Journal articles: 'Universalism and cultural relativism of human rights'

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Agyeman, Nana Kwame, and Alfred Momodu. "Universal Human Rights ‘Versus’ Cultural Relativism: the Mediating Role of Constitutional Rights." African Journal of Legal Studies 12, no. 1 (December 18, 2019): 23–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/17087384-12340042.

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Abstract The claim that human rights are rights that all humans hold everywhere and at all times embodies the concept of universalism. There are however some that do not believe that human rights are universally held. Those who hold such views are widely described as cultural relativists. A rich body of literature exists with a particular focus on the divergence that exists between universalism and cultural relativism. We posit that these areas of antagonism might be overstated. In the light of this, this work investigates the mediating role that constitutional rights may play between these two seemingly opposing schools of thought. Ultimately this paper avers that the constitutional making process that international human rights principles go through in order to emerge as constitutional rights allows for constitutional rights to simultaneously lay claim to both universalist and relativist ideals. Thus, allowing constitutional rights to represent a grossly overlooked middle ground.

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Healy, Lynne M. "Universalism and cultural relativism in social work ethics." International Social Work 50, no. 1 (January 2007): 11–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0020872807071479.

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English Given globalization and increasing multiculturalism, growing numbers of social workers face the challenges of respecting culture while upholding professional ethics. This article examines the perspectives of universalism and cultural relativism as applied to ethical decision-making in social work. A moderately universalist stance is recommended for social work, as valuing both diversity and human rights. French Face à la mondialisation et à l'augmentation du multiculturalisme, un nombre croissant de travailleurs sociaux font face à des défis dans un contexte qui demande de tenir compte à la fois du respect culturel et de l'éthique professionnelle. Cet article examine l'application de prises de décisions éthiques dans des perspectives universalistes et de relativisme culturel en travail social. Une position universaliste modérée est recommandée pour le travail social, valorisant à la fois la diversité culturelle et les droits humains. Spanish Dada la globalización y el multiculturalismo creciente, los trabajadores sociales se encuentran con el reto de respetar tanto la cultura como la ética profesional. Se examina la aplicación de las perspectivas universalistas y del relativismo cultural al proceso de decisión ética en trabajo social. Se recomienda una postura universalista moderada que respete tanto la diversidad como los derechos humanos.

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Hogemann, Edna Raquel. "Human Rights beyond Dichotomy between Cultural Universalism and Relativism." Age of Human Rights Journal, no. 14 (June 15, 2020): 19–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.17561/tahrj.v14.5476.

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The consolidation of relations of global society requires the progressive establishment of a global legal system, consisting of a system of rules - precisely, human rights - as the source and evaluation criteria of positive national rights. This essay aims to contribute to some extent using reflective dialectical methodology, establishing logical- argumentative criteria, based on the dialogue between authors to exercise a critical reflection of the official narrative on the universality of human rights, in addition overcoming the universalism/relativism dichotomy eurocentricaly established by a theory of human rights between universalism and cultural relativism.

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Singh, Amit Kumar. "The Paradox Between Universalism of Human Rights and Relativism of Culture." Journal of Southeast Asian Human Rights 4, no. 1 (June 29, 2020): 253. http://dx.doi.org/10.19184/jseahr.v4i1.8597.

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The rising tide of Honour killings against Hindu women and their justified murder in the name of culture by their parents/relatives, superficially reflects the tension between traditional and modern values in India. At a deeper level, cases of Honour killings represent the ongoing struggle between the universality of human rights and cultural relativism. Against this background, this article critically examines the role of universal human rights in relation to cultural relativism whilst assessing the values that claim to support honour killings in Indian culture. This article will examine the universalism of human rights and their influence on gender-based violence- especially relating to honour killings in North India. In addition, I will argue for an approach (drawing on the seminal work of Donnelly who proposed ‘relative universalism of human rights’) allowing the tension between universality and particularity/relativism can be reconciled.

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Reichert, Elisabeth. "Human Rights: An Examination of Universalism and Cultural Relativism." Journal of Comparative Social Welfare 22, no. 1 (April 2006): 23–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17486830500522997.

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Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. "Global citizenship and the challenge from cultural relativism." Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 12, no. 4 (December 23, 2017): 1141. http://dx.doi.org/10.21301/eap.v12i4.7.

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Do human beings live in a shared world or in several? The traditional answer from social and cultural anthropology has been that although the physical world is uniform, the world as it is perceived by humans is fundamentally and irreducibly diverse, since human worlds are culturally constructed and cultures are unique and particular in character.As a result of this perspective, there has always been a tense relationship between anthropology and universalist claims, as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. This chapter charts the dialogue and tension between the cultural relativism of classic anthropology and human rights universalism, but the main focus is on the consequences of globalisation for anthropological thinking about diversity and human universals. It is argued that as a direct result of the increased interconnectedness of human societies, classic cultural relativism has become both epistemologically obsolete and normatively objectionable. Although the moral worlds inhabited by humans are still diverse, they are now connected in ways which have implications for the ethics of anthropological research. By discussing a handful of examples, the analytical and moral dilemmas are exposed, and the contrast with mid-20th century anthropology, when the world was still widely seen as ‘an archipelago of cultures’, is made abundantly clear.

