Conflict between Human Rights and Non-Human Rights: Universality, Cultural Relativism, and Practical Application
Overview
This paper examines the apparent contradiction between the universality of human rights and their practical application across different cultural and political contexts. It explores how universal rights frameworks, based on Western philosophical traditions, conflict with cultural relativism arguments that challenge the applicability of these rights in non-Western societies, while analyzing tensions between human rights protection and other competing values such as economic development and cultural sovereignty.
What this essay covers
- Introduction: Defines universal human rights and their characteristics under the UDHR while introducing the central tension between universality and contextual application
- The Universality of Human Rights: Reviews contested debates about human rights universality and challenges to the UN Human Rights Commission's definitions
- Cultural Relativism Arguments: Examines arguments that universal norms may not apply across cultures, using Asian values and economic development precedence as examples
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Conflict between Human Rights and Non-Human Rights
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Conflict between Human Rights and Non-Human Rights
Introduction
Universal rights are inherent to all people regardless of economic class, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or race (OHCHR, 2021). The rights include the fundamental right to life and the basic rights that make life worth living, including liberty, health, education, food, and work. These rights are universally protected under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948. The universality of the rights is based on the principle that all humans are entitled equally to human rights. The rights are also inalienable, implying that a person can only be denied exceptional circumstances following a thorough due process. Furthermore, universal rights are interdependent and indivisible (Neves-Silva, Martins, & Heller, 2019). In essence, a set of rights cannot be thoroughly enjoyed without the other sets. For instance, violation of cultural, social, and economic rights may negatively impact other rights like the right to health or education. However, human rights' practical application is not necessarily easy in different contexts, partly because they interfere with other rights. The paper seeks to discuss how a right can be universal while also appearing to interfere with other rights.
The Universality of Human Rights
In recent decades, widely contested debates have emerged over human rights' universality, which the United Nations Human Rights Commission currently defines. Increasing cases of oppression, torture, and political, social, and economic atrocities are an indication that these rights are not universally applied.