In this context, there are reasons to look beyond national governments for the upkeep of individual rights and liberties. The declaration by the United Nations of Universal Human Rights, in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust, deserves more attention. Ever since the declaration was made in 1948, all alleged human rights violations across the world were judged on the basis of the provisions in this important document. Considering that sovereign national governments have failed to give their citizens legitimate rights and protections as well as getting involved in conflicts with fellow nations against the will of their own population, there is a strong case for the wider acceptance of UN proposed universal human rights. To its further credit, the UN Charter and UN Declaration of Human Rights are based on some of the illustrious examples from the Western judicial canon, including the American Bill of Rights (drafted in 1791) and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (drafted in 1789). Works such as Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man (first published in 1791) were also important in spreading Enlightenment notions of human rights and freedom from hierarchical forms of authority such as the church and monarchy. These important works succeed John Locke’s Treatises by a hundred years, making them more relevant frames of references.
This crucial development in international diplomacy shifted the emphasis from individual rights that are constitutionally protected by geo-political entities such as national governments to the acceptance of universality of rights as described in the UN’s Declaration. This shift has accentuated the visibility and legitimacy of rights claims within any particular nation. It has also had a significant influence on global politics and law by setting standards or norms of conduct and treatment of individuals. Either way, it has helped foster a better world to live in.
Finally, universal human rights derive from “self-evident” and “innate” truths pertaining to human nature and human civilization. By definition universal human rights are apolitical, for they are applicable to people across all geo-political, ethnic, racial, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) proclaims that all people are entitled to a life of dignity and self-respect. Article 8 of the UNDHR in particular states that every individual has the right to an effective legal remedy in unbiased national tribunals for the violation of their fundamental rights as granted by the UNDHR. The global propagation of rights and values inevitably leads to cultural homogenization. But it is important to realize that the conflict between global rights and national/regional cultures is not a struggle for supremacy between cultures. Instead, it should be analyzed and debated in wider contexts of values, traditions and universal human qualities.