Column*
| Date | 01 June 1998 |
| DOI | 10.1177/092405199801600201 |
| Author | Peter R. Baehr |
| Published date | 01 June 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Column'
Greater
Respect for
Human
Rights
Rather
than for
Human
Responsibilities is
what
is Needed
In the fall
of
last year, an international group
of
former government leaders, calling itself
'InterAction
Council',
published aproposal for a Universal Declaration
of
International
Responsibilities.I
The
General Assembly
of
the United Nations is supposed to adopt this
declaration at the occasion
of
the 50th anniversary
of
the Universal Declaration
of
Human
Rights in
December
of
this year. The draft declaration consists
of
apreamble and 19
articles.
The
proposal was presented by way
of
response to the present profound changes
in the world as a result
of
the process
of
globalisation. Global problems demand global
solutions on the basis
of
ideas, values and norms respected by all cultures and societies.
Rights and responsibilities should be given equal importance to establish an ethical base
so that all men and
women
can live peacefully together and fulfil their potential.
Human
aspirations for progress can only be realised by agreed values and standards applying to
all people and all institutions at all times.
The
draft declaration seeks to bring freedom and
responsibility into balance and to promote amove from the freedom
of
indifference to the
freedom
of
involvement. It pays attention to fundamental principles
of
humanity,
nonviolence and respect for life, justice and solidarity, truthfulness and tolerance, mutual
respect and partnership.
The
said draft declaration contains agreat
number
of
principles that are worthy
of
consideration, but it is at the same time a threat to the universalism
of
human
rights. As
the Dutch
human
rights expert, Theo van Boven, has pointed out:
'[B]y
choosing the
Universal Declaration
of
Human Rights as the frame
of
reference, the impression is
created, unintentionally, that the Universal Declaration
of
1948 contributed to excesses
of
unbridled emphasis on human rights and
freedoms."
He considers the text as 'regrettably
deficient' where it fails to point to the economic and financial actors which in the process
of
the globalisation
of
the economy have become increasingly powerful and which should
carry their due and proportional share when responsibilities and duties in the area
of
human
rights are at stake.
The
draft declaration is a perhaps well-intentioned, but misguided effort to try to bridge
differences
of
view on the universality
of
human rights between the majority
of
governments and a small group
of
political leaders in certain Asian countries in particular.
They appeal to cultural differentiation in order to strengthen their own
power
position and
to reject criticisms
of
lack
of
observance
of
human
rights by other States and by non-
governmental organisations. Appeals to
human
responsibilities are never heard from
victims
of
human rights violations or from representatives
of
national or international non-
governmental organisations that suffer from a restriction
of
their human rights.
Views expressed in this editorial column are of a strictly personal nature and are not necessarily shared by
the other editors.
See for the text Netherlands Quarterly
of
Human Rights, Vol. 15,
No.4,
1997, pp. 546-550. Among the
signers
of
the Declaration were former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, former US President Jimmy
Carter, former Soviet President Michail Gorbachev, former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and
some 20 other former government leaders.
Theo van Boven, 'Een Universe Ie Verklaring van de Plichten van de Mens?' [A Universal Declaration of
Human Responsibilities?],
Trouw,
Amsterdam, 13 December 1997.
Netherlands Quarterly
of
Human Rights, Vol. 16/2, 119-/20. /998. 119
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