Human rights as a learning process

Nicole Janz and Thomas Risse (eds.):
Menschenrechte – Globale Dimensionen eines universellen Anspruchs [Human rights – global dimensions of a universal standard].
Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden 2007, 188 p., €29.00, ISBN 978-3-8329-2279-5

According to its editors, this book aims to make a contribution to the “discussion on the universal validity of human rights”, with special emphasis on counterarguments rooted in history and culture. Essays deal with Islam, sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, China, India, minorities in Europe and Orthodox Christianity. However, topics, methodology and quality differ so greatly that the book somewhat lacks coherence. Nonetheless, individual contributions are very interesting.

Some authors contribute to the debate on cultural relativism. For instance, Dorothea Schulz explores the theory that African approaches to human rights emphasise values such as group loyalty and the acceptance of social norms. She traces the controversy in detail, showing that both sides – the advocates of culturally specific norms as well as the universalists – are influenced by political and social conflicts of interest. The former overlook the fact that traditional values systems are not static. Rather, they stem from conflicts between colonial powers and local people. The universalists, on the other hand, forget that large sections of the African people still perceive modern law – and the judiciary in particular – as instruments of power politics. Nonetheless, Schulz sees common ground for fertile dialogue. In her view, the cause for universality can be made, if one focuses on clearly-defined, convincing rights which make sense to the majority of the people. In the context of trying to promote human rights in development cooperation, this idea is quite relevant.

Jona Aravind Dohrmann looks at the case of India. She shows that human rights are not entirely accepted at the cultural level in this country, even though, for more than half a century, it has had a constitution with excellent civil- rights protection, guaranteed by an independent and active supreme court. Particularly in rural areas, religious and cultural traditions tend to be inconsistent with key human rights-principles such as non-discrimination (particularly on grounds of gender or caste) and freedom of worship.

Dohrmann nonetheless concludes that India has overall adopted initially foreign human-rights principles convincingly – not least, because they proved to be a very effective weapon during the independence struggle against the colonial power. Disadvantaged groups are increasingly claiming their human rights, showing that cultural internalisation is still progressing.

In the final essay, Heiner Bielefeldt portrays human rights as the outcome of social learning processes following experiences of injustice. Different paths can ultimately lead to the same goal. After all, human rights were contentious in the West, too. In spite of cultural differences, debate and even understanding are possible in the sense of an ongoing learning process.

Rainer Huhle