Concept of citizenship

Concept of citizenship

The entitlement that human beings have by their inherent identity as humans termed as rights, and hence human rights can be said to be the right to dignity as human beings. The conceptual link between human rights and the inherent dignity of an individual invites a metaphysical dispute about what endows human beings as it constrains powerful actors such as states from trampling on that dignity (…………). In this regard, human rights usually delimit the relationship between individuals and the state as the powers of the states have to ensure that the country has an environment that enables its citizens to enjoy their rights. The history of human rights stems back over 250 years ago and has shaped the struggle to create an environment where people can go about their business with dignity (………..). The struggle for human rights has steered revolutionary movements by empowering and controlling the governments and the wielders of power and mandating them to respect human dignity. By the end of the 18th century, human rights got remodeled into a collection of rights laid down by international law and the respective state’s constitution as the bill of rights. In the UK, there was the universal declaration of human rights that was adopted by the general assembly resolution 217 A (III) in December 1948 (……….). Although there is a slight difference between the natural rights of an individual as a human and the rights as a citizen of a country, human rights include all the collective rights recognized under sovereign states and enshrined in the national law as well as the international laws.

Concept of citizenship

Citizenship, since ancient times, has been held as the fundamental concept that defines an individual’s relationship with society. The concept encompasses the idea of belonging to a social or political community with entitlement to certain definitive rights as prescribed in the national constitution and committed to specific duties and standards that contribute to the society (………). For instance, as much as the citizens of the UK have the right to recognition everywhere as a person under the law in Article 6 of the general assembly resolution, they also must remit taxes to the government as a commitment by being citizen’s udder the same constitution. The specific nature of rights and duties, as well as the contributions and the relations between them, are guided by a citizenship discourse that leads and prevail over society. In this regard, a citizenship concept included the formal and informal ways in which citizenship conducted in regards to societal practices (………..). The three main discourses of citizenship include the liberal discourse, associated with the assumption that every individual is not committed to a community. Still, the community is the outcome of the relations of which people can remain isolated from one another. Therefore, except for the limited bundle of rights that are given to citizens by virtue of them being citizens, all the other rights result from a contractual quo between individuals and between the state and individuals.

Natural and human rights

Natural rights, now termed as human rights, are granted to all humanity and regarded as a gift of nature to every human being. The natural rights guide countries and states in the definition of there human rights, and hence to deprive a human being there natural right is morally wrong as is denying them their human rights under the constitution, which is legally wrong (……….). Governments are obliged to abide by human rights and articulate issues that may go contrary to the upholding of human rights under the constitution as well as the natural rights of human beings. In the 17th century, John Locke elaborated in his treaties on the government in 1690 as the natural rights encompassing of life, liberty, and property (……….). A century later, Thomas Jefferson came up with the principle of life, liberty, and pursuit in the American declaration implying that a state is as good as its rights (………..). The two statements, followed by state principles such as the separation of powers enshrined in the constitutions of many nations. In the UK declaration, article 1 proclaims that all human beings are born free and with equal dignity and rights, and they have a conscience and should act towards each other in a spirit of brotherhood.

Nevertheless, the concept of rights today has become familiar and intertwined with other social aspects such as democracy and used in every political discourse despite it being a creation of the 17th and 18th centuries. Although democracy and citizenship are assumed to have reposed the existence of rights, some states such as Greece initially functioned without this concept (……….). These aspects, as seen today, termed as the spirit of the constitution such that I a country, some people are allowed to vote because they are citizens of that country as others denied the chance by being foreigners. In the times of feud, the notion of a right was closer to the property such that some people had the right to do various things such as graze animals in common lands. Still, the rights were specific to them as others were denied the chance by them being citizens of the country. In this regard, it was clear that some nations, such as the UK, initially had laws within the human rights bill that gave some people more rights at the expense of the minorities. The medieval society was an example of such rights where some communities had the duty to provide monies or armed forces for the army to the King, in an act that was still alive in 1642 (……..…..). Therefore, currently, the bill of rights of many nations have integrated the natural rights as human rights and enshrined it in the national constitutions.

