Human Rights Analysis of South Africa

Human Rights Analysis of South Africa Naquille Curtis South Africa, post apartheid era, has had to refocus their attempts at bettering their demographics compared to many industrialized countries, as well as address inequalities within their current health care system. In addition to addressing those social and economic issues, their outlook on human rights has also been subject to refocus in light of the new era of political change. South Africa has had five constitutional changes within its history of being an independent republic, and their most current constitution (1996) had included Black African representation, a bill of rights (modeled from both the United States Constitution (1789) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)), and adult suffrage, which was a significant change to what the country was addressing before. Although their bill of rights and recent laws state that there is equality and rights for all people, issues of Xenophobia, unsafe abortion practices, educational and health-related disparities, and gend er inequality are still barriers in a country where these issues are supposed to be eliminated and upheld by the law (Crush, 2001). The State of South African Human Rights Amnesty International (2017), a nongovernmental global leader in addressing and protecting human rights, has listed several domains in which South Africa is not living up to what their constitution has been created to address. Issues include: polices excessive use of force and inhumane murder (chapter 2, section 12 violation), corporate accountability in relation to housing for underserved populations (chapter 2, section 26 violation), xenophobia (chapter 2, sections 9, 20, 24, 30, 31), womens rights (chapter 2, sections 9 28), LGBTQIA discrimination and hate crimes (chapter 2, sections 9, 18, 24), and educational inequalities (specifically those with disabilities) (chapter 2, sections 9 29). Amnesty International also reports that those who try to address these issues of inequality and human rights are also subjected to violence and being arrested, which is also a violation of inhumane treatment and freedom of speech/expression laws. Human Rights Watch (2017), another nongovernm ental organization, further discusses how South Africa has been excluding those with disabilities from education, as well as how lack of protection of queer individuals is showing that hate crimes are normalized within the country, and hosts a plethora of material in relation to which individuals, racially, suffer the most with these human rights violations.   Many of the discriminatory actions that South Africa is continuing to perpetuate on its citizens are factors as to why the country suffers in multiple areas, and that education, in particular, can be one of the vital ways to fix many of the issues that the country faces. Analysis of South African Human Rights According to Mapp (2014), the continent of Africa makes up 13 seats of the United Nations (UN) and, although the United Nations and other countries and organizations have had some say in what has been happening in South Africa in terms of human rights violations, there is not much these countries can do to enforce them because the United Nations has very little power in the enforcement department; rather, it is up to South Africa to realize their flaws and return to what they vowed to protect when the constitution was redesigned with help from other nations. Activism and speaking out against injustices are normally a great way to voice opinions and create radical changes when they are heavily needed, however, with the stressful security climate of the country and the harm being done to civilians who do speak out mixed with the complete marginalization of the those most affected in the country, South Africa will need to rely on the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty Inter national to make significant strides in the right direction. As Mapp described in their textbook (2014), All people should be equal under the law and should have equal opportunities to develop their potential (p.23), and South Africa can make the shift from making empty governmental promises to working with others to cultivate the safe and nurturing environment for all of those they had promised to serve. References Amnesty International. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from  https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/south-africa/ Assembly, C. (1996). Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Cape Town. Assembly, U. G. (1948). Universal declaration of human rights. UN General Assembly. Constitution, U. S. (1789). Constitution of the United States.  Accessed 28 March 2017. Crush, J. (2001). The dark side of democracy: migration, xenophobia and human rights in South  Africa. International Migration, 38(6), 103-133. Human Rights Watch. (n.d.). Retrieved March 26, 2017, from https://www.hrw.org/ Mapp, S. C. (2014). Human rights and social justice in a global perspective: An introduction to  international social work. Oxford University Press, USA.

