Human Rights are basic rights that are awarded to every human being in the world. With the inception of Magna Carta, Human Rights have found a standing in the society, irrespective of a person’s perception on caste, class, race, sex, creed, gender or nationality. The study of human rights is no longer constrained to the restricted confines of the boardrooms of supranational organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, or the World Health Organization – it is now a legitimate, full-fledged field of study that is being taken up all over the world, in classrooms, in homes, and in corporate settings[1].
During the war and inter-war period, human torture and sufferings became one of the important mechanisms to show suppression over an enemy – the result was that war heroes and civilians suffered horrific conclusions to their lives. It was then that the world united and created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that reinforced the value of human life and dignity.
Post war, during the 20th Century, the world witnessed the second wave of Human Rights immerging. It is known that the pre-20th Century era was a conjugation of Negative Laws while the 20th Century was all about Positive Laws. In here the world witnessed Human Rights being dissolved into fundamental rights within the constitutional democracies.
Now that we are heading from the modern era to the global era, the world has become a smaller place. Everyone around the world is connected to each other via the internet and hence more mechanisms are available to announce one’s views on human rights publicly. In a world that is headed towards a concerning rise in nationalism, populism, and authoritarianism, human rights is increasingly becoming a concern that all of us have to deal with and guard vigilantly over the coming years[2].
Indeed, with the boom of globalization, several career options have also increased for those who aspire to become Human Rights specialists. Human Rights is a perfect area of study for those who want to make our world a better place. The best part about choosing Human Rights is because even if you don’t want to work at a global level, even national level work reflects on the society at large.
Students specializing in Human Rights get a chance to discover several career options. One can complete the BA (Hons.) in Human Rights and then become an Advocate of citizens’ rights, either nationally or internationally. Different areas such as law, health, education, business and many more welcome Human Rights enthusiasts with open arms. Some other career options relate to social service, research and development, governmental and non-governmental commissions and organizations, etc.
Given the versatile nature of Human Rights, as a career choice, students can merge number of their interests into a career option. For example, one with an interest in Human Rights and Sports, can aspire to join various national and international sporting organizations and help develop policies that benefit the athletes at large.
Human rights professionals work in social service organizations, international organizations, government agencies, law firms, and even businesses. They also work in countries all over the world, fighting for positive change towards the protection of rights for vulnerable groups and better accountability for governments.
By choosing to study an undergraduate course in Human Rights, students get an exclusive opportunity to stay focused on their passion and specific research and field works. This also enhances the quality of skill and knowledge development of a student considering the specialized nature of the course from the undergraduate level.
[1] ‘Why Study Human Rights?’ (Human Rights Careers, 2022) <https://www.humanrightscareers.com/magazine/why-study-human-rights/#:~:text=Studying%20human%20rights%20can%20lead%20to%20a%20variety%20of%20careers,also%20require%20several%20different%20skills.> accessed 16 May 2022.
[2] Ibid
