13. Human rights

//Human rights are "basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, language, or other status." Human rights are conceived as universal and egalitarian, with all people having equal rights by virtue of being human. These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national and international law. The doctrine of human rights in international practice, within international law, global and regional institutions, in the policies of states and the activities of non-governmental organisations has been a cornerstone of public policy around the world. It has been said that: "if the public discourse of peacetime global society can be said to have a common moral language, it is that of human rights." Despite this, the strong claims made by the doctrine of human rights continue to provoke considerable skepticism, debates about the content, nature and justifications of human rights continue to this day.

Many of the basic ideas that animated the movement developed in the aftermath of the Second World War and the atrocities of the holocaust, culminating in the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The ancient world did not possess the concept of universal human rights. Ancient societies had "elaborate systems of duties... conceptions of justice, political legitimacy, and human flourishing that sought to realize human dignity, flourishing, or well-being entirely independent of human rights". The modern concept of human rights developed during the early Modern period, alongside the European secularization of Judeo-Christian ethics. The true forerunner of human rights discourse was the concept of natural rights which appeared as part of the medieval Natural law tradition, became prominent during the Enlightenment with such philosophers as John Locke, Francis Hutcheson, and Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, and featured prominently in the political discourse of the American Revolution and the French Revolution.//

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights

14. International organizations and international cooperation

//There are many organizations in the world, which work and cooperate together in dealing with international problems. Some of them are official, the other are public. Among them are the United Nations Organization, The Red Cross League, Greenpeace and many others. Let's take, for example, the United Nations. It is an organization to which nearly all the countries of the world belong. It's headquarters are situated in New York. Its central aim is to maintain peace and security in the world, to develop friendly relations among nations.

Greenpeace is an international organization, which deals with ecological and environmental problems. It was formed in 1971. Now it is a powerful organization, which works all over the word. There are many serious actions in the list of Greenpeace activities. The national offices exist in 27 countries of the world. In Russia Greenpeace was formed in 1992. It works here on four directions: Wood Campaign, Antinuclear Campaign, and Campaign for preservation Lake Baikal. Greenpeace tries to attract public attention to different problems in the world and find out who is guilty. It is financed by personal voluntary donations of its supporters. One more organization I'd like to speak about is the World Wildlife Fund. It was formed in 1961 by a small group of people. Now it is a large organization. The aim of it is to sake animals and plants of the world. It has raised over 35 million pounds for conversation projects and given support to National parks in five continents. As for me, I'd like to join Greenpeace organization. I am extremely concerned in ecological problems in our country, especially in our region. It is very important what water we drink, what food we eat. Besides, it is the place where I live. We must save our land for future generations.//

http://student.km.ru/ref_show_frame.asp?id=A76EAE91FDF44017B5CCC4A250F16189