Essay --

Stubblefield 1 Marlene Stubblefield Dr. Judith Palier American National Government 17 November 2013 The Second Amendant: What does it mean? As violence and murder rates escalate in America so does the issue of gun control. The consequence of this tragedy births volatile political discourse about gun control and the Second Amendment. The crux of the question is what the founding fathers meant when they wrote, â€Å"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.† Since the writing of the Second Amendment the make and model of firearms has changed dramatically and so has the philosophies of the people. A rifle is no longer defined as a single shot, muzzle-loading musket used to primarily protect families or solely for food. Should the weapons we use today be protected by an amendment written nearly 222 years ago? Should the second amendment be rewritten? Does the Second Amendment apply to individual citizens? These questions spark extensive debates in Washington D.C. regarding what the founding fathers intended t he amendment to be. The answer to this question lies in the fact that despite hundreds of gun control articles having been written , still the gun control issue remains unresolved. History tells us gun control debates will be in a stalemate until our judicial system defines or rewrites the Second Amend. This paper will examine the history of the Second Amendment, and attempt to define the framers intent, gun control legislation and look at factors that affect Americans on this specific issue... ...o militias, and dismissed his lawsuit. Heller perused his lawsuit; the matter was appealed and sent to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Court of Appeals reversed the lowers court decision based on reasons the Second Amendment clearly mentions an individual may bear arms while serving in the militia, and the same individual has a right protect himself and his family as sacrosanct. The court concludes that the city’s ban on handguns and its requirement that firearms in the home be kept nonfunctional violated that right. In other words, an individual need not be in a militia to own a firearm, it is an individual’s right to own a firearm in self -defense. Heller concluded his defense by saying, â€Å"self-defense is a basic right recognized by ancient legal system to present, and it is the central component of the Second Amendment† (D.C. v Heller).

Investigation of the Yom Kippur War 1973 Essay -- Papers History Yom K

Investigation of the Yom Kippur War 1973 In this investigation one will find the long term and short term causes of the Yom Kippur war. This was achieved by reading various sources about the war and the events that were prior to the war. Thus for this investigation the research question is called "what were the causes of the Yom Kippur war of 1973." By researching about the war one came across various sources some very reliable and some not so dependable thus the evaluation of sources shows how reliable and valuable the investigation's two main sources are. From each source of the sources one took the liberty of extracting relevant information about the war thus all the events that were related to the war are shown in the summary of evidence section. Finally, the analysis and conclusion part of the investigation came about by taking all the evidence into account and analyzing each cause, and then making an over all conclusion relating to all the causes, analysis, and the whole investigation. SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE: The causes of the Yom Kippur war one can date it back all the way to November 2 1917. This day was the day when the British assured the Jews that in Palestine they would gain a national home which they could call as their own. The British assured the Jews this by issuing the Balfour Declaration (www.mideastweb.org). However, the day Israel gained its own state on May 15 1948 the majority of the Arabs felt insecure and unjust. Thus, the Arabs on the same day declared war on the newly Jewish state of Israel, which in the end the Israelis managed to win; one can say that this is another long term cause of the Yom Ki... ...e a state of their own which they could call home. This mainly due to prevent another holocaust from occurring again, thus the birth place of Judaism was given to the Jews as their own state, Israel was created. However, the Palestinians and the Arab nations surrounding Israel obviously were not pleased with this, thus Nasser's plans of putting aggression policies towards Israel were widely accepted in the region. Even though Nasser had failed over and over to achieve his aim of throwing out the Jewish state in an Arab "ocean" the Middle East. Thus after, Nasser had died his aggressive policies had given Israel a negative impression, thus when Sadat came to power his peaceful solutions were neglected, therefore Sadat's impatience got the best of him and thus he declared war on Israel and started off the Yom Kippur war.

