Human rights, globalisation and the Asian economic crisis / Shad Saleem Faruqi

• Main Author: Faruqi, Shad Saleem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi MARA Kampus Samarahan 1999
• Subjects: Humanitarianism
• Online Access: http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/43709/1/43709.pdf; http://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/43709/

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Human rights abuses in any part of the globe deserve world-wide condemnation because state sovereignty is a shield against external aggression. It cannot be used as a sword against one’s own nationals. Haifa century after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one can say with guarded optimism that freedom is on the march; that the human rights quest has gained a universal appeal. But despite global recognition of the legitimacy of the human rights discourse, there remain disagreement and discord on a number of thorny issues. The essay examines whether the “Asian values” argument is a smokescreen for the perpetuation of authoritarianism or whether it is a genuine attempt to resist the sweep of hegemonic “Western ” values. The author warns that the human rights quest is a journey, not a destination and one must remain vigilant against new threats like economic globalisation which has added a new form of oppression to older discriminations.