Human Rights and Culture - Term Paper Example

Human Rights and Culture Human Rights and Culture Introduction The history of rights saw a significant transformation on December 10, 1948 when the United Nation General Assembly proclaimed the Universalism of Human Rights. All the member countries of the Assembly unanimously and under one accord agreed to adopt and publicize the declaration in their respective sovereign states. This aspect allowed the widespread of the declaration globally. This significant move by the UN General assembly was compelled by the series of war in the preceding years. On this note, the human rights were generally accepted among the member states of the UN general assembly a mechanism of salvaging the inherent dignity of human beings that had been wiped out of existence by the rugged history of world wars and civil wars. However, while on one hand the universality of human rights is a critical step in protecting the right of humans at the international level, it has also attracted attention of scholars in its multidimensional aspect. In this instance, the human right precepts are regarded to trapped between the duel contest of saving human rights from subjectivities of contempts, it is viewed as a form of oppression on the very victims it purports to protect. This article provides a critical analysis of the concept of human rights and cultural relativism. Universal Human Rights or the Western Concepts Mutua (2001) elicits the concepts of universality of human rights and human in general both in the perspective of the proponents and the skeptics of the subject. The article raises concerns over the adoption of the UN declarations on human rights as universal standards of enhancing equality for all nations and people across the globe. In essence, a critical view of the subject from the prospects of time frame depict the notion of the concepts of human rights and its subsequent universalism as a hoax of the Western countries and raises significant rhetorical questions. For instance, it is noteworthy to observe that the declaration was drafted and adopted at a time that most African countries were still struggling to free themselves from the oppressions of their colonizers. It is arguable in this case that the ideologies governing the universalism of human rights are biased in the favour of Westerners since Africans were not presented in the declaration. Mutua (2001) challenges the proponents of the human rights to admit the deeply unsettling flaws of the concept of human which are in essence individualistic concepts of the Westerners which were practically imposed on the non-western countries. This argument controverts the article one of the universal human rights. As declared in the United Nation Declaration of Human Rights (1948), article one state that every human has equal rights and dignity. In addition, the article further elaborates that all humans are empowered to consider and treat one another with brotherly concerns. Mutua (2001) argues that such declarations have only created more victims than it has savaged. However, this does not overrule the significance of human rights. It is basically a representation of the dominance of the European nation superimposed on other non-European countries. Cultural Norms and values versus Universal Human Rights According to the Executive Board (1947), the universalism of human rights and cultural relativism constitute two aspects of the same problem. Cultural relativism entails the norms and the moral rules which govern the societies which individual human beings are part of. In other words, cultural relativism encompasses the doctrines anchored on the autonomy of various communities and are characterized by variations that hinder intrusion from the outside world. The two concepts try to topple each other over the supremacy and dominance of the validation of moral rules and rights. The contemporary world is dominated by societies that are ravelled together and which are uniquely attached to their various modes of life. The frontiers of the universality of human rights must therefore contend with the fact that they have to resolve a number of challenges. The Executive Board (1947) points out that the advocates of human rights should provide mechanisms of integrating the proposed Human rights Declarations into every society. The universal human rights should not be presented to all humanity in a way that portrays them as the values common in the European and American countries. Integrating the universal human rights into local societies is challenged by a number of factors. Compelling individuals to abandon their ways of life ad adopt universalized declarations is a great challenge. Some cultural practices conflict the philosophies of human right. However, there issues regarding sovereignty of state protect the social structure of every nation from the intrusion of external forces. This impedes the penetration of human rights to every individual within a society that is knotted in its values and norms. Article seven of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) declares that all people should be treated equally and are endowed indiscrimination. According to the article, all humans should be protected by law from the from any form of discrimination or incitements towards the same. However, as mentioned earlier, most societies consider the presence of an outsider as an intrusion and are likely alienated or discriminate against such party. Various communities, especially of African descent do not pay attention to any sense of gender equality. In such communities, women are restricted to certain areas such as kitchens. The opinions of women in such societies are not considered even when decisions that affect their welfare are being discussed. The point is that such practices have ancestral origins and are therefore deeply engrossed in the respective communities that they are being practiced. This implies that they have become the rules that govern morality in such communities. Similarly, (Langlois 2014) argues that some communities such as those in Malaysia, Burma, Singapore and Brunei are still entangled on the practices they inherited from the colonizers. It is notable that colonizers employed autocratic leadership styles to enrich themselves and strengthen their dominion by creating fear on their local population. As a result, various activities that are associated with extortion of resources and money from local populations, harassments and sexual enslavements, detention and arrests and subsequent persecution were rampant in such cases. Educating such a population and to radicalize them to give up their practices is very difficult. The he fundamental of universalizing human rights is fostering democracy and freedom. This also generates another source of conflict or dilemma. People tend to have a sense of freedom if they are in their societies. This implies that the narrative of human rights is defined by the rules and the norms recognized by the members of a particular society. The critical analysis of the recently adopted Human rights Declaration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) shows significant revelations of the scope of universality of human rights and cultural relativism (Langlois 2014). This is a significant indication that the global universal agreements on the human rights do not exist just in theory, but also there are attempts to put them into practice. Langlois (2014) particularly centers his arguments on the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI). Similarly, the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental on Human Rights (AICHR) is regarded. The AICHR provides grounds for making rights of claims. Langlois (2014) explains that the Human Right Declaration among the ASEAN countries did not receive a warm welcome by the civil society organizations in the region. Again, in this case, the issues of state sovereignty and penetration of the norms of social structures resurfaces. Basically, the reaction of the ASEAN countries towards the promulgated Human Rights Declaration is dominated by the political goodwill. This implies that the acceptance, rejection or criticism directed towards the adoption of declared universal rights among the ASEAN member states is dominated by both the attitudes of the respective governments and the cultural values. Langlois (2014) observes that there are various infrastructures that can be employed in making claims of the universal rights. The fact that AICHR has been established and granted the responsibilities and powers, together with the promulgation of the ASEAN Human rights AICHR is a well established institution and legal connection with institutions that are already in place is an indication that developments are being made in the field of human rights. Declaration (AHRD) shows important efforts of universality of human rights made within Southeast Asian countries. These are also indications that significant steps are being made to reshape the way in which the rights claims can be made. Conclusion Though the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are intended to eliminate degradation of the principles of equality across all aspects of and fair treatment of all human beings, it is challenged by significant criticism. Foremost, the critics point out that the notion of human right is just the imposition of Western culture in the non-Western countries. Human rights are in his cases portrayed as double aged sword which on one side salvages human right victims of oppressive regimes or cultural set up while in itself is an oppression that forces people to abandon the connections they have had with their respective cultures. Another challenge facing universal Declaration of human rights is associated with state sovereignty. As seen in the case of ASEAN, every nation disregards intrusion from external forces and is therefore likely to carry on with their history practices passé down from generation to generation. References Executive Board, (1947). ‘American Anthropological Association. Statement on human rights’. American Anthropologist, 49(4), 539-543. Langlois, A. J. (2014). Human rights, "orientation," and ASEAN. Journal of Human Rights, 13(3), 307-321. Mutua, M. (2001). Savages, victims and saviors: The metaphor of human rights. Harvard International Law Journal, 42(1), 201-245. United Nations. (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved on April 3, 2015, from https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/around1948/files/2012/09/1947-Statement-on- Human-Rights-American-Anthropological-Association.pdf Read More