Essay --

The Bureau of Investigation was renamed the â€Å"Federal Bureau of Investigation,† in 1935. The FBI became well known by American culture during the rule of John Edgar Hoover. John Edgar Hoover is unquestionably the most famous federal agent in the history of the United States. He turned an insignificant federal law enforcement agency with restricted law enforcement powers into the most esteemed law enforcement organization in the world. The FBI was seen as a crucial part of America’s win in World War II due to its efforts against espionage. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, Hoover increased the FBI’s Cold War efforts to prevent the power of Communist supporters and spies in the United States. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the FBI became known as the primary agency to protect the civil rights of all citizens within the South. The FBI continued to fight against espionage throughout the Cold War. This ultimately led to the decrease in communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The FBI also became involved with many other highly publicized cases. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, the FBI investigated domestic terror groups on both the left and the right wings of the political spectrum. The FBI also regarded public corruption and organized crime as very important priorities during the 1970’s and 1980’s. Beginning in the 1980’s all the way up to present day the FBI has increasingly focused its attention on acts of terrorism. In the middle and late 1980’s, several acts of terrorism were committed against Americans overseas. Terrorism remained in the spotlight during the 90’s in response to numerous incidents, such as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal B... ...s it correlates to the manufacturing, distribution, and supplying of legally produced controlled substances. They are responsible for the cooperation with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials on shared drug enforcement efforts and the bettering of these efforts by means of exploitation of impending interstate and international investigations. They are also accountable for the cooperation with local, state, and federal agencies, and foreign governments in programs intended to reduce the accessibility of illegal abuse-type drugs for sale in the United States through non-enforcement techniques. In addition, they are responsible for every program related to drug law enforcement correspondents in foreign countries, and the relationship with the Interpol, United Nations, and other organizations on affairs regarding international drug control programs (DEA).

Epic Hero

Epic Hero Essay Heroes are strong, brave, loyal, and intelligent people that help us when we run into trouble and inspire us. Odysseus displays these characteristics, in the epic poem â€Å"The Odyssey. † He's on a quest to get back home and to regain his throne, but a series of unfortunate events occur that makes his journey long and treacherous. In his various adventures like The Cyclops, The Land Of The Dead, and The Lotus-Eaters, Odysseus shows examples of his heroic characteristics. In Odysseus's adventures, he comes across a cyclops named Polyphemus. When Odysseus was trapped in Polyphemus's cave, he told him his name was â€Å"nhbdy. † He also knew that he shouldn't have killed him in his sleep because he and his men wouldn't have been able to escape. Through that experience, he proved that he was an intelligent and cunning person. When Odysseus went to the Land of the Lotus-Eaters, he and his men rested there and relaxed. His men were pressured to eat the lotus plants and it made his crew all looney and â€Å"high. Odysseus showed his intelligence and loyalty by not eating the lotuses and carrying his men back to the ship. With every action Odysseus takes, it exposes him even more as an epic hero. On his journey to The Land Of The Dead, Odysseus displays extraordinary actions that truly show he is an epic hero. He was brave enough to even go down to the underworld and strong enough to undergo the heat. He fended off evil spirits and met his friend and his mother. Odysseus, raider of cities used his strength to go through those events. Heroes are strong, smart, devoted, and courageous people that help and influence us. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, from the epic poem â€Å"The Odyssey,† shows that he surely is an epic hero. He went through a whole bunch of horrible events that has proven his existence as a great role model. It is people like Odysseus that makes this world a better place and he influences people to become more a hero everyday.

