Human Rights, Sovereignty, and Natural Law: Ethical Perspectives

Human Rights, Sovereignty, and Natural Law: Ethical Perspectives

Based on my understanding after reading Shestack’s article “THE PHILOSOPHIC FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS”, I believe that the Natural Law is the strongest political foundation for infringing state sovereignty. In my opinion, this is true since natural law has been stated to be " in accordance with nature, unalterable, and eternal " (Shestack 9). According to this postulation, people are born with these rights, and as human beings, everyone deserves and is entitled to them.  This is also supported by natural scholars who argue that “human rights are founded in nature” (Dembour 140). 

Occasionally, I believe it might be necessary to violate the sovereignty of a state in order to protect these human rights since these are the rights that come from nature. These rights should be afforded to all human beings as they are their natural-born rights. In conflict situations, I believe that sovereignty must be given precedence when there is a conflict between the principles of self-determination and sovereignty. If a state or an area forms its own government or union, it might be due to serious factors that led them to do that. Although I am not for a NATO intervention in Kosovo given that so many innocent people were killed, displaced, and their livelihoods destroyed, such as crops, was justified since so many innocent people died. Despite the bombings that took place, many lives were unfortunately lost in the process. Still, it was the right thing to do. 

In conclusion, I believe humanitarian interventions can only be effective if human rights are protected on both sides. Humanitarian intervention's main obligation is to protect the common humanity. In the event of man-made crises and natural disasters, and as a preventative measure and for strengthening preparedness to handle these situations, humanitarian intervention should strive to save lives, relieve suffering, and maintain human dignity.

Work Cited

 Dembour, Marie-Bénédicte. “What Are Human Rights? Four Schools of Thought.” Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 32, no. 1, 2010, pp. 1–20., https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.0.0130. 

Shestack, Jerome J. “The Philosophic Foundations of Human Rights.” Human Rights, 2017, pp. 3–36., https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315199955-1.