demonstrate how the Declaration impacted international relations, there is the fact that it is often cited in UN resolutions of the General Assembly as well as the other agencies of the world body. More importantly, the Declaration has also been often used as the foundation of the constitution, laws and judicial decisions of numerous states, making the declaration some form of a standard measuring the progress of states and peoples toward realizing the full respect for human freedom. Further on, there is also the power of technology and the integrating nature of communication and globalization that made it impossible for atrocities committed against individuals to be hidden from international scrutiny. An excellent example was when in 1983, peasants from Uchuraccay, Peru killed visiting journalists mistaking them as members of Sendero Lumino (SL), the most notorious terrorist group in Latin America. Because of this, Peru came to the attention of world and human rights became part of the Peruvians’ ordinary language (Cleary 91). Non-governmental organizations have also been formed, with hundreds of thousands of volunteers, experts and civil servants pledging to pursue and protect international human rights. The negative dimension to the human rights discourse in the context of international relations is demonstrated in the US-Latin American relations. A specific reference to the American policy towards human rights was contained in the inaugural address of US President Carter wherein he declared: â€Å"Because we are free, we can never be