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Merry, Sally Engle. "Global Human Rights and Local Social Movements in a Legally Plural World." Canadian journal of law and society 12, no. 02 (1997): 247–71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0829320100005433.

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AbstractThe problem of universalism and relativism in human rights needs to be considered through ethnographic examinations of the mobilization of global human rights in local political struggles. Using the example of a local movement against gender violence in the United States, this article argues that the rights approach provides important resources for local movements but contains particular Western concepts and categories of subjectivity. Given the extent to which legal strategies are subverted within and outside the legal system, here the rights strategy creates new cultural spaces far more than it produces coercive intervention. A framework of legal pluralism and local mobilization provides a perspective which moves beyond the dichotomies of the universalism/relativism debate.

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Kashina, Evgeniya. "HUMAN RIGHTS UNIVERSALITY IN THE CONTEXT OF CULTURAL AND POLITICAL DIVERSITY OF THE MODERN WORLD." Вестник Пермского университета. Политология 14, no. 3 (2020): 53–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.17072/2218-1067-2020-3-53-63.

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The article explores the diversity in perception of the human rights concept in developed and developing countries. The author determines that different approaches are formed around the dichotomy of positive and negative rights and are determined by three types of factors: cultural, economic and world politics. The concept of universality of human rights is considered from the perspective of civilizational studies. The analysis of alternative approaches involves the concept of weak cultural relativism and relative universalism. The specifics of the division of countries in accordance with their civilizational characteristics are shown on the example of the two international covenants on human rights and the functioning of two relevant UN committees. Based on the review of human rights approaches in several developing regions the thesis about their perception of human rights mainly as socio-economic and cultural guarantees was verified. This perception of the concept contradicts the mainstream universalist one, which perceives human rights primarily as political and civil rights. The author also evaluates the influence of the theory of global development by S. Kuznets and W. Rostow, which played a role in increasing inequality and influenced the state of socio-economic human rights that are historically and culturally significant for developing countries.

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Alfadhel, Khalifa A. "The gcc Human Rights Declaration: An Instrumentation of Cultural Relativism." Arab Law Quarterly 31, no. 1 (February 9, 2017): 89–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15730255-12341333.

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For the first time the Gulf Cooperation Council (gcc) adopted a regional human rights declaration that codifies the relevant States’ commitment to human rights. The Declaration illustrated the content and scope of such a collective regional pledge to protect and respect fundamental rights and freedoms. Although a soft-law instrument, the Gulf Declaration provides the foundations for a doctrinal commitment to human rights, based on a normative framework adopted in a mutual manner. This article will provide an overview on the content and scope of such document, and the theoretical arguments of universalism versus cultural relativism in light of comparative instruments. This article will argue that the Gulf Human Rights Declaration reflects a cultural aspect of human rights that needs to be commended in the consideration of such soft-law instrument, which will form a foundation for a regional customary law regime, based on State practice affirmed in the commitment to the Declaration.

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O'sullivan, Declan. "The history of human rights across the regions: Universalism vs cultural relativism." International Journal of Human Rights 2, no. 3 (September 1998): 22–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642989808406745.

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Kathrani, Paresh. "Quality circles and human rights: tackling the universalism and cultural relativism divide." AI & SOCIETY 27, no. 3 (January 19, 2012): 369–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00146-012-0379-1.

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Heinze, Eric. "Beyond Parapraxes: Right and Wrong Approaches to the Universality of Human Rights Law." Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 12, no. 4 (December 1994): 369–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016934419401200402.

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Human rights law draws its legitimacy from the distinctiveness of the cultures that comprise the world community. Yet its intrinsic respect for cross-cultural difference does not condemn it to an intractable relativism. Even if significant cross-cultural disagreement about the meaning of specific rights is likely to persist, such disagreement takes place within a legal and normative framework that already presupposes a fundamental universality of human rights. Many relativist critiques contain nothing specific about human rights. Rather, they amount to little more than indictments of law, indeed of all normative thinking, as such. Others arise from conceptual misunderstandings and imprecise use of terms. Although the universality of human rights will remain controversial for the foreseeable future, its normative basis is more secure than its relativist critics would suggest.

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Fitrawati, Fitrawati. "DISKURSUS PERKAWINAN BEDA AGAMA DI INDONESIA DALAM TINJAUAN UNIVERSALISME HAM DAN RELATIVISME BUDAYA." JURIS (Jurnal Ilmiah Syariah) 20, no. 1 (June 21, 2021): 131. http://dx.doi.org/10.31958/juris.v20i1.2825.

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This paper tries to examine the right to freedom of interfaith marriage in Indonesia from the perspective of Human Rights Universalism and Cultural Relativism. The purpose of this paper is to explain how universalism and cultural relativity view interfaith marriage in Indonesia. This research is a normative legal research. This study uses a literature approach. The findings of this study indicate that interfaith marriage in Indonesia is still not well accepted and has always been controversial news in the community, even considered to have exceeded or violated the provisions of marriage, but there are still followers of different religions who decide to marry. In fact, many of them are smuggling laws so that their marriages are recognized by the state, namely by registering marriages abroad and then continuing the registration in Indonesia. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Indonesia already has a law on Marriage, namely, Article 2 paragraph 1. It is also contained in the article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely the right to freedom of marriage (article 16 UDHR) which includes the right to marry between religions (different religions), and the right to freedom of religion (article 18 UDHR) which includes the right to change religions. Meanwhile, in cultural realivism, it rejects everything that is universal.