Citizen rights in the UK

Democracy will always be deficient if the human rights of citizens not respected with a disagreement coming when what constitutes an individual right as a citizen of a given nation. This is usually the case when personal freedoms come into conflict with the state when exerting the law for the interest of the public. For instance, in the UK, the violation of people’s private life is seen when the government retains the DNA samples of people not convicted of any unlawful act under the constitution (……….). In this case, the rights possessed by the individual as a citizen of the country may be under violation as described by the British constitution unless the government has the mandate to do so under the security act. Also, as much as a citizen of the UK has the freedom to express themselves under the freedom of speech in the bill of rights, the right may be violated if the individual shows themselves in ways that offend other people or groups (………..). Therefore with these cases, the human rights laws, as especially the right of citizens, have been under controversy over the years over where the right ends and where the curtailment of the freedom begins in the United Kingdom.

The current state of the UK human rights law in regards to the citizens explores the various ways in which the bill of rights affects the rights of citizens and how the citizens protected under the UK framework of the unwritten constitution (………). The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy where the citizens can govern themselves through there elected leaders. However, it is a global fact that democracies guided by the majority rule where the majorities have their way as the minorities heard. I this regard, the government and state organs should ensure that the rights of every citizen, including the minorities, are respected. For the ancient time up until today, there have been debates about what constitutes the rights of the citizen, especially when it comes to qualified rights such as the right to privacy or freedom of speech, which usually come into conflict with other rights of the citizens. As a result, the legislature is giving the authority to choose how civil rights balanced against the interest of the public. However, with this type of system, the minorities and the less advantaged citizens are at risk of being subjected to unfair treatment, besides the state may influence legal amendments that are contrary to the spirit of the constitution, especially the bill of rights.

Rights of foreign and the marginalized citizens

Since the 1990s, The UK policies and legal instruments for refugees, asylum seekers, and foreigners have maintained many foreign groups in limbo as there are no specific rights that protect them as their rights seem to be lesser than the rest of the British peoples’. There have been progressive state policies that have attached the rights of the foreign national to the status refugees and asylum seekers such that they only granted discretionary and humanitarian leave (……….). These policies have defined the foreign citizens narrowly and imposed restrictions that relate to residence statuses, such as work permits and welfare benefits. Paradoxically, the labor party that is the ruling party has made the integration of there foreign population as a critical list of the immigration plan. For instance, the home office published a white paper integration that sought to identify the essential challenges for migrant integration, especially the refugee. However, the current regime has moved to improve the protection of human rights for foreign citizens by removing some restrictions and allowing for proper housing, education, employment, as well as community relations.

Human rights of marginalized citizens have been the ultimate call of most of the human rights organizations and activities ever since the era of the civil rights movement. Human rights organizations on their side have adopted an approach that produces a positive change to those who need advocacy the most, and these people include the minority. Based on the UN human rights commission, minority groups defined as persons with disabilities, women, youth, transgender, gays, indigenous groups, internally displaced persons, as well as those people or groups of people with unique features within society (…………). As the list of the minority groups is long, so are there challenges as they seek to exercise their rights, such as the right to assembly and the freedom of speech and association. The international human rights law is clear about the human rights of the marginalized or the disadvantaged in society. Therefore are many instances where the laws meant to regulate freedom of peaceful assembly for the marginalized in the UK disrupted. Besides, some laws restrict or prohibit certain groups of people or individuals from exercising there rights of association and assembly (…………). In this regard, it is incumbent upon the UK government to protect the rights of the marginalized, primarily ensure their rights of assembly and association.

Overall, human rights have often defined in two forms, the natural right, which is granted by nature during birth, and human rights as prescribed by the constitution of a state. The two aspects of rights sometimes come into conflict, especially where the natural contradict the state human rights. The conceptual link between human rights and the natural right or the inherent dignity of a human being is sometimes unhelpful as it brings animosity. It is easier to promote human rights from the safety of the legislative chambers rather than seeming what the rights mean to the citizens of a nation. In this regard, governments should put in place measures that ensure that the powers of all people, either foreign or residents, the majority of the minorities are protected. In this regard, the relationship between human rights and dignity explored in a way that serves the right purpose either through status dignity or through inherent dignity. Therefore, it is clear that human rights articulate the standards of respect for the status dignity of the subjects of a country, and only individuals pose the dignity of human beings.