The article I chose to write about from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was article 25 and I mainly focused on the first section of that article. The article states that

Everyone has the right to a standard of living that is adequate for the health and well being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age, or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

I chose this article because I feel it is one of the most important requirements in today’s world and because living in a country like America I think it is sometimes taken for granted. Many people in our country may not realize that there are still nations in the world today that are unable to guarantee or even provide and decent standard of living for their people. The idea of a standard of living is so important in preventing disease, domestic unrest, and economic collapses that have plagued various nations over the years.
One of the best examples of a country and a government that violates this article is Zimbabwe. Over the past ten years Zimbabwe has seen its economy all but collapse and has witnessed some of the worst poverty in the world. The true reasoning behind this violation of the UDHR is the leader of the country. Robert Mugabe is today considered one of the worst tyrants in the world. Since his rise to power in 1980 he has ruined a once powerful and strong nation in Africa. His country is now ruined with hyper inflation, domestic violence, and a cholera epidemic wreaking havoc on an impoverished people. In a recent article in the New York Times, it was stated that the situation in Zimbabwe is so bad and people are so poor that few people can go to work and that due to the underdevelopment of the country disease is now starting to become rampant and almost reach epidemic stages. Clearly Mugabe has refused to acknowledge the problems and refuse to provide his people with a standard of living that allows them to live healthy lives. Mugabe’s greed and power hungry ideals have created one of the greatest and most obvious violations of this article in the world.
A decent and proper standard of living would prevent disease, lower unemployment and therefore help the economy. People deserve the right to live in places that are clean, unlike the garbage strewn streets that are found in the capital and other regions of Zimbabwe. People deserve the right to also get the proper medical treatments for when they are sick so that diseases do not become epidemics. Africa seems to be a further hit spot for violations of this article. In Kenya, where the situation is not as dire as Zimbabwe, but still rough, people have been killed by rioting and looting because their standards of living are not high enough. Kenyans have been living in a country that has a weak government that cannot guarantee a decent standard of living therefore people resort to stealing and looting to get the proper materials and necessities for life. It’s sad that countries are unable to provide for their people and it’s sad that there has to be an article in the UDHR just to set about a certain standard of living. Something like that should be automatic and people should not have to worry about a government violating such rights. Maybe it’s the fact that I might be taking such automatic guarantees for granted because I live in a country that can afford to offer such standards. It’s ridiculous that countries still continue to violate such an amendment and that due to power hungry and greedy governments are unable to provide for their people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/world/africa/12cholera.html?ref=africa
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/02/world/africa/02inferno.html?ref=africa