Opinion

Are human rights universal?

By Douglas Lummis

It would seem so, if you look at the title of the most important human rights document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But looking more closely you will see that the title only claims that the Declaration is universal, not the rights. And certainly the Declaration, which has been translated into more than 300 languages, is about as "universal" as a document can get.

But are the rights contained therein universal? It depends on what you mean by "universal." Does "universal" mean that something has penetrated, or ought to penetrate, every existing society in the world today? Or does it mean that something is in principle proper to human beings no matter what situation they are in?

The two sound the same, but they are not. This becomes clearer if we take some examples from the Declaration. Take Article 23, 2, "the right to equal pay for equal work." This is clearly situational. It presupposes not only a money economy, but also a system under which people work for employers and receive money in exchange. This right would have no meaning in, say, a subsistence economy such as have existed in the past and still exist in some parts of the world, where people do not work for employers and use little money. But it is an extremely important right where people do work for employers, which is the situation most people are in today.

Or take Article 26, 1, "the right to education", which shall be "free" and "compulsory." This does not apply at all in a society where children are educated by their families and/or village elders. But it applies very well to the situation most of us are in: the situation of a complex industrial society.

Or take "the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion" (Art. 18), "the right to freedom of opinion and expression" (Art. 19), and "the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association" (Art. 20). Historically, the organization most likely to restrict these activities is the state, and these rights were invented to put limits on state oppression. But the state is not a universal; it arose out of a historical process, and it may someday fade away. Still, where the state does exist, today just about everywhere, these rights are vital.

On the other hand there are some rights that seem to apply in any situation. Examples are the prohibition of slavery (Art. 4), the prohibition of torture (Art. 5), and the prohibition of arbitrary arrest or detention. Nobody should be subjected to this kind of treatment, anytime, anywhere. And remember that while slavery has pretty much disappeared from the world, torture and arbitrary detention are being practiced still today, including by the U.S. government.

Shukan ST: March 18, 2005

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