HUMAN RIGHTS
rights to life and liberty, to freedom of expression and opinion, to participation in government and choice of employment, and to private property and general security in one's person these are just some of the rights that people around the globe have come to recognize as human rights those rights that all individuals have simply by virtue of their very humanity; rights that we expect all societies to guarantee to their citizens irrespective of a person's race, religion, gender, sexuality, or ethnicity; rights that we should have no matter where we live or who we are (Ishay 2004). Understood as universal and inalienable, human rights have come to represent a common standard, a set of international norms against which we measure the actions of governments and the practices of communities (Beitz, 2001). They have come to function as the grounds on which we challenge particular policies and actions of states and the basis upon which we demand change or imagine a different, better future (Ignatieff, 2001). With all that they do, with all that we expect from them, it is not surprising that human rights are cherished the world over (Campbell, 2009). br/>
Traditional Practices on Women and Children
24 May 1984, the UN Economic and Social Council requested the Secretary-General (resolution 1984/34) to entrust to a working group composed of experts designated by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and the World Health Organization the task of conducting a comprehensive study on the phenomenon of traditional practices affecting the health of women and children; and requested all interested non-governmental organizations to cooperate in the study (Power, 2002: Author, 2003).
Effects of Traditional Practices on Women and Children
Working Group on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children held three sessions at the European office of the United Nations in Geneva, the first in March 1985, the second in September of that year, and the third in January 1986. On the basis of the documentation available to it, the Working Group submitted a report to the Commission on Human Rights (UN Doc. E/CN.4/1986/42) in which it accorded priority consideration to such practices as
1. Female circumcision,
. Preferential treatment for male children, and
. Traditional birth practices (Perry 2008).
Female Circumcision
term, as used by the Working Group, refers t...
