Global Studies Project

Does the United Nations, including the United States, have the right to promote and ensure human rights in the Middle East?

-It’s no secret that the Middle East region is full of human rights violations. The United States for the most part is humanitarian, though our country may have a few flaws on our human rights record. The United Nations, what I believe is a mostly ineffective organization with good ideas, champion’s human rights. The United States should be able to criticize the Middle East on freedom issues, but there is what I believe to be a major flaw on our country’s human rights rating: the retention of capital punishment. I believe we can criticize all other issues, except for capital punishment and detention issues. The United Nations can criticize anything they want, but I believe it’s completely ineffective. That being said, every nation that is a champion of human rights should criticize many of the nations of the Middle East for their human rights violations

-I’m going to do a comparison. I believe the two nations in the Middle East with the best human rights are Turkey and Jordan, with the worst being Iran and Saudi Arabia. Iran and Saudi Arabia are truly extreme human rights violators, with stoning still going on, female genital mutilation, and constricted freedoms. Turkey has been trying to modernize itself. It is just about on par with the United States, if not better. Jordan, which is a strong ally of the United States, has been instrumental in the peace process in the Middle East. Though they do still have human rights violations themselves (ex: prison sentences for homosexuality), they have a pretty good record. But where do you draw the line between just a religious practice or a grave human right violation? While some laws in the Middle East should be respected, others cannot be left alone as just part of their culture, as they are human rights violations.

But the United States has unfairly detained Middle Eastern citizens accused of being terrorists!

My opinion: Yes, that’s true. The United States definitely is not perfect with human rights. But the most of the Middle East’s human rights records make American human rights look perfect. The United States can criticize most human rights issues in the Middle East, but we must improve our own before we can go all out.  However, the United States admits facts like these and they are open for debate in the United States.

Do you think the US has the right to criticize human rights in the Middle East?
<INPUT TYPE=CHECKBOX NAME="Yes"   >Yes<BR>
<INPUT TYPE=CHECKBOX NAME="No">No<BR>

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