Human Rights: The Hard Questions

Cover......Page 1
Human Rights......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Figure......Page 10
Table......Page 11
Contributors......Page 12
Background......Page 19
What are human rights?......Page 22
How do human rights relate to groups and culture?......Page 24
What do human rights require of the global economy?......Page 27
How do human rights relate to environmental policy?......Page 30
Is there a human right to democracy?......Page 31
What are the limits of rights enforcement?......Page 33
Are human rights progressive?......Page 36
Human rights and hard questions......Page 38
Part I What are human rights?......Page 39
Introduction......Page 41
How human nature became a myth......Page 42
Darius, the Hellenes and the Kallatiai......Page 49
The universal people......Page 51
Conclusion: rethinking human nature......Page 53
References......Page 55
Introduction......Page 57
Setting the bar too low......Page 59
Setting the bar too high......Page 60
The universalist tendency......Page 62
The particularist tendency......Page 64
Reconciling universalism and particularism......Page 66
The modest reach of human rights universalism......Page 67
The disaggregated quality of human rights universalism......Page 68
The rhetorical commonality and inclusiveness of human rights discourse......Page 69
The open-endedness of human rights discourse......Page 70
The rescaling of human rights communities......Page 71
The plural configuration of institutionalized human rights protection......Page 72
References......Page 74
Natural rights and human rights......Page 77
Universal rights: some matters for concern......Page 78
Human rights as rights of persons as such......Page 79
The institutional thesis......Page 82
Normative concerns about counterpart obligations under the UDHR......Page 83
Concerns about the universal feasibility of the UDHR social and economic rights......Page 85
Women’s rights and group rights as universal rights......Page 87
A general argument for the universality of human rights......Page 90
References......Page 92
Part II How do human rights relate to group rights and culture?......Page 95
Introduction: whether culture represents a challenge to human rights......Page 97
Cultural relativism as a descriptive theory......Page 99
Children’s human rights......Page 101
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWD)......Page 105
Women’s human rights......Page 107
Other vulnerable groups......Page 108
Systems of punishment: proportional justice and the right to a fair trial......Page 109
Separate courts......Page 111
The cultural defense policy......Page 112
References......Page 113
Introduction......Page 118
Groups and individual human rights......Page 120
Groups and collective human rights......Page 122
Group threats to human rights......Page 127
References......Page 131
Introduction......Page 133
Two kinds of multicultural claims: fair inclusion and privatized diversity......Page 134
Fair inclusion......Page 135
Privatized diversity......Page 137
Caught in the web of secular and religious marriage norms and regulations......Page 140
The search for a new path: regulated interaction......Page 143
References......Page 151
Introduction......Page 154
Pluralism......Page 157
Pluralist universalism......Page 161
Conclusion......Page 165
References......Page 167
Part III What do human rights require of the global economy?......Page 169
Introduction......Page 171
Beyond a narrow view of international human rights law......Page 173
Intergovernmental organizations......Page 175
Rule-making institutions......Page 176
Direct engagement institutions......Page 177
What do human rights require of an intergovernmental organization in the global economy?......Page 180
Corporations......Page 181
The UN Special Representative......Page 182
Accountability mechanisms......Page 185
Conclusion......Page 187
References......Page 188
9 Universal human rights in the global political economy......Page 192
Human rights in global context......Page 193
Human rights and world order......Page 194
A failed regime......Page 197
International law and globalization......Page 198
Socioeconomic rights......Page 200
Resistance to globalization......Page 203
The future for human rights......Page 205
References......Page 207
Introduction: equal opportunity and the challenge of moral universalism......Page 211
Human rights and equal opportunity......Page 214
The equality presumption......Page 221
Objections......Page 223
Conclusion......Page 224
References......Page 225
Part IV How do human rights relate to environmental policy?......Page 227
The ethical challenge......Page 229
Aspirations......Page 232
The initial case......Page 234
Framing revisited......Page 236
Substance revisited......Page 239
Theory revisited......Page 243
References......Page 247
Introduction......Page 249
Links between human rights, environmental conditions, energy and poverty......Page 250
Energy, poverty and women’s rights......Page 253
Incorporating a women’s human rights perspective in energy policies......Page 255
Energy access, women’s rights and climate change solutions......Page 258
References......Page 261