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de Varennes, Fernand. "The Fallacies in the "Universalism Versus Cultural Relativism" Debate in Human Rights Law." Asia-Pacific Journal on Human Rights and the Law 7, no. 1 (2006): 67–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157181506778218120.

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Provost, René. "The International Committee of the Red Widget? The Diversity Debate and International Humanitarian Law." Israel Law Review 40, no. 2 (2007): 614–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021223700013455.

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This article asserts there has been a lack of attention to the impact of cultural diversity within the field of international humanitarian law. Discussions surrounding culture in international humanitarian law have nearly always avoided the central issue of cultural particularism. This has been so in relation to the debate surrounding the emblem, in general surveys of humanitarian law, and in discussions of the laws of war in distinct legal and cultural traditions. The emblems debate, in particular, signals the elusiveness of rigid universality within international humanitarian law. Five elements are suggested to explain the resistance of humanitarian law to contagion by the cultural relativism debate in human rights: the nature of human rights, the distinct normative frameworks of human rights and humanitarian law, the unified conventional basis of humanitarian law, the very broad participation in the humanitarian regime, and the unique role of the International Committee of the Red Cross. While these reasons might explain the fact that the relativism debate in human rights did not readily transfer to humanitarian law, they offer no substantive basis for immunity for humanitarian law to the challenges posed by cultural diversity. Ultimately, the article proposes a legal pluralist approach that recognizes the role of actors in the cultural process of norm-creation. Given the continued violation of the laws of war, the author suggests a need to open the door to cultural diversity in order to generate greater compliance. Without cultural legitimacy, there is a danger that humanitarian law aspires to self-defeating universalism.

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Stival, Mariane Morato, Marcos André Ribeiro, and Daniel Gonçalves Mendes da Costa. "The Internationalization Of Human Rights And The Importance Of Normative Dialogues Between International And National Courts." Revista Jurídica 17, no. 2 (December 4, 2017): 137. http://dx.doi.org/10.29248/2236-5788.2017v17i2.p137-149.

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This article intends to analyze in the context of the complexity of the process of internationalization of human rights, the definitions and tensions between cultural universalism and relativism, the essence of human rights discourse, its basic norms and an analysis of the normative dialogues in case decisions involving violations of human rights in international tribunals such as the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and national courts. The well-established dialogue between courts can bring convergences closer together and remove differences of opinion on human rights protection. A new dynamic can occur through a complementarity of one court with respect to the other, even with the different characteristics between the legal orders.

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George, Janet. "Conceptual muddle, practical dilemma." International Social Work 42, no. 1 (January 1999): 15–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002087289904200103.

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A clear understanding of the concept of human rights is fundamental to social work that places a priority on social development as a strategy for social justice; this paper illustrates the difficulty in applying the concept by reference to the Asia-Pacific area. Social workers should take a position on human rights and social justice, weighing conceptual, cultural and political aspects. This is a prerequisite to defining feasible strategies, based on a view of the relationships between idealism and pragmatism and between universalism and relativism. For social work educators, it is a prerequisite to curriculum design for social development.

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Brinkmann, Svend. "Towards a Theory of Rights for Qualitative Researchers." International Review of Qualitative Research 4, no. 2 (August 2011): 189–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/irqr.2011.4.2.189.

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This paper develops a theory of rights that operates on a middle ground between ethnocentric universalism and cultural relativism. It does so by arguing that rights are derived from basic human vulnerabilities, which are situated and contextual. It is argued that advancing human rights is a legitimate goal for the human and social sciences and that all such sciences need a qualitative understanding of situated rights and duties in order to understand their subject matters. It is also argued that the emerging neo-positivism in the social sciences, in particular psychology, is detrimental to producing knowledge about human rights and rights violations, and that this may seriously affect our capacities for self-understanding and moral action. A tentative way forward is sketched that involves the education of students in a way that will sensitize them to human rights and vulnerabilities.

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Muhammadin, Fajri Matahati, and Mohd Hisham Mohd Kamal. "The Western Universalism v. Cultural Relativism Debate on Human Rights and Islam: An ‘Aqīdah-Based Approach." Jurnal Akidah & Pemikiran Islam 21, no. 2 (December 30, 2019): 175–216. http://dx.doi.org/10.22452/afkar.vol21no2.6.

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Lee, Po-Han. "A Pluralist Approach to ‘the International’ and Human Rights for Sexual and Gender Minorities." Feminist Review 128, no. 1 (July 2021): 79–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01417789211015333.

