The Universal Declaration of Human Rights represents a remarkable expansion in the recognition of the fundamental rights of all peoples. Nonetheless, consensus on the implementation of these rights is elusive. Two commonly referenced obstacles to achieving such a consensus are: (1) the United States’ practice of unilaterally exempting itself from international human rights treaties, i.e., American exceptionalism; and (2) resistance from those who see the international human rights movement as a means of imposing Western values on non-Western cultures. Considering these as related issues, both deriving from the Eurocentric nature of contemporary international law, this essay suggests that a truly universal consensus will require a decolonizing of the underlying framework of human rights law.
Article
Human Rights, American Exceptionalism, and the Stories We Tell
Emory International Law Review
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2009
Disciplines
Abstract
Citation Information
Natsu Taylor Saito, Human Rights, American Exceptionalism, and the Stories We Tell, 23 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 41 (2009).
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