Are Human Rights Universal?

Human Rights have been formally defined in the 1948 universal declaration of human rights. It consists of 30 different articles which covers different aspects of human rights. However, the articles serve as a guideline for countries and they need not adhere to the settings. Some rules may not be suitable for the society and thus, not all articles of the universal declaration of human rights are universal.Some of the articles go against long traditions and religious beliefs, thus not making it universal. Article 18 states that “Everyone has the rights to freedom of… religion.” This is in contrast with the Muslims teachings which prevent Muslims from converting out of the religion. In 2004, a Muslim attempted to convert in a Christian but had her case rejected over and over again. The incident created a surge of unhappiness amongst the population. Another example is Communism; the Marxist system which countries such as China, Cuba and North Korea have adopted, goes against article number eight which states that ‘Democracy’ is part of a human’s right. As such, it is impossible to bind them to the article as the rule applies only to democratic systems. Thus, I believe that human rights are not universal.Also, human rights are not universal in Singapore’s context. Singapore is a multi-racial society and sensitive topics must be avoided in order to preserve harmony. The government has no choice but to censor sensitive issues which might fan the flames of racism. As a result, the ‘right’ of ultimate freedom of speech is deprived. This is essential to Singapore’s society though it may not be as important in another country's context. Thus, the human rights are not universal as it is inapplicable in such a environment.