scholarly journals Cultural Foundations and Mythological Nature of Human Rights

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-119
Author(s):  
Vladislav Tolstykh

The author claims that the concept of human rights arose on European soil as a result of certain cultural, political, and economic factors. Its primary base is formed by Christian ideas, secularized with the dissolution of feudalism and the spread of capitalism. In particular, this concept synthesized the Christian ideas of God’s likeness of man and the omnipresence of God: being god-like, man, like God, may be present in all things, though not in all at once. The main beneficiary was the bourgeoisie, who used personal rights to destroy feudal institutions, political rights to establish control over the state, and economic and social rights to mitigate class contradictions and distract their opponents. The religious origin of rights is the key to understanding their important features such as the absence of logical basis for human rights; helplessness of the law in front of acts that undermine the foundations of order and are marked as acts of self-realization; extraordinary diversity of rights, etc. There are several directions of human rights criticism (conservative, moderateliberal, Marxist and Christian). All of them assume that human rights neither adequately reflect human nature, nor take into account some of its aspects. Indeed, man is not only an individual seeking to choose, but also a member of a collective who needs a recognition (conservatism); a being alienated from labor and racial life (Marxism); a believer seeking to avoid sin (early Christianity) and obedient to divine will (Islam); a being who suffers from constant suffering and seeks to be saved from it (Buddhism); a victim of civilization, oppressed by the flow of information and the need for constant choice This inadequacy entails a destructive effect: the concept of rights creates a monochrome picture, on which, the human existence is reduced to act of will; gives rise to logical contradictions; destroys reality, monopolizing the axiological basis of cooperation; is used as a tool of submission and domination; creates an absolute justa causa; alienates from existence and forms the basis for other levels of the mythological structure. The history of human rights is not complete: It seems that today humanity is on the eve of fundamental transformations, whose content and final result are difficult to predict.

Author(s):  
Kiyoteru Tsutsui

This chapter examines the complicated history of Zainichi, Korean residents in Japan, who came to Japan during the colonial era. After 1945, Zainichi lost all citizenship rights and had to fight for many rights, but the division in the Korean peninsula cast a shadow over Zainichi communities, hampering effective activism for more rights in Japan. Focusing on the issue of fingerprinting—the most salient example of rights violations against Zainichi—the chapter demonstrates how, since the late 1970s, global human rights principles have enabled Zainichi to recast their movement as claims for universal rights regardless of citizenship and to use international forums to pressure the Japanese government, leading to the abolition of the fingerprinting practice. Zainichi achieved similar successes in other areas of rights except for political rights, where international norms do not clearly support suffrage for noncitizens. Zainichi also contributed to global human rights by advancing rights for noncitizen minorities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (5) ◽  
pp. 127-144
Author(s):  
Paul A. Chambers

The Colombian government’s noncompliance with the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement’s Labor Action Plan calls into question not only the government’s intentions but also the efficacy of human rights activism and discourse for social resistance to neoliberalism. Colombia has managed to adjust the narrative on human rights and improve its international image, paving the way for U.S. ratification of the free-trade agreement despite the fact that the human rights situation continues to be very serious. Its success in this is due to the way in which the debate on the agreement and human rights was framed—with a very narrow focus on trade unionists’ rights and a discourse that did not link civil and political rights to economic and social rights—and to the ideological affinity between neoliberalism and the dominant liberal discourse on human rights. El incumplimiento del Plan de Acción Laboral por parte del gobierno colombiano, en el marco del TLC con Estados Unidos, pone en tela de juicio no solo las intenciones del gobierno, sino la utilidad y eficacia del activismo y discurso de los derechos humanos para la resistencia social al neoliberalismo. El Estado colombiano ha logrado ajustar la narrativa sobre los derechos humanos y mejorar su imagen internacional, lo que le permitió ser “premiado” con la ratificación del TLC a pesar de que la situación de derechos humanos siguiera siendo grave. Esto se debe a la forma en que se enmarcó el debate sobre el TLC y los derechos humanos—con un enfoque demasiado restringido y un discurso que no integró los derechos civiles y políticos con los derechos económicos y sociales—y a la afinidad ideológica entre el neoliberalismo y el discurso dominante de los derechos humanos.


