Why should human rights be universal ?

Why Should Human Rights Be Universal

The General Assembly announces The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in order to protect all human beings without any discrimination of nationality, color, sex, language, religion and political reasons. This common standard of development for all peoples and nations including thirty articles is expected to be entirely universal but some articles are seemed to be creating controversial arguments in all around the world: Eliminating the articles that create some serious problems will render The UDHR more applicable and universal in order to maintain the same comprehension of human rights.

The UDHR argues that only two people who are willing to form a life together with their own will shall be married but this doesn’t unnecessarily apply to our world today. According to the second subsection of article 16, ‘’Marriage shall be entered into only with the free consent of the intending spouses.’’ frankly reflects Western values which disregards the arrange marriages that are extremely common in third world and Middle Eastern countries. For example, In America people are allowed to choose who they want to be with. They are able to marry someone based on the different characteristics that they fall in love about their partner. Where as in different countries the traditions are much different. Parents choose whom their children marry. These people do not get the right to choose based on their traditional values. Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban claims in her article ‘’Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights’’ published in Anthronotes,volume 20 no.2 winter 1998, every culture distinguishes itself to another because it has own traditions and unique system that stop us to claim ‘’right ‘’ or ‘’wrong’’ in order to compare cultures. She also highlights that even though we can respect some traditions, when it comes to some unacceptable factors such as homicide, one cannot accept any forms of insanity: ‘’for example, infanticide, senilicide, or ‘’honor killings’’ of women in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern societies for alleged sexual misconduct-on moral grounds because cultural acceptance or condemnation are equally valid. This extreme relativist position is actually a form of absolutism with which few anthropologists would agree.’’(45).

When the first subsection of article 13, which is concerned with people’s freedom in choosing where they reside, is considered, The UDHR omits overpopulated states and countries. ‘’Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within borders of each state.’’ The article sustains residence right given to each person within the borders of each state but not every state can provide this full freedom of movement. For example, China, the largest country with 1,3397 million of people is already overwhelmed with drastically increasing rate of its population. China has received a negative reaction because it used population policies that help to reduce excess of population; one of them is not allowing countryside citizens to migrate to cities. Werner Daum explains in his article ‘’Universalism and the West’’ published on Harvard International Review on May 6,2006; a tightly united society or maybe a state might be lack of freedom of expression. He thinks that if overpopulated countries like China, give free choice to settle to its citizens there would be a deadlock in the balanced ratio of settlements. He also gives examples from other countries:‘’In Sudan, its capital, Khartoum, like all capitals in Africa, has experienced an enormous influx of people from countryside-probably more than two million in the last year. The government has reacted with a very assertive policy, the only one of its kind in all of Africa: squatter

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