Essay 2: Does Human Rights is the Western Product for Western People?

LONG KimKhorn, MA. IRs., LL.M.

August 18, 2014

There is a statement reads Human rights are of European origin and might not be
implemented perfectly in regions outside the European. Something like Osama Bin
Laden said Democracy is the Western value and Lee Quan Yew, former
Singaporean Prime Minister, along with his friend Suharto, former Malaysian Prime
Minister, during 60s also believed that Democracy is the Western product which
doesnt work for the Asia but only Asian Way. The statement that is very
controversial and the question that is very debatable is Does human rights is really
the Western Product and only for Western People?

Each individual citizens have to balance between exercising rights and the public
order that can infringe on the other rights and freedom. If freedom of expression is
restricted, it must meet three courts clearly written laws, law must be legitimate
purpose (ICCPR Art. 19 [3] reads protecting the government is not the legitimate
purpose), necessary and proportionate. Media freedom/ press freedom is for the sake
of public rather individual. If the media is for the sake of the public, then it requires
greater social responsibility. But the problem is if media claim for public interest, the
government will step in to ask the media responsible their publication in greater scale
of the public that turn to media suppression. Therefore, risk is high for media
corporation leading to censorship (indirect and self-censorship). More media, less
excuse by government to intervene in citizens life. However, No single type of media
can serve the four main roles of media equally but diverse media (commercial, public
service, civic media). UNESCO go for media that free, independent and plural media
is so-called Freedom Plus (+). That is another good initiative to look at
democratization and human rights.

It is difficult to explain the human rights violation because of the differences of
religious practice, dictatorial government, and stage of economic development or
poverty. Universalism versus cultural Relativism is another big issues when it comes
to question what the best practice of human rights? or is there only one human
rights standard or double principal? Because universality is utopian where we will
never reach it. North West Asia, taking Japan for example, a nation of homogeneous
people, democratic government, enjoying a fairly good reputation concerning human
rights protection. Yet, she has been criticized for her discrimination against the
Buraku People, the Koreans and for some critics, the status and well being of women
left denial of justice for comfort women in WW2. North Korea, the most secret nation
governed by Kims family, dictatorial and blatant violations of human rights. South
East Asia, taking Cambodia and Burma as the example, genocide nearly 3 million
people were killed during Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979 and Burma
violated suppression on National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu
Kyi during 1990s even though the NLD won 59% of the national votes and 81% (392
of 485) of the seats in Parliament. It was a ruling the void and where people voice was
stolen.

Endlessly debate is rights in principle are different from rights in practices.
Democracy and human rights principles were created by the Western and put into
practice by the Western countries. But developing world is the receiver of universal
human rights norm therefore developing world, especially in South East Asia, fall
under the human rights dependency. Some how it will be a truly questionable doubt
between the theory and their traditional socio-political system that shaped their nation
life and birth centuries ago. When Western world government including Inter-
Governmental Organizations (IGOs), I/NGOs urge the third world strongly to adopt
the system, most SEA ratified most of human rights treaties because they thought they
will benefit more for their national interest from the international community. But the
consequence left behind is how ratified parties show their commitment to fulfill the
international obligation stated in the treaties. However, by ratification the treaty it is a
good start.

Another gap is the pressure on human rights respect in developing world is from the
outside world through human rights institutions (UN, Amnesty International,
Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, etc) rather than the bottom-up
force from within respective countries. Some scholar believes that human rights
protection would be championed from within SEA because only SEA, to some extent,
was developing the regional human rights protection and mechanism while other part
of the world only has continent human rights protection mechanism like EU, Africa
and America. However, the gap of human rights protection only realized through
three level of human rights framework (1) International level: human rights treaties,
UN human rights process; (2) Regional level: regional human rights mechanisms; (3)
Domestic level: practice of human rights protection, judicial-executive interaction.

1993 Bangkok Declaration reads bearing in mind the significance of national and
regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds.
This ASEAN Value reiterated in the 2012 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in
Cambodia plus the statement written down all human rights are universal and
indivisible Compared to other regions around the world, SEA countries ratified
much more international human rights treaties from 1960s to 2000s. Another
framework for the sake of human rights protection following: (1) Linking between
international human rights law and human rights mechanism along with the absence
of government intervention into their citizen life; (2) Reconsidering the scope of
human rights (extrajudicial killing, enforced disappearance, torture, political
imprisonment); (3) the move from civil and political rights to social, economic and
cultural rights. While Western states was criticing China, President Jiang Zemin,
former Chinese President from 1993 to 2003, said Finding food to feed 1.3 billion
Chinese people is the human rights issue for China.

It is easy to define and report the violation of civil and political rights but it is very
difficult to report the violation of social, economic and cultural rights. For example,
rights to food how can we define it. There many countries done well with GDP per
Capita but they fail to protect human rights, especially in developing world including
China. Therefore, the modernization theory more economic development, more
human rights protection seems not workable or very traditional to explain about the
linkage between economic development and the human rights protection. The key to
turn from State commitment to compliant is mobilization among local networks and
at the end of the day it depends on the political will of the leader. In case of Taiwan,
some scholar not so confidence in the current administrative on human rights
protection in this regard.

In conclusion, Human Rights is about people. Therefore human rights have nothing to
do with geography, race, civilizations, region, religious belief, country, territory,
space and time. Democracy and human rights is just like water in which it will shape
itself according to the place where it is. Even though many countries adopt capitalism
very successfully without the democracy but I believe that no any country can prevail
democracy without the respect of human rights. And I also believe the economic
development without democracy will not last for long because the mechanism of State
to distribute the national wealth to their people will be missed and social unrest as
well as class struggle will take turn.

Human Rights is the common product for every human being. Therefore, at the end of
the day, only the political will of government leader, level of economic development
and literate level of total population on the civic and political life of their nation will
be the only magic to determine the life or death of the democracy and human rights
respect in their respective country for the sake of themselves and no one else.
Furthermore, the argument that unless a country experience a certain economic
development, this country will prevail democracy and human rights is seem not true.
Likewise, the protection of human rights and the promotion of democracy are two
different agendas that have nothing to do with economic development and have to be
co-existence but in contrary without the certain economic development citizen cant
enjoy civil and political rights and social, economic and cultural rights will never be
preserved and prevailed as well.