ADALAH ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Latipah Nasution

Indonesia sebagai negara yang berdasarkan hukum (rechstat), mempunyai konsekuensi yakni adanya supremasi hukum. Ini artinya, setiap tindakan administrasi negara harus berdasarkan hukum yang berlaku, selain harus memberikan kepastian hukum (asas legalitas). Sistem demokrasi yang berlandaskan hukum dan berkedaulatan rakyat menjadi dasar kehidupan dalam berbangsa dan bernegara. Demokrasi sebagai sistem pemerintahan yang dianut oleh Indonesia menyatakan bahwa suatu pemerintahan dipimpin oleh rakyat, dari rakyat, dan untuk rakyat. Bentuk pengejawantahan dari sistem demokrasi adalah diselenggarakannya Pemilu secara langsung. Adapun landasan dasar dilaksanakannya pemilu adalah pasal 22 E ayat (1) Undang Undang Dasar 1945 yang telah mengamanatkan diselenggarakannya pemilu dengan berkualitas, mengikutsertakan partisipasi rakyat seluas-luasnya atas prinsip demokrasi yakni langsung, umum, bebas, rahasia, jujur dan adil melalui suatu perundang-undangan (Handayani, 2014: 1). Pemilihan umum sebagai sarana pelaksanaan kedaulatan rakyat yang dilaksanakan secara langsung, umum, bebas, jujur, dan adil dengan menjamin prinsip perwakilan, akuntabilitas dan legitimasi dalam Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia berdasarkan Pancasila dan Undang-Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 1945.  Dinamika pada pemilihan umum seringkali diwarnai dengan isu mahar politik oleh para kontestan politik, sebagaimana dipublikasi diberbagai media di Indonesia. Praktik mahar politik dapat dipahami sebagai transaksi dibawah tangan yang melibatkan pemberian sejumlah dana dari calon pejabat tertentu untuk jabatan tertentu dalam pemilu partai politik sebagai kendaraan politiknya (Susilo, 2018: 155). Pemilihan umum sejatinya merupakan sebuah arena yang mewadahi para calon kandidat dalam kontestasi politik yang meraih kekuasaan partisipasi rakyat untuk menentukan pilihan dan sebagai penyalur hak sosial dan politik masyarakat itu sendiri (Simamora, 2014: 2).Pelaksanaan pemilu memberikan harapan rakyat dengan lahirnya seorang pmimpin yang mampu menyejahterakan dan membahagiakan rakyat dengan beberapa kebijakan yang dibuatnya. Namun dalam proses pemilu seringkali dicederai oleh beberapa oknum dari para calon kandidat beserta tim suksesnya yang mengunakan segala cara untuk memenangkan kontestasi politik, selain mahar politik, money politic juga kerap menjadi isu hangat dalam kontestasi politik. Terjadinya politik uang bukan hanya pada pasangan kandidat, namun juga karena masyarakat yang berpikir instan seringkali tertarik dengan politik uang. Penegakan hukum dalam kasus ini perlu diperhatikan guna melestarikan pesta demokrasi yang bersih dari tindak pidana dalam pemilu (Hadi; Fadhlika; Ambarwati, 2018: 398).Prinsip demokrasi dan keadilan dalam pemilihan umum (electoral justice) adalah keterlibatan masyarakat merupakan hal yang mutlak. Hak masyarakat sangat mendasar dan asasi sifatnya. Hal ini diamini, sebagaimana dimuat dalam Universal Declaration of Human Right 1948 yang telah dijamin juga dalam konvenan dan turunannya, terlebih dalam Convenan on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Cultural and social Rights atau yang lumrah disebut dengan International Bill of Human Rights.  Dengan dicantumkannya hak dasar dalam pelaksanaan pemilu, maka berlaku pula prinsip-prinsip integritas pemilu  yang mensyaratkan adanya pemantauan masyarakat yang independen dan penyelenggaraan pemilu yang transparan dan akuntabel. Hal ini serupa pentingnya dengan prinsip lain yang juga harus ditetapkan oleh institusi penyelenggara (KPU) dengan memiliki standar perilaku dan beretika, serta mampu menerapkan aturan secara adil tanpa pandang bulu.Untuk menjamin agar pemilu berjalan sesuai dengan ketentuan dan asas pemilu, diperlukan suatu pengawalan terhadap jalannya setiap tahapan pemilu. Dalam konteks pengawasan pemilu di Indonesia, pengawasan terhadap proses pemilu dilembagakan dengan adanya lembaga Badan Pengawas Pemilu (Bawaslu). Pengawasan dari Bawaslu adalah bentuk pengawasan yang terlembaga dari suatu organ Negara.Terlepas dari aturan tentang pemilihan umum yang diatur sedemikan rupa untuk memberikan kedaulatan bagi rakyat itu sendiri dalam penyelenggaraan pemilihan umum, pada prakteknya terdapat banyak permasalahan yang pada akhirnya mengurangi, merampas, dan meniadakan kedaulatan rakyat dalam penyelenggaraan pemilu. Pemerintahan yang seharusnya berasal dari rakyat, oleh rakyat, dan untuk rakyat berubah menjadi pemerintahan yang berasal, dari, dan untuk kepentingan kelompok tertentu. Hal yang paling mencolok terjadi dalam pemilihan presiden dan wakil presiden yakni Black Campaign. Permasalahan penyelenggaraan pemilihan umum yang berakibat pada  kedaulatan rakyat seperti money politic, budaya money politic marak terjadi dimana – mana dan bukan lagi merupakan rahasia umum. Praktik politik uang terjadi pada saat pengusungan calon yang dilakukan partai dan pada saat pencarian dukungan langsung dari rakyat. Rakyat dibayar, disuap, untuk memilih calon tertentu. Dengan demikian, rakyat dalam menentukan pilihannya tidak lagi dalam kehendak bebas, kesadaran akan bangsa dan negara, maupun dalam pengendalian penuh atas dirinya. Money politic meniadakan prinsip kedaulatan rakyat dalam pemilihan umum. Suara yang diberikan tidak berdasarkan prinsip jujur dan adil.


