Home | About Americans & the World | Search | Join Our ListServ | Contact Us
 
 

Global Issues >> Globalization

Globalization

Human Rights in General

A strong majority believes in the idea of universal human rights. However, awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is low. A majority has positive perceptions of the human rights movement.

A strong majority believes in the idea of universal human rights which are intrinsic, rather than granted by governments. Asked in a November 1997 Hart Research poll, "Do you believe that every person has basic rights that are common to all human beings, regardless of whether their government recognizes those rights or not, or do you believe that rights are given to an individual by his or her government?" 76% said that every person has such rights, while 17% said that such rights are granted by governments. [1]

At the same time, awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is low. Asked by Hart Research in November 1997 whether "there is an official document that sets forth human rights for everyone worldwide," only 8% named the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, in a subsequent question, when told of the existence of the Declaration, another 24% said they had previously been aware of it. [2] Also, in the same poll, 83% said that the fact that the US has agreed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a very (53%) or fairly (30%) strong reason for the US to do "more to protect human rights in the US." [3]

The human rights movement appears to be positively viewed by Americans. Asked in a May 1990 Gallup poll how they feel about the "human rights movement at home or abroad," an overwhelming 90% said they approved of it, with 49% saying they approved strongly. [4] More recently, in the November 1997 Hart Research poll, a robust 39% said they had even "given money or volunteered with a human rights organization." [5]

In September 1998, Research/Strategy/Management and Columbia University conducted a study about the public's views of different types of spokespersons, and asked "how credible…you think they are…when they speak out on sending United States forces to fight abroad." Sixty percent said that "a representative of a human rights organization" was very (16%) or somewhat (44%) credible on this topic. Respondents rated human rights spokespersons slightly higher than, for instance, "a nationally recognized civil rights leader" (55%) or "a nationally syndicated news columnist" (57%), but lower than a member of Congress (76%) or "an expert on foreign policy" (87%). [6]

 

 

Report Contents