Theories of Human Rights: Contemporary form of Slavery in Africa, focus on ILO - Term Paper Example

entially western one, tailor made for the west and imposed on the rest of the world where application may not be as natural owing to myriads of social cultural economic and political issues. One of the grounds for such argument is the fact that rights and values are generally defined and limiter by certain cultural and sometimes economic realities and perceptions. Given that there is no such thing as universal culture, is it not obvious that there can be no universal rights? The difference in cultural and economic realities in the world makes it near impossible for human rights to be viewed in the same way since they are not tailored to be all inclusive (Weiwei).

This paper will discuss a variety of situations in the non-western world where human rights appear inapplicable in their current form owing to the social, cultural and economic environment with a view to prove that these rights are too west oriented to be practically instituted universally. Ultimately before commencing on any discussion about the relevance of human rights, it is important that one reconciles themselves to the fact that the discourse on human rights cannot reasonably be divorced from its historical context or the prevailing social conditions (Heyns 15).

Quintessentially, human rights require for all people irrespective of genders to be treated as equal and they prohibit discrimination of women under the supposition that all sexes should have equal and unalienable rights. This is very well in the secular west, however these provisions have proven near impossible to apply in many parts of Asia and Africa primarily due to cultural and religious factors. Many Arab countries are administered under the dictates of sharia (Islamic law) and the provision of these laws allow for a range of actions that overtly violate the provisions of the human rights (Colombo).

One of the countries where this is evident is Saudi Arabia where the human right situation is decidedly very poor by any standards.