The Faculty of Law, Universitas Brawijaya held a guest lecture with the speaker Dr. Nobumichi Teramura with the theme of Legal Issues in the Global Era of the 21st Century, in this theme only he revealed that each country has its own problems, each community has different cultures, values, principles, and morals, but there are similar feelings how to treat other fellow humans. Human rights are rights that are inherent in every human being since birth which are valid for life and cannot be contested by anyone. The implementation of human rights is of course without differentiating status, class, descent, position, and so on. In general, there is a global agreement that humans have three types of human rights. First, civil rights which include personal freedom such as freedom of speech, religion, and opinion, freedom in the possession of goods, the right to receive equal treatment in law. Second, political rights which include the right to vote, voice political opinion, and to participate in the electoral process. Third, social rights that include the right to get protection from violence, the right to get health and education facilities.
Human Rights and Globalization
Human rights are an integral component of political, economic and cultural forces in globalization. Human rights protection is no longer seen as a national issue, but also a global scope. Several factors contribute to expansion and commitment in global human rights agendas, namely:
- Establishment of global institutions that care about the protection of human rights
- Increased acceptance of interdependent rights and indivisibility, where violations of human rights in a country will have implications for people in other countries
- Emphasis on the upholding of democracy is considered important for realizing international peace
- The view that concern for human rights is facilitated by market-based economic development
- Effectiveness of non-state actors
The concept of human rights is significantly strengthened by the emergence of multilateral NGOs that care about the enforcement of human rights. Examples are Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and international human rights institutions such as International Criminal Court and United States Commission on Human Rights.
The role of institutions and NGOs in upholding human rights cannot be denied is actually more significant than the role of the state, for example Human Rights Watch (HRW). HRW is a nonprofit non-governmental human rights organization. HRW has a staff of more than 275 throughout the world which they call defenders who have expertise in their respective fields such as lawyers, journalists, academics from various studies and nationalities. HRW, which was founded in 1978, is well-known for its accurate fact finding, non-partial reports, effective use of the media, and advocacy targets. Every year, HRW publishes more than 100 reports on human rights conditions in various countries. HRW holds meetings with the governments of the countries concerned, the United Nations, regional groups such as the African Union or European Union, financial institutions, and companies to press for policy changes to help uphold human rights and justice throughout the world. [FAH]