Perspectives on Human Rights

Three Perspectives on Human RightsCross-cultural differences on human rightsNot all peoples see human rights in the same fashionTheorists divide perspective on human rights into three categories

First Generation RightsSecond Generation RightsThird Generation Rights

First Generation Rights

Historical evolution of human rights law a Western phenomenon. Most non-Western states lack a human rights traditionExample of China- behavior determined by one’s station in lifeFirst generation rights emerge from Western, liberal, democratic experienceImportance of political theorists like John Locke, Jean Jacque Rousseau, and James Stuart“Natural Rights” thinkers belief that rights that antedate establishment of government.

Locke and Rousseau basically believed that man was born in a condition of natural liberty. Government formed by contract to protect “life, liberty and property”. In the West civil and political rights become paramount - the rights of free speech, free press, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and religious freedom. Emphasis on what the government cannot or should not do, Impact of industrial revolution leads to new definitions of rightsMarx and European socialists emphasize economic rights

Second Generation Rights

For socialists and communists, social and economic rights were considered more important than political or civil rightsMarxists believe that man's consciousness is shaped by his material conditions. If one lives in conditions of poverty and economic degradation, political rights not importantStudy of freedom must begin with freedom from hunger, freedom from disease, freedom from unemployment, freedom from the lack of housing and access to health care.

Marxists see this as "positive freedom" as opposed to "negative freedom" Second generation rights influential in the Third WorldFew non-Western countries have an individualist tradition The influence of second-generation rights found in recent human rights documents

Third Generation Rights

Third generation rights also known as “solidarity rights” developed in response to realization that mankind lives on a very small and fragile planet Third generation rights include the right to live in peaceful world, free from the threat of nuclear war The right to live in a balanced eco-system free from environmental contaminants that are destroying the planetThe right of all people to have a basic standard of living so that the gap between rich and poor is not too greatNo universal agreement on third generation rightsSpeeches and statements of Pope John Paul II.

US Catholic Bishops pastoral letter "Economic Justice for All."

All people have a right to participate in the economic life of society. Basic justice demands that people be assured a minimum level of participation in the economy. It is wrong for a person or a group to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to participate or contribute to the economy. All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable.Pope John XXIII declared, "all people have a right to life, food, clothing, shelter, rest, medical care, education, and employment."