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Queer theorists have considered the problems concerning the political strategy of using LGBT rights to justify racist xenophobia and using homo/transphobia to consolidate heterosexist nationalism. Their timely interventions are important in exposing state violence in the name of human rights and sovereign equality, but they have offered no alternative. They may also have reinforced the assumption of state science. This assumption is based on a trinity structure of the nation-state-sovereignty of ‘modern, self-determining men’, who are against each other and thereby co-built the so-called ‘international’. State-centric internationalism produces exclusionary effects that undermine the rights of sexual and gender minorities. To address this, I first consider the debate over ‘LGBT rights as human rights’, and identify two types of cultural relativism (epistemological and political) as the categories to formulate a decolonial response to the debate. In this article, queer political theorising is pushed forward to: 1) critically evaluate universalism, 2) differentiate cultural relativism (opposing the political version of it) and 3) revise the epistemological version with decolonial-queer praxis. I propose a pluralist approach to sovereignty and human rights; informed by this approach, the lack of international consensus is remedied by recognising the polyvocality within transnational queer activism beyond the monopoly of states’ representation of their own peoples. This proposal also aims to decentre modern statecraft from the political imagination of contemporary international studies scholarship.

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Etone, Damian. "African States: Themes Emerging from the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review." Journal of African Law 62, no. 2 (May 28, 2018): 201–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021855318000128.

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AbstractThis article examines the themes emerging from the engagement of African states with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council. The underlying principles of universality, cooperation and dialogue that guide the review have given African states a renewed sense of engagement with the international human rights institution. Despite the universality of the process, regionalism and cultural relativism are important aspects in the engagement of African states with the UPR mechanism. This article considers the extent to which regionalism and cultural relativism may prevent UPR from acting as an effective mechanism for human rights enforcement. It examines the potential for UPR to complement other national, regional and international human rights mechanisms, and the danger of state ritualism. These have ramifications for the extent to which UPR can achieve its goal of improving the human rights situation on the ground in Africa.

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Cidrão, Taís Vasconcelos, Antonio Walber Muniz, and Bianca Viana Thomaz. "A Diplomacia Cultural como meio para a Promoção da Interculturalidade no Brasil." Brazilian Journal of International Relations 6, no. 3 (February 3, 2018): 522–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.36311/2237-7743.2017.v6n3.06.p522.

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Procurou-se através de um estudo predominantemente bibliográfico a correlação entre institutos da interculturalidade e da diplomacia cultural. O objetivo primordial do presente artigo é apresentar esta última como um instrumento de promoção do diálogo intercultural entre os países. A determinação do tema adveio da necessidade de promoção e da proteção das especificidades culturais de cada Estado e também o que cada um deles entende por direitos humanos. Busca-se, então, superar a polêmica acerca da dicotomia “universalismo x relativismo cultural”, propondo-se a interculturalidade como solução. Como a cultura não deve ser entendida como uma imposição de valores de um grupo sobre o outro, também não deve ser vista como um empecilho à preponderância dos direitos humanos. Dessa forma, a diplomacia cultural representa um instrumento ideal para a efetivação desse diálogo intercultural a fim de se alcançar uma confluência de chegada, e não de partida. A diplomacia cultural, por sua vez, é capaz de promover um diálogo sobre direitos humanos pautado no respeito e, sobretudo, na diversidade cultural. Defende-se aqui que a interculturalidade, entendida sob a perspectiva da hermenêutica diatópica. Palavras-chave: Brasil. Interculturalidade. Diplomacia cultural. Abstract: It was sought through a predominantly bibliographic study the correlation between the institutes interculturality and cultural diplomacy. The primary objective of this article is to present the last as an instrument to promote intercultural dialogue among countries. The determination of the theme came from the need to promote and protect the cultural specificities of each State and also what each one understands by human rights. It seeks, then, to overcome the polemic about the dichotomy "universalism vs. cultural relativism", proposing interculturality as a solution. Since culture should not be understood as an imposition of values from one group to another, it should not be seen either as a hindrance to the preponderance of human rights. In this way, cultural diplomacy is an ideal instrument for the realization of this intercultural dialogue in order to reach a confluence of arrival, not departure. Cultural diplomacy is capable of promoting a dialogue on human rights based on respect and, above all, on cultural diversity. It is argued here that interculturality, understood from the perspective of diatopic hermeneutics. Keywords: Brazil. Interculturality.Cultural diplomacy. Recebido em: julho/2017 Aprovado em: dezembro/2017

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Jung, Pilwoon, and Sunwoong Park. "A Debate on Cultural Relativism and Universality of Human Rights - Some Suggestions for Human Rights Theory and Human Rights Education -." Yonsei Law Journal 34 (December 30, 2019): 97–117. http://dx.doi.org/10.33606/yla.34.4.

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Bartoli, Clelia. "Libertŕ e diritti tra India ed Europa. Un approccio genealogico ai valori culturali." DIRITTI UMANI E DIRITTO INTERNAZIONALE, no. 3 (December 2009): 541–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.3280/dudi2009-003006.

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- This paper will deal with the issue of human rights and multiculturalism away from cultural relativism and universalism while taking inspiration from Nietzsche's Moral Genealogy. In particular, the concepts of karma, dharma and trivarga (an indian traditional form of particularism in the law) will be explained as they are expressed in the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important texts of Indian philosophical literature. From this analysis it will emerge the impossibility of deducing the idea of human rights from the Sanskrit text. Not because the Bhagavad Gita adopts a communitarian conception of the self but because it entails a very complex and interesting idea of freedom which is little compatible with contemporary human rights discourse. Then, it will be quoted a criticism against the Bhagavad Gita based on the historical genealogy of cultural values, as it was formulated by B.R. Ambedkar - Chairman of the Drafting Committee of Indian Constitution. Finally, this writing will highlight some of the misunderstandings revolving around human rights and multiculturalism. This will be done while suggesting a genealogical approach where different intellectual and law traditions challenge and implement each other, rather than being locked in a sterile mutual respect.