Comprehensive Problem: Service Industry Essay

Objectives: Demonstrate application of accounting concepts pertaining to a service company, including the following: selection of business form,  journalization and posting of daily transactions,  creation of unadjusted trial balance,  adjustment of the accounts to properly report changes in balances, creation of financial statements,  completion of the closing process with appropriate closing entries and posting to T accounts, determination of book value for fixed assets, and  discussion of company’s financial position. As you work through this problem please refer to the Penn State rules regarding Academic Integrity. It is very important that you cite your sources. Part 1: 5% of Assignment Grade Monica Porter loves photography and wants to start her own company. She is single, 26 years old, and lives in an apartment in Nicetown. She has a job as a clerk in a grocery store that currently pays her living expenses. Her dream is to be a portrait photographer specializing in events such as weddings, birthdays, graduations, etc. She has saved $10,000 to start this endeavor. She knows nothing about accounting and has hired you to provide her with accounting services as well as guidance in starting this business. This first task is to determine which business organization entity she should choose. Please explain the different business formats and which one you would suggest for her business, which will be named â€Å"Portraits by Porter† (PBP). Part 2: 85% of Assignment Grade Monica has followed your advice and on January 11, 2012, she deposited $10,000 into a business bank account for PBP and started pursuing her dream. It has been a hectic year, and in June Monica contacts you to ask your advice in helping her to determine whether she can leave the grocery store and work the photography business full time. She provides you with a list of the things that have happened during the past 6 months. She has applied for a small business loan of $25,000 and has been told by her banker that she  needs a set of books (whatever that means) and financial statements (?) along with a listing of her fixed assets at book value. The banker told her that the books should be closed for the year as ended June 30, 2012, with corresponding financial statements. 1. Create the journal for the transactions and post these to the T accounts (45 pts). 2. Create the unadjusted trial balance (5 pts). 3. Make the necessary adjusted journal entries (6 pts). 4. Create the adjusted trial balance (5 pts). 5. Complete the financial statements: income statement, retained earnings, and balance sheet (15 pts). 6. Close the books using appropriate journal entries with T accounts (5 pts). 7. Determine the BV of the fixed assets (4 pts). PART 3: 10% of assignment grade Discuss the economic position of BPB and what you would advise Monica concerning her job at the grocery store.

