| This study may be understood as a modest first step in a defence of the universality of human rights as embodied in international law. It provides an interdisciplinary account of the origins of universal human rights from the earliest days to 1966; in which year the International Covenants were added to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It examines the theme of universality across an extended period, and challenges the increasingly common view that human rights in international law reflect essentially the forces of a Western (and, specifically, an American) hegemonic imposition. Chapter 1 examines the period from ancient times to 1939. Chapter 2 studies the impact of World War II and its aftermath on the development of universal human rights. Chapter 3 investigates the origins and significance of the U.N. Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Chapter 4 explores the origins of the 1966 Covenants. From a close examination of the relevant literature I conclude that in each period there was support for universal human rights from culturally diverse states, national and international NGOs, and activists. In contrast to Tony Evans, I conclude that universal human rights were not the result of American hegemony. The international regime that was in place by 1966 was in fact an achievement in the face of significant Western, including American, resistance to universal human rights (especially in relation to race, economic and social rights and self-determination). Moreover, the normative content of the International Bill of Rights bore the imprint of the developing world, social-democratic states and the socialist bloc. Rather than having been cast from a Western hegemonic mould, universal rights had diverse origins. |