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ARCOS RAMÍREZ, FEDERICO. "THE CHALLENGE OF ETHICAL-CULTURAL PLURALISM TO THE UNIVERSALITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS." Age of Human Rights Journal, no. 12 (June 13, 2019): 184–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.17561/tahrj.n12.10.

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One of the main criticisms directed against the legitimacy of internationally recognized human rights is that they are ethnocentric or parochial. The examination of this objection leads to the conclusion that it is not relativism but cultural-ethical pluralism the main challenge to the universal validity of human rights. Ethical pluralism queries that the justification of human rights that has prevailed since the approval of the UDHR has arbitrarily given, under a deceptive appearance of universality, a weight far superior to individualistic values than to collectivistic. After examining some of the main attempts to overcome this challenge (the constructive theory of human rights and justificatory minimalism), the one based on the defense of a kind of ethical individualism compatible with a moderate ethical objectivism is defended as a preferable alternative.

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Johansson Dahre, Ulf. "Searching for a middle ground: anthropologists and the debate on the universalism and the cultural relativism of human rights." International Journal of Human Rights 21, no. 5 (March 2, 2017): 611–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2017.1290930.

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Van Engeland, Anicée. "Transcending the Human Rights Debate: Iranian Intellectuals' Contemporary Discourses and the New Hermeneutics of the Sharia." Middle East Journal of Culture and Communication 4, no. 1 (2011): 72–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/187398611x553715.

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AbstractThe Iranian discourse on human rights is not well known for a wide range of reasons: there are few translations from Persian; the Iranian human rights' model is often perceived as a threat to universality and Iran has a generally negative image on the international scene. The reality is that the post-Islamic Iranian human rights discourse is rich, varied and intellectually stimulating, the paradoxical outcome of a regime that limits freedom of expression and freedom of thought. Iranian intellectuals have to find strategies to avoid the censorship that threatens anyone who defies Iran's official human rights model. These intellectuals have formulated incredibly compelling theories that can be assimilated to a third voice transcending the permanent opposition between the principle of universality and cultural relativism. This theory is being advocated across the Muslim world and throughout Muslim communities. Iranian intellectuals have shaped their own approach to this third path, thereby creating an Iranian human rights' specificity within the Muslim world.

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AL, Khafaji Mohammed Abduladheem Neamah. "Correlation of international and regional (Muslim) concepts in the field of human rights." Izvestiya of Saratov University. New Series. Series Economics. Management. Law 21, no. 3 (August 25, 2021): 340–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.18500/1994-2540-2021-21-3-340-347.

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Introduction. The article is devoted to the problems of correlation of international standards in the field of human rights, based on the liberal values of Western civilization, with regional acts of Muslim countries, correlating with Islam. The study analyzes various points of view of scientists on the issues of universalism of human rights and cultural relativism. The author adheres to the position that the content of human rights and freedoms in each specific community is heterogeneous and depends on its cultural, historical, religious and moral development. Theoretical analysis. The problem of the correlation of concepts in the field of human rights is primarily associated with the different approaches of the existing legal systems to the perception of human rights and freedoms. The theocentric approach, which is shared in the Muslim world, is the opposite of the liberal one, which is based on anthropocentricity. Most of the Muslim countries have signed and ratified international treaties on human rights, but made numerous reservations indicating the possibility of realizing a complex of human rights from the perspective of Islam. Empirical analysis. Despite the difference in views on the scope and content of human rights, Muslim countries strive to implement the international human rights standard. Regional acts of Muslim countries in the field of human rights, developed in the second half of the 20th century, have been severely criticized by human rights organizations on gender and family regulation, religious freedom, self-determination, etc. Currently, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has developed a Declaration on Human Rights. offering a modern formulation of the position of Muslim countries on human rights. This act is aimed, on the one hand, at convergence of legal positions with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on the other hand, it protects basic Islamic values. Results. The study of regional acts of Muslim countries in the field of human rights regulation, modern Muslim concepts of human rights allowed the author to conclude that Muslim countries strive not only to participate in the discussion on human rights, defending their civilizational identity, but also to find points of convergence of Islamic views on human rights with international standards.

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Freeman, Michael. "Human Rights and Real Cultures: Towards a Dialogue on ‘Asian Values’." Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 16, no. 1 (March 1998): 25–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/092405199801600103.

