Identity and the Hegemony of Universal Human Rights

Hum an rights are com m only portrayed as a narrative that passes through several chapters before reaching its inevitable conclusion. This narrative begins with the horror of N azism , m oves to the centrality of hum an rights in the U N Charter, eulogizes the U niversal D eclaration, celebrates the achievem ents of standard setting as set out in the m ajor covenants, offers detailed analysis of m ethods of m onitoring and, finally, speculates on the future of com pliance. This narrative is sustained, firstly, by ‘naturalist’ foundationalism and, secondly, by a widely held assum ptions about the m ove towards ‘settled norm s’ in the contem porary world order. Although som e pessim ism is voiced over continued reports of torture, genocide, structural econom ic deprivation, disappearances, ethnic cleansing, political prisoners, the suppression of trade union rights, gender inequality, religious persecution, and m any other violations of internationally agreed hum an rights, m ost com m entators and activists tacitly adopt an optim istic stance that envisages a future rights based international order. The still prevalent naturalist account of hum an rights, together with a narrative that boasts ‘settled norm s’, suggests that the hum an rights regim e represents a final ‘truth’ about the essential nature of all hum ankind; a com m on identity that describes the individual in an increasingly globalized world. This paper interrogates the ‘naturalist-settled norm ’ account of hum an rights from the perspective of power and knowledge. It begins by distinguishing between the international hum an rights regim e and the global discourse of hum an rights. The form er adopts a legal approach, where the neutral, value-free, unbiased and im partial nature of the law is tacitly accepted. The latter refers to hum an rights as social, political and econom ic practice, and m ust therefore include an account of power. From this perspective, the discourse of hum an rights m ight be said to ascribe a particular identity to hum an beings as agents of a particular type and kind, which serves the interests of som e groups over others. W hile the hum an rights regim e is presented by world leaders, com m entators and the m ajority of academ ics as the legitim ate articulation of norm s founded upon tim eless ‘truths’ about hum an nature, the argum ent presented in this paper suggests that the norm s associated with the discourse of rights offer a m ore cogent insight into the status of hum an rights in the current world order. Thus, com plex questions arise about power/knowledge, foundationalism , the status of international hum an rights law, and the politics of rightsThe paper begins with an account of discourse as a m eeting place for power and knowledge. A second section discusses ‘discipline’ as a m ode of social organization that im bues the individual’s identity with particular ways of thinking, knowing and behaving, thereby instilling a particular social consciousness. A further section looks at the global developm ent of ‘m arket disciplinary’ norm s (as opposed to legal norm s) that act as a guide for action. The paper concludes with a discussion on issues of hum an rights and identity in the age of globalization.

Keywords:

Identity , Hegemony , Universal Human Rights