[hr-education] Re: Culture of human rights

While it is true that the concept of rights per se is a "good" one no matter
which culture generated it, we do need to examine the underpinnings of these
cultural ramifications.  The concept of "rights" in some cultures has been
taken to mean many things such as the duty to coerce those who do not know
coca cola to be provided with the opportunity to explore it at the cost of
drinking water.   More and more in the globalised world rights mean a very
urbanised, (excuse me) westernised set of values and alternative values which
have not either the wherewithal or the general broad base to gain corporate
or government support drop off the range of possibilities.

Every human situation is as unique as the combination of people involved and
those watching.  As a "human rights activist" of many years standing, I will
say that human rights is as important a term as say duty or responsibility
which are extremely unfashionable if not in actual disgrace when applied to
individuals.  I should also like to offer a gentle reminder that rights are
never given.  They must be taken and vigilantly preserved, or else they
disappear.  Most especially the right to know, and today when information is
some sort of power.

There is also the critical question of relativity.  What happens when my right
to water conflicts with your need for it???????  What are the arbitration
points.  These are not theoretical issues.  We face in India the prospect of
acute water deprivation for over half the sub-continent in the next 20
years.  Yet we have corporations with the right to build golf courses and
who employ caddies who cant get jobs elsewhere.

The human rights discourse cannot be looked at as a subject devoid of
context, is what I mean to say.  Just like any other idea it needs reality to
make it whole.and there are so many realities.

Anna Pinto


Anna Pinto
Centre for Organisation, Research and Education (CORE)
New Delhi, India
E-mail: core_NE@hotmail.com



======== Global Human Rights Education listserv ========
Send mail intended for the list to <hr-education@hrea.org>.
Archives of the list can be found at:
http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-education/markup/maillist.php
If you have problems (un)subscribing, contact <owner-hr-education@hrea.org>.
**You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item,
but please retain the original and listserv source.