13 Pollution wolves in scientific sheep’s clothing......Page 264
Cass Sunstein: technocratic, crude-utilitarian, rather than human-rights-based decision-making......Page 265
Alan Gewirth: misleading appeals to human rights not to be caused to get cancer......Page 267
Derek Parfit: problems with collective responsibility and deterministic, not probabilistic, harms......Page 268
Why human rights to protection from deadly pollution are hard issues in scientific theory......Page 269
Statistical casualties: threats to recognizing human rights to protection against deadly pollution......Page 270
Demanding human testing: threats to recognizing human rights to protection against deadly pollution......Page 271
Why human rights to protection from deadly pollution are hard issues practically speaking......Page 274
How to resolve the ethical-theory problem of recognizing pollution-related human rights......Page 277
How to resolve the scientific-theory problem of recognizing pollution-related human rights......Page 280
How to resolve the practical problems of recognizing pollution-related human rights......Page 281
References......Page 282
Part V Is there a human right to democracy?......Page 287
Introduction......Page 289
The international law framework......Page 291
Debates about a right to democracy......Page 296
Conclusion......Page 298
References......Page 300
Introduction......Page 303
Objections to a human right to democracy – are they viable?......Page 305
Democracy as a human right......Page 308
Theoretical problems in the relation of democracy and human rights at the global level......Page 313
Democratic input into global governance institutions......Page 315
References......Page 317
Introduction......Page 319
The human right to democracy: conceptual preliminaries......Page 320
Democracy at the domestic level......Page 323
The international environment and the need for cooperation......Page 326
The interests in having a say......Page 327
Democracy best realized through states......Page 329
The external effects of cooperation with hierarchical societies: complicity and subordination......Page 330
A qualification to the argument......Page 335
Equality and self-determination......Page 336
Toleration, complicity and subordination......Page 338
Conclusion......Page 341
References......Page 342
Part VI What are the limits of rights enforcement?......Page 345
Introduction......Page 347
Lawful use of force expressly recognized by the UN Charter......Page 350
Lawful use of force implicitly permitted under the UN Charter......Page 351
Use of force as not violating “territorial integrity” or “political independence”......Page 352
Intervention mandated under human rights provisions......Page 354
Intervention as a stopgap measure......Page 356
Humanitarian motives......Page 357
Humanitarian grounds......Page 358
Humanitarian means......Page 359
Conclusion......Page 360
References......Page 361
Introduction......Page 365
Responsibility to protect and human rights......Page 366
State responsibility and the use of force......Page 368
Human rights risks of the use of force......Page 371
Adjudicating conflicts involving human rights......Page 374
References......Page 378
Introduction......Page 380
Women’s human rights: setting the usual scene......Page 382
Timor Leste......Page 384
Failures of women’s human rights......Page 386
Women/human......Page 389
The political......Page 390
Vampires and apes......Page 392
Concluding thoughts......Page 394
References......Page 395
20 Are human rights possible after conflict?......Page 400
The hard questions......Page 411
References......Page 412
Part VII Are human rights progressive?......Page 415
21 Moral progress and human rights......Page 417
Changing conceptions of primary moral status......Page 418
The emergence of the subject-centered conception of justice......Page 420
The emergence of a fully subject-centered conception of justice......Page 422
The idea of disabilities rights as an expansion of the territory of justice......Page 423
The institutionalist shift......Page 425
Redrawing the boundary between justice and charity......Page 426
Acknowledgment of positive rights......Page 427
The modern conception of human rights as embodying progressive changes in thinking about justice......Page 429
References......Page 434
Introduction......Page 436
Progress, intention and the limits of human rights......Page 439
Moral agency in the age of human rights......Page 442
Conclusion: the dilemma of humanity......Page 448
References......Page 450
Introduction......Page 454
Progressive realization......Page 456
Gender mainstreaming and quantitative approaches to measuring progressive realization......Page 457
Gender mainstreaming process......Page 462
Further considerations......Page 463
Progressiveness: as in moving forward or transformative......Page 465
Conclusions......Page 468
References......Page 469
What are people doing when they appeal to human rights?......Page 476
Do various human rights actually reference the same kind of norm?......Page 479
How do human rights impact the lives of actual people?......Page 481
Human rights and hope for something better......Page 483
References......Page 485
Index......Page 487