Human rights discourse in Asia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The human rights discourse in Asia is closely linked to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations ("UN Human Rights Charter"). The claim of the UN Charter of Human Rights to be universalist is met with opposition from some Asian states. They criticize the fact that the UN Charter of Human Rights reflects exclusively "Western values" and thereby ignores regional and cultural diversity. Accordingly, it is an ideological imposition of the western world , intervenes in its internal affairs and affects the national sovereignty of the Asian states.

Asian Charter of Human Rights: Bangkok Declaration

The debate about the universal validity of the UN Charter of Human Rights played an important role 45 years later at the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993). Based on the assumption that the same standards cannot be applied due to different cultures, histories and traditions, 34 Asian countries developed an alternative to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in preparation for the World Conference on Human Rights: the Bangkok Declaration . The Bangkok Declaration was initiated in particular by the states that had experienced economic growth in the 1960s to 1990s, the tiger states Taiwan , Singapore , South Korea and Hong Kong . The political elites of these states attributed the region's economic success to the Asian, Confucian culture. With this in mind, they demanded in the Bangkok Declaration that national peculiarities and different values, norms and traditions should be given greater consideration in the interpretation and implementation of human rights ( Bangkok Declaration, FN 10, preamble). The implementation and protection of human rights is primarily the task of the nation states:

"States have the primary responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights through appropriate infrastructure and mechanisms."

- Bangkok Declaration , Art. 9

In addition, the global realization of human rights requires a just and fair world economic order and is only possible if the north-south conflict is resolved ( Bangkok Declaration, Art. 18).

Asian values

The discussion about Asian values ​​first arose shortly after the end of the Cold War as a response to American exceptionalism . Its supporters, including the former President of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew and the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir bin Mohamad as well as some intellectuals at their side such as B. Noordin Sopiee , Tommy Koh , George Yeo and Kishore Mahbubani , based the uniqueness of the Asian nations and the associated economic miracle of some Southeast Asian countries on the Asian values. Their countries have been led to the much-vaunted combination of economic progress and social discipline through “Asian values”. “Asian values” are therefore responsible for the strength and success of East Asia .

The two government leaders and intellectuals in their vicinity question the universality of human rights, which ultimately led to the Bangkok Declaration in 1993.

Definition

The Asian values ​​are not precisely defined, but always lead back to the values ​​that Confucianism represents. Asian values ​​bring together a complex combination of reasoning and assertions, which include the following: People of different races and nationalities in Southeast Asia share a common value system . This value system takes into account the interests of the community before those of the individual, it puts order and stability before personal freedom, emphasizes hard work, diligence and frugality, refuses to withdraw religion from daily life, increases loyalty, loyalty and respect for authorities such as B. the elders or government leaders and underlines the family ties. The individual in Asian societies is

"[...] not an isolated being, but a member of a nuclear and extended family, clan, neighborhood, community, nation and state. East Asians believe that whatever they do or say, they must keep in mind the interests of others [...] the individual tries to balance his interests with those of family and society. "

Sharing these values ​​strengthens group consciousness more than in the liberal, individualized West. People in Asia work for the common good, are less selfish and accept that the cohesion and stability of society are more important than the rights of the individual. Proponents consider these values ​​to be important because, with the right political leadership, they can lead to economic prosperity, progress and a harmonious relationship between the population and the state.

criticism

Basically, these values ​​are primarily propagated by politicians, not by the population themselves. They overlook a number of important changes in socio-political events in East Asia - the emergence of a middle class , the workers' and democratization movements, the onset of individualization processes , etc. Critics also see the Asian values As a means of instrumentalization to legitimize authoritarian government leaderships and to secure the political and social status quo, government leaders act accordingly out of theoretical arbitrariness. Accordingly, the Asian values ​​are more an ideological construct of Asian politicians than a conviction that the population also represents. In addition, the so-called “Asian values” are essentially “Western” values. The change in the economic situation has led to a different understanding of culture and, in this context, to a different prioritization of values. Furthermore, due to the cultural diversity of the region, an agreement on “Asian values” is difficult and represents a paradox insofar as the concept arose from the justification that not all nations represent the same values ​​as they do be proclaimed in the UN Charter of Human Rights. At the same time, equality among Asian nations is used as an argument for the “Asian values” debate. In this context it should also be mentioned that not all Asian countries agree with the concept of an “Asian” value system or not all share the same values.

The debate about Asian values ​​remains topical with regard to the question of the universality of human rights and the related principle of cultural relativism as well as in the East-West dichotomy discourse.

literature

  • Joseph Chan: Asian Values ​​and Human Rights. An alternative view . In: Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner (Eds.): Democracy in East Asia . The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1998, ISBN 0-8018-5963-8 , pp. 28-41 (English).
  • Bilhari Kausikan: The "Asian Values" Debate. A View from Singapore . In: Larry Diamond, Marc F. Plattner (Eds.): Democracy in East Asia . The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 1998, ISBN 0-8018-5963-8 , pp. 17-27 (English).
  • Anthony Milner: What happend to Asian Values . In: Gerald Segal, David SG Goodman (Eds.): Towards Recovery in Pacific Asia . Routledge, London 2000, ISBN 0-415-22354-7 , pp. 56-68 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Christina M. Cerna: Universality of Human Rights and Cultural Diversity. Implementation of Human Rights in Different Socio-Cultural Contexts . In: Human Rights Quarterly . tape 16 , no. 4 . The Johns Hopkins University Press, November 1994, pp. 740-752 , JSTOR : 762567 (English).
  2. ↑ Sonja Ernst: The debate about “Asian values”. In: Dossier Human Rights. Federal Agency for Civic Education , October 12, 2009, accessed on February 19, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Tommy Koh: The 10 Values ​​Which Undergird East Asian Strength and Success . In: The International Herald Tribune . December 11, 1993, p. 6 (English, nytimes.com ).
  4. ↑ Takashi Inoguchi, Edward Newman: Introduction: "Asian Values" and democracy in Asia. In: “Asian Values” and Democracy in Asia. Proceedings of a Conference Held on March 28, 1997 at Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan, as Part of the First Shizuoka Asia-Pacific Forum: The Future of the Asia-Pacific Region. 1997, accessed February 19, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Eun-Jeung Lee: "Asia" and its "Asian values" . In: Federal Center for Political Education (Ed.): From Politics and Contemporary History . B 35-36: Asia's Future , August 25, 2003, ISSN  0479-611X , p. 3–6 ( bpb.de [accessed February 19, 2017]).
  6. ↑ Anthony Milner: What happend to Asian values . In: Gerald Segal, David SG Goodman (Eds.): Towards Recovery in Pacific Asia . Routledge, London 2000, ISBN 0-203-06253-1 , pp. 58 (English).