Explain Kants Theory of Ethics Essay

Kant was born in 1724-1804, he was a German thinker from East Prussia (now Russia), and he spent his whole life in his hometown. Kant wanted to create a logical, stand-alone theory that wasn’t just based on assumptions, he believed in an objective right or wrong that is decided on reason and that we shouldn’t do the right thing just because it’s right and not to fulfil our desires. Can we lead a life following his ideals are there not some situations where a perfect moral decision cannot be made, are all our choices fuelled by personal gain and desire? He has a deontological and absolute approach to ethics, to Kant what makes an action good is when you do your ‘duty’ and that one’s duty is to always flow the moral law. We should not act out of love or compassion. The motive is what makes an action good –nothing else! The consequences to Kant are meaningless it’s the act itself that needs to be right an example of his thinking would be its immoral to kill 1 man in order to save 10. For Kant the fact that we ‘ought’ to do something implies that it is possible to do it. Thus moral statements are prescriptive: they prescribe an action. Ought implies can, ‘if I ought to do X’, it means ‘I can do X’. Kant also believed that moral statements are a priori (knowable prior to experience) and synthetic, that they can be verified by our empirical evidence so are either true or false. Kant put forward the idea of two imperatives the hypothetical imperative, these are not moral commands and they don’t apply to everyone. In Kant’s eyes you only need to obey them if you want to achieve a certain goal. An example of this would be that Kant observed that the word ‘ought’ is often used none morally, for example ‘if you want to become a better artist or guitarist, you ought to practice’. On the other hand Kant also proposed the Categorical Imperative, these are moral commands that can be universalised and do not depend on anything else. Whereas the hypothetical imperative requires you to go from ‘a’ to ‘b’ then categorical imperative only requires you to just do ‘a’. â€Å"Duties for duties sake† this related to the categorical imperative. Kant then goes on to the 3 maxims, first off to test a moral maxim as it’s a universal law either everyone should follow it or everyone should reject it. The first maxim is ‘Your action should be able to be universalised’ before you act in a certain way, would you like everyone in the same situation to act in the same way. If not, then you are involved in a contradiction it goes against reason, â€Å" so at that principle of action might safely be made of law for the whole world† if you were to take lying through the first maxim its clear it would fail as that would mean everyone would be lying to one another and trust is completely destroyed. The second maxim is ‘Don’t treat people as a means to an end’ Kant strongly believed that you can never use human beings as a means to an end, to exploit or enslave them. Humans to Kant are all the highest point of creation and so demand a unique treatment. This guarantees that all individuals are afforded the moral principles; therefore no humans can be used for the sake of others, he also explained that we have a duty to develop our own perfection, developing our moral, intellectual and physical capabilities. We also have a duty to seek the happiness of others as long as that is within the law and allows the freedom of others. â€Å"Always recognise that human individually are ends and do not use them as a means to your end† therefore you can’t lie for example to further your own needs at the cost of using someone. Kant’s final and third maxim ‘ work towards a kingdom of ends’ this is an overall culmination of the first two, everyone should act as if every person was a ‘end’ and that moral choices be based on any empirical consideration about human nature, human flourishing or human destiny. However it needs to be clear that despite this autonomy this does not mean that everyone can just decide their own morality but rather that each individual has the ability to understand the principles of pure practical reason and follow them. It is impartial and must apply to everyone. If one maxim is disproved then the law becomes immoral and can’t be universalised. Kant also talked about good will and duty, to Kant the ‘greatest good or summon bonum’ is what Kant terms as good will. Someone of good will is not good because of what they achieve (the consequence) but because he/she acts out of duty. Good will to Kant is the only thing that is truly pure, as we can get our reasoning wrong or it can be manipulated, but to have the good will to perform your duty cannot be manipulated or got wrong. Kant contrasted ‘doing your duty’ with ‘giving into your emotions’ or doing what you feel like. The main two meanings of duty come into conflict as the first thought meaning of duty is to obey your superior, this is what the Nazi soldiers claimed innocence about when they were trialled for war crimes they were just following orders but is that moral? To obey the moral law do the right thing and think a situation through is Kant’s meaning of duty â€Å"Good will shines forth like a precious jewel† –Kant. Kant’s theory of ethics seems to grant freedom to do anything that can be universalised. This sets the limits but does not give guidance; therefore in order for it to make sense Kant proposed the three postulates, the existence of god, freedom and immorality. We know that morality can exist because we can observe it. However we must be free to perform it as otherwise the act wouldn’t be truly moral. Morality and freedom must come from somewhere to Kant this is God. Kant argues that there must be a God and an afterlife as there has to be some sort of reward. As we cannot be perfect in this life. This is known as reaching the summon bonum that I mentioned earlier, as this cannot be achieved in this life, there must be an afterlife where this can be achieved. For Kant, morality leads to God. Part B: Assess the view that it is always right to keep one’s promises. In Kant’s view immorality occurs when the categorical imperative is not followed: when a person attempts to set a different standard for themselves then for the rest of humanity. In the Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals, once Kant has derived his categorical imperative he applies it to a number of examples. The second example and probably the most analysed is that of an unfaithful promise. Kant applies his imperative to a person who is short of money who intends to ask for a loan, promising to repay it, but with no intention of doing so. When Kant applies the categorical imperative to this situation he discovers that it leads to a contradiction, for if breaking promises were to become universal then no person would ever agree to a promise and promises would disappear. Kant connects rationality with morality, and sees contradictory behaviour as immoral. Some critics have argued that Kant never asserts the connection between rationality and morality, but most dismiss this and point out that Kant clearly explains how morality must be based upon reason and not upon desires. Another weakness is that what if your friend told you a secret that he was planning to murder someone, it would be your obligation to keep it but is that morally right? Could that surpass the 3 maxims, in the second maxim there can be no use of one individual for the sake of another, are you forsaking the person that is planned to be murdered just to keep a promise. However on the other hand there are strengths to Kant’s way of thinking as it means everyone single human has intrinsic value, actions are based on reason and logic and there are 3 straightforward maxims that need to be followed so it cuts out many grey areas as if it simply doesn’t follow the maxims it can’t be universalised. Other theories, utilitarianism for example would say it would be wrong to keep a promise of a secret of planned bomb attack that would kill hundreds as you would be saving hundreds of lives by informing the police. Utilitarian’s believe that the outcome outweighs the action. In my opinion I agree with Kant theory as I believe there needs to be trust between people, as relationships with people would mean nothing also it’s a matter of honour if you gave your word to someone I will promise you this etc. then it has to be in the best of your ability to fulfil it if it’s a good cause and not unjust. However in extreme cases such as say the promise of keeping a secret of a planned terrorist attack I would have to side with the utilitarian approach.