Human Rights and Cultural Diversity: the Iranian Discourse

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of International Law, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of International Law, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948 and Iran was among the 48 UN Member States who voted in favor of this historic resolution. Since then, Iran has acceded to many other international instruments of human rights. At the same time and especially after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has repeatedly referred to its different interpretation of some international norms of human rights, relying on the notion of cultural diversity.

ایران در زمره کشورهایی هست که در سال 1948 رای مثبت آن به اعلامیه جهانی حقوق بشر در مجمع عمومی سازمان ملل متحد ثبت شده و از آن زمان به بعد، ایران به تعداد زیادی از اسناد بین المللی حقوق بشر پیوسته است. علیرغم این اوصاف، جهانشمولی حقوق بشر از سوی ایران به ویژه بعد از انقلاب اسلامی با چالش مواجه بوده و این کشور همواره با تکیه بر گفتمان تنوع فرهنگی، از قرائت متفاوت خود درخصوص برخی از هنجارها و اصول حقوق بشری دفاع کرده است. این مقاله، با بررسی محتوایی چارچوب فکری حاکم بر گفتمان تنوع فرهنگی به استدلال های طرفداران و مخالفان این گفتمان می پردازد و همچنین، ظرفیت های موجود در نظام حقوق بشری ملل متحد برای پذیرش این گفتمان را مورد مداقه قرار می دهد.

Keywords

References

References
Books
Adamantia POLIS and Peter SCHWAB, Human Rights: New Perspectives, New Realities, (London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000).
Ahmed An-Na’im ABDULLAHI, Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus, (Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992).
Antonio CASSESE, the General Assembly: Historical Perspective, 1945-1989, in ALSTON, Philip, eds., the United Nations and Human Rights: A Critical Appraisal, (New York: Clarendon Press, 1992).
Charlotte SEYMOUR-SMITH, Macmillan Dictionary of Anthropology (London: The Macmillan Press LTD, 1986).
James SILK, Traditional Culture and the Prospect for Human Rights in Africa: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, in ABDULLAHI, Ahmed An-Na’im and DENG, Francis M., eds., Human Rights in Cross-Cultural Perspectives: A Quest for Consensus, (New York: Brookings Institution, 1990).
Michele LANGFIELD, William LOGAN and Mairead Nic CRAITH, Cultural Diversity, Heritage and Human Rights, (London: Routledge, 2010).
Morton E. WINSTON, The Philosophy of Human Rights, (London: Wadsworth, 1989).
Seyed Mohammad HASHEMI, Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms [Persian], (Tehran: Mizan Publication, 2006).
W.S. LOGAN, Closing Pandora’s Box: human rights conundrums in cultural heritage protection, in: SILVERMAN, H. and RUGGLES, eds., Cultural heritage and human rights, (New York: Springer, 2007).
 
Articles
Amory STARR and Jason ADAMS, Anti-globalization: The Global Fight for Local Autonomy, (2003), New Political Science, Vol. 25 (1).
Hurst HANNUM, the Status of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in National and International Law, (1996) Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, Vol. 25.
Seyed Yahya YASREBI, “Evaluation of Allameh Jafari’s Position towards Human Rights”[Persian], (2011) Hekmat Moaser, Vol. 2.
The British Museum, The Cyrus Cylinder, available at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=327188&partId=1.
Violaine HACKER, "Building Medias Industry while promoting a community of values in the globalization: from quixotic choices to pragmatic boon for EU Citizens", (2011) PolitickéVédy-Journal of Political Science, Slovakia, Vol. 11.
 
Documents and Cases
A world against violence and violent extremism, UN Doc. A/RES/68/127, 18 December 2013.
American Anthropological Association, Statement on Human Rights, in American Anthropologist 49, no. 4 (1947).
ICJ, Avena and Other Mexican Nationals case (Mexico v. United States), Judgment, [2004], I.C.J. Rep. 12.
ICJ, LaGrand case (Germany v. United States), Judgment, [2001], I.C.J. Rep. 244.
ICJ, Nicaragua case (Nicaragua v. United States), Judgment on Jurisdiction, [1986], I.C.J. Rep. 14.
Letter dated 10 October 2017 from the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary- General, UN Doc. A/C.3/72/11, 12 October 2017.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, UN Doc. A/HRC/34/65, 17 March 2017.
The Expediency Discernment Council, the Deed of Prospects of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2025, 2003. Also is available at www.farsi.khamenei.ir (Visited May 10, 2018).
UN Doc. A/PV. 183, 10 December 1948.
UNESCO, Cultural Diversity, available at:  http://www.unesco.org/ new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international-migration/glossary/cultural-diversity/(visited 10 October 2017).
United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, UN Doc. A/RES/53/22, 4 November 1998.
United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, UN Doc. A/RES/55/23, 13 November 2000.
 
Iranian Review for UN Studies
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Serial Number 2
Winter and Spring 2019
Pages 1-28

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics