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Human Rights: Key Concepts & DefinitionsWilliamsArizona School for the Arts2012

+Key Concepts & Definitions

“…basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, race, religion, language, or other status.” (Amnesty International)

“…include civil and political rights…;and social, cultural and economic rights…Human rights are protected and upheld by international and national laws and treaties.” (Amnesty International)

Human Rights

+Key Concepts & Definitions

“…the foundation of the international system of protection for human rights. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th, 1948…The 30 articles of the UDHR establish the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights of all people.” (Amnesty International)

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

+Key Concepts & Definitions

“The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.” (United Nations)

193 Member States in General Assembly

54 Members in Economic and Social Council

15 Judges in International Court of Justice

5 Permanent & 10 Non-Permanent Members of Security Council

United Nations

+Key Concepts & Definitions

“Each culture should be understood and judged through the lenses of its own particular terms and should be viewed with value neutrality that supersedes one’s own inherent culture bias.” (Kareem)

“…the moral values of different cultures cannot be compared. As a consequence, an outside critique on the basis of universal human standards – such as human rights – is not possible…” (Kirch)

Cultural Relativism

+Key Concepts & Definitions

“…implies the existence of overarching principles (such as human rights) that are applicable cross-culturally and, therefore, could be used to determine the rightness or wrongness of specific cultural beliefs and practices.” (Kirch)

Cultural Universalism