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Despite the re-affirmation of the universality of human rights at the UN World Conference in 1993, the principle of universality has continued to be called in question by reference to ‘Asian values’ by political leaders and intellectuals in the economically successful societies of South-East Asia. This is, however, only a new manifestation of the well-known problem of ‘cultural relativism’. The author seeks to clarify the principles that underlie debates about the universality of human rights and the particularity of cultures by analysing the nature of cultures, and applying the analysis to the ‘Asian values’ debate. He argues that all cultures are complex and dynamic, and can be used to oppress, exploit and/or promote the quality of the lives of human individuals and groups. The concept of human rights is itself a cultural product, which has been designed to protect human beings from oppression and exploitation and to promote their well-being. The principles of human rights have to be interpreted and applied in diverse circumstances. The relations between human rights and real cultures are therefore likely to be complex and to some degree controversial. The category of ‘Asian values’ is, however, too crude to clarify these relations to the end of protecting and promoting the fundamental interest that all human beings have in the quality of their lives.

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STOECKL, KRISTINA, and KSENIYA MEDVEDEVA. "Double bind at the UN: Western actors, Russia, and the traditionalist agenda." Global Constitutionalism 7, no. 3 (November 2018): 383–421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s2045381718000163.

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Abstract:This article is dedicated to analysis of the traditionalist agenda, promoted by Russia, in recent debates in the United Nations Human Rights Council (‘Traditional values’ from 2009 to 2013, ‘Protection of the family’ from 2014 to 2017). The traditionalist agenda could be interpreted as yet another chapter of contextualist opposition to the universalist application human of rights and as a successor to the cultural relativism in human rights promoted in the past by the Organization of Islamic States or countries from the Global South. This article seeks to challenge such an interpretation and instead makes the argument that the traditionalist agenda employs novel aspects of illiberal norm protagonism in the human rights sphere. The article undertakes an in-depth analysis of the discourse coalitions of both supporters and opponents of the traditionalist agenda, using the tools of discourse analysis in international relations and drawing on a constructivist approach to norm diffusion in international organisations.

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de la Rasilla del Moral, Ignacio. "The Increasingly Marginal Appreciation of the Margin-of-Appreciation Doctrine." German Law Journal 7, no. 6 (June 1, 2006): 611–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s2071832200004892.

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What song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among the women, although puzzling questions are not beyond all conjecture.What is so fundamental in terms of the protection of human rights in Europe that it requires the same standards for all countries and what, by contrast, would be better dealt with by each State's organs in line with verbigratia Michael Walzer's-related notion of “thick morality”?. Where should the line be drawn between unity and diversity notwithstanding the resulting risk of human rights cultural relativism associated to the latter?. On what grounds could the axiomatic universality of human rights possibly be connoted in a continent which prides itself on possessing the most developed regional system for the protection of human rights world-wide in view of the resulting risk of legal contagion to other systems for the protection of human rights and, even, to general international law that such a practice can trigger?. At the end of the day, these are the sort of questions that the study of the margin-of- appreciation doctrine raises. The Trojan Horse-like character of the Strasbourg's judge-made margin-of-appreciation doctrine within the European human rights protection system has long since bothered human rights lawyers. Cases of reliance on this review doctrine have been generally criticised as denials of justice for individuals, abdications by the Court of its duty of adjudication in difficult or sensitive issues or as a judicial diluting technique of the strict conditions laid down in the European Convention of Human Rights. This line of criticism, aimed at what from the viewpoint of some occupants of the bench is seen as “a well established and legitimate part of the convention's jurisprudence”, has been reinforced by the entry of 21 new Eastern and Central European contracting parties to the Council of Europe following the 1989-1991 events. With a current membership of 46 States, all of which have ratified the 1950 Rome Convention, it is further feared that the doctrine will increasingly become an open door for abusive limitations in the exercise of human rights in states who traditionally leaned towards human rights cultural relativism. Against this background, I will briefly look into the technical criteria used by Strasbourg's judicial interpreters to factually implement this “much maligned notion” or, as one commentator has put it, this “manière pseudo-technique d'évoquer le pouvoir discrétionnaire que les organes de Strasbourg ont estimé reconnu aux Etats par la Convention dans certains cas”. I will, secondly, provide a basic overview of the general doctrinal positions one can adopt regarding this long debated question.

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Van Engeland, Anicée. "Contextualisation of Humanitarian Assistance and its Shortcomings in International Human Rights Law." Israel Law Review 49, no. 2 (May 26, 2016): 169–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021223716000054.

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This article challenges the idea that contextualisation of humanitarian aid affects the principle of universality of human rights as well as the principles of neutrality and impartiality. It seeks to demonstrate that contextualisation will not only improve access, delivery and protection: contextualising a mission also enables aid workers to respect the local context without impacting negatively upon universal human rights. The author argues that affecting the societies in which aid is delivered is inevitable. The key then becomes to avoid endorsing indirect cultural relativism. This is why the article puts forward the idea of creating a yardstick or a test that would help in deciding which beliefs and values are to be included when considering the context, and which should be excluded. The process of selection of values and beliefs is to be operated by an empowered local population. The filter suggested in the case at hand is the Muslim legal instrument of maslaha, which protects the public interest. The use of this filter can be efficient only if Islamic authoritative sources are interpreted differently, in a reformist fashion, to try and match universal human rights law. This is possible through the Muslim theories advocating change. Muslim beneficiaries who are vulnerable as a result of a disaster or during a conflict provide an opportunity to test the filter of maslaha, looking at how an empowered community can change and influence the agendas of aid agencies.

