Human Rights and Human Norms

A prevailing debate between the Universality of Human Rights and Cultural Relativism

Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, American University of Sharjah, language: English, abstract: After the Second World War, a Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) evolved as an act for freedom and equality. The UDHR was held by many politicians and representatives from many countries, with different cultures and religions, including the 'United States, United Kingdom, Iran, China, Egypt, and France', to intersect one main matter. This cosmo-political act is to insure that Human and civil Rights are applicable to all nations and regions all over the globe. However in 1981, Iranian representative in the United Nations Said Rajaie-Khorassani claimed that the declaration of human rights was based on Jewish-Christian beliefs and cultures, and could not be tolerated by the Islamic people, and their traditions (Littman, 2003). Countries like Iran claim that human rights are established fundamentally on a Western moral. Certainly every nation has its own laws and regulations. Besides every region has its own traditions and values. But when it comes to human rights, it is a universal privilege that humanity has to possess. The universal declaration of human rights is made to structure all the inhumane and barbaric legacies made and done by state leaders and mainly dictators. Cultural relativists claim that this universality is considered cultural imperialism, dominating the world culture and ruining all kinds of ethnic norms and traditions.