Cultural Approach To Human Rights Analysis

The “cultural” approach to human rights, has been an extensive discussion throughout the semester, and like any other idea regarding human rights the cultural approach has many strengths and many limitations. These strengths and limitations were discussed by two authors in particular, Lynn Hunt and Kate Nash. The first main mention regarding the “cultural” approach to human rights, was discussed in Hunt’s explanation of human rights and political/cultural social systems. In this explanation, Hunt stated that human rights are not an unattainable and solely academic ideal within society, but a realistic and institutionalized notion. Hunt stated that human rights should be implemented in various cultural and social systems, which will ultimately …show more content…
1). Nash builds upon Hunt’s cultural approach, by stating that practices are integral to understanding what matters to people, and by extension once what people care about is understood and respected, social life can flourish (Nash, 2009, p. 1). As Hunt previously stated, ensuring that human rights are entrenched in the culture evident within a certain society, attaches meaning to human rights, and allows for human rights to be respected and commonly understood. Nash’s analysis of human rights culture is akin to Hunt’s analysis, due to the fact that both outline the importance of basing human rights within a particular culture. The notion of human rights should constantly be based in culture, as the major strength of human rights being based in culture, is the fact that culture allows for human rights to be grounded in practice, and inclusive of the society in which these human rights are growing within (Nash, 2009, p. 3). Both analysis of human rights culture, discuss the importance of attaching meaning to human rights by institutionalizing human rights within political or cultural systems (Tasson: Course Slides (W2)). Nash’s analysis of human rights culture, is based upon the understanding that human rights culture is based on the subjectivity and …show more content…
As outlined by Nash, the main problem of human rights culture, is that it cannot currently be understood how the implementation of human rights into cultural systems might actually create change (Nash, 2009, p. 3). Specifically, it is currently an ideal to simply state that the implementation of a cultural approach will create change. In reality, while individuals may partake in cultural practices related to human rights, and human rights may be deeply entrenched within a society’s cultural system, there is no real guarantee that those in power will ultimately respect and implement these human rights, and cultural practices into legislation. To clarify, as Nash suggests, implementing human rights into a society’s cultural system, has no real guarantee that those in power will do anything more than keep those human rights in the cultural sphere of society (Nash, 2009, p. 3). Human rights can only do so much within culture, and to some point must move out of the cultural system and exist beyond culture and politics, and must exist within national and international law. Therefore, while the cultural approach has many positives as outlined by Nash and Hunt, human rights cannot only take on a cultural approach, human rights must rise above and exist on a universal level surrounded by law and transnational legislation. Therefore, while there are many strengths associated with the cultural