Debating the Universality of Human Rights from an Intercultural Perspective (original) (raw)

Are human rights universal and are they applicable to different cultures? The questions have given rise to various arguments that criticise the universality of human rights. On the one hand, the 1948's Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) claims a universal nature by a broad consensus among states during its drafting meeting; the advocates of cultural particularity still refuse to acknowledge a universal nature of the UDHR by the reason of cultural and traditional values on the other. With the central question how the discourse human rights' universality in the aftermath of the UDHR is, this study aims to analyse the challenging cultural debates on the universal nature of human rights. This chapter is good in three parts. Firstly, an examination of the tension between culture and universal human rights demonstrates a gradual process into an abstraction of human rights. Secondly an investigation into the 1990's claim of Asian Values elaborates the phrases how the authoritarian regimes refuse to follow international human rights norms. Thirdly an analysis of the dispute over traditional values followed by the 2009's resolution from the United Nations examines a crisis in the power to an interpretation of traditional values controlled by the political authority. To sum up, a culture may challenge the discourse of the universality of human rights, yet, that is a necessary process to reach a mutual understanding. There are no universal human rights without an interwoven discussion between different values accompanied by a deep reflection on the inhuman violences.