Human Rights: Concepts, Contests, Contingencies

134 Pages·2001·6.83 MB·English

by  Austin Sarat

Hum.an Rights
The Amherst Series in Law,Jurisprudence, and SocialThought
Eachworkincluded inTheAmherstSeriesinLaw,Jurisprudence,
and SocialThoughtexplores a theme crucialto anunderstandingof
law as itconfronts the changing socialand intellectualcurrents ofthe
twenty-firstcentury.
The Fate ofLaw, editedbyAustinSaratand Thomas R. Kearns
Law's Violence, editedbyAustinSaratand Thomas R. Kearns
Lawin Everyday Life, editedbyAustinSaratand Thomas R. Kearns
The RhetoricofLaw, editedbyAustinSaratand Thomas R. Kearns
Identities, Politics, and Rights, editedbyAustinSaratand
Thomas R. Kearns
Legal Rights: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives, editedby
AustinSaratand Thomas R. Kearns
Justice and Injustice in Lawand Legal Theory, editedbyAustinSarat
and Thomas R. Kearns
Law in the Domains ofCulture, editedbyAustinSaratand
Thomas R. Kearns
Cultural Pluralism, Identity Politics, and the Law, editedby
AustinSaratand ThomasR. Kearns
History, Memory, and the Law, editedbyAustinSarat and
Thomas R. Kearns
Human Rights: Concepts, Contests, Contingencies, editedby
AustinSaratand ThomasR. Kearns
Hum.an Rights
Concepts, Contests, Contingencies
Edited by
AUSTIN SARAT
and
THOMAS R. KEARNS
AnnArbor
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PREss
Copyright©bytheUniversityofMichigan2001
Allrightsreserved
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericaby
TheUniversityofMichiganPress
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@Printedonacid-freepaper
2004 2003 2002 2001 4 3 2 1
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,or
transmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,orotherwise,
withoutthewrittenpermissionofthepublisher.
A elPcatalogrecordfor thisbookisavailablefrom theBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Humanrights: concepts,contests,contingencies / editedbyAustin
SaratandThomasR.Kearns.
p. cm.- (TheAmherstseriesinlaw,jurisprudence,and
socialthought)
Includesindex.
ISBN0-472-11192-2(cloth:acid-freepaper)
1.Humanrights. 2.Civilrights. I.Sarat,Austin. II.Kearns,
ThomasR. III.Series.
JC571.H765 2001
323-dc21 00-010837
Thelinesfrom"Two:movement"from"Inscriptions,"inDarkFieldsofthe
Republic:Poems, 1991-1995,byAdrienneRich,copyright©1995byAdrienne
Rich.UsedbypermissionoftheauthorandW.W. Norton& Company,Inc.
ISBN-13 978-0-472-11192-3 (cloth)
ISBN-13 978-0-472-08903-1 (paperback)
ISBN-13 978-0-472-02362-2 (electronic)
Acknowledgments
WearegratefultoourcolleagueNasserHussainforhishelpinshaping
theideasthatinformthisbook.WethankourstudentsinAmherstCol
lege'sDepartmentofLaw,Jurisprudence, andSocialThoughtfor their
interest in the issues addressed in Human Rights: Concepts, Contests,
Contingencies. Finally,wewouldliketoexpressspecialappreciationfor
thegenerousfinancialsupportprovidedbyAmherstCollege'sCharles
Hamilton Houston Forum on Law and Social Change and the Corliss
LamontLectureshipfor aPeacefulWorld.

Contents
TheUnsettledStatusofHumanRights:
AnIntroduction 1
Austin Sarat andThomas R. Kearns
TwoConceptsofSelf-Determination 25
Iris Marion Young
CulturalChoiceandtheRevisionofFreedom 45
Homi K. Bhabha
DurkheimRevisited: HumanRights as theMoral
Discoursefor thePostcolonial,Post-ColdWarWorld 63
JaneF. Collier
TheLegalProtectionofHumanRights inAfrica:
HowtoDoMorewithLess 89
AbdullahiA. An-Na'im
Contributors 117
Index 119

The Unsettled Status
of Human Rights:
An Introduction
Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearns
Werespectthereligious,social,andculturalcharacteristicsthat
makeeachcountryunique.Butwecannotletculturalrelativism
becomethelastrefugeofrepression.
WarrenChristopher,addresstothe
WorldConferenceonHumanRights,1993
Theconceptofhumanrights,basedupontheassumedexistenceof
ahumanbeingassuch,brokedownattheverymomentwhenthose
whoprofessedtobelieveinitwereforthefirsttimeconfrontedwith
thepeoplewhohadindeedlostallotherqualitiesandspecificrela
tionships-exceptthattheywerestillhuman.Theworldfound
nothingsacredintheabstractnakednessofbeinghuman.
HannahArendt,TheOriginsofTotalitarianism
Fraternityisaninclinationoftheheart,onethatproducesasenseof
shameathavingmuchwhenothershavelittle.Itisnotthesortof
thingthatanyonecanhaveatheoryaboutorthatpeoplecanbe
arguedintohaving.
RichardRorty,
"HumanRights,Rationality,andSentimentality"
"IbelieveandtheAmericanpeoplebelieve,"former PresidentClinton
declaredduringavisittothePeople'sRepublicofChina,"thatfreedom
of speech, association and religion are, as recognized by the United
Nations Charter, the right of people everywhere and should be pro-