What Is Universal Human Rights?

Jacques Maritain, a member of the drafting committee for the United Nations Human Rights Declaration (UDHR), expressed that "We agree on human rights but on the condition that no one asks us why." This famous line reflects how many around the globe embrace the idea of universal human rights, despite the presence of vast cultural difference. The idea of universal human rights is built on the foundation of an agreement of general consensus to establish a set of human rights that is accepted by all. While many might argue that reaching a consensus on human rights like rights to life and liberty is fairly easy, this process of reaching a consensus is far more complex and narrowing the scope of discussion makes the debate more fiery and intractable.

To prove this point, I shall present various theories of universal human rights, which have been explored by Ronald Dworkin, Kant and Jack Donnelly. In unison, I will highlight the intricate gaps in these theories. Ronald Dworkin presents a concept of "rights as trumps." In his book, he argues that "Rights are best understood as trumps over some background justification for political decisions that states a goal for the community as a whole." However, we are unable to simply categorise rights as trumps as there are certain common good for a community that takes precedence over rights in certain scenario. This is exactly why many countries do not stand for the right to bear arms, as they believe that the common good of safety for their citizens is more crucial. Thus, this method of theorizing human rights is bound to invite great

The first difficulty comes from the order in which this relationship is built. The preamble of the United Nations Human Rights Declaration clearly starts with "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." This provides the understanding, as Jack Donnelly argues, that "these rights are inalienable to all human" and no one individual should be deprived of it under any circumstances. By using the language of "born", it is implied that these rights are "pre-given" and no conditions should be attached to the entitlement of these rights. However, this theory will contradict its practice when we observe the actual international political scene. As Chris Brown argues, the constitutional elements like “basic rights, liberties, and opportunities” in the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, are considered to be upheld by a political agreement in the modern context. This is evident in the continuous use of incentives or sanctions by countries like United States to persuade all countries to sign the agreement. Whilst this is often refuted by the United Nations to be a method to encourage more countries to value and protect universal human rights, it subtly implies that individuals are only entitled these rights on the condition that their states choose to respect their