Throughout history, we won several battles regarding human rights, such as slavery in the 19th
century, but there are still many goals to be achieved. Every human being, without distinctions,
has, or at least should have, fundamental rights since their birth; unfortunately, nowadays still
many people don’t know what those are because they are reserved for the wealthiest and
luckiest.
One of the first and most important is the right to freedom of speech, of thoughts, of
association, of religion, etc. Awareness about these rights increased thanks to rule integration in
the legal system of various countries. For example, the Universal Declaration of human rights,
approved in 1948 in the United Nations assembly, recognizes basic rights and fundamental
freedoms, inherent, inalienable, and applicable to all human beings.
Another important right for humanity is the right to equality, according to which the law is the
same for all, without any kind of distinctions or discriminations. One of the most relevant
achievement in our society was the Universal suffrage in 1948, thanks to which women could vote
for the first time; or the definitive abolition of Apartheid, the racial segregation of South Africa
where the minority white population dominated the majority black population.
The right against exploitation, punishable by law, protects human being from any kind of
exploitation, which could be human trafficking, forced labor or child labor, developed especially
during the Industrial Revolution. Children worked in dangerous conditions, for many hours a day
and underpaid. Despite these laws, the problem is still present nowadays, especially in
underdeveloped areas, such as India, were millions of children are forced to work due to poverty,
lack of education, overpopulation, etc.
In conclusion I want to say that, although the progress of the last decade and the desire of
evolution and emancipation, we are still too far from the utopic world where hatred and evil are
replaced by love, equality and solidarity between all citizens.
