World powers unite with western countries to support global human rights

The argument

The claim rests on a long institutional record rather than on any single episode. On this account the West — taken here as North America, Europe and Australia — has been fighting for human rights for decades. During World War 2, America and Europe fought against the Axis powers to save Jewish people from genocide, and when that war ended the same powers did not simply disband their common effort. To make sure a conflict on that scale was prevented in future, major world powers from all over the globe joined to create the United Nations, an institution designed to make the defence of human rights a permanent, shared obligation rather than an occasional act of conscience. What matters for this argument is that the United Nations is not a Western club. It includes countries such as Austria, the Bahamas and Egypt alongside North American, European and Australian members, so the commitment it embodies is one that Western countries share with states from every region. Through it and alongside it, those countries have gone into places such as Iraq and Syria to fight against terrorising powers, and have provided financial aid to countries such as Uganda and Nigeria. America, France and the United Kingdom have fought against ISIS, and America fought against the terrorist Osama bin Laden. The inference proponents draw is one about revealed commitment. Fighting wars, building institutions and sending aid are all costly, and states do not bear those costs for causes they do not hold. If the West did not believe in human rights, it would not be helping others at that expense, and it would not have bound itself into an organisation whose membership stretches far beyond its own borders. The effort the West has put into human equality around the globe, on this view, shows that the universal norm of human rights still holds strong there.

Context

The United Nations was established in 1945 after World War 2 to keep peace in the world and hopefully avoid war amongst nations. The west has made major contributions to upholding world peace and sustaining human rights since the United Nations was established. Saudi Arabia was one of the founders of the United Nations as well as a state of the UN. However, they have been under scrutiny because of their government’s use of power. After Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian journalist for the New York Times, was murdered, the Saudi Arabian prince, Mohammad bin Salman, was accused of by the CIA to have ordered his assassination. The prince denied is involvement and instead claimed that 5 suspects were found. Instead, of investigating further, President Trump expressed satisfaction in suspects being held accountable, although the CIA disagreed. After the ordeal, people in the West have wondered if their countries overlook human rights for international relationships.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Western countries weren’t entirely helpful in World War 2. America didn’t join the war or consider Jewish holocaust victims till Japanese Axis forces bombed Pearl Harbor. Europe was pinned down and France was taken over. When America joined the fight, there was more firepower and numbers. But they also went overboard by using an atomic bomb on innocent civilians in Japan. The west takes too much credit for being part of the United Nations. The west believes that they were the first countries to incorporate total human rights. They believe all countries that aren’t westernized, need to be like them. Instead, the west has caused more problems within the United Nations than good. The west only focuses on helping countries that benefit their own countries. Instead of building autonomy for struggling countries, they make them dependent on money from outside help. The west isn’t for truly for human rights. They only help when it’s convenient for them or when it strokes their ego.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] America was not interested in fighting in World War 2 while Europe was struggling to keep the Axis powers from taking territory. [Rejecting P2] The west only helps countries that their allied with.