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Title: UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ISSUE OF UNIVERSALISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM
Authors: Dr. Poonam Kanwal
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Dr. Poonam Kanwal Associate Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College University of Delhi
MLA 8 Kanwal, Dr. Poonam. "UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ISSUE OF UNIVERSALISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 8, no. 7, July 2023, pp. 1751-1765, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2023.v08i07.006. Accessed July 2023. APA 6 Kanwal, D. (2023, July). UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ISSUE OF UNIVERSALISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 8(7), 1751-1765. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2023.v08i07.006 Chicago Kanwal, Dr. Poonam. "UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ISSUE OF UNIVERSALISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 8, no. 7 (July 2023), 1751-1765. Accessed July, 2023. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2023.v08i07.006.
References [1]. Donnelly Jack. (1984). Cultural Relativism and Universal Human Rights, Human Rights Quaterly, Nov, 1984. Vol. 6 No. 4 John Hopkins University Press. (http://fs2.american.edu/dfagel/www/class%20readings/donnelly/cultual%20relativism.pdf) [2]. Donnelly Jack. (2007). The Relative Universality of Human Rights, Human Rights Quaterly, John Hopkins University Press. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/20072800) [3]. Donnelly Jack. (2014). Universal Human Rights In Theory And Practice, Rawat Publications, NewDelhi.(https://www.rawatbooks.com/human-rights/universal-human-rights-in-theory-and- practice) [4]. Morsink Johannes. (1999). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting, and Intent. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt3fhrpm) [5]. UDHR, (https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights)
ABSTRACT: This article examines the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the charge of universalism leveled against it by cultural relativists. The UDHR is the first document that enshrines rights and freedoms for human beings. The rights enshrined are available to all individuals, irrespective of their religious, cultural, or political moral systems. It is a normative statement on how human beings should be treated. The UDHR faces the charge of universalism, that it imposes the same values which are Eurocentric in nature on all nation-states. It is considered by critics as a hegemonic project, which reflects the moral chauvinism of Western liberal individualistic societies. Cultural relativists hold that beliefs, customs, and cultural and moral values are relative in nature. Rights emerge from the cultural context of societies and should be seen from this standpoint and not in isolation from the context. This article examines the charge of universalism against the UDHR through the eyes of Johannes Morsink and Jack Donnelly.

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