Author(s):  
Diller Janelle M

This article examines the issues of social justice, social rights, and the international labour movement in relation to international human rights. It traces the history of the emergence of international labour law and describes the action and innovation of the International Labor Organization (ILO). It suggests that the ILO�s structural machinery and guiding principles served as the global reference point for setting and supervising standards on workers� rights, freedoms, and entitlements.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-275
Author(s):  
Eda Seyhan

Abstract In response to the rise of ‘populism’ and the perceived threat to human rights that it represents, human rights advocates have argued that NGOs must speak to the economic anxieties of majority populations by increasing work on economic and social rights. In this essay, I present a counter-argument to this proposal, drawing on insights from the COVID-19 pandemic and my experiences working at Amnesty International and monitoring emergency powers during the pandemic for Covid State Watch. I argue that international human rights NGOs should retain a focus on civil and political rights for three reasons. The COVID-19 pandemic has (1) revealed and reinforced the vast repressive power of the state and consequent serious risks to civil and political rights in the global North and (2) demonstrated that human rights NGOs are often alone in challenging restrictions to civil and political rights, especially during crises. I further suggest that, in contrast to the civil and political rights sphere, (3) human rights NGOs offer little ‘value added’ in the field of economic and social rights in the global North. I conclude by proposing that human rights serve their most useful function when they protect those who few others are willing to defend, such as the vector of disease, the terrorist and the criminal.


