Universal Human Rights In Context

This essay asks us whether universal human rights law needs to be understood within local contexts in order to be effective. Simply put the answer is no. In fact, the opposite is true. Local context, culture to be more specific, needs to be understood in respect of universal human rights law. Gone are the days of isolated societies acting with impunity under their own laws subject to no scrutiny. Today’s world is one where borders are porous, people are connected via television and the Internet, and nations are increasingly held accountable for the way they treat their citizens. State sovereignty no longer reigns supreme over the rights and dignity of the individual. Universal human rights by its very definition imply rights that are applicable to everyone everywhere, hence the term ‘universal.’ As the authors point out in International Human Rights in Context, “[s]imply put, the partisans of universality claim that international human rights…are and must be …show more content…
Whether states agree or disagree is of little importance if the individual does not know he has rights. This is where cultural context comes into play but not as an excuse to deny rights but as the means to finding the best way to educate people about their rights. If the state is unwilling or unable to educate its population then the international community must step in to take the lead. Jennifer Corrin touches on the topic of education in her article “Cultural Relativism vs. Universalism: The South Pacific Reality” when she sums up by saying “[e]ducation…plays an important role in ensuring human rights protections have practical force” (Arnold 122). Although Corrin is referring specifically to people in the Solomon Islands when she says “many people…remain ignorant of their rights” we know this is the case in Africa and Asia too. But just because one is ignorant does not mean the right does not exist (Arnold