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Schirmer, Jennifer, and Alison Dundes Renteln. "International Human Rights: Universalism versus Relativism." Human Rights Quarterly 13, no. 1 (February 1991): 147. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/762463.

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Kim, Young Yun. "International human rights: Universalism versus relativism." International Journal of Intercultural Relations 15, no. 2 (January 1991): 257–58. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(91)90034-e.

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Siddiqui, Omer. "Relativism vs. Universalism." American Journal of Islam and Society 18, no. 1 (January 1, 2001): 59–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.35632/ajis.v18i1.2035.

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This paper addresses the issue of "universality" in the human rightsdiscourse by engaging in two basic tasks: linking the UNDHR to aspecific political evolution and juxtaposing this evolution with a difFerentdistinct Islamic tradition. The paper argues that, while the liberal traditionmaintains "rights" as a construct that has evolved to be consideredinalienable by virtue of an individual's humanity, the Islamictradition asserts its own values and guidelines on human behavior as anoutgrowth of an individual's duty to God and community. Yet, despitebasic differences, the Issue is not one of achieving u n i v h in thediscourse of rights, but rather in realizing that despite conceptual andideological differences, the social and political destinations that eachtradition arrives at are so consistent. that the conceptual differences are notin and of themselves sources of divisiveness or compromise in the quest toachieve universal standards.

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Reuter, Hans-Richard. "Menschenrechte zwischen Universalismus und Relativismus." Zeitschrift für Evangelische Ethik 40, no. 1 (February 1, 1996): 135–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.14315/zee-1996-0117.

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AbstractThe universal applicability of human rights outside the circle of European culture is not only a subject of political controversy, but a challenge to political and moral theory, too. The contribution argues with three types of relativistic criticism of human rihgts' universality: ethical particularism, political realism, and cultural contextualism. Defending the intercultural validity of the human rights' concept, the author pleads for a threefold distincion: between the right and the good, between basic and derivative rights, between penultimate reasons of human rights and ultimate foundations to them.

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Johns, Christina Jacqueline. "Book Review: International Human Rights: Universalism Versus Relativism." International Criminal Justice Review 2, no. 1 (May 1992): 169–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/105756779200200129.

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Knoll, Hedda Ofoole, and Sarah Margaretha Jastram. "A pragmatist perspective on sustainable global value chain governance – the case of Dr. Bronner’s." Society and Business Review 14, no. 1 (February 11, 2019): 12–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/sbr-12-2017-0122.

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Purpose This paper aims to highlight the challenges and opportunities of sustainable global value chain governance, it demonstrates strong theoretical deficits in this field and offers new pragmatist conceptual perspectives. Design/methodology/approach The empirical analysis is based on document analyses, 47 expert interviews and on field observations in Ghana, Africa. Findings Based on an in-depth analysis of a US firm operating a fair trade value chain in an intercultural environment, the authors show that universalistic value chain-oriented governance instruments often fail because of strong institutional and cultural distances. Against the prevailing strategies of top-down management, the authors suggest a more bottom-up, pragmatist and collaboration-based approach to sustainable global value chain governance. Research limitations/implications The results of an in-depth case study are not generalizable. Instead, they provide holistic insights into a so-far insufficiently examined field and an empirical fundament for further research on sustainable governance in global value chains. In particular, research on pragmatist, collaborative, dialogue based, bottom-up approaches of sustainable value chain governance will be of great value to further theoretical development of this field. Practical implications This study is relevant to researchers and practitioners in the field of sustainable value chain governance. It reveals several misunderstandings about the effectiveness and impacts of sustainable governance in less developed countries and thus builds a foundation for better and more effective problem-solving approaches in international sustainable management activities. Social implications Nontransparent supplier networks and (illegal) sub-contracting, as well as the strong influences of institutional, cultural and sub-cultural factors, make responsible value chain management a challenging task for any firm with international value creation activities. This leaves workers in local factories vulnerable to infringements of their fundamental human rights and the environment unprotected against long-lasting damages. Addressing these challenges and developing new solutions, therefore, can have strong impacts on the lives of workers in international supply chains. Originality/value The authors contribute, first, a differentiated empirical description and analysis of a sustainable value chain approach in a less developed country in Africa. Second, using an example of the field study, the authors highlight limitations of value chain-related governance theory based on a field study by illustrating the challenges and barriers and a lack of existing concepts concerning effective sustainable governance in global value chains. Third, the authors show different managerial responses to these cultural and institutional challenges between universalism and relativism, and, fourth, the authors suggest a more collaborative, bottom-up and pragmatist approach to sustainable value chain governance.

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Fikentscher, Wolfgang, and Alison Dundes Renteln. "International Human Rights, Universalism versus Relativism, Frontiers of Anthropology." American Journal of Comparative Law 39, no. 3 (1991): 629. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/840777.

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Touraine, Alain. "Many cultures, one citizenship." Philosophy & Social Criticism 37, no. 4 (May 2011): 393–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0191453710396810.