2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1833-1861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roderic O'Gorman

Ever since the conceptual division of rights into three separate categories; civil, political and social, the legal status of social rights has been controversial. This divergence in views is illustrated by the decision of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect civil and political rights through a judicial format where adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was ensured by the European Court of Human Rights, whereas social rights were addressed separately through the European Social Charter (“Social Charter”), with merely a reporting mechanism to the European Committee of Social Rights.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-605
Author(s):  
Marie-Emmanuelle Chessel

Abstract Apropos the history of human rights in France, one spontaneously thinks of the French Revolution and then of left-wing activists, particularly socialists. Their opponents, the Catholics, normally considered to be right wing and usually opposed to socialism, appear as a counterpoint. This article argues that some Catholics, especially those who referred to themselves as ‘social Catholics’, also contributed to the adoption of certain rights, particularly social rights, in France in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Their contribution was made through their social activities, visible in their organizations’ archives more than through their discourse. Social Catholics spoke little of ‘rights’. Yet paradoxically, discourses about ‘duties’ can lead to the defence of rights, especially through the practice of social surveys and the importance of social ‘facts’. Examples are taken from the history of the Ligue Sociale d’Acheteurs, the Union Féminine Civique et Sociale and other French Catholic organizations such as the Secrétariats sociaux.


Human Affairs ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mazhar Siraj

AbstractThe luxury-versus-necessity controversy is primarily concerned with the importance of civil and political rights vis-à-vis economic and social rights. The viewpoint of political leaders of many developing and newly industrialized countries, especially China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia is that civil and political rights are luxuries that only rich nations can afford. The United Nations, transnational civil society and the Western advanced countries oppose this viewpoint on normative and empirical grounds. While this controversy is far from over, new challenges of “evidence” and “marketization” are emerging. The first calls for a narrative on the history of civil and political rights in the West in the comparative context of the Industrial Revolution and the East Asian Miracle and China’s economic growth. The effects of the recent financial crisis and insulation of China from the Arab Spring further deepen this challenge. The marketization challenge looks at this controversy from the social exclusion angle. It argues that the basic needs covered by the minimum human rights agenda are becoming luxuries in a real sense for those who do not have the power to purchase these needs from the market.


2002 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 734-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen O’Keefe ◽  
Alex Scott-Samuel

While the importance of civil and political rights to health advocates is widely acknowledged, economic and social rights are not yet securely on advocates’ agenda. Health impact assessment is an approach that can promote an appreciation of their importance. This paper introduces health impact assessment, gives examples of how it is being used, links its development to a focus on inequalities in health status, indicates the insufficiency of civil and political rights to protect health, and shows that the use of health impact assessment draws attention to economic and social rights. While civil and political rights are an astonishing social achievement, they are not in themselves sufficient to promote health.


2018 ◽  
pp. 43-60
Author(s):  
GERMANA AGUIAR RIBEIRO DO NASCIMENTO

A long road was necessary for economic and social rights to be internationally recognized. In fact, it was only after the Second World War that the protection of human rights, including economic and social rights, became one of the aims of the United Nations. Despite that, this legal protection was by no means made without controversies, especially when it comes to economic and social rights. The fact that most of the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refer to civil and political rights corroborates these difficulties. Only articles 22 through 27 protected economic and social rights. The objective of this article is to shed some light into this process, as the Universal Declaration has been the foundation of the codification of the whole human rights system. Particular attention will be given to the discussions around the inclusion of article 25 that refers to the right to an adequate standard of living. It is interesting to analyze how this right was adopted during the process of elaboration of the Declaration, as it was then incorporated by so many texts and influenced the recognition of other rights. In fact, if today we are able to have autonomous rights to water, to health, to food, to housing and to education, it is thanks to the proclamation of the right to an adequate standard of living in the first place.


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