Evaluation:
Published: 28.09.2004.
Language: English
Level: Secondary school
Literature: n/a
References: Not used
  • Essays 'Declaration of Human Rights', 1.
  • Essays 'Declaration of Human Rights', 2.
  • Essays 'Declaration of Human Rights', 3.
Extract

The preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) proclaims that the rights discussed in the document are "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations." This document, along with the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), are meant to be global agreements that span all cultures and traditions. These documents however do not live up to their intent. In fact, the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights prove this unrealized and unrealistic expectation of the earlier 'universal' and 'international' treaties.
Theoretically perhaps, there does exist a set of universal human rights, but in this diverse world any set of human rights that is to be recognized internationally must be more of a universally accepted set of human rights. This 'Declaration of Universally Accepted Human Rights' would be a document focused on overlapping consensus of many cultures.

Atlants