United Nations Declaration on Human Rights free essay sample

After reading the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNHDR), I can see how many countries and private institutions use the UNDHR as its basis. I can also see how the UNDHR has taken many of its articles from other Countries’ declarations or constitutions (specifically the United States). The UNDHR was adopted on 1948 and arose directly from the World War II. It represents the first global expression of â€Å"rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled†. During his State of Union speech in 1941, President Roosevelt addresses the Four Freedoms (which the allies adopted), freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, freedom from fear and freedom from want as their basic war aims. In the community section of Saint Leo’s Core Values, it states; â€Å"Saint Leo University develops hospitable Christian learning communities everywhere we serve. We foster a spirit of belonging, unity, and interdependence based on mutual trust and respect to create socially responsible environments that challenge all of us to listen, to learn, to change, and to serve. We will write a custom essay sample on United Nations Declaration on Human Rights or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the UNDHR, there are thirty (30) articles that lay out the basic rights that every person is entitled to. Although, this is not a legal document and has no standing in court, this is more of a covenant that the member (most) agreed upon. In the United States, some of these articles are the basic freedoms that most Americans seem to take for granted and they are protected in the United States Constitution. Now, the question that I have is this, Saint Leo’s is a Catholic University. Religion is a required course for graduation. I’m sure that Saint Leo’s would not turn a student away based on the religion or lack of religion. As a practicing Catholic, I would not be upset if I was attending a Methodist college or a Baptist college and they did not have a peer group for Catholics, nor would I expect them to. In 2011, Catholic University was hit with a human rights complaint. The plaintiff charged that the school â€Å"illegally discriminated† against Muslim students because it failed to make available rooms for prayer that have no Catholic religious symbols. I, personally, found this offensive. My question was this, why would you go to a Catholic college (much less a Christian one) if you weren’t a Catholic or a Christian? My question is this, were their rights violated under the UNDHR? Articles two (2) and eighteen (18) are the only articles where religion is even mentioned. Article 2 states that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration without distinction of any kind such as religion. Article 18 states everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief. Now, where these students’ rights violated under these articles? Not at all. Where there rights violated under any law in the United States? Not at all. They were free to worship when and where they wanted. Plus, Catholic University, like Saint Leo’s, is a private institution. These individuals weren’t discriminated against. They weren’t told they couldn’t worship in their way. The school, allegedly, did not provide a place for them to worship without any Christian emblems visible. They made a conscious decision to attend a Christian faith based school and not a state school. In Saint Leo’s core values, we have the right, as students, to learn in an environment that welcomes people of all walks of life, regardless of race or religion. As an â€Å"online† student and having never been a full time student, except for military and law enforcement, I cannot relate to campus life. Thus far, I have found this to be one of the hardest papers that I’ve ever had to write. This particular topic has to do with how one related to the other. However, I fell that when it comes to the core values of Saint Leo’s; one has had to experience campus life. I do feel that the articles in the UNDHR contain the basic rights that freedoms that should be granted to all people. Freedom of thought and expression and the freedom to learn are not only in the UNDHR but also in t Saint Leo’s values. Saint Leo’s ensures that it provides that best environment for its students, while respecting our right s to which all human beings are inherently entitled.