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Two opposite statements must be rejected with the same rigor. First (1) is that a few countries have identified themselves with modernity by their scientific, technical and economic achievement and that the rest of the world, which is lagging behind the ‘advanced countries’, must follow in their footsteps and imitate their example. The article first of all sets out the falsity of such a statement, because there is not one but many western paths of modernization, and indicates that it is nothing but a colonialist ideology, which spread from European and American societies and cultures and destroyed all independent efforts of modernization in other countries, in particular China. The hegemony of the western capitalist model is more than challenged by other ways of modernization, for though the soviet model has failed, other countries are ‘emerging’ or have already emerged. Second (2) the opposite representation defends the idea of a complete multiculturalism including political regimes and human rights. It fights against the previous colonialist model and supports a total relativism. But this view makes impossible the communication between completely different countries and cultures and reciprocal fear leads to an extreme conflict between ‘civilizations’, such as S. Huntington has described. This view leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable if each civilization has a complete internal unity and a complete control on all its activities. But the world is not divided into various theocratic states: no single theocratic state commands the whole or the majority of Muslim population. The central problem remains real and difficult: how to combine unity and diversity, the difference between cultures and the capacity for them to communicate with each other? The most useful idea is to elaborate one general definition of modernity, as a culture which is based on universalistic principles. The western mode of modernization is not the only possible one; nor is it at all sure that the western process of separation of temporal and spiritual powers is the only possibility. We cannot assert that universalism must penetrate social life only through political institutions and citizenship. It is beyond any reasonable doubt that modernity, with its universalistic components, cannot be identified with only one type of social organization and cultural values.

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Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn. "Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights." AnthroNotes : National Museum of Natural History bulletin for teachers 20, no. 2 (September 12, 2014): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.5479/10088/22372.

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Prasad, Ajnesh. "Cultural Relativism in Human Rights Discourse." Peace Review 19, no. 4 (November 2007): 589–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10402650701681236.

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허민숙. "Feminist Politics of Women’s Human Rights: transformative discussion on universalism vs. relativism." Korean Political Science Review 46, no. 1 (March 2012): 45–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.18854/kpsr.2012.46.1.003.

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Koslowsky, Meni, Abraham Sagie, and Shmuel Stashevsky. "Introduction: Cultural Relativism and Universalism in Organizational Behaviors." International Journal of Cross Cultural Management 2, no. 2 (August 2002): 131–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1470595802002002859.

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Washburn, Wilcomb E. "Cultural Relativism, Human Rights, and the AAA." American Anthropologist 89, no. 4 (December 1987): 939–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aa.1987.89.4.02a00150.

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Ejidike, Okey Martin. "Human rights in the cultural traditions and social practice of the Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria." Journal of African Law 43, no. 1 (1999): 71–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0021855300008731.

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One of the crucial theoretical problems confronting human rights is the perception of its historical derivation related to the universal or relative character of the rights declared. Limited views on the origin of the concept are widespread and easily exploited to stymie die quest for human rights. Cultural-monopolist derivations of its origin have fed relativist but apologist arguments in developing countries. A cultural-universalist conception is not only possible but preferable. A contrary position would both contradict and deter the cause of human rights. To arrogate the concept to some groups, cultures and civilizations to die exclusion of others would be deleterious to the momentum toward universal consensus on human rights in at least two major ways. It would harden or ossify divisive tendencies and provide ammunition for apologist justification of violations.

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Halliday, Fred. "Relativism and Universalism in Human Rights: The Case of the Islamic Middle East." Political Studies 43, no. 1 (March 1995): 152–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1995.tb01741.x.

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Meyer, William H. "Toward a global culture: Human rights, group rights and cultural relativism." International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 3, no. 3 (1995): 169–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157181196x00056.

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AbstractThis study seeks to define universal standards of human rights within a cross-cultural context. It begins with a review of three positions in the prior literatures regarding the relationship between culture and definitions of human rights. These three positions are: Western normative hegemony; weak cultural relativism; and strong cultural relativism. The paper then considers various feminist critiques that call into question the basic assumptions of all three prior views. The paper concludes by arguing that there are universal standards of human rights that apply to all cultures. My own position argues that these universal standards are part of an emerging "global culture."

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Ibhawoh, Bonny. "Cultural Relativism and Human Rights: Reconsidering the Africanist Discourse." Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights 19, no. 1 (March 2001): 43–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/092405190101900104.

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Discussions about cultural relativism and the cross-cultural legitimacy of human rights have been central to contemporary human rights discourse. Much of this discussion has focussed on non-Western societies where scholars have advanced, from a variety of standpoints, arguments for and against the cultural relativism of human rights. Arguments for ‘Asian Values’ and lately, ‘African values’ in the construction of human rights have defined this debate. This paper reviews some of the major arguments and trends in the Africanist discourse on the cultural relativism of human rights. It argues the need to go beyond the polarities that have characterised the debate. It argues that while an Afrocentric conception of human rights is a valid worldview, it need not become the basis for the abrogation of the emerging Universal human rights regime. Rather, it should provide the philosophical foundation for the legitimisation of Universal human rights in the African context and inform the cross-fertilisation of ideas between Africa and the rest of the world.

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Hellum, Anne. "Women's Human Rights and African Customary Laws: Between Universalism and Relativism –Individualism and Communitarianism." European Journal of Development Research 10, no. 2 (December 1998): 88–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09578819808426718.

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Journal articles on the topic 'Universalism and cultural relativism of human rights'

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