Human rights : political and civil

Abstract

"When I use a word;' a rather scornful Humpty Dumpty in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland said, "it means just what I choose it to mean- neither more nor less." "The question is;' said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." If we take the term 'human rights' literally, then plausibly it refers to rights associated with being human. If we ignore the specist fallacy of humans gleefully arguing for and rewarding themselves with rights as they deprive other life forms from them, we still face a conundrum. What are human rights? Firstly, represented by a naked Classical kouros or Courbet's Sleeping Nude Woman (possibly eliminating gender distinction and ostentatious aesthetics), what is 'human'? Secondly, we need to justify claims to human rights. In both cases, there is a history of intellectual thought, or rather, ongoing and relentless controversy.

Historically, those enjoying a leading cultural status in society have sought to impose their pre-conceived identity of a human being. Religious, artistic, political, academic and other voices have inter alia constructed 'desirable' identities for a number of reasons including social integration and control. Those satisfying the features qualify; others suffer. Human rights instruments' discrimination clauses enlist the victims. This selective process also describes the pre-eminence of civil and political rights over other claims for human rights.