POLSCI 1G06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Cultural Relativism, Female Genital Mutilation, Human Security
14 Oct 2015
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Political science 1g06 2013 ii lecture 9b human rights. Supporters of a universal definition of human rights will point towards the existence of a complex network of international agreements. Since states have signed accords that acknowledge human rights, universal human rights can be said to exist. However, even where states are signatories to human rights declarations, treaties, and conventions, there are some fundamental contradictions apparent. 1948 universal declaration of human rights: 48 states for, 0 against, 8 abstentions, the abstentions, arguably, were for 3 different reasons. A) south africa abstained largely because of its disagreement with the proviso that all are born free and equal in dignity and rights . B) the soviet union and its allies abstained over what they regarded as an undue focus on the bourgeois rights of the individual and private property, and the lack of